I’m fine with just a few true friends. Not everyone has to be surrounded by tons of people.
I’d much rather have a small group of people I can truly count on than a larger group where I don’t have that.
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Online people are acquaintances. No way am I letting people I have only interacted with online into my life the way I do friends. No way of knowing what is behind the persona.
I guess it all depends on how people define “friends”. For me, friendship is something that develops over a long period of time. Not a matter of days, and not where we have never met. I’m so glad we didn’t cruise with kids clubs when I was little because the thought of someone thinking we’re friends after only 3-7 days sometimes interacting in a club? Horrifying! When I’m stuck with table mates, that is what they are. A week is nowhere near enough for me to consider anyone a friend.
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I think the Fab 4+ and many members of the Daily Thread would disagree here. Some of us are very close in real life but that started right here.
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You can’t have both? Isn’t that kind of the idea behind circles (plural) of friends?
I have friends I like to hang out with but they aren’t necessarily on the same list of people I’d be calling in the midst of a 3am crisis. Having one doesn’t mean you must exclude the other.
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I agree. I’ve never met some of my very dear friends. I have friends from forums from 16 years ago whom I have never met, but we’ve walked through the storms of life together.
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This is the biggest reason I was hesitant to book a solo trip—not having someone to share all the Hey lookit that!! moments with.
In the end I did go ahead and book a solo trip for December. I guess I’ll have to talk more to strangers.
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I’ll be a stranger during your trip fyi.
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Sounds like the start of a Mini Liner Meetup!
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Definitely! Are you onsite?
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Yes! ASMovies at the moment, though I’ve been checking Pop availability every day. You?
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I think I’m AKL/BLT split stay during your dates. Coming from ASMovies through the 30th.
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I’m checking in Dec 1 so I guess I’ll just miss getting your room! 
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Your journey is one of those things that gives me the utmost confidence to call people here friends over acquaintances. Actual evidence of amazing and kind people on a forum actually turning out to be amazing and kind people.
I can’t know for sure everyone’s authentic self, but all the positivity of the real and lasting relationships that have formed speaks a lot to me about the forum overall and the caliber of people it attracts, and I have a higher level of trust that those who choose to stick around here and show interest and support in others’ lives and share their opinions on all kinds of topics are really bringing their full selves here. I know soooo much more about some liners’ deepest opinions, fears, experiences, world views than some that I’ve called friends since high school. Whether online or in person, there is trust involved.
Like the work world that has shifted to more remote/hybrid, it’s still work. Likewise with friends. 
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You know this would be an interesting way to see head to head how well TP room requests are honored. If we requested the same room and both being solo we could see what our results are. I often get put in hanicapable rooms.
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It would be, but I’d need to be checking in on your checkout day, the 30th, no?
Is this because the hotel(s) tend to put solo people in the handicapable rooms, because those rooms don’t have tubs or whatever else that some families need?
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To me they are acquaintances. For me, I cannot develop trust to the degree I would commit to anything more than coffee with someone I only knew from online. Could they become a friend? Possibly. But my bar for that is incredibly high.
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As I said, it depends on how you define friendship. For me to use the term a very high bar has been set. If it’s just casual like we see each other at running team, they are teammates. For some they may be friends, but for me, not unless friendship has been earned.
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I picked with immediate family, and with spouse. I did NOT pick solo. I’ve never actually been solo…BUT…I did go into MK by myself in May 2021 for the morning (to ride PM), and I spent most of my time there wishing my wife was there with me. Just felt weird being alone. And I’ve also been alone when I had to chaperone my son to Toronoto (twice) when he was doing work for Mozilla as a minor. I spend my days by myself wandering the city. It was fun…for about an hour. Then, once again, I spent my time wishing my wife was there with me.
So, I can’t imagine enjoying going by myself.
I MIGHT enjoy going with friends.
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I do admire people who can meet people online and be besties - or close enough to travel with. But that is not me.
I have traveled with a friend before and we had a good time, but we also had an agreement before that we did not have to be together all the time. Heck, even my family operates that way when we travel. Some things we do together, but we don’t have to do the same things all the time.
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The dates don’t matter as much as we’re both solo traveling around the same time to the same hotel so it would be interesting to see how our results play out.
As far as the rooms go, I think the handicapable are probably the last rooms to be filled so once they have most everyone housed they stick the solos in those unbooked room types. It’s often resulted in me getting upgraded to preferred from standard at value resorts and also having my room available much earlier in the day.
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