Originally Posted by
gwynedd_gal
Solo travelers take up the space of two people but only provide the revenue of one. So of course you get a supplementary charge on cruises and the worst table in a restaurant.
What I object to is being a solo female traveler and the treatment I get.
1. Some restaurants don't want single females and ditto bars. You are viewed as soliciting for pay-to-play male company
2. You get the WORST hotel room always. I've been on trips with our company in groups, and because I'm single, I invariably get the view of the carpark or the back alley. Finally once, in Florence, I objected. I learned to speak enough Italian in two days to tell the concierge that my room smelled of cigar smoke from the alley below and I was done with it. I got moved. What a revelation; all the rooms were larger and had double sinks. And air without smoke.
3. You get the seat next to the infant and some flight attendant smirking at you "you won't mind will you?" and the kid throws eggs all over your silk suit and you have a speech in Tokyo the minute you deplane and can't change.
4. If you are tall and a woman, you are viewed as not having any right to complain about crushed knees on planes "The MAN wants to recline, chided a flight attendant." I got bruised knees for his wishes.
I actually had a good experience once as a solo female. I was travelling with a friend and we stopped in Key West for a few nights during a swing through Florida. One day she wanted to go somewhere far from the hotel to watch the sun set. All I wanted was a leisurely meal followed by a soak in the pool. We went our separate ways and I went to this French place, convinced them it was only me, and was given a nice table. When the menu came it become clear it was pricey, and naturally I had a hankering for the most expensive thing in the menu. I wasn't going to get it, but at the last minute I decided, What the hell, I hadn't really spent that much on food this trip. I got it and it was great. She brings the check and informs me that because I am dining alone in is 30% off!!!! NEVER do I have that kind of luck.. If I am ever back in Key West I will go to that place, whether I am alone or not. Banana Cafe.