Cruise lines offering Solo cabins (built for only 1)

[travelingla]

I know NCL has several ships with solo cabins. What other cruise lines offer this specific feature? I do not want a regular cabin for 2 or more and pay extra supplement. 

 

Thank you for those of you in the know!

[spyhop3]

I'm also interested in this information.  Single supplements are expensive!

[vms]

Celebrity's new ship the Edge has solo cabins with balconies.

I haven't priced them recently but when it first came out, the price was almost the same as a double-occupancy balcony cabin for less space, but I'm hoping once the ship isn't so new that prices might come down a bit.

[NSnJW]

I have a NCL studio cabin cruise coming up, but I would like to tell you that at times even balcony cabins are cheaper.  From now on I will probably wait and look for low or no supplements. 

Studios are in the center so no view, that is a plus or minus depending on a person's preferences.

[calliopecruiser]

20 hours ago, spyhop3 said:

I'm also interested in this information.  Single supplements are expensive!

Don't assume that a single cabin will be cheaper than a regular cabin including the upgrade.  Sometimes it is, but sometimes the single cabin is more expensive.  Be sure to check before you book. 

[wdw1972]

HAL has solo oceanview staterooms on the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam.  Sadly, it's often cheaper to book a regular oceanview stateroom even with the single supplement.  The solos seem to get overpriced, which doesn't make any sense.  The best advice is to decide on what you want to spend for your cruise fare, then look at any & all staterooms that fit within that budget.  As a solo, we will always pay more than the "per person" rate of a couple.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Scrapnana]

Cunard has a few solo cabins on each of the Queens.

 

On many ships the single cabins sell out very quickly because there are so few of them.

[Bazfan]

Just to reiterate what others have said, many times it is cheaper to pay the price of two people in a double cabin than it is to have a designated single cabin. Seems daft but it’s true. 

[mudlakeron]

Cruise and Maritime Voyages has solo cabins on the Columbus.  I will be in one for the World Cruise starting in January 2020.  It was only slightly more expensive than half the double person rate (about 30%) as a single supplement.  The cabin is the same size as the smallest cabins for two people.

[Bazfan]

30% sounds like a good bargain, enjoy your cruise! 

[NancyW12]

It's less stress to me to simply go by the cabin price and quit worrying about "single supplement". If you rent a hotel room, you pay the price for the room. They don't quote you a price for one person vs. two people, just the room price. Do we bitch about that? Nope. We rent the hotel room. It's the same thing. You are not paying twice as much. You are paying for the room and then putting one person in it instead of two. That's all.

[pf778c]

5 hours ago, NancyW12 said:

You are not paying twice as much. You are paying for the room and then putting one person in it instead of two. That's all.

 

Not necessarily.  Depending upon which lines you normally sail with, you are paying for the suite, plus meals, beverages, gratuities, port charges, and in some cases, airfare, hotel, transfers, and shore excursions, based upon double-occupancy.  The amount of the single supplement can be VERY influential in whether or not to book a particular cruise!

[calliopecruiser]

7 hours ago, NancyW12 said:

. They don't quote you a price for one person vs. two people, just the room price. Do we bitch about that? Nope. We rent the hotel room. It's the same thing. You are not paying twice as much. You are paying for the room and then putting one person in it instead of two. That's all.

 

No, it's not the same thing, because a cruise ticket isn't just a hotel room.  It is a hotel room, but it's also food, beverages (of varying type and amount, depending on the cruise line), entertainment and classes (of varying type and amount, depending on the cruise line).  While a solo person takes up the same space in accommodation (i.e. one hotel room/cabin) as 2 people, they don't use the same amount of laundry, food, beverage, or space in the common areas as 2 people.  So, while a supplement is reasonable, a supplement of 100% (i.e. double) is not, in my opinion.  The reason most cruise lines think it's "reasonable" is they want to discourage solo passengers so they can put 2 people in that cabin and can increase their onboard spending income.  (While a solo person, on average, spends more on board on a per-person basis, they don't spend more than a pair of people would in the same cabin.)

 

 

By the way, there many hotels in much of the rest of the world do charge less for one person in a hotel room than two.  Sometimes a smaller single room, but sometimes there's a discount for a "double room for solo use".   I'm looking at hotels in Italy for next year, and I see that option commonly. 

