My first solo cruise experience in the Caribbean in February 2025 - an introspective adventure surrounded by azure views.
The Plan
I travelled to Las Vegas for my company’s annual sales kick off and took the opportunity to extend my stay by visiting the Carribean via a Norwegian Cruise Line cruise. I was travelling by myself, so this became my first solo cruising experience. It was one week in total and I loved warming up my bones in those exotic destinations in the middle of winter.
The Ship & My Cabin
The ship was Norwegian EPIC. It was much bigger than my previous Cunard experience, and you could definitely feel the weight of the crowds, especially on embarkation and disembarkation. The ship was built in 2010 and has a capacity of 4,070 guests and 1,724 crew.
I had a cosy inside solo cabin with no window but with lovely color shifting mood lights. For its size, I had a very comfortable bed which made for some very restful sleep.
Solo Travel Experience
It was one of the most meditative travel experiences I ever had, with lots of me-time and space to immerse myself in the beautiful places I visited. I would love to go back there and experience some of those places with my husband again. Some of the clear blue beaches looked surreal when seeing so up close. Like one of those moments where, if you have someone with you, you might say “is this real? Pinch me”.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Saturday, February 22nd
Day 2 - Sunday, February 23rd. At Sea
Day 3 - Monday, February 24th. Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Day 4 - Tuesday, February 25th. St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Day 5 - Wednesday, February 26th. Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Day 6 - Thursday, February 27th. At Sea
Day 7 - Friday, February 28th. Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas - Norwegian’s private island where I conquered my fear of hights and went on a zipline over the beach!
Day 8 - Saturday, March 1st. Return to Port Canaveral
Highlights
I saw the most gorgeous beaches the world has to offer, with warm, clear water. And I can pretend to be fancy by saying that I went on a private island. The great part about having a private island on your itinerary is that the food & beverages on the island are included - they function like an extension of the ship, which means you can sit around all day not having to go back to the ship for lunch.
The demographic on this cruise, compared to my previous Cunard one, was very different. It was predominantly americans and canadians, which act quite different from british folks in retirement (>ᴗ•) . It was loud and a bit messy at times. I now understood what the saying ‘booze cruise’ means. But there were plenty quiet spaces too.
One of the perks of having a solo cabin was having exclusive access to the ‘solo lounge’, where only solo travelers had access to. That provided a quieter place for the moments where I wanted some peace but not within the 4 walls of my small cabin.
I also enjoyed having a Starbucks on board. While not the best of coffe there is, it was definitely better than what was available elsewhere on the ship. It was also grounding in a weird way - making you feel in the middle of a city while in the middle of the sea.
I ended my cruise by visiting the Kennedy Space Station before heading back to the airport to fly home, which was epic. This was a very well put together excursion from the cruise line, which was good value as I had somewhere safe to keep my luggage in, while exploring the surroundings.
Final Thoughts
I wish solo cruising was more accessible to people. Not all cruise lines offer it - NCL is an exception and they do a decent job at it. You could always just book a standard cabin for one, but that’s overpaying, and when you add in all the extra taxes and gratuities, it’s just not sustainable financially.