I was travelling alone and chose the cruise because of the ports visited. The embarkation was quick and easy, with lunch in the Windjammer self-service café. I went down to meet people in the Dog and Duck pub but only talked to a few of the group. Next morning was the Meet and Mingle arranged by the roll call. This is did not work for a number of reasons. First the time was changed to 9.30 instead of 11.00 so we did not interfere with the bingo session at 11.00. The seating was in 4-6 round a table and again you could only to talk to a few people. There was no party atmosphere! The activities manager Jamie came and he introduced a few people with the mike, but this should have been passed round so people could introduce themselves by their username and real name. He rushed on to the raffle and rushed out to the next thing. There was a lunch for solo travellers at 12.00, and 14 women turned up. The waiter kept asking how big was our group, didn't seem to understand we weren't a group. There was a get together for solo travellers every day in the Schooner Bar at 5.00, but this clashed with the quiz which was on every day at the same time. I went one day and no one turned up.

The cruise really suits couples (especially those with anniversaries and special birthdays) and big family groups. There were three dining rooms Mozart, Strauss, and Vivaldi. All well decorated with a variety of tables in different sizes. I always was ready to share and met a lot of very interesting and nice people, much better than eating alone. Entertainment again variable - just above holiday camp level. Best acts were Zoots (60's tribute band) and The Bee Gees (good tribute group). There were two nights when the staff entertained on the Promenade Bridge. One night was the 70's with YMCA being the highlight, and Brit Pop (which I gave up on after 15 minutes though I was told it got better.) Wifi very expensive at 30 dollars for 1 hour. I only booked two excursions with the ship - Copenhagen and Bruges. Both good.

A lot of people did their own thing using a shuttle bus or a HOHO bus. St Petersburg is the exception as you must use a recognised tour company or have your own visa. I used a Russian company called Alla tours, which were excellent. I found that NCL Epic was better organized for solo travellers.