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Costa Cruises Solo Traveller


gerryuk
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Last November I travelled solo on Costa from Barcelona to Buenos Aires and loved it. I want to do the same again this year. There are a number of options as to where to board the ship in the Med and alight in South America. I have tried to book through their website and every option travelling solo from inside to balcony rooms comes back that the rooms are not available.

When I put in the options for 2 people travelling  all the rooms are available to book. I did not have this problem booking last year and was wandering if Costa don't want solo travellers or am I doing something wrong. I have tried the various Costa sites in Europe, America and they seem to be working in tandem.  

https://www.costacruises.com/cruises/BCN18005/PA18201114.html

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7 hours ago, gerryuk said:

Last November I travelled solo on Costa from Barcelona to Buenos Aires and loved it. I want to do the same again this year. There are a number of options as to where to board the ship in the Med and alight in South America. I have tried to book through their website and every option travelling solo from inside to balcony rooms comes back that the rooms are not available.

When I put in the options for 2 people travelling  all the rooms are available to book. I did not have this problem booking last year and was wandering if Costa don't want solo travellers or am I doing something wrong. I have tried the various Costa sites in Europe, America and they seem to be working in tandem.  

https://www.costacruises.com/cruises/BCN18005/PA18201114.html

I have started to see that happening more often on some cruiseline sites in the past month and it is a little concerning. Do you have a travel agent to consider? Even a big box store type? Otherwise, you may need to call.

(That's a repo I have had my eye on. Glad it was a positive experience for you).

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6 hours ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

Eek!  :classic_ohmy:  Note to self: add Costa Cruises to my "Do not cruise!" list.  Like MSC, which prohibited solos, but has since repealed that rule.  

 

Fortunately, the Big Three (that's CCL, RCI, and NCL) still allow solos.  Begrudgingly or gladly, I don't care.  Just let me cruise!

Hi, and many other lines accept solo cruisers too....if you want to try a river cruise? They have no

issues with solo cruisers. The luxury lines are happy to take use. (Seabourn, Crystal, Silversea, etc)

And if you list those "Big 3", you also need to include Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America. They

all accept us as well.

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2 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi, and many other lines accept solo cruisers too....if you want to try a river cruise? They have no

issues with solo cruisers. The luxury lines are happy to take use. (Seabourn, Crystal, Silversea, etc)

And if you list those "Big 3", you also need to include Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America. They

all accept us as well.

I'm well-aware of that.  Holland America even has (or maybe previously had) a roommate matching program.  I was referring to lines I'm most willing to cruise on at this time, both due to budget and crowd/atmosphere preferences.

Edited by LandlockedCruiser01
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9 hours ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

Eek!  :classic_ohmy:  Note to self: add Costa Cruises to my "Do not cruise!" list.  Like MSC, which prohibited solos, but has since repealed that rule.  

 

Fortunately, the Big Three (that's CCL, RCI, and NCL) still allow solos.  Begrudgingly or gladly, I don't care.  Just let me cruise!

MSC and Costa websites may not play nice with the '1' traveler option. It doesn't mean it won't sell you a cabin. Even with my cruise TA, I cannot get solo cruiser pricing from their website. It is annoying when you want to price shop, but through some other websites you can usually get prices, then book by phone. The problem may be more with the website and less about the cruiseline.

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1 hour ago, mef_57 said:

MSC and Costa websites may not play nice with the '1' traveler option. It doesn't mean it won't sell you a cabin. Even with my cruise TA, I cannot get solo cruiser pricing from their website. It is annoying when you want to price shop, but through some other websites you can usually get prices, then book by phone. The problem may be more with the website and less about the cruiseline.

That still puts me off MSC and Costa for life, even if I find someone to cruise with.  I work in IT; I know it's not difficult at all to reprogram a website for the number of cruisers.  It takes less than 10 lines of code to do that: (1) add a drop-down option with "1" in it, (2) set up HTML form to accept the value of "1" as a submission, and (3) program the math in VB.Net or PHP to multiply the double occupancy price by the single supplement expressed as a decimal.  Done and done!

