Why a cruise might be good for people with anxiety
Posted by: Josh, 28 September 2026
Anxious and Travelling isn’t just a place for me to talk about my own anxieties and how I manage them when travelling. Liz and I want this site to be somewhere with advice and resources for people who experience anxiety in different ways, and who manage their symptoms differently too.
That’s why I spoke to my brother, Alex, for this piece about cruises. While we both started to feel symptoms of anxiety at similar ages and didn’t travel in our 20s, that’s where the similarities stop. Alex has different triggers for his anxiety, very different ways of processing his thoughts, and – most important of all to this travel website – very different ideas about how to travel.
Alex started travelling a couple of years ago, in part encouraged by the hundreds of Liz’s photos that I share on our family Whatsapp chat. But rather than hopping from city to city on public transport as me and Liz do, he takes a more nautical approach to his holidays.
I spoke to Alex last week to ask him why going on a cruise is the best way for him to travel, what types of anxieties it helps with, one particular anxiety trigger that might make it unsuitable for a certain type of anxious person (I’ll save you the suspense – it’s people like me) and advice on how to find the perfect cruise if it sounds like the right type of holiday for you.
All of the pictures in this post were taken on Alex's travels. If you would like to know more about where they were taken, leave us a message in the comments below.
Hey Al. You hadn’t done any solo travelling before. Why did you decide to go on a cruise?
I wanted to visit different places; I didn't want to go one place and just stay at a beach for two weeks, that would be boring. But the thought of having to do the parts of a holiday that cause me the most stress again and again and again – the transport to a new place, then checking into a new place when I'm there – is kind of what put me off traveling in the first place. Cruise ships sort of fix that. They take you to places, you don't have to worry about the transport, and you get to basically get carried round on what is, for all intents and purposes, a floating hotel.
Other than the travel being sorted for you, what anxieties do cruises help you with?
There's a lot of other organization done for you. You know, a lot of the things that would be very natural to worry about, especially on a cruise ship - like for example, am I going to get back for the departure time if I get off? What happens if I get lost? You can book excursions through the ship that sort all of that for you.
Now, I won't lie, it's more expensive if you book excursions through the ship than if you book elsewhere [Al explained later that you can leave the ship as you please when it’s docked, so if you’d prefer to book trips through, for example, Viator or Get Your Guide then you’re free to do so].
But for peace of mind, if you book a ship-based excursion, the ship will wait for you if you're delayed, if you’re stuck in traffic or that kind of thing. So, a lot of the thoughts like I don't know what sites to see, I don't know where to get a ticket from, I wouldn't know what to look at, I wouldn't know how to get there… that’s all sorted for you if you're willing to pay the price. That again has encouraged me to do things I never have dared to do, especially given that I travel solo.
What about the activities while you’re on the ship? How was the social side as a solo passenger?
I would say daytime activities are absolutely fine. Really, it's – unless you do a really specific speciality trip like an Alaska cruise, you're likely to be somewhere warm and hot, meaning you have a choice of doing mostly what I did, which is find a sunbed with a book and a pool. That is, as far as I'm concerned, a fantastic way to spend the day which really you don't need another person for.
Or alternatively, you can do things like quizzes. There are quizzes and activities and other stuff which you can absolutely dive into. Night-time is a bit different.
Did you find it easy to meet people to chat to?
[The cruise operators] do solo meetups, and some cruise lines are renowned for being very good for solo travellers for this sort of thing. You know, you might find that you meet other solo travellers and do stuff as a group. And that actually happened to me on my first cruise. I went to the solo meetup and there were, you know, a couple of people I chatted to, and one of whom I met up two or three times more on the cruise and went to the bar with. On my second cruise, there wasn't really anybody in that situation.
In the night, you've obviously got restaurants, and you know anybody who's even considering a solo cruise has probably been to a restaurant on their own and probably will tell you it's perfectly good fun. Nice food is nice food. [Note: Alex is right. Taking yourself for a nice meal out is a great way for anyone to pass a couple of hours - keep an eye on our blog for a short post about this coming next week].
You've also got - almost all cruise lines will have a theatre, and again, going to see a show in a theatre is just a great experience. You don't need anybody there with you to enjoy a theatre show. Similarly, a quiz or a show, or even just sitting in a nice bar watching the scenery go past, is nice. Now, there are also silent discos. They're a big thing, and they're great for a solo traveller because you don't you don't need to be chatting to another person to enjoy a silent disco. There are some activities naturally that feel more awkward, the nighttime parties, you know, the things like that. There's so much choice, especially in a bigger ship. You'll find something you want to do.
