By Lisa Tsering

Solo travel is my vibe. But when a recent ankle injury forced me to reconsider the type of trip I could realistically handle, I realized I’d have to dial things way back.

In normal circumstances, I’d be planning a vacation more along the lines of some of my most beloved previous trips — hiking the Grand Balcon Nord solo in the French Alps, camping in a tiger reserve in Kerala, or soaking in an onsen in Kinosaki, a 1,300-year-old spa town in Japan.

Cruising? That’s boring, I thought. Floating petri dish, annoying crowds, booze-fueled fights: I know what the haters say. But I was intrigued by the fact that a ship just happened to be leaving from San Francisco’s Pier 27, sailing for 10 days down the so-called Mexican Riviera, just when I had a gap in my schedule. For a first-time cruiser based in the Bay Area, it turned out to be the perfect trip.

My injured ankle meant that I had to keep it simple. Instead of stressing about packing light and limping through airports, I could flop down on a lounge chair with a mocktail, contemplate vast blue vistas, and read as many spy novels as I wanted. Does that sound boring? That's kind of the whole point. If mindless relaxation is the mood you're after, I'm here to tell you that you have my permission. Here are answers to some questions I had as a cruise virgin.

1. Solo cruising? Isn’t it lonely?

If you’re an experienced solo traveler, you already know how to keep yourself engaged, and you know how gratifying it is to wake up when you want, eat when and where you want, and nerd out over your obscure places that a companion might not appreciate (flashback to the Musée Carnavalet in Paris or Bangkok’s wonderfully creepy Siriraj Forensic Museum). Occasionally, there are lonely moments, but in my experience they’re rare – and they even provide an opportunity for growth.

The ship I was on, the Crown Princess, had more than 3,000 passengers on its 19 decks, and although I sometimes chose to dine alone, I usually ate dinner at shared tables in its three main dining rooms, each named for a different Renaissance painter. Some of my fellow diners were cool and interesting, while others gave me the impression that cruising was their main personality trait, but overall it was a fun, sociable environment. Shore excursions, trivia events, and casino table games ($6 blackjack!) can also be a great way to meet people.

Every evening, there was a solo cruisers’ get-together and an LGBTQ+ meetup, and there was even a daily 12-step meeting, so I was able to spend quality time with my fellow sober folks, a huge plus.

It turned out that my vacation was in line with current trends. Amid an overall increase in cruise travel, nearly 10 percent of cruisers are solo, according to the latest report on the state of the industry from the Cruise Lines International Association. And as a first-time cruiser, I had plenty of company: like me, 27 percent of cruisers over the past two years are new to cruising, an increase of 12 percent.

2. Are solo cruising and singles cruising the same thing?

“Singles” cruising can lean more toward hooking up, so no, not the same thing. I’m happily married, anyway.

3. How’s the food?

Food was the absolute high point of the cruise. On my ship, I feasted on four- and five-course meals every night, on dishes like seared garlic prawns with basil-tomato fondue; kale Caesar salad with chickpea croutons; French onion soup that quite seriously rivaled the stuff in France; seared diver scallops with vermouth and browned-butter sauce; cocoa-spiced pork tenderloin over green chili-sweet potato mash; seared salmon with oven-roasted tomatoes; Singapore-style beef satay; and throwbacks like beef Wellington and baked Alaska, all included in the price.

The menus were also vegetarian-friendly, with dishes like iced peach Bellini soup and wild mushroom lasagna with cashew ricotta and garlic cream. A dedicated vegan menu got raves from my tablemates as well.

The buffet was uninspired (I call it Sizzler of the Seas), so I avoided it as much as possible. Instead, for lunches and snacks, I used a Princess feature called OceanNow that tracked me on an AirTag-like medallion, allowing me to order food and drinks to be delivered wherever I was on the ship.

4. Isn’t cruising solo expensive?

Sometimes. In my case, since most of the Princess ships don’t offer solo cabins, I did splurge on a solo supplement for a spacious queen-sized space, furnished with a luxuriously comfy bed, flat-screen TV, fridge, and coffee and tea setup. Weighed with the convenience of a San Francisco departure and the days I could get off work, it was worth it to me. I’ve read that Norwegian and Virgin Voyages roll out the red carpet for solo cruisers, with more affordable solo cabins.

5. Will I have to dress up?

The formal nights on the cruise are pretty much open to interpretation. I saw folks in evening gowns and tuxedos, and others sporting Fetterman-chic, and it was all good. I wore a nice blouse, dark jeans, and nice flats on those evenings.

6. How’s the entertainment?

I have to be honest here — spoiled by the Bay Area’s endless entertainment options, I found the production shows on my ship to be pretty sad, and the magician downright unamazing. I was able to tolerate a standup comic’s dad jokes for only five minutes before I noped out, but fellow cruisers I spoke to gave high marks to the DJ at Skywalkers Nightclub on deck 18 overlooking the ocean.

Before I took this trip, I had occasionally glimpsed the behemoth ships docked at the Embarcadero along San Francisco Bay, but I mistakenly assumed that one had to drive down to Los Angeles to cruise. The Princess and Carnival lines call San Francisco a home port, according to Eric Young, a spokesperson for the Port of San Francisco, while ships leaving from the city tend to travel to Hawaii, Mexico, Alaska, or other California ports.

Young explained that the overall number of passengers leaving San Francisco is at an all time high of nearly 391,000 in 2023, up 18 percent over the year before — and based on the food and creature comforts on this last trip, I think I’ll be adding to that statistic again in the near future.

(Food and ship photos courtesy Princess Cruises)