Wanting to take a solo cruise

[ScottC4746]

Any suggestions for a solo cruise where they don't gauge you for being a solo?  DH has given permission for me to do a solo cruise, preferably out of San Diego or Los Angeles (San Pedro).  No Carnival or Norwegian please.  Any suggestions for cruise lines?  I am late 50's and just sailing solo, not single i.e. I am married.

[ymncruise]

Try Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. I don’t think other people will care if you are solo on a cruise. You can share a dining table if you want to eat with others. There were 3 other solos and 2 couples at my dining table. I had a great time. My solo was on Royal Caribbean from Baltimore. I think there were quite a few frequent solo cruisers on board who work remotely from the ship. 

[coastcat]

I think the only cruise line which could be iffy for solos is Disney since it's so geared towards families and couples, AND you're paying a lot for the name.

 

If you don't like Carnival or Norwegian, you'll definitely want to avoid the 3-day Royal Caribbean cruises out of LA on Navigator of the Seas. I did the 3-day and 4-day versions back to back, and things were definitely quieter on the 4-day one.

 

How about Princess? You'll have your choice of LA and San Diego departures to either the Mexican Riviera or California coast. While Princess lacks solo cabins, they sometimes offer reduced pricing for single occupancy. Some of their sailings out of LA this autumn have really low solo supplements. 

 

Celebrity has been offering some great solo bargains lately, too. I think Solstice is the ship they're using out of LA this fall/winter.

[Tinyrn]

I am doing my first solo cruise on a big ship with the Royal Princess in April! I am in my mid-fifties, and while I am a bit nervous, I am more excited to see what fun, and how much relaxation, I can get into in 7 days!

 

Laura

Edited August 1, 2022 by Tinyrn

[ScottC4746]

16 hours ago, coastcat said:

I think the only cruise line which could be iffy for solos is Disney since it's so geared towards families and couples, AND you're paying a lot for the name.

 

If you don't like Carnival or Norwegian, you'll definitely want to avoid the 3-day Royal Caribbean cruises out of LA on Navigator of the Seas. I did the 3-day and 4-day versions back to back, and things were definitely quieter on the 4-day one.

 

How about Princess? You'll have your choice of LA and San Diego departures to either the Mexican Riviera or California coast. While Princess lacks solo cabins, they sometimes offer reduced pricing for single occupancy. Some of their sailings out of LA this autumn have really low solo supplements. 

 

Celebrity has been offering some great solo bargains lately, too. I think Solstice is the ship they're using out of LA this fall/winter.

Yes I did RCCL in 2004 or 2005 3 night to Ensenada and was truly a booze cruise, not to mention some sketchy passengers that I wouldn't leave anything on my deck chair other than a towel.

[Dancer Bob]

You have to tell us what you mean by "gouge". The cheapest possible cruise, regardless of whether you'll hate the ship? Price is no object as long as a single supplement is not shown separately? Or?

[rkacruiser]

18 hours ago, Tinyrn said:

I am doing my first solo cruise on a big ship with the Royal Princess in April! I am in my mid-fifties, and while I am a bit nervous, I am more excited to see what fun, and how much relaxation, I can get into in 7 days!

 

Laura

 

I have sailed on Royal Princess as a solo and enjoyed a very good cruise.  Lots of venues and places on the ship to explore.  

[brillohead]

Regarding thinking of it as "price gouging" for solos... flip your thinking. 

Do you accuse a hotel of price gouging when they don't charge you half the room rate when you're the only one in the room?  Or do you just accept that the room costs $200/night (or whatever) whether you have one person or two sleeping there?

Same with cruising.  You're paying for the use of the space.

Cruising can be INCREDIBLY affordable, even when paying the "single supplement" for a solo traveler.  For example, an inside room for a solo can usually be had for well below $200/night on many/most mainstream lines.  How much would you spend on a hotel, three meals, and entertainment in pretty much any tourist location in the USA? 

Hotels in Miami easily run $250-$400/night, and that doesn't include any meals or entertainment -- just a bed.  You still have the expense of cab/Uber/rental car, meals/tips, and admission to entertainment venues.  Pretty much any major city will be in the same price range, plus general touristy places (national parks, amusement parks, beach towns).  

If you stop looking at the "per person" rate and look at the total cost of the vacation (and especially when you compare it to a comparable land-based vacation), your attitude toward the single supplement can shift. 

People think I'm independently wealthy because I cruise so much... I just cruise "on the cheap" -- inside room, consecutive cruises so I don't have to pay airfare for each sailing, and loyalty discounts for building history with a certain line (I get half off the single supplement with Royal Caribbean now).  

[billslowsky]

On 7/31/2022 at 5:15 PM, ScottC4746 said:

Any suggestions for a solo cruise where they don't gauge you for being a solo?  DH has given permission for me to do a solo cruise, preferably out of San Diego or Los Angeles (San Pedro).  No Carnival or Norwegian please.  Any suggestions for cruise lines?  I am late 50's and just sailing solo, not single i.e. I am married.

I have done the 3 and 4 night cruises on Carnival out of Long Beach and they are a hoot.  But there is a big difference, the 3 night ones are genuine booze cruises with bachelor and bachelorette parties, makes for prime people watching.  They run over the weekends.  The 4 night one stopped for the day in Catalina which is a pretty nice day trip - and you still get to visit one of the Pacific's true dumps, Ensenada.  Those left mid-week and you got a very different crowd.  After last year Carnival upgraded to larger ships and sold off the previous two for scrap.

