At Brand g, we have a number of guests who travel by themselves – either because they’re currently single, because their partner can’t go with them, or because they’re impossible.
Kidding! Our guests are, as a whole, quite relaxed and easy-going, and our single travelers are certainly no exception. We wondered what it felt like for them to travel solo on Brand g trips, so we sat two of our frequent guests down for a chat.
No cocktails were harmed in the making of this interview.
ERIC:
How have you found the Brand g guests? Friendly? Welcoming? Big, cliquey bitches?
SOLO TRAVELER TODD:
I’ve been a Brand g solo traveler since their very first trip. For the most part, the guests are extremely friendly and welcoming, which is why I continue to travel with them. There is always the rare occasion where a group of friends traveling together may not want to expand their circle, but my attitude is “their loss”.
SOLO TRAVELER MO:
The guests are, by far, extremely friendly and welcoming.
ERIC:
Have you had any experiences where the Brand g staff has gone out of their way to make you feel more comfortable as a solo traveler? (This does not include Cruise Director Johnathon entertaining you privately in his cabin, which we keep reminding him is unnecessary.)
SOLO TRAVELER MO:
MANY.
SOLO TRAVELER TODD:
One of the reasons I continue to travel with Brand g IS their staff! Over the years I’ve become friends with Jeff (and Troy), Brian and Nick, having known them from their previous travel companies. I so look forward to seeing them on the trips. I’ve only traveled with Johnathon once, and he never offered private entertainment. What was I doing wrong? ?
ERIC:
Johnathon has informed me that he’s currently on a monastic regimen so as to be ready to rectify this oversight on your next trip.
ERIC:
So, what has your experience been with paying single supplements? Have you found them to be fairly priced? Or do you say, “Jesus, you could at least buy me dinner first”?
SOLO TRAVELER TODD:
Fortunately, I’ve always been matched with another solo traveler, so I’ve never had to pay for a single supplement. This was before the “Care to Share?” FB group was started. Because Jeff and Brian know me and that I’m “maintenance-free”, they’ve been able to point me in the direction of other solo travelers with similar qualities. I realize that this is something that is not commonly done, so I guess it’s a further example of the staff going out of their way. I have joined the Care to Share page for a 2022 trip, but so far, no luck. I guess it’s time to put my name out there again!
SOLO TRAVELER MO:
I love the fact that a single supplement doesn’t automatically mean I pay double.
ERIC:
To clarify Mo’s comment, the single supplement varies across different trips. It can range from 25%-100% (the only trips requiring a full 100% single supplement are those involving land – hotels – only). As a bonus, occasionally a ship will offer one or two single-occupancy cabins, which can make the trip identically priced to that of someone sharing a cabin. But you have to act fast, because these get snapped up like lip filler at a Real Housewives reunion.
ERIC:
Were you intimidated the first time you walked up to a table on a cruise and asked if you could sit with strangers? I was. (In 2016, before I went to work for the company, my husband and I won a Brand g cruise, and we didn’t know a soul on the trip. That first moment of walking up to a table to sit with people we didn’t know felt like the grade school cafeteria all over again…but fortunately, that changed instantly.)
SOLO TRAVELER TODD:
Definitely not!
SOLO TRAVELER MO:
I found that more likely than not, before you ask to sit at a table, you are invited to do so.
ERIC:
Do you travel with friends on Brand g trips? If so, how frequently? Occasionally/almost always/always/only when there’s a gun to your head?
SOLO TRAVELER MO:
I always travel with friends.
ERIC:
Well, smell you, Mr. Popular. How about you, Todd?
SOLO TRAVELER TODD:
I haven’t done one with friends yet. Our schedules/travel interests haven’t aligned. I do run into friends on trips that I have met on previous trips, though!
ERIC:
Have you ever shared a room with a friend or been matched with a roommate?
SOLO TRAVELER MO:
Yes, I have.
SOLO TRAVELER TODD:
Having shared with relative strangers numerous times, I’m happy to report that I’ve never had a bad experience, be it a snorer, a complainer/whiner, a man-whore, one who was overly sexually aggressive or any of the other possible nightmares.
ERIC:
Clearly, you haven’t roomed with Johnathon. Are any of the guests you travel or meet up with friends you’ve made from other Brand g trips?
SOLO TRAVELER TODD:
I’ve kept in touch with several folks I’ve met on Brand g trips, but as far as I can recall, have never intentionally traveled with them again.
SOLO TRAVELER MO:
Yes. I have maintained some good friendships with others I have met on Brand g vacations and ended up traveling with them again and again. Mind you, I’ll have been on 15 trips (including the ones booked for 2022), so I’ve had a lot of opportunities to meet people I click with.
ERIC:
Or maybe you’re just really friendly. (Clears throat) Last question: Do you prefer the bigger, 150 person cruises or the smaller, 40-person trips? And why?
SOLO TRAVELER MO:
I like both. They are just very different experiences. Both excellent ones.
SOLO TRAVELER TODD:
I honestly have no preference. I enjoy the riverboat cruises, cruises on the larger sailing ships (like the Royal Clipper) as well as the more intimate trips such as the Ireland land tour in 2019 or the upcoming Peru trip. Obviously, you get to know your fellow travelers better on the 40-person trips than the 150. I guess it all depends on the destination. I also assume that it may be easier to find another solo traveler on the larger cruises…?
ERIC:
Johnathon says he’s available.
