sambamama

The way HAL does billing now is appalling. They used to send a bill under your door. That is gone. You are supposed to use the app. But it doesn't work on Android phones! And the line at the front desk can be 45 minutes or more. I wish they would put back the machine that would print a bill accounting any time you wanted it.I had bill errors and I wasn't sure they were fixed. I was charged for mini bar and Pinnacle dinners erroneously.

The problem with those solo ocean view cabins is that they are charged at the 200% rate. If they charged them at 150%, I would have no issue with that. But they dont. They charge a full 200% for a smaller room, and more of course because it is an ocean view. Its significantly cheaper to book an inside guarantee. I have never booked an inside guarantee and not been upgraded to an ocean view for free. Never! Of course I book a year or more in advance. I won't book an ocean view ever again unless I am sharing a cabin or it is a sale where ocean views are the same price. But based on HAL's prices, I won't be cruising anyway.

And the full cabin was at least 50% bigger. The thought of being in a shower the size of a tube was not appealing.

A larger one. I'm never bothered by noise. I wear earplugs. And 100 feet is TINY! When I booked my studio, the price drops were such that a full cabin was half the price of a studio. Half! The cruise was sailing out of NYC in December, which meant bad weather for 1 1/2 days each way (it was an 11day cruise), and I ended up cancelling and booking a 10 day cruise out of FL that was cheaper.

If you book and they have Lincoln Center and when you board, they don't , that lessens your cruise. If you book HAL because they always had classical music and now they dont, that lessens your cruise. If you book because HAL has always had great food and now they dont, that lessens your cruise. Ive been sailing with HAL since 1983 and have over 200 sea days. In that time, classical music is now gone, so is BB Kings, and the food has gone way downhill. Single supplements are now 80-100%, where I used to be able to get a 25-50% supplement. I'm not going to have a great cruise without what I was expecting. And HAL has changed their policies showing they dont want me to sail with them, so I won't pay for an overpriced cruise. I will go on a land vacation and not pay double.

Pretty much all HAL cruises,charge between 80 to 100 % supplement for their cabins. And yes, that includes the solo cabins on the Pinnacle ships way up at the front that are 130 feet. I think all are ocean view. Princess and Carnival have,solo deals,at considerably less than that, but there are not lots,of them. HAL has basically none. HAL has become very solo unfriendly in its,pricing.

I was on a 14 night Asia cruise postponed for 3 years from Singapore to Hong Kong, and I sure did not see improvements. All I saw were drastic cutbacks. The MDR was closed for lunch every day we were in port. There was no Mariners lunch. They cut the loungers by the indoor pool by half, and we had inclement weather so we needed them. The bread selection at the buffet for lunch is abysmal, and even in the MDR and the Pinnacle is pretty poor. Fruit soups are pretty much gone. The Yum Yum man is gone. Nightly chocolates are gone. There was,one solo meetup. I haven't seen one single improvement! Maybe its only for Grand Voyages. It was very disappointing to travel so far and see such cutbacks, especially that wouldn't have been there back in 2020.

I know when I sailed on HAL and Princess there was little or no solo activities. Cunard, Regent, and Oceania are having reduced solo supplements, although they are more expensive cruise lines.

You want to compare the price. When I booked one, it became cheaper to book a regular room than a studio. So it was cheaper to have a bigger cabin than a cramped studio.

I don't believe that the high cost of those lines is solely because of the free alcohol. If you look at Celestytal, a new small line in Greece, they include free wine and beer at lunch and dinner for everyone. They charge a 50 % solo supplement, and they have very fair prices. I have a 7 night cruise booked with them, and I don't even drink beer or wine. But they only cruise Greece, or Greece and Turkey.

I've done the other way twice. It's much better the other way as you get all the busyiness of many ports out of the way, and then have all the sea days in a row and gain hours on the way back. Either way, TAs are awesome, and usually a cruise bargain.

I get them just about every cruise. I almost always book a guarantee inside as a solo. My strategy is (I always book thru my TA) is to let her know what I want specifically and how much I am willing to pay (as since I am a lawyer, she may not be able to reach me). It's worked out well. This last cruise, HAL was sending offers directly to me some of the time (that never happened before.)

All of these things sound wonderful. But not everyone can spend $5000 or more for their cruise, or requires or wants a private car to the departure port. I'd love that, but that same money gets me 4 or more hotel nights or a number or cruise tours. This is why there are different cruise lines because different people can afford different prices. It's the same reason there are inside cabins and suites

Regent sounds lovely, but it's out of my price range. I looked at Azamara, and their solo specials go out just for a year. So they only have them through 2024, and they are limited. The ones I checked for 2024 (which I can't do as I am currently booked up on vacations through mid 2025) had no solo availability. But at least I know to look at Cunard, Azamara, and Princess. I will keep looking at HAL as I'm 4 star, but I think it's hopeless now. Thanks for the advice!

