Solo Cruise Prices online with Vacations to Go

Thank You to Vacations to Go 

Finally a web site that you can search solo prices on many sailings!


There are several other sites that allow you to search for solo prices but the process is time consuming.   When I search for a trip longer than 14 days I would check EVERY listing that 'might' be affordable at a 200% solo supplement

Even then some cruise lines charge even more for a solo cabin and a few charge less than 200%.
Unless you price every sailing that might interest you, prices are not available.

I have been told by one agent to search for what I wanted and she would book it for me!
Another told me there were too many sailings on my list, to let him know when I was closer to the sailing date!

I rant about the poor treatment solo travelers often receive.   What yearly travel budget qualifies a solo traveler for the same treatment as others?   

Now I can search many sailings for solo pricing on
Vacations to Go.   

An example:

16594
17 nights departing September 4, 2015 on
Brochure Inside $2,600 Our Inside $2,600 You Save 0%	Brochure Balcony $9,454 Our Balcony $9,454 You Save 0%
Brochure Suite $9,454 Our Suite $9,454 You Save 0%
Click for additional rates: Singles Rates
The prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. They include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees.
ITINERARY
DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE   DEPART Fri Sep 4 Sydney, Australia 4:00pm Sat Sep 5 At Sea Sun Sep 6 Brisbane, Australia 8:00am 6:00pm Mon Sep 7 At Sea Tue Sep 8 At Sea Wed Sep 9 Port Douglas, Australia 7:00am 5:00pm Thu Sep 10 At Sea Fri Sep 11 At Sea Sat Sep 12 Darwin, Australia 10:00am 6:00pm Sun Sep 13 Kimberley Coast, Australia (Cruising) 2:00pm 6:00pm Mon Sep 14 Broome, Australia Noon 11:59pm Tue Sep 15 At Sea Wed Sep 16 At Sea Thu Sep 17 Lombok, Indonesia 7:00am 5:00pm Fri Sep 18 At Sea Sat Sep 19 At Sea Sun Sep 20 Geraldton, Australia 10:00am 5:00pm Mon Sep 21 Perth (Fremantle), Australia 6:00am

800-338-4962

If the solo price is available online you will see the highlighted area above.
click on this link and obtain solo pricing.

16594
17 nights departing September 4, 2015 on
Brochure Balcony $9,454 Our Balcony $9,454 Single Balcony $18,908 Single Supplement 100%	Brochure Suite $9,454 Our Suite $9,454 Single Suite $18,908 Single Supplement 100%
Prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, except for single-occupancy rates shown in yellow highlights. Prices include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees. This sailing is not one of Vacations To Go's hosted singles sailings. More about Single Supplements Perhaps most travelers do first select a destination and then select a cruise.      My goal is to travel long term (20 days or longer) and to travel often 4 months each year.     So pricing is more important than amenities.    Next I shall ask Mr Fox (chairman and ceo) at Vacations to go) for a search that allows you to enter the number of days you wish to travel and a price range! Thank you again Mr Fox, i shall be calling with my next 3 week sail. above screen shots were done on June 22, 2015.  Prices can and will change at ANY time .   Call Vacations to go for details on any of their offerings.

Eat with a Local when you Solo Travel

EatWith  another way to meet locals 
for a solo traveler

I heard about this company more than a year ago and since then their web site states they have expanded to more than 150 cities!  Wow.

For a recent trip I searched the Gowith.com site for an opportunity to meet locals in the cities I would be visiting and an alternative for a solo diner.

I could choose from a full meal to 'tea' at a greater London location.
My problem was scheduling and planning ahead so this adventure is still on my 'list'.

Today's search for London as an example gave me an opportunity to share a meal offering everything from British fare to Indonesian.   My own town, Atlanta, offered a chicken cooking class.    Great opportunities.

What a great way to learn about a city!

Have you tried Eat With?

What I learned about Solo Travel in Istanbul

Solo Travel Surprises after 25 years


I accepted an offer to participate in tours offered by Walks of Turkey when they launched their new tour company this year.

I have traveled solo for years but nothing prepared me for the challenges of Istanbul.
I read the entire Lonely Planet book on Istanbul, had a map of Istanbul, arranged for a car to pick me up at the airport and selected a hotel centrally located that had a restaurant.  Everything was planned.

First surprise was the size of the Istanbul airport.  It is massive but easy to negotiate.
Next the car service driver: no sign with my my name on it.  There were hundreds of drivers and people waiting outside the arrivals exit.   Had always wanted to have a driver waiting for me at the airport.  Alas, no driver.  
The helpful information point staff, called my hotel to find out 'the driver is stuck in traffic'.  
So off to take a cab.

Negotiating the city:
The maps had NO street names other than the one or two main streets
The streets have no street signs and the one I did find did not match the map!

I was told later this is common in Istanbul.

Turkish is not a simple language and with only a few days before traveling to Istanbul I didn't even try to learn the typical:  can you tell me how to find........... or  which metro takes me to ...............where is the bathroom?...................and many other simple comments.

Surprise:  NO SIGNS IN ENGLISH
VERY FEW PEOPLE SPOKE ENGLISH OR ITALIAN, my only languages
I don't expect the world to speak English but I have found in 'tourist' areas there are usually a few signs in English to point me in the right direction.

Shoe shine vendors with an elaborate brass stand that folds up.

Never found the tourist office:  I didn't see a location at the airport so I thought I would start my quest when I arrived in town.   The one office I found was a kiosh that for 2 days pointed me to the river instead of the main square I was trying to find.   The last day I found the train station (which should have housed the tourist office) but it was too late to get detailed instructions on how to take the ferries.

So as I do in every city, I walked.  I walked across the bridge several times so I would not have to negotiate the subway.  Not the actual trains, but how to buy a ticket from a machine!   I walked up the vertical streets where the sidewalk was actually a staircase.  I walked. And the last afternoon I found the main street I had searched for!   Wow!  I think everyone under the age of 50 was walking this multi kilometer avenue:  shopping, eating, stopping to chat.   This is where I would have seen modern Istanbul

Safe:  For a few hours I wandered in the older parts of town nearer the monuments.  Again without a map I thought I would find the Bazaar again.   No luck but I did find streets where the locals shopped. I may have been starred at a few times (the only woman without a scarf) but NO one bothered me or even spoke to me.  Eventually I found the water front again.  My guide had told me all the roads go down hill, and this was a great tool for finding my way back to the bridge.

Cats:  There are many 'independent' cats in the city.   People leave food for them and they sit in the sun and nap.   While at the Blue Mosque my group commented on the large group of dogs that seemed to move as a family.  We were told they too were all over the city and usually caused no harm.


This trip was an excellent test for my fall adventure to China.    I was asked in Germany, if I had ever traveled alone before?  Guess I will have to sharpen my skills after all these years on the road solo.