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This was my second cruise aboard the Solstice, a ship full of art and beautifully managed in terms of cleanliness, service, food and safety. I booked through Celebrity and enjoyed the benefits of airport transfer to the ship, early boarding, in addition to a great bargain on the flight to Barcelona.
It's disappointing that Celebrity does not offer to singles an incentive to travel with them. I have no interest in 'hooking up' or sharing my personal space with someone else. Accordingly, I am required to pay twice the fare, and I find this not only punitive for my consumption on the ship (other than a room based on double occupancy) but also discriminatory based on my personal status in life.
That said, I was fortunate to find a dear friend who was willing to accompany me on this cruise, at my expense. To be clear, I paid her fare for the cruise, and she paid for her other expenses to and from the departure port and on-board and shore costs. For me, the cost was very close to what I would have paid had I travelled alone; the benefit to me was to travel with a very good friend to share the experience, something I had notably missed on my first cruise.
***SIDEBAR*** A learning experience from my first cruise: On my cruise through the Western Caribbean, our first stop was Grand Cayman. I purchased the Shore Excursion package for the glass-bottom boat tour for $62US to see the tropical fish, nautical wrecks and coral reefs. Sounded gorgeous.
The boat tour departure point was located about three city-blocks equivalent from the pier, and so there was no transportation provided. I and the others who had purchased this package found our way to the tour's office, and sat in the lounge waiting for the boat to return, discharge its previous passengers, and wait for us to board.
My idle mind scanned the room and centred on the price list for the tours offered by this business. The tour we were scheduled to take was listed at $12.50 US. We walked back to the pier after this tour.
Without further detail, my msg to you is evident. You be the judge.
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