I love to cruise, but have recently been widowed. I resent paying double for a cabin and discovered that N.C.L. sometimes does not charge double for solo travelers. My late wife and I were Diamond Plus members on Royal Caribbean with thirty five cruises, but now I resent paying two hundred percent for a cruise I booked a last minute inside guarantee cabin and had a wonderful time. N.C.L. provided an employee to meet with solo travelers each night and many of us went to dinner and shows together. Jojo, our N.C.L. rep, made dinner and show reservations for us and brought us to the solo lounge each night where we met other solo travelers.

Harvest Caye, the new private island, is beautiful, but I was surprised to learn that the food on the island is not free as it is on other private islands. Fortunately the ship is docked on the island and you can easily return to the ship for lunch. There was plenty of room in my cabin for a single traveler and the ship is quite attractive. People often complain about the food, but I found the food and service to be really good. There are so many choices of restaurants that you can't possibly get bored. Having been to most of these ports on many trips I did not take advantage of any tours. I just walked around on my own, although one of the women solo travelers was leery about going off the ship in Roatan and asked to come with me.

In the past year since my wife died I have been on on six N.C.L. cruises since they offer the best deal for solo travelers. I am not giving up on Royal Caribbean for I am leaving this week for a transatlantic cruise on Freedom of the Seas. Even though I had to pay two hundred percent, the double price was still reasonable.