[spyhop3]

11 hours ago, NancyW12 said:

It's less stress to me to simply go by the cabin price and quit worrying about "single supplement". If you rent a hotel room, you pay the price for the room. They don't quote you a price for one person vs. two people, just the room price. Do we bitch about that? Nope. We rent the hotel room. It's the same thing. You are not paying twice as much. You are paying for the room and then putting one person in it instead of two. That's all.

Interesting perspective. I've never thought of it that way and I usually treat myself to a balcony if I can so it all makes sense!

[bhsolo]

RCL Ovation and some the other RCL larger ships, not sure about the others, have specific solo cabins and they include the virtual balcony. 

[bob brown]

On 11/5/2018 at 2:41 PM, bhsolo said:

RCL Ovation and some the other RCL larger ships, not sure about the others, have specific solo cabins and they include the virtual balcony. 

One thing to keep in mind, if it makes any difference to you, is that unlike most of the other cruise lines, on RCI and Celebrity, and I suppose Azamara, a solo traveler occupying and paying for full price for a cabin for two gets double loyalty points....

If you book one of their single cabins, or only pay for one person without a supplement in a double cabin, you don't....

[Wendy-Europe]

Unfortunately, single cabins are often a way to charge more money for bad cabins.
Often, a regular cabin with an extra charge is cheaper than the designated single cabin. Or a cabin at a shipping company WITHOUT designated single cabins is cheaper than one of the few other single cabins.

 

I just have an example: I booked a regular  balcony cabin with Holland America for a transatlantic trip, single cabin. I still get $100 onboard credit.
The price is 1700 Euro.
A "very very similar" trip (same duration, same ports) with NCL in an indoor studio cabin costs 2600 Euros. I get the drinks package - no advantage for me, because I don't drink alcohol. And for the price difference of nearly 1000 Euro (900 € difference and the onboard credit) I could also buy a lot of alcohol on board....

And a balcony cabin at Holland America is definitely better than a studio cabin on the Norwegian Epic (22 square meters versus 9 square meters, balcony and so on).

 

[bhsolo]

That definitely varies depending on your trip and what you are looking to get out of it. My RCL solo vs. an interior double was over $1000 cheaper. For that I'll always take a solo cabin. Always good for a consumer to price everything out per ship/per cabin and per date to find out what works best for them.

[kochleffel]

Radiance-class ships on RCI have solo inside studios, but very few of them per ship. I recently booked one for August 2020.

 

If an RCI itinerary appeals to you, however, watch for times when RCI is offering a discount for the second person in a cabin. They will apply that to a booking for one person in a regular cabin.

[Sasksilver]

I also travel solo most of the time, NCL is great for that if you don't mind the studio cabins.  I don't because I love the diffused light from the hallway (never as dark as an inside), I enjoy meeting other solos in the lounge, and I really don't spend much time in my cabin.  I can grab a seat outdoors somewhere when I feel the need to watch the ocean.  There are some cruises though, Alaska comes to mind, where I would only book a balcony so it will remain on my bucket list for time being.

 

My suggestion is to watch the websites - I booked my RCCL cruise about 18 months out because the price was right and I got the cabin I wanted (a studio with a balcony).  Also keep an eye on this site, an unannounced sale of inside cabins on Princess (no single supplement) for a Canada/New England cruise was found by another CC member who shared the info - I scooped that one up in a hurry!  

 

Good luck!  And share any great deals you find....after you book of course. 🙂

[bob brown]

I have never sailed on them, as they don't really market to North America, but I believe P&O has a fair selection of single cabins on some of its ships...

[Earl Colby Pottinger]

I have done solo on NCL and on Carnival.  On NCL I was able to get an inside cabin with 0% supplement.  And one cruise in the future there was a sailing where the balcony was cheaper for a solo than an inside or solo room!

 

On Carnival I usually paid 50% supplement for an inside cabin but I have paid 0% supplement on one cruise and on another cruise the supplement was only 23%, mind you those are now far and in between. But one thing I had on Carnival is a room with only one single bed in it. The room you have inside the room then is amazing.