Last week on BBC Four I was lucky enough to catch a re-run of a documentary made in 2009 of actress Liz Smith's retirement cruise. At the age of 87years she had decided to take a well deserved holiday and had chosen a cruise.
Liz famous for her role as Nana in The Royle Family travelled on a cruise around the Adriatic on the Hebridean Spirit, as much as it was lovely to watch the scenery and admire the ship and all it had to offer what I found most interesting was the story of Liz and the build up to her cruise and all the thoughts she had whilst on board as a single traveller.
So many people who are on their own must have the same thoughts as Liz, she asked all her friends at the retirement flats where she lives for advice before booking her cruise and had discounted some cruises as she really just wanted peace and quiet. We then followed her on her shopping outing to buy a selection of clothes ( she went to Harrods), obviously for most of us that wouldnt be an option.
Although she had a lady with her filming you could sense the nervousness of her being on her own and she even commented that nobody would want to talk to her. This didnt last for long though as she soon found herself entering into conversation with the guests on board and not feeling alone at all. Liz had chosen to cruise on a small ship so of course there is a more intimate atmosphere and therefore in alot of ways it is easier for everyone to get along, but I have many single travellers who tell me similar stories to Liz's and many people who have made friends on cruises and continue to cruise with them after many years.
So I think the moral to this story is your never too young or old to travel alone and make great friends, so nobody should ever be scared of trying. If Liz can do it at the age of 87 then none of us should be afraid to either.
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