DINING TIPS FOR A SOLO CRUISE
HOW TO DINE ON A CRUISE SHIP
EATING ALONE IS HARD
Everybody has to eat. We do it every day, several times a day.
What is so difficult about that?
Well for most people not a lot. Many people barely think about it.
But if you read online posts in solo Facebook groups, chat rooms and other types of social media, especially those dedicated to solo cruises and travellers, you will see that one of the biggest fears and therefore biggest road blocks that stops people travelling on their own is the thought of eating alone on a solo cruise.
So after years of cruising by myself, here are my dining tips for a solo cruise.
DIETARY REQUIREMENTS
This article is not really about dietary requirements on cruise ships, although that could be a significant barrier for some people when travelling.
What I will say is that most cruise lines these days recognise that some of the thousands of passengers on board their ships each week will have restrictions on what they choose to eat, or perhaps can only eat for medical reasons.
Its not something that is a particular issue for me, but I do enjoy eating vegetarian, or even the odd vegan meal. That is barely classed as a dietary requirement these days. I would expect to find at least one option on any menu.
The buffet of course has even more choice.
On my recent cruise, aboard Marella Voyager, a couple of my new solo friends were Gluten Free. The menu was marked with all the foods that complied.
They were able to eat something every night, however I think in their case the choices of things they found appetising were sometimes limited.
They got around it by checking the menus beforehand and choosing restaurants that had something they both liked and could eat that night.
I will say that every night the first question the waiters asked was if anyone had any dietary requirements. Its something they consider as a matter of course.
For people with severe food allergies there was even the possibility to pre-book a specific meal. If that affects you make sure you ask on board.
EATING ALONE AS A SOLO CRUISER
On my first cruise back in 2007, aboard Island Escape, I ate at the buffet, on my own, for every meal. In fact I did the same for my next few cruises.
For breakfast that was not much of an issue. Its generally a scramble in the morning as people get ready for their days ashore and shore excursions.
Easy to hide in a crowd.
And in the evening? Well the buffet is always busy. No one would notice me hiding in a corner by myself.
The food is always very nice.
I would be fuelled and off to enjoy the rest of the night with hardly anyone noticing that I had been sat there alone.
It does get tricky when you leave your seat for any reason (a drink, seconds, dessert) and come back to find your table has been cleared away by the over efficient wait staff.
I’ve yet to find a satisfactory solution to this problem of eating alone on a cruise ship, even after 30 solo cruises.
The best option seems to be to leave a book or magazine with your plates. Nothing valuable. Something to mark your table as still active!
Nice as a buffet is, and I still enjoy them when I’m in a rush, I tend to pile my plate with a mix of all sorts, because there is so much choice.
Its not exactly the curated plate of food you would expect in a nice restaurant at home.
As a solo cruiser I would urge you to get over your fear and look beyond the buffet.
THE MAIN DINING ROOM
On my fourth cruise, a good few years ago now, there was still the option of the buffet.
However this cruise ship, the Thomson Destiny if you remember it, had formal dining times and fixed seating in the restaurants.
Although I could have chosen the buffet here I had an allocated table in the main dining room. So off I went.
I was one of a table of eight. The other seven people were a mixture of solos, sisters, friends. Generally not couples.
It was a revelation!
The three and four course meals were amazing. Properly designed meals. No piling up any old concoction from the buffet.
Starters, mains and desserts. Delicious.
But even more of a revelation was dining with a group of people in the same boat (no pun intended!) as me. I made cruise friends too. I’m still in touch with some of them years later.
By my fourth cruise I had learned that seven days is not enough and I was the only one of the group cruising for two weeks. But in week two I got a different mix of people, similarly “solo”, who were just as much fun to hang around with.
It turns out that not eating alone also meant I didn’t feel like a solo cruiser any more. I made friends to go to the shows with and to say hello to around the ship and by the pool.
Eating became the most social part of my cruise.
CHOOSING A TABLE
Table for one
Now for some people the thought of eating with strangers on a solo cruise is worse than eating alone.
You can still go to the main dining room and ask for a table for one. I still do that on many a cruise. Sometimes its nice to eat at your own pace.
However I rarely miss my multi course dinners on a cruise ship these days.
The solos table
If there is a solos group that is a great way to share a table with friends, who you might also spend time with around the ship with.
A lot of cruise lines these days have solos meet ups. Try them. If the group is not for you, you don’t have to stay with them. However you might just find a bunch of new friends.
In 2024 I sailed on Marella Explorer 2 and ten of us solos met every night for dinner.
A few months later on my Marella Discovery cruise the solos group was just a different age group to myself. Not for me, but I didn’t mind eating alone in that situation.
For my third cruise of the year on Royal Princess there wasn’t really a solos group, so I had no choice to go it alone, but even then I wasn’t on my own entirely.
There are video blogs from these cruises on my Gary Travels YouTube channel (@gary_travels) if you want to see how it works and also lots of pictures of my food!!
One of my top tips for dining on a solo cruise is to find other solos to share the experience with. They’ll often be just as glad of the company as you are.
A sharing table
There is often a choice to ask for a sharing table.
This is often popular at busy times, when tables for one (or two) are at a premium, but they can often seat people immediately if they are willing to share.
And lots of people choose to share, as much as the solos group lets solos make new friends, many other people want to make new cruise buddies too.
Much like the solos I’ve made some long lasting good friends just by sharing a table at dinner. I find cruisers are often happy to talk and really don’t care that you’re on your own. In fact some people will look out for you all the more because of that.
It always pays to ask.
TIPS FOR SOLO CRUISE DINING
So here’s the thing.
If you really want to cruise as a solo, but you’re not sure about dining alone, there are a few tips I’d give you.
- Choose the restaurant you’d most like to eat in – that may be the buffet, the main dining room, or nowadays a lot of cruise ships have multiple restaurant choices.
Check out my post about dining on Celebrity Beyond for ideas about that.
Its your cruise. Enjoy what you want to do.
- If there is a solos group ask if anyone wants to join you for dinner there.
Again on Marella Voyager there were over 25 solos. I went to dinner with groups from 3 to 10 in size and to every different included dining room on the ship at some point.
- Ask for a sharing table if you can’t find anyone to share with. Don’t think you can only mix with solos on a cruise. I’ve always found cruisers generally love someone new to chat to on a ship.
- If you’re worried about not fitting in I always think a good ice breaker is to ask people what they did that day.
They’ll either have done the same as you, in which case you can compare notes, or they’ve done something different so you have two different days to compare.
I’ve yet to meet anyone on a ship who had nothing interesting to say.
- If you really feel uncomfortable on your table for one, take a book with you or scroll through the photos on your phone that you took that day.
It will pass the time between courses.
I’ve been on more than a few ships where my table was so close to those next to me its been like sharing a table as we chatted anyway.
JUST DO IT!
Solo travel is not easy.
It gets easier the more you do it, but even then you’ll have you still worry about stuff.
But here’s the thing. If you have plucked up the courage to book a solo cruise you have already done the hardest part.
After all that you might as well enjoy it to the best of your ability and the food is often quoted as being one of the best experiences on a cruise ship.
Over the years I’ve been going on cruises the food and dining options have evolved to be bigger and better than ever as cruise lines actively look for new ways to improve their cruise offerings.
In fact eating is now one of the highlights of my cruise.
I can’t go back in time to share my solo cruise dining tips with that young guy hiding in the buffet on Island Escape. I’d tell him to get out and enjoy all the ship has to offer.
But I can tell you!!
Bon appetite!!