 

So, the website not allowing solos to book is a dumb oversight at best, and a deliberate setup at worst.  One reason they allow solos to book by phone is to avoid discrimination accusations.  I really do think that Costa and MSC don't want solos onboard, and allow them only begrudgingly.  Why?  Damn if I know!

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6 hours ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

I'm well-aware of that.  Holland America even has (or maybe previously had) a roommate matching program.  I was referring to lines I'm most willing to cruise on at this time, both due to budget and crowd/atmosphere preferences.

Ok, I was just trying to help with listing other lines.

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Thanks for the replies. On Friday I emailed Costa regarding this …………….

 

I am trying to book a costa cruise from either Barcelona or Savona to Rio De Janeiro this November on your site.I will be travelling solo, however when I try to book it keeps coming back that the rooms are not available. If I try to book for 2 people all the rooms from internal to balconies are available. 
I did this cruise with Costa last November and did not have any problems booking as a solo traveller. Have Costa banned solo travellers or am I doing something wrong on your site?
I have tried to book with various costa sites in Spain, UK and America and they all seem to be the same, rooms available for 2 people but not available for 1 person.
Regards
 
I received a rather speedy response from Costa today...……………….
 
Dear Gerald

Thank you for the email.

It could be that there are no cabins sellable with single use right now, sometimes it happens if the ship's supervisor wants to sell at the correct occupancy of the cabin.

Please call us at 08003890622 every now and then in order to check if something changes

Thank you
Best regards




 

Simona
Cruise Expert.
World Wide New Channels & Commercial Operations UK & North-Eastern Europe
Costa Crociere S.p.A
Piazza Piccapietra, 48 - 16121 Genova - Italy
http://www.costacruise.com ; http://www.costacruises.co.uk

0039 0104206099   08003890622 ( UK )

Share capital Euro 344,314,467.00 - Tax code/Genova Commercial Register n. 02545900108

Registered office: Costa Crociere S.p.A. - Piazza Piccapietra, 48 - 16121 Genova - Italy

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7 hours ago, gerryuk said:

Thanks for the replies. On Friday I emailed Costa regarding this …………….

 

I am trying to book a costa cruise from either Barcelona or Savona to Rio De Janeiro this November on your site.I will be travelling solo, however when I try to book it keeps coming back that the rooms are not available. If I try to book for 2 people all the rooms from internal to balconies are available. 
I did this cruise with Costa last November and did not have any problems booking as a solo traveller. Have Costa banned solo travellers or am I doing something wrong on your site?
I have tried to book with various costa sites in Spain, UK and America and they all seem to be the same, rooms available for 2 people but not available for 1 person.
Regards
 
I received a rather speedy response from Costa today...……………….
 
Dear Gerald

Thank you for the email.

It could be that there are no cabins sellable with single use right now, sometimes it happens if the ship's supervisor wants to sell at the correct occupancy of the cabin.

Please call us at 08003890622 every now and then in order to check if something changes

Thank you
Best regards




 

Simona
Cruise Expert.
World Wide New Channels & Commercial Operations UK & North-Eastern Europe
Costa Crociere S.p.A
Piazza Piccapietra, 48 - 16121 Genova - Italy
http://www.costacruise.com ; http://www.costacruises.co.uk

0039 0104206099   08003890622 ( UK )

Share capital Euro 344,314,467.00 - Tax code/Genova Commercial Register n. 02545900108

Registered office: Costa Crociere S.p.A. - Piazza Piccapietra, 48 - 16121 Genova - Italy

Glad to know someone answered you BUT you are saying there is someone (Ship Supervisor?) that will decide who

they want to sell the cabin to?.:classic_rolleyes:..….wow...…...so that is how Costa does it?  Glad I won't be sailing with them.

