Two long-time friends who usually holiday alone put a big question to the test: can two committed solo travellers share a cruise without driving each other mad? Rob and Julie boarded the Sun Princess in Barcelona for a seven-day Western Mediterranean run to Rome, a port-a-day itinerary with no sea days, calling at Mallorca, Marseille, Genoa, the French Riviera, Corsica and La Spezia.
The ship itself is a floating small city: 21 decks, 16 restaurants, 15 bars and around 4,566 passengers. Both writers were struck by how much easier cruising has become since their last Princess trip in 2008. The Princess app handles shore excursion bookings, specialty restaurant reservations and food-and-drink ordering from almost anywhere on board, while the wearable Medallion doubles as your cabin key and onboard payment device.
Their verdict on travelling as a pair: the flexibility is the whole point. Julie hit the gym and the Camargue wetlands while Rob cycled Marseille's hills and rode an e-bike up to the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica. They only booked the same excursions when it really mattered — a coastal tour from Genoa taking in Portofino, Rapallo and Santa Margherita, where pastel mansions circle a superyacht-filled harbour. A planned five-village Cinque Terre day unravelled thanks to an Italian rail strike, downgrading to a sweaty 30-degree hike between Monterosso and Vernazza, which Julie sensibly abandoned halfway for a spritz by the harbour.
Onboard standouts included teppanyaki at Umai (with a fiercely contested omelette-catching contest), Spellbound — a close-up magic show staged in a Victorian-style parlour by performers from Hollywood's Magic Castle — and candlelit concerts in The Dome, a glass venue near the bow. A tip that came via a solo-travellers' meet-up on night one: the quiet Wake View Terrace at the stern has an infinity pool most passengers never find.
Practical details matter here. The seven-day sailing starts from $2,010 per person twin share in an interior cabin, and the Premier Package — unlimited drinks, specialty dining, Wi-Fi, reserved theatre seating and shore excursion credits — runs $134 a day. The pair also splurged on Lotus Spa's thermal and hydrotherapy suite, worth it only if you'll use it daily, and sampled the Sanctuary Club, a quieter pool-and-bar area reserved for suite guests.
Their bottom line: a cruise suits friends travelling together precisely because you don't have to do everything side by side. Separate cabins solved the roommate awkwardness, and the endless onboard options mean neither person has to compromise. The one caveat — choose your companion wisely. Over-planners and go-with-the-flow types can coexist on a ship, but only with a healthy sense of humour and a willingness to split up at port.
