Kiwis are more eager than ever to set sail solo, and one cruise specialist reports that it is women that are the driving the trend.
Our World’s Lindy Christian, says the number of solo cruisers is up an estimated 30% to 40% over the last five years—and she believes New Zealand is seeing similar growth. “It’s driven a lot by women,” says Christian. She attributes the trend to the fact that cruising allows women to travel independently, while still having the safety of a group. “They can still feel independent, but they are not actually on their own. . . they are still part of a group in a quite secure environment.” Cruise lines, too, have seen the trend, and are catering to it with new-build ships, or those being renovated, featuring solo cabins, and some with areas dedicated to solo travellers.
. . . Solo Options
Christian says a number of key cruise lines now have a whole selection of cruises where there’s no solo supplement. “Ponant is a great one for offering itineraries with no solo supplement; Antarctica, Europe, you name it, they’ve got lots and lots of trips.” She also highlights Paul Gauguin’s Aurora in Tahiti, which she says also has some great polar deals, and Uniworld on the rivers, for agents looking for solo deals. All of these are smaller cruise lines, which are recommended for solo travellers, as Christian says fewer passengers means solo travellers are more likely to get to know other people onboard, and the crew gets to know passengers better. “They [crew] often play a large part in making sure solo passengers are looked after.” Christian says many of these women opting to go it alone are experienced travellers happy to cruise the Mediterranean, the Pacific, Asia and even Antarctica. “You get quite a lot of solo travellers on Antarctic cruises,” she adds.