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44 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Glad to know someone answered you BUT you are saying there is someone (Ship Supervisor?) that will decide who

they want to sell the cabin to?.:classic_rolleyes:..….wow...…...so that is how Costa does it?  Glad I won't be sailing with them.

I know I'm going to insult you but I would never sail with Costa and their response to you is why. 🙄 I always sail solo and have never used Costa. There are plenty of other lines that are really great to solos.  I never heard of someone deciding who they want to sell the cabin to.  Good luck!! 😟

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11 hours ago, gerryuk said:

I received a rather speedy response from Costa today...……………….

 
Dear Gerald

Thank you for the email.

It could be that there are no cabins sellable with single use right now, sometimes it happens if the ship's supervisor wants to sell at the correct occupancy of the cabin.

Please call us at 08003890622 every now and then in order to check if something changes

Thank you
Best regards

...

Well, this clinches it: Costa DOESN'T want solos on their premises.  "Correct occupancy" is just a cheap, transparent pretext, and I'm not fooled.  Does Costa think that solos will detract from its family-friendly vibe?  Or that solos are sexual deviants? <facepalm>   I'm more willing to forgive the Customs officer's bias against me, than the deliberate manipulation of Costa's website programming to exclude solos.

 

I will never sail on Costa even if I find a significant other or a friend to go with. I'll steer that person toward more solo-friendly lines instead.  While Carnival's reservation policies are questionable in terms of solo-friendliness, its onboard atmosphere is very much solo-friendly, and its crew treats solos with as much respect as it treats couples and families.

 

We should make a sticky thread, to name and shame solo-hostile cruise lines, as to hit them where it hurts: their revenue.  It might deter enough sympathetic non-solos to force a change.  Hey, a man can dream!

Edited by LandlockedCruiser01
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10 hours ago, bjbear said:

I know I'm going to insult you but I would never sail with Costa and their response to you is why. 🙄 I always sail solo and have never used Costa. There are plenty of other lines that are really great to solos.  I never heard of someone deciding who they want to sell the cabin to.  Good luck!! 😟

 

Hey stranger:classic_biggrin:...why would you want to insult me? Did you mean to quote the original poster? I agree with you...….I have no desire to sail with them either.

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12 hours ago, Lois R said:

 

Hey stranger:classic_biggrin:...why would you want to insult me? Did you mean to quote the original poster? I agree with you...….I have no desire to sail with them either.

 

Hey yourself😀  It's the old-timers disease!!! 🙃  Yes, I was responding to the OP, I would never insult you!!  I'm not going to try again because he probably won't listen, I just get so upset at people like this!!  Have a wonderful cruise in Oct. I'm also going to be sailing, I think I'm crazy 'cause I've never done one like this but I'm taking Holland 10/13/19 from Vancouver to New Zealand via Hawaii, some South Pacific islands, Australia and all around New Zealand, 40 days!!  I'm excited and terrified!!  Bon Voyage to you and have a wonderful cruise!!

 

Sue

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Wow, happy days.

Just tried Costa again, and they are now allowing me to book solo. I have just booked a 17 day transatlantic from Barcelona to Rio De Janeiro on the Costa Fascinosa,  in a inside cabin for just  678 euros ($750) and that includes taxes. Did this cruise last year and stayed on until Buenos Aires, if I remember you paid 10 euros a day for tips at the end of the cruise.

Seems like a pretty good bargain to me.

 

https://www.costacruceros.es/cruises/BCN08137/FS16191119.summary.html

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1 hour ago, gerryuk said:

Wow, happy days.

Just tried Costa again, and they are now allowing me to book solo... (truncated)

Interesting...  I wonder why the change.  I'm thinking they caught heat for their unwritten "no solos" policy, which caused them to revise the source code on their website.  Not necessarily from us here on the Solo Cruisers forum (although it didn't hurt), but elsewhere.  In which case, where?  Any thoughts?