And you can just have a quiet time in your cabin if you prefer.
That's where choosing the right cabin comes in. As a solo, I would say an inside cabin is harder because, frankly, an inside cabin is not as nice a place to retreat back to. You can't see out. Inside cabins are generally booked by people who know they’re barely going to spend any time in their cabin. If you want a view, you're going to have to pay a little bit more, and that's, I think, worth it as a solo.
But if you did want to be social as a solo traveller, as you say, you certainly met some people on the first trip.
I think it's fair to say people are very friendly on cruise ships. Hell, maybe it's because there are so many Americans. It's considered normal to talk to your fellow passengers. If you don't want them to, you can make it obvious you don't want to talk. That's fine too.
So, if you're worried that you're going to spend the whole trip by yourself, you're probably not. But equally, if you're worried that you will have to speak to loads of people, nobody's going to force you to talk to them.
Precisely.
Sick [Yes, I still say “sick”]. Tell me about some of the places you've been to.
Both of my cruises have started out of Rome. One did the Eastern Mediterranean, meaning we did Turkey and some of the Greek islands like Mykonos and Santorini. The other one started in Rome too, but it went around the Adriatic, so it went down via Sicily, and then we went up to Croatia, Montenegro, and also Greece again, but mainland Greece rather than the islands.
Hmmm, but which of those was your favourite?
Ooh, it's a close one between Mykonos, a Greek island, and Split in Croatia. It is probably, marginally, Split, but it's very close.
What about Split made it your favourite place?
Actually, we went out to the town of Trogir rather than Split itself, that was the shore excursion I booked. I booked a boat. We had a speedboat ride to a lagoon, a fantastic meal in a restaurant in the most beautiful coastal town, and just an amazing experience.
In Mykonos, it was the history. We went to the historic island of Delos, which is so special – nobody lives on the island. It's just a historical site, and just the ruins, the statues, and the history of the place and the atmosphere was just spectacular.
I know you’ve done a couple of days travelling by yourself before each cruise. This most recent one was during the height of a heatwave which didn't enable you to do quite so much exploring. But before your first cruise you did do a little bit more when you saw the Fora Romana and the Colosseum.
I went to Rome and I did, like you said, the first time before I even stepped on a cruise ship, I pushed myself to see some of the city. You can't get a cruise ship from Rome and then not go see the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. That would be a real shame. I did the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain was amazing.
Has doing that given you the confidence to consider travelling in any other ways?
I'd be prepared to do a city break to somewhere like Amsterdam, a city I'd like to visit. I just picked Amsterdam, it could be to other places. I still don't think I'm going to… I’m not about to go interrailing. I still think if I'm going to [see multiple cities on one trip], I'll probably stick to the ships.
To me, cruising is a way to do that without having to do that planning. I don't know how to explain this, but the worst part of the bit in Rome for me, both times it was the meals, if that makes sense? Planning somewhere for the meal out? [Note: Alex also has a nut allergy, meaning there’s some extra thought that goes into finding a meal in a restaurant on his travels].
If I’m getting it right, you mean some anxieties may always be there – and even if they're not as severe, they can still stop you enjoying something as much? So, it's reasonable to not do certain things in certain ways – say, travel the way Liz and I do, in this case. The other is the more positive angle, which is that if your way of travelling is really enjoyable to you, then why would you want to do it a different way?
I'm going to say it differently, Josh. Given that, as you know, I'm going to Japan next year and fully intending to spend two days in Tokyo.
Having travelled doesn't stop me being scared of doing the thing. It doesn't stop me being scared of the thought of you know a whole day in Tokyo, Tokyo of all places, on my own. There are parts of it that worry me, but the experiences I've had have made me be prepared to brave the worry because the Roman Forum was incredible, and I would never have missed that day. And some of the things from the cruises I've done that I'd never have dared to do on my own were amazing. It doesn't necessarily stop me feeling scared about it, but it makes me more willing to brave it.
Do you think that travelling has helped with your anxiety more broadly?
What I can say is that I'm planning an away trip in the UK in the next month or so, and it doesn't scare me as much, the thought of being on my own for a day.
