Solo Cruising

[KruzPrincess]

As for affording it... I'm sure there are some people that have plenty of money. For me, I think I'm a good shopper. ;) I spend a lot of time shopping cruises and looking for deals. I have freedom to go when I want and that helps. Sometimes, the deal never comes and I don't go. Sometimes, though, I get a great deal. Sometimes, I admit, I probably pay more than I'd like. I guess I always pay more than I'd LIKE, but I love cruising too much to give it up.

[KruzPrincess]

My guess is this is yield management at work. I have one Princess cruise booked for the fall that started out at 160% as a solo, dropped to 150% (I refared at this point), then up to 200%. I have seen this on HAL as well.

 

I'm thinking that if they get too many 3 and 4 pax per cabin bookings, then they drop the supplement for singles temporarily to balance out the load, but am only speculating here. Perhaps another CCer will know for sure.

 

I agree with you. I just went on an Easter cruise on the Crown. There were a lot of families with a lot of kids. They said between 600 - 700 children. There were a lot of cabins left, so I just kept waiting for a flash sale and/or an offering for solos. I ended up getting a balcony for a 7 day CA Coastal for a great price. At the time, I suspected it was because there were so many children on board that they needed solos in cabins to balance it out.

[Crown Cruiser]

Hi everyone,

 

My son and daughter (both adults) are planning to sail with us in two balcony cabins on 12/27 on the Regal.

 

There is a possibility that due to work my son may not be able to join us.

 

My question is: if I may final payment and he cannot go, can my daughter just stay in that cabin at the same rate since it is already paid for as a double?

 

I fear getting hit with an additional charge if this happens and of course since it's a holiday cruise, it's not inexpensive.

 

Any answers, advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Gail

[Zawmer]

So to clarify, the fares for your son and daughter are already paid for, and you're wondering if there would be any additional fees incurred if one of them just doesn't show? I should certainly hope not, but you might want to make sure they don't bill for the gratuities for your son.

[Crown Cruiser]

True - If he can't go, I'll make sure the gratuities are taken off.

 

Thanks so much.

[fishywood]

The gratuities are the least of your concern: if someone doesn't show and never checks in at the dock there will be no onboard account to charge the gratuities to.

 

The proper way to do this is to inform Princess as soon as you are certain your son cannot go, whether before or after final payment. (It goes without saying that since you have not yet made the final payment, he should take out cancel-for-any-reason insurance).

 

Princess does have the absolute right to re-fare your daughter as a single. Once someone cancels or just doesn't show up, whatever they paid is no longer considered cruise fare on the books--it morphs into cancellation penalty income. Meaning if insurance reimburses you you end up breaking even--even though it appears Princess is double-dipping you. That's the system for you; no consideration for someone who won't know until the last minute whether they can make the cruise or not. You need to decide now whether to cancel him, replace him with another person, or find good insurance and hope for the best.

Edited July 24, 2015 by fishywood

[Crown Cruiser]

Thanks Fishywood.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...Princess does have the absolute right to re-fare your daughter as a single. Once someone cancels or just doesn't show up, whatever they paid is no longer considered cruise fare on the books--it morphs into cancellation penalty income. Meaning if insurance reimburses you you end up breaking even--even though it appears Princess is double-dipping you...

 

This is what happened on another board (NCL?) awhile back. The problem was, IIRC, that the solo was refared at prevailing rates on sailing day, not those at the time of the original booking. These can be quite high if the ship is close to selling out or has sold out after final payment.

 

I agree with fishywood that the sooner you make the decision, the better.

[oskidunker]

I checked cruises for 2016 and 2017 and i do not see a cruise on the Emerald for Feb 22. Was it earlier this year. How many days and where did it go? Thanks

[fishywood]

This is what happened on another board (NCL?) awhile back. The problem was, IIRC, that the solo was refared at prevailing rates on sailing day, not those at the time of the original booking. These can be quite high if the ship is close to selling out or has sold out after final payment.

 

Thankfully when this exact scenario happened to my mom on Princess a few years ago they based the re-fare on the rate at the time of booking and didn't even bump it to fully 200%. And her cabinmate received a full insurance refund, which she split with my mom.

[Cruisencatlady]

I love cruising solo on Princess! Plenty of space to myself in the cabin, roaming by myself when I want to be alone, meeting new people at dinner when I join a table at AD, making new friends joining a team for trivia, and best of all, not stressing about the age old dilemma when travelling with a friend "What do you want to do, eat, or see?" If I want to take a nap or stay up all night watching TV or at the casino, I don't have to worry about bothering a cabin mate.

 

Yes, it's a bit hard to swallow to pay 100% additional supplement for cruising solo on Princess, but you get two cruise credits towards your Captain's Circle account when travelling solo. I've travelled to Alaska twice(Coral & Grand) and the Caribbean once(Emerald), and I'm really looking forward to the Platinum/Elite quick check-in, happy hour lounge, and free internet minutes after just 3 cruises with Princess when I sail in November on the CP.

 

It's fun sailing with family and friends, but really fun sailing solo. Hope you have a great time.

[caribill]

I sail in November on the CP.

 

 

FYI. You will be on the CB. CP is the Sea Princess.