Already booked my cruise. Now feeling apprehensive.

Post Reply New Topic

I did some some research on my future cruise, and I found good and bad things.

First, the good:
I found out that Carnival has a lot of activities I can take part in, which are great icebreakers for meeting new people. I'm not looking to just do nothing; I'm paying a lot of money for this cruise. And lying around on a deck chair is fun only an hour maximum, especially if I'm by myself. Also, they have assigned seating, which means I'll at least have a guaranteed place to sit, as opposed to having the waiters stick me at an undesirable location, such as by the entrance or in the back corner, in order to "make room for large groups". In fact, Carnival groups solo passengers together, as opposed to sitting them with pre-existing groups, thus avoiding an awkward situation for the solo passenger. So, my biggest concern, which is having to eat dinner alone, is a non-issue. Plus, there seems to be no stigma attached to eating breakfast alone, and only a slight stigma attached to eating lunch alone. I'll even mitigate the issue further by reading a newspaper or the ship's newsletter while I eat.

Now, the bad:
When I was looking at the photos of cruises, both by both Carnival and passengers, I saw an inordinate number of attractive young women (colloquially known as "hot chicks"). And common sense states that wherever there are hot chicks, there are jerk boyfriends (a.k.a. "douchebags") trying to impress them by harassing an aspie guy sitting alone. Over the years, I learned to stay out of their way and/or fly under their radar. (Hey, one time, I managed to squeeze past a group of tough-looking youths on the sidewalk by saying "hey guys, excuse me", and they actually moved aside just enough to let me pass.) But that was luck, and then again, what kind of cruise is it if all my land-based problems and related worries wind up on the ship with me?

Finally, the ugly:
Same as above, only the said jerks find a way to sweet-talk the security officers into believing that I was harassing them and/or their girlfriends, and getting me kicked off at the next port.

So there you go. Yeah, I may be "overthinking it", but if something happens, I'll be glad I thought this situation over in advance. The best safety tip I can think of for now if I'm being harassed, is to run into the ship's casino that has security cameras everywhere. In the end, it's probably best to just keep muddling forward and start reserving plane tickets, and speak with a security officer the minute I notice someone taking a disliking to me. Remember: I'm cruising solo, so safety precautions are very important.

I would say you are definitely overthinking it, but then I know I would be overthinking it in my own obsessive way if I were the one planning the trip. Heck, the fact that you are even considering going into the clubs alone makes you quite a bit braver than me.

But aside from the clubs, I'm sure you will have no problem fitting in. There are just so many people on one of those ships, and unless people are are either interested in hooking up with you or unnaturally friendly and looking to converse, the odds are they will not notice you any more than they will notice any of the other thousands of people on the ship. In fact, dining is always the most awkward part of cruising for me (even when not alone). And it sounds like you have got that part all figured out. I'd say you'll have a great time.

I am also going on my first ever cruise next week with my family. I am nervous about getting bored but luckily they have a casino and I heard you can usually find a poker game so that should keep me occupied.