SINGLE LIFE

Romantic cruises
to the Caribbean
and Mexico are
still the vacations
of choice for
singles

Many summer single vacationers seek out a
beach.

Most single travelers enjoy cruises on ships such as this.

Hawaii's Mauna Kea beach resort.

CRUISING SOLO

MIKE ROSENBAUM

Staff Writer

T

he "Love Boat" no longer
sails the seas on our TV
screens, except in reruns, but
today's singles are still look-
ing to the ocean for their late
spring/summer travel plans. Cruises
attract the "single-and-looking"
crowd, particularly Caribbean
cruises, as do Club Med and Club Med
look-alike resorts, according to local
travel agents.
The destinations are less impor-
tant than the proximity of other
singles. Rochelle Lieberman of
Gateway Travel Service says singles
want trips "where they can meet
other people easily instead of being on
a sight-seeing trip by themselves with
a car where they're stopping in dif-
ferent hotels every night .. •.
"They really want to go where
they can have a hassle-free vacation.
Just relax."
Maxine Weinberg of Travel Max
says, "The majority of singles that are
looking, of course, are looking for
some places that have people in the
same situation as they are. We still
recommend Club Med and Club Med
knock-off-type hotels as a first choice,
because of the ratio of singles to mar-
ried couples. That (and) certain cruise

lines that offer a lot of interest for
singles, special rates for singles?'
Single vacationers, she adds, are
"not necessarily looking to go swing-
ing, sleeping in a different room every
night, but looking to meet people in
the same situation, single-and-
looking?'
Terry Rotenberg of Gemini Travel
agrees. "One of the things we recom-
mend to singles is cruises. The reason
we do that is because they're never
really alone unless they want to be.
They don't have to dine alone.
Anything that they do, there are other
people around, which I think makes
it a lot more appealing than just go-
ing on a different kind of package, or
out where people might include them
in their activities, or they might not.
Going to a big city like New'York or
Chicago and going out to dinner alone
isn't my idea of anything marvelous
or wonderful?'
In addition to the ports of call, on-
board cruise activities generally in-
clude exercise and aerobics classes,
deck sports, swimming, movies, shop-
ping and after-dinner dancing and
entertainment.
Debbie Alfieri of Travel Rep sees
the singles traveling scene different-
ly. It's the destination which interests
about half of her single clients rather
than the number of singles among

their fellow travelers.
While Alfieri has many clients in-
terested in having "their own good
time:' other travel agents do not. "It's
difficult for somebody single to go
traipsing off to Europe for two or
three weeks at a time without know-
ing anybody," says Weinberg. "So they
tend to get into places where it's more
of a captive audience-type situation
and they . . . can meet other people
because of that situation. The people
aren't wandering here and there, back

which are similar to, though not
necessarily cheaper than, the original
Club Med areas. "They're fashioned
after Club Med," explains Weinberg,
"and offer the same type of programs,
basically a one-price/ pay-up-front
type of situation. These mostly are
located in Jamaica .. .
"I would say organizationally, (the
knock-offs are) not as good as Club
Med, but accommodation-wise (they
are) better than Club Med. Club Med
tends to be a little spartan in their
hotels, physical accommodations."
Both Club Med and the knock-offs
feature similar activities. These vary
"Single vacationers are
with different resorts, but generally
not necessarily looking
include a variety of water sports, ten-
to go swinging . . . but
nis, volleyball, golf — both competi-
looking to meet people in tion and lessons — horseback riding
and exercise facilities; as well as
the same situation:7_
nighttime music and dancing.
The real Club Med resorts still re-
and forth. The Club Med resort areas tain a special appeal for singles.
are very secluded. It doesn't lend itself "They always have a certain kind of
to getting up and leaving to go to an excitement and there's always
town, to shop, to this and that. So something happening;' says Lieber-
you're (at the resort) pretty much for man. "People from all over the world
the time that you're there and you come, so they get to meet people from,
tend to meet people easier that way." not only the United States, but
Travelers interested in a Club Europe and other places?' While the
Med-type of vacation do not have to knock-offs are located in the Carib-
go to an actual Club Med. They can bean and cater to the U.S. market,
try what Weinberg terms the "Club Club Med has resorts in South
Med knock-offs?' These are resorts America, Europe, Africa and Asia, in-