Cruise but without the hell of other people

[TediousTim]

Is there a lovely way to cruise? I think we'd like the nice bits of a cruise (waking up in a new place everyday) but - eating with other people, the hideousness of "organised fun," having strangers make small talk - this sounds horrendous. Is there a better way to cruise?

Cargo ship option in Tahiti
amazing cargo ship travel dreams

Book Cunard QG or Seabourne. However, you can eat at a table for two and not speak to anyone all week even in steerage. You can have unlimited room service if you prefer isolation.
You don't have to do activies but might like a cinema, a planetarium or casino? You might enjoy the Spa treatments and pottering around foreign townscape cities.
You might watch a show or take part in wine tasting. Alternatively just find a book in the library or play Scrabble with your partner if you don't enjoy bridge.
Avoid the huge ships aimed at the party crowds.
It's up to you how you spend your time, who you talk to and who you eat with. I don't think they are all a floating Butlins these days.

On hols in Greece once (12 of us) we hired a lovely wooden yacht with a skipper and went island hopping for 4 days. It was magic.

It's surprising how little you need to interact. We love cruises but eat at a table for 2 in the main dining room or in the buffet. You can request room service-lovely if you have a balcony for breakfast. I'd say the opposite of some suggestions. River cruises are much smaller, but they have much less space to wander and sit away from others in the library or the quiet bars. I think you will be seated next to people all the time to eat. It strikes me as being a bit like a coach holiday but on a river. The larger ships, Celebrity, Cunard, even P&O (not the enormous ones for families with flumes and ice rinks!), have a range of bars with different types of music and entertainment and lots of places to sit quietly. The waking up every day to a new place is addictive.

I'd avoid the big ships, I used to work on ships and the mass produced food is crap. Try Seabourn ships or Windstar, expensive but much nicer, less people. No napkin folding, bingo, rubbish theatre shows or line dancing. Much more sedate.

There’s an option that makes chartering a yacht look cheap. 🤣

Perhaps you need to be the smelly oddballs. So everyone keeps well away from you

I think your snark missed the bit where I explained I am recovering from an eating disorder and can't eat around other people.
But thank you, sarcasm is always appreciated.

I hated the idea of cruises (too big, too many people) & ended up on one with in laws. It was a great holiday. So easy & relaxing. You don’t need to sit with others to eat and huge range of places to eat.
I would love to travel on the hurtigruten one day - that may be your answer.

Huge ships are actually incredibly anonymous. We've had many times when you chat to someone on day 1 then never see them again for a fortnight. If freedom dining which is a P&O term but similar in many cruise lines, turn up for dinner when you like and wait for a table for 2. Or eat in the buffet, or a mix.

Re: paying for others' activities, you can get such a bargain with saver fares I wouldn't let that bother you. Talk to a good agent like Bolsover who can explain the fare options.

Go on, you'll love it and be hooked for ever

My in laws are very unsociable and dislike most people .. they go in silverseas cruises . Luxury small scale .

Thank you everyone, sonecreally helpful and positive experiences and ideas.
I'm also grateful to MNHQ for the quick action on the snarky comment - I didn't report, so maybe HQ do patrol around.

A friend of ours told us that river cruises are marvelous but he found the clientele on the ones he'd been on were a little old. Given that he was 82 at the time, it rather put us off!

Hurtigruten cruises are your friend !

Hhmm, I'm thinking not a river cruise. I'm only 40!

What I should also have pointed out is that I also really struggle with flying (due to the food issues - you can never be sure that someone around you won't be eating a triggering food, even on a short flight) - so I'm thinking Southampton departure is probably best.

Ha! Spent too much time on North Sea Ferries to enjoy big boats! Also autistic husband doesn’t like being with people he doesn’t know.

However, two friends of similar thinking have done the Hurtigruten cruises recently (separately) and are enthusing about how wonderful they were.

We've enjoyed casual cruising on Fred Olsen relatively small ships. I don't do "organised fun", not interested in formal dress up dinners; and we prefer a route with frequent port stops to get off and explore on our own (not, an organised tour). Iceland, The Baltics and the coast of Norway all provided this.

Reasonable libraries, lots of quiet places to read or sit and look, fresh air on deck. There are multiple choices of how and when to eat and if you're a total non socialiser its easy to avoid regular dinner companions/ repetitive conversations etc. Service is excellent, friendly efficient and non-intrusive.

I'm still planning to try river cruising in Europe; even smaller boats and frequent shore stops.

Norwegian fjords with a private balcony and room service?
Would be lovely.

We were thinking of doing a cruise for the first time next year and definitely don't want a big boat with lots of 'activities' so this thread is interesting.
But I'll pine for the fjords a bit longer, instead we're going to learn to sail a yacht with our young adult DD and go on a flotilla in the Ionian.

We are cruising for the first time next year and I’m an antisocial bastard. When the booking form asked the table size we want for dinner I picked 4 ie for the 4 of us. I’d hate a set table with other people. What if they’re arseholes? Or if we are the arseholes, probably more likely.

My parents also hate other people and love cruising so I am hoping it must be possible to still have a nice time!

Reading with interest as my DH is really keen to go on a cruise once our youngest no longer wants to holiday with us, but I think I'd rather eat my own liver than go on a "normal" cruise. I think DH is a bit deluded actually - he's really after 1930s style glamour and I don't think you get cruises like that anymore. Well, not in our price bracket for sure. But Hurtigruten looks like they might be worth considering. I think I'd enjoy the Swan Hellenic Antarctic cruises but unless some long lost relative leaves us a fortune that's going to remain a dream!
www.swanhellenic.com/destinations/antarctic

This may sound counter-intuitive - but I was TOTALLY anti-cruise as I LOATHE : dressing up/"entertainment"/eating in the same restaurant every day & night/"forced" socialising/parties🤣🤣🤣 But was persuaded to go on HUGE ship (Celebrity Infinity) because DH/DBrother & DSL all wanted to so I said I'd try it.

Met NO ONE/ate where we wanted every day/watched one show that we really fancied/didn't dress up & saw lots of different places. It was FAB. So basically, did everything we wanted to do and nothing we didn't want to.

Cruises are very much how you want them . You can eat in your room if you want to .

I did a 28 day one and loved it but I did enjoy the social bit - out table was a table of 10 and we did a lot together because we all got on .

If it's not your thing you di t have to do the dressy stuff, yku canestan at the buffet or in your room- you aren't obligated to socialise.

I'm single now and I'd go on another - the dining is pretty couples oriented so I wouldn't do that - I'd just do my own thing !