Norwegian's Epic makes solo cruising a specialty

One used to be the loneliest number on a cruise ship. During mealtimes, One would be relegated to the misfits' corner of the dining room or seated with families who aired their most intimate details between bites. On shore excursions, One was an outlier, a solitary snorkel in an ocean of multiples. In the top-deck pool, One swam alone. Worst of all, One was forced to pay for Two, despite One's singular status.

But a few months ago, One's fortunes improved with the launch of Norwegian Cruise Line's ship Epic. Unprecedented in the cruising world, the 4,100-passenger liner carved out 128 studios with single-occupancy rates and created an exclusive lounge for soloists.

"The industry needs this," says Sharon Kenner, a travel agent who sailed on Epic in September with friends and family. "Solo travelers can now cruise and enjoy the experience without having to be punished for being single. The singles are being celebrated." Rejoice, indeed.

WHAT TO EXPECT

No matter how outgoing your personality and independent your spirit, solo cruising is challenging. You often feel like the dateless guest at a wedding or the party crasher. Then there's the added insult of having to pay up to twice as much for the same experience as those boarding as Noah's pairs.

"Before this, cruising was too expensive, unless there was a one-day sale or a repositioning cruise," says Pete Balmain, a Texan who sailed aboard Epic's inaugural Eastern Caribbean voyage in July and returned for the seven-night western itinerary less than two months later. He adds, "I'd go hang out at dinnertime just to be with people."

You're not alone, Pete. On the three cruises I'd previously sailed solo, I made some acquaintances - a honeymooning couple from Atlanta, a pair of boozy guys from Florida - but the bonds were short-lived.

FINDING FRIENDS

But on the Epic, the discomfort of traveling alone receded as quickly as the Miami shoreline. Shortly after setting sail, I already had an engagement, the Solo Traveler Gathering in the 11th-floor Living Room lounge. "Just because you're single doesn't mean you have to be alone," said Natalie, one of the crew members who facilitated the daily social hour. "You can meet someone and maybe join them for dinner or a show."

On the first night, I met a small assembly of passengers who rattled off their names. For the scheduled hour, we sat around a long white table as our host, Aisha, passed around glasses of Champagne, which helped release the conversational floodwaters. A scrawled message on a large pad of paper invited solo travelers and singles to make themselves at home in the Living Room and warned children to find another fort. As I noticed throughout the week, however, the message was largely ignored - to reclaim the space for the solos, management planned to install locks operable only by studio card keys.

"It's not a swinging club, and it's not a Match.com," said Klaus Lugmaier, the cruise line's fleet hotel director. "It's like a ship within a ship for solo travelers."

True to the freestyle form of cruising touted by NCL, the meetings were informal affairs. The number of socialites shrank or expanded depending on the ship's whereabouts. A core group, however, never skipped out. For us, the hour wasn't a time-filler but a central event. Though the conversation hardly waned, Aisha occasionally organized games to keep us further amused.

Before parting ways for dinner or a show, we would exchange plans, extending an invitation to anyone interested in being a plus-one or two. "It's like summer camp. You always make summer camp friends," Pete said. "It's the same no matter how old you are."

THE SINGLE STUDIO

The 100-square-foot stateroom feels like the private lounge of a Scandinavian DJ, with padded white walls, an inside porthole glowing purple, and mood lighting that bathed the room in soft reds, blues and whites. Care to dance with myself? Some guests complained about the tightness, wondering whether the staff could remove one half of the full-size bed. "I have hips," said Cheryl, a studio occupant, "and they need to fit between the bed and the dresser. Just give me nine more inches." But I enjoyed the snugness.

IF YOU GO

COST Norwegian Cruise Line's new ship, Epic, offers 128 studios for solo travelers. Cabins start at $909 per person for the week, plus up to $175 in taxes and fees.

SAILS Through early spring, the ship departs from Miami and alternates between two seven-night itineraries in the Caribbean: western (Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras) and eastern (St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Nassau in the Bahamas). In May, the ship leaves for Europe and spends the summer sailing the Western Mediterranean.

INFO 866-234-7350, epic.ncl.com