If I may insert myself into this discussion, Hank's description of what the YC experience is like is exactly what I found that I enjoyed. On HAL, the crew who served me knew me, knew my preferences, and went out of their way when it was needed to provide me with the "Signature of Excellence" that I expected.
As a solo cruiser, I did find the value that made whatever I paid worth it. In comparison with a Neptune Suite guest in an aft suite, far removed from the Neptune Lounge, the value was there only because of a reasonable upgrade offer that I accepted. As a regularly priced Neptune Suite--in that location--no, the value would not have been there.
My first encounter with this was a TA on QE2. I was a Tourist Class guest paying more per day than I had paid for a 21 day TA/North Cape Cruise on Royal Viking Sky. Exploring the ship, I encountered First Class areas where I wasn't supposed to be. The same was true exploring where the Grill Suites, Lounge, and Restaurant was. Such encounters were "off-putting", but, I understood the reasoning for this. Sailing on QM2, I did not have the same feeling, but, my reasoning remained the same when I wandered into "Suite country" (I discovered I could not avoid doing so when I booked the Todd English Restaurant.) It was a choice those guests made. So what? What area of the ship that they were using that I could not use would make any difference to me?
I have long come to terms with the value equation as it relates to solos. Like it? No. Do I like "deals" that sometimes occur? Well, of course. I am at a point where if I want to take the cruise, if I want to book the type of accommodation that I prefer for that particular cruise, if I can afford it, I will book it.
I think the "cruising model" still works for me and am very comfortable moving from a Carnival to a HAL to a MSC to whatever I decide to book. Yet, I am ready to try to sail on a Silversea or Seabourn or another YC sailing. Reading the Seabourn and Silversea Message Boards for months, I detect that there are the same kind of cruisers whom I have met during my past cruises. I detected a very small number who post on those Message Boards whom, I think, I would classify with the small number I encountered on my HAL world cruise as folks I would prefer not to cruise with again. (And, those folks might well feel the same about me.)