Put your card holder in a fanny pack or a hanging thing from now on. I am notoriously absent minded and leave things everywhere! I won't embarrass myself by telling stories of things I've left behind! I'm taking that same cruise next year the end of May except I'm doing a 20 land tour shortly afterward. Hope you have a great time!!

I am willing to do repositioning, and travel during the shoulder season. The part you missed is that I can't do last minute travel. I have to plan 6 months or more in advance, so that lets out all those last minute deals! Thanks, I have looked at Azamara before, and I will look again. I've been looking at Cunard and Princess (I own 150 shares of Carnival stock, so I get $250 shipboard credit on a 2 week cruise), and I had forgotten about them.

However, the odds of going on a cruise as a standby are pretty slim. And you get notified fairly late. So unless you live locally and don't work, it doesn't make sense as air fare prices are most likely high or could be unavailable.

I had no issues using Uber in Miami. There are always going to be stories about crime everywhere. I've been traveling as a solo woman all over the world. I use taxis, buses, the subway, trains, walking, etc. I've never had an issue other than being called by vendors to enter their shops.

The Volendam is a beautiful ship if you haven't sailed on her. And New England is gorgeous, especially that time of year, if you haven't been.

I was on a 20 day cruise that went from San Diego to Vancouver. We lost 3 ports on the 16 day segment, and our only port on the 4 day segment (Victoria ) in addition to having to spend the first night docked in San Diego. We got NOTHING for losing our only port and a day of sailing. We got refunded port fees and $50, a T shirt and a 2 hour party with free drinks for missing 3 ports. I would have gladly taken 10% of my cruise back. A fishing net got wrapped around a stabilizer, and the captain and HAL kept lying to us about the ship status. Your compensation was more than fair. Its very possible you wouldn't have seen anything had you gone in the right passage. That's how marine life and wildlife is. I missed my port call in Cartagena, Columbia on my last Panama Canal cruise and got nothing. But the wind was 70 mph. It was unsafe. Life happens.

I can't remember what year it was, but I sailed on NCL Norway in the early 1980s for my first cruise. Wow! Fixed seating for every meal, huge midnight buffets, amazing entertainment, and a beautiful ship! So much has changed. One cruise I had a waiter who did magic tricks. I remember end of cruise dinners with sparklers in the baked alaskas, and on NCL, the waiters balancing them on their heads!

HAL is charging all single supplements at 80 %or more. I would join you in chewing the ground glass for NCL, Carnival and RCCL, but at least they have some reasonable single supplements. However, what I was referring to is the lack of any far in advance on pretty much all lines that I see. About the only exception is Celestyial, which I am booked on, which has a 50% supplement, but that limits me to a Greek cruise. I won't cruise on a 3000 passenger or bigger ship. And if this means I give up cruising, well, I've had some amazing land vacations way cheaper than my cruises. And I do scuba diving vacations now.

I can't make plans for at least 6 months in advance or more because of my job. Right now I am booked for vacations through mid- 2025. I look, and pretty much most all the cruises I see have supplements of 80% or more, and usually 100%. That is really depressing, and at that price point, I am much better off booking a land tour, or putting together my own land package. I am 4 star on HAL with over 200 sea days, and just about every cruise there now has a 100 single supplement. I don't think the cruise industry is looking to cater to singles at all any more. Or if they are, they expect us to pay 75% or more supplement, and I won't do that. I don't have to pay that for a hotel. And at least on HAL, they are charging much, much more, and taking away lots of what there was before. The MDR is now closed on all port days. Classical music is now gone. Many long time favorites are gone from the MDR-fruit soups, many fish choices, lots of breads, more dessert choices. The bread choice at the buffet is gone. Candied ginger and the yum yum man is gone. Hot appetizers in the cocktail lounges, or even nuts are gone. Half the pool lounges (at least on my last cruise) at the main pool are gone, which is a real problem when the weather is bad. The cabin stewards are supposed to clean up to 24 cabins a day. You get chocolates on your pillow only on formal nights. Really?? The little chocolates are that expensive??? What exactly am I paying for???

There are 69 cruises with deals for singles on Oceania. The deals are for cruises from 2024 to mid-2025. Yes, they are higher in price, but some are going to places like really good itineraries in the South Pacific, and have airfare included. If you like lush cruising, it may be worth looking at. Also, if you have an Amex Platinum card, there is an offer to get 10x points per $ up to 40,000 points, so that might be tempting. I can't book anything before the end of 2025, so it's not useful for me, but thought it might be useful for a few.

Most solos don't go to the Meet and Greet in my experience and I have well over 300 days sailing with HAL. They are usually at inconvenient times. On my last cruise, the ship only had 1solo meetup.