Edited by LandlockedCruiser01
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2 hours ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

Interesting...  I wonder why the change.  I'm thinking they caught heat for their unwritten "no solos" policy, which caused them to revise the source code on their website.  Not necessarily from us here on the Solo Cruisers forum (although it didn't hurt), but elsewhere.  In which case, where?  Any thoughts?

After final payment!.

 

I have booked four Costa cruises solo and tend to book early.  Have had no issues booking solo.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi there - I normally travel with hubby and son but wanted to sail on the new Costa Smeralda.  They have a 2 night sailing (5 December 2019) but I just thought the price was a bit steep at 398 euros for 1 adult and 1 child.  (For comparison, I am sailing on the MSC Grandiosa, brand new ship on 10th November 2019 at £140 for the cabin for 1 adult and I child ) so I thought, I'll go it alone!!  I had NO problems whatsoever in booking a single cabin.  Sometimes I think things get lost in translation when speaking to the Costa staff, who all seem to be Italian (obviously).  Also sometimes a single option is available, disappears, goes up in price, reappears - so you do have to keep on looking.

 

For those who have not yet sailed with Costa - give them a try!!  My only "worry" is that that they do seem to cater more for families so I am watching the price and may well take my son.

 

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

Old thread but I want to note something from experience.  First, I sailed MSC in 2013 as a solo with two other people who also booked as solo's. Separate bookings no problems.  Second, I have also tried to book as a solo on Royal and not been able to get a cabin and called and was told something similar...that capacity wouldn't allow for a solo cabin to be booked. It's an algorithm they use to determine capacity.  They will also block 3 or 4 people in cabins that allow it if it doesn't match the numbers they need or have.  Royal use to do single rates at time - 110-150% (I've been sailing solo for 14 years), but they rarely do that anymore because they can make as much money from a solo cruise as a double cabin without spending as much.  NCL is by far the best solo cruise line, the whole "freestyle" concept makes that so.  I am/was a big Royal cruiser but I've ventured out and am finding that cruising as a solo is way more mainstream than it was when I took my first solo cruise in 2006.  As for Costa I have not sailed them but I was booked last year as a solo I cancelled and changed line, strictly for destination reasons.

Edited by monn_a
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My experience on NCL was the opposite. Freestyle encourages families and cliques. I never really asked, but there have been several posts by solos who were told nobody wanted to share a table with them. Entertainment, lowest common denominator, like watching television except loud. If you like NCL I would hesitate to recommend Costa.

I'm not interested in brand-new ships or crowded hoilday sailings, I only look for off-peak with reduced supplement.

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I suppose everyone has a different experience. NCL is not my favorite line but as a solo cruiser I have had some of the best experiences with them, in as far as the cruise line was concerned.  I have not had situations where I didn't feel welcomed by other guest, but then again I don't put a lot into whether I am or not.  I know this was a Costa thread but I wasn't seeking a recommendation, just wanted to share my personal experience with MSC because it was mentioned that they just recently started opening up to solo travelers.  That's not the case I traveled with them solo 7 years ago when they were first entering the US market.  I chose the line and time I travel based on the itinerary and price (to a degree).  I too try to avoid high season. I do not, however, mind the newer ships because they offer more distractions and opportunities to entertain myself.

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On 2/2/2020 at 3:00 PM, Dancer Bob said:

My experience on NCL was the opposite. Freestyle encourages families and cliques. I never really asked, but there have been several posts by solos who were told nobody wanted to share a table with them.

 

It's not that Freestyle actively encourages cliques, it simply enables them, because it's optimized for groups of people who already know each other.  It's not optimized for solos.

 

NCL did some damage control with solo gatherings for Studio and other solo passengers.  But it really should have kept the assigned dining option.  It would let solos have predetermined dinner companions, rather than make them look like the new kid in the school cafeteria.

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