I think what going cruising on my own has shown me is that I'm perfectly happy with my own company. So, whereas maybe I would have been intimidated by the thought of well, if I don't meet anybody that day, I'll just stay in the hotel and I won't go anywhere. I don't think there's any question now that I'll get up, get out, and do something this time.
What tips have you picked up that would help someone plan their own cruise?
I did a lot of research before I travelled. In fact, you know, we’ve talked a bit before about coping mechanisms. Some of it, especially before setting off, is research. I spent ages looking at YouTube videos of cruise lines. If you are actually interested in a cruise, there are so many videos from YouTube about cruising, it's really popular. I looked at all the types of ships. Each ship, each cruise line has its own atmosphere, and Celebrity [Celebrity Cruises, which Al has travelled with twice and will be travelling around Japan with next year] had the right amount of luxury, which means something to me, and was also big enough to be busy enough to have a lot of fun stuff to do. So, they were the right balance for me.
You, more so than me and Liz, enjoy your creature comforts a little bit when travelling.
That's an understatement.
But realistically, people could go on cruises on different budgets?
Absolutely. You don't have to spend loads. You know, if you're prepared to stay in an inside cabin…
Going back to something you said earlier, as a bit of a tip, if you think you're going to prefer a quieter night most nights, then it's worth considering whether your budget stretches to those cabins with a view. Whereas if you're going to want to go to loads of social events, then saving money on an interior cabin might be more worthwhile?
There are cheaper cabins that just have a window, and they can be perfectly nice. But I think if you were to go spend a whole night in your cabin, I don't think you'd want not to be able to see the outside world. If you’re only using the cabin to sleep, then a cheaper indoor cabin might be good.
Cool. Other things about cruising… I need to go back to my questions…
Well, I'm going to say one thing. You let me know a few questions you were going to ask before we started chatting. You asked about how big the ship was. There was about 3000 people in the ship I went on this year.
Oh boy. [This is a family-friendly website. Just pretend I said “Oh boy”]. I'm not sure I'd cope well with that.
There are smaller ships, though. I should note the smaller ships are a lot more expensive. If your anxiety is triggered by crowds, I'm not sure that you would want to travel on a cruise ship.
Is it genuinely impossible to avoid crowds?
There are quieter parts on the ship, so I went on a ship called Celebrity Ascent. On the ship there was a bar at the back called Eden that was very quiet in the day.
But if you're getting off the ship, there will be queues. If you're eating, there are – you know, the restaurants are only open for a few hours so you're going to have a full restaurant. There are only so many places for 3000 people to go on a cruise ship.
The theatre, the restaurants, the bars are going to be where you're going to find people. It's not that it's impossible, but you'll miss out on a lot of the nice parts of cruising if you can't manage a crowd.
This sort of follows on from that. Does it ever feel claustrophobic on the ship, or is it just that there's a lot of people, but it's spacious enough that you don't feel trapped by all the crowds?
Frankly, it’s the opposite to claustrophobic. For me, if you go to one of the upper decks, opened up to the air, trapped is the last way I would describe the feeling. When you're standing at the back of the ship, looking out at the ship's wake, I can't think of any feeling I feel less than that.
Cool! Lastly, say something nice about me and Liz.
I actually think the website you're doing is a really, really good thing. Like I said, I did a ton of research and I kind of wished it had been easy to find something like this, you know, it's a really good thing to do.
I also think that Liz is an angel putting up with y –
**Sadly, at this point, the recording cut out. We’re doing everything we can to find the nice thing that Alex said about me at the end of this sentence.**
Get in touch
If you have any more questions about cruises, please leave them in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer them for you… with a little help from Alex, or other veteran cruise travellers.
As Alex said, cruises might not be the best option for someone who doesn’t enjoy crowds. As that’s something I can struggle with and because I’ve enjoyed travelling in other ways before, it probably means a cruise isn’t right for me.
But I’ve loved seeing Alex’s photos of his trips and seeing him get the confidence to book his dream trip to Japan. It may be different to Liz and I’s last Japan trip, which we spent train hopping across the northern island of Hokkaido, but it’s the best way for Al to travel – and, if you’ve read this far, I imagine there's a chance it might turn out to be the best way for you to travel too.
If you’ve got any travel experiences you’d like to share with us – of your experience managing anxiety on your trips, or of other ways of travelling that have worked for you – we’d love to chat. Click here to contact us and, if you can, share some advice that might help another anxious traveller to see some more of the world.
Related posts
