It was the middle of a long winter, I was sick of being cold, and I needed to get away. Like yesterday. Deciding that a quick, easy trip to anywhere warm was in order, I booked a cruise. And because it was spur of the moment, I went solo.
I’m an introvert, and I’ve also done plenty of solo travel before. I’ve wandered around England and Scotland on my own more than once. I’ve negotiated rural Swiss bus routes with pre-school-level French that I’m pretty sure I spoke with a Spanish accent, yet I still got where I needed to go. So I didn’t even flinch at the thought of a solo cruise.
The trip was fine, but in hindsight, I would have done things differently.
Do Introverts Like to Travel? Yes.
Fellow introverts know the truth of our personality trait. We don’t hate people. We still want to be asked to social activities and to celebrate birthdays and to go on girls’ weekends.
We don’t always want to be left on our own. We like some solitude to recharge our social batteries after a party. We’re glad we went to the party (for at least a little bit), but we’re also glad we have the chance to cocoon ourselves in a blanket with a cup of tea, a cat, and a book afterwards.
This yin and yang is no different when we travel. We want to meet people, talk with locals who can give us the inside scoop and show us hidden gems, and immerse ourselves in all that our host culture has to offer.
And then at the end of the day, we want to go back to our hotel, have a quiet dinner, and decompress.
As much as we love cultural interaction, navigating unfamiliar social situations — different languages, different social cues, different everything — can drain our energy more quickly than simply going to our best friend’s birthday bash.
This is why striking a balance between outgoing exploration and reflective recharging is so important when we travel.
Being Social on a Solo Cruise
Striking the right balance was where I went wrong on my cruise.
If unfamiliar situations can drain your social and emotional reserves more quickly than familiar ones, I started my trip in a deficit.
This five-night cruise to the Bahamas was my first time on a ship. Everything from the check-in process to the safety presentation to trying to figure out if I wanted to purchase Wi-Fi access was new.
Was it hard? No. But it was different, there were people everywhere, and it took a lot of energy.
My cruise line also had assigned dinner seating. They took all the solo passengers and put us at tables together. That meant that every night, if I chose the sit-down service, I had to make small talk. With strangers.
I’m a professional communicator. I make my living talking to people and telling stories. I know how to talk to people, and I love to hear your stories. But that doesn’t change the fact that seemingly mindless small talk over dinner, day after day, is one of my worst nightmares.
Finding Solitude on a Solo Cruise
Don’t think I was completely miserable on my trip, though. Despite being on a cruise ship packed with people, I had plenty of chances to get the alone time I craved.
I was somehow upgraded to a cabin with a balcony. I loved, loved, loved it. I now had an incredible view and a little extra space to just sit and stare at the water on my own. I could read my book with a breeze in my hair, and it left me feeling more refreshed than I had in months.
When we docked at a private beach for the day, I enjoyed hours of wandering around on my own. Getting away from the main cabanas and splash pads, I found iguanas and lizards that most people just walked by without noticing.
I dug my toes in the sand and enjoyed the surreal turquoise waters. It was my first time in the Caribbean, and I was surprised by the ocean’s color. I finally realized that the blue-green icing on beach-themed cakes is real and not just some cartoonish creative decision.
I experienced that beach in a different way than everyone else who was swimming with their family or taking constant Instagram photos did. I don’t regret that for an instant.
I’m naturally an early riser, so on board, I took advantage of that by having breakfast by the pool. If you get up before last night’s partygoers are fully functioning again, you have the entire deck to yourself, with just a few crew members for company as they do a bit of last-minute cleaning.
When I’d had enough of those sit-down dinners with strangers, I loaded up a plate at the buffet and ate it in my cabin. I didn’t love this. The food wasn’t as good as what they served in the restaurant, and it did feel like a bit of a low point as I balanced my plate on my knees.
But at that moment, it was the right choice. Sacrificing a bit of luxury for the sake of recharging my social battery was needed.
Balance isn’t always easy, and it sometimes it isn’t pretty. But it is worth the effort.
Is Solo Travel Good for Introverts?
Would I go on a solo cruise, as an introvert, again? In all honesty, probably not.
That’s not to say that you can’t or shouldn’t take a solo cruise yourself. We all like to travel differently, and you might do a better job of balancing solitude and socializing in a way that makes it the ultimate trip.
I know this about myself, though. There were so many times I wished I had someone with me to ease that tinge of anxiety that seemed to lurk just on the edge of my mind for much of the trip. (I’d be lying if I didn’t think about using my IFAR coverage, my reason being “I’ve made a terrible mistake.”)
Those dinners with forced small talk would have been more enjoyable if my partner had been able to come. Conversation comes more naturally to him in those types of situations, and he could have helped me carry that social load. He would have been there for me when I wanted an easy chat; talking to him isn’t hard work.
The theater shows, which were entertaining but sometimes kind of cheesy, would have been more fun with my mom. We could have laughed together. I would have had another person in on the jokes with me.
The occasional, mild guilt I had about not going to more social activities and instead opting to stay in my cabin reading, might have been non-existent with a travel companion. Rather than worrying if I was being antisocial (and wasting my money; I’d paid good money for that cruise), it might have felt more like quality one-on-one time with a friend, even if we were just lounging on the cabin balcony together.
Tips for Introverts Who Love Travel
Solo travel has its ups and downs, regardless of whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert. The pros and cons just happen to be different depending on where you fall on that spectrum.
Even knowing and having experienced the challenges of solo travel as an introvert, I’ll do it again and again. The benefits outweigh the obstacles every time, especially when you know how to plan your trip and balance your energy.
Get more tips in our guide to traveling as an introvert.
