ABCDE Travel sunday, september 19, 2010


IMPULSIVE TRAVELER


Moonlight on the water A stately overnight cruise on Lake Champlain. F6


Is cramming more seats onto planes okay if it means cheaper fares?”


Vote now, and join our live chat Monday at noon for more discussion: washingtonpost.com/travel.


BED CHECK


Irish ayes Thumbs up on a Virginia B&B with touches of the Emerald Isle. F3


FALLANDWINTERCRUISES Take a bow


For solo travelers, two’s a crowd but 4,100 is just right


BY ANDREA SACHS O


neusedtobetheloneliestnum- ber on a cruise ship. During mealtimes, One would be rele- gated to the misfits’ corner of the dining roomor seatedwith


families who aired their most intimate details between bites. On shore excur- sions,Onewas an outlier, a solitary snor- kel in an ocean of multiples. In the top- deck pool, One swamalone.Worst of all, One was forced to pay for Two, despite One’s singular status. But a few months ago, One’s fortunes


substantially improved. The reason: the launch of Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship Epic,which pays some long-overdue attention to solo travelers. Unprecedent- ed in the cruising world, the 4,100-pas- senger boat carved out 128 studios with single-occupancy rates and created an exclusive lounge for soloists, eliminating the creepy factor of cozying up to unsus- pecting strangers. “The industry needs this,” said Sharon


Kenner, a travel agentwho sailed on Epic earlier thismonthwith friends and fami- ly. “Solo travelers can now cruise and enjoy the experiencewithouthavingtobe punished for being single.The singles are being celebrated.”


single cruise continued on F4 F EZ


For Mom’s birthday, we had a floating party of 22


BY AIMEE TALENTINO SANDERS T ILLUSTRATIONS BY MELINDA BECK FOR THE WASHINGTON POST


he cruise was my mother’s brilliant idea. Mom doesn’t turn 70 until


Nov. 9, but she wanted to celebrate this milestone with


the whole family. So we had to do something before the grandkids went back to school. The questionwas:Where could we go and what could we do with 22 people? (That would be Mom, her four adult children and our spouses, and 13 grandchildren ranging in age from 4 to 22.) You have to admit, that’s a lot of people. We weighed the options: We could


rent a huge beach house, go to an expensive resort or have a staycation here in the Washington area. But then Momsaid: “What if I took everyone on a cruise? We won’t have to cook, clean or shop for food. And there’s plenty of entertainment on the ship.” It seemed perfect, my brothers and I


agreed. Plus, apart from Mom, none of us had ever been on a cruise, so it would be a real adventure. To say the least. I have to admit that the idea of 22


family cruise continued on F5


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