 

Royal has some very cheap fares which even if they hit you for a single supplement still aren't bad.  I am in a similar demographic and enjoyed the 3 night trips completely. More craziness than usual, but so what?

[calliopecruiser]

On 8/5/2022 at 4:01 AM, brillohead said:

Same with cruising.  You're paying for the use of the space.

No, it's not the same -- you're paying for the use of the space, but you're also paying for food and drink, and activities.  A solo traveller may use the same cabin space, but they use less space in the theatre or swimming pool.  They eat and drink less than two people sharing a cabin, and they use less laundry than a pair of people too. 

[brillohead]

10 hours ago, calliopecruiser said:

No, it's not the same -- you're paying for the use of the space, but you're also paying for food and drink, and activities.  A solo traveller may use the same cabin space, but they use less space in the theatre or swimming pool.  They eat and drink less than two people sharing a cabin, and they use less laundry than a pair of people too. 

The entertainment costs the same whether there is one butt in the seat or two. Same with the pool.  Same with the activities.

All of those things are going to be provided regardless of how many people are in each room. 

The food/drink costs are a minimal part of the overall total.  (People would be amazed at how little cruise lines spend on food per person.)  

The extra money spent washing a couple extra towels is really minimal, too... and it's the same with a hotel that has one or two people in it. 

The main reason for the Single Supplement is to make up for the onboard spending (pretty much pure profit) that the cruise line is missing out on.  Onboard spending is the main revenue source, not the cruise fare for most rooms. 

 

 

[calliopecruiser]

9 hours ago, brillohead said:

The entertainment costs the same whether there is one butt in the seat or two. Same with the pool.  Same with the activities.

Yup - from the company's point of view - they're perfectly happy for solo cruisers who are willing to pay as if 2 people were sharing the cabin .  But from the cruiser's point of view -- they know they're taking up fewer resources and paying the same (i.e. as if 2 people were there), so it's no wonder they feel "gouged" at paying double.  I know I do, and I won't pay double to cruise alone in a cabin.  I'm OK and understanding about paying a supplement, but not double - that's gouging me. 

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, calliopecruiser said:

  I know I do, and I won't pay double to cruise alone in a cabin.  I'm OK and understanding about paying a supplement, but not double - that's gouging me. 

 

I understand how you feel, but, I don't worry about it.  If I want to take the cruise, if I can afford that cruise, I will book it and not consider whatever the supplement is.  Life is too short.  Particularly, one's ability to travel is too short.  

Edited August 7, 2022 by rkacruiser

[brillohead]

7 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

I understand how you feel, but, I don't worry about it.  If I want to take the cruise, if I can afford that cruise, I will book it and not consider whatever the supplement is.  Life is too short.  Particularly, one's ability to travel is too short.  

I'm always surprised/confused about people who get so centered on whether a single supplement is charged or not.  They'd rather take a $4000 cruise with no single supplement charged than a $1000 cruise with a $1000 single supplement.  

Whatever, to each their own... I prefer to cruise more often, but that's just me. 

[calliopecruiser]

13 minutes ago, brillohead said:

They'd rather take a $4000 cruise with no single supplement charged than a $1000 cruise with a $1000 single supplement.  

If all you care about is the cost, then the answer is easy.  If you care about the experience, then it might (or might not) make a difference, and the answer isn't as easy.  I'd rather take a $4000 cruise and pay $4000 for it, than take a $1000 cruise and pay $2000 for it.  YMMV. 

[brillohead]

9 minutes ago, calliopecruiser said:

If all you care about is the cost, then the answer is easy.  If you care about the experience, then it might (or might not) make a difference, and the answer isn't as easy.  I'd rather take a $4000 cruise and pay $4000 for it, than take a $1000 cruise and pay $2000 for it.  YMMV. 

I get that... I personally wouldn't enjoy one of the luxury cruises in general -- I'm not a "dress up all the time" type of person, so I wouldn't take the $4000 cruise to begin with.

But I've seen people post here through the years and they'd state that they'd rather go on XYZ line SIMPLY BECAUSE it doesn't charge a single supplement (not because of the XYZ luxury involved)... that's the old "penny wise and pound foolish" situation right there. 

Kinda like when people complain about having to pay for soda on Royal Caribbean, when "soda is free on Disney".  Well, you're paying double the cost on Disney than you are on Royal, so that soda isn't really free.  I'd rather pay $1000 for a Royal cruise and pay $70 for unlimited soda ($1070 total cost) than pay $2000 for a Disney cruise with "free soda".  

People have different ways of looking at money.  My ex-MIL used to go to the mall and come back and say she "saved $250 that day" because the store was having a 25% off sale.  No, Mama, you just spent $750 that you didn't need to spend.... she just never saw it that way in her mind -- her brain told her that she "saved money".  Papa would just roll his eyes and pour himself another drink. 

 

[calliopecruiser]

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

I personally wouldn't enjoy one of the luxury cruises in general -- I'm not a "dress up all the time" type of person

Ha!  Neither am I.....it's one of the great marketing fakeries of luxury cruises.  Perhaps in days gone by, when people packed and carried a lot more, but these days, more people are packing lighter and dressing more casually.

 

that's the old "penny wise and pound foolish" situation right there. 

Very true. 

[brillohead]

The move away from "dressing for dinner" every night makes me love cruising EVEN MORE.  

As if I wasn't already addicted!

[katmu]

OP-  HAL’s newer ships do have some cabins specifically geared towards solo travelers. If you can find a sailing from San Diego or LA, this might give you more of the atmosphere you are looking for while still not being luxury ship prices.

[KKB]

Have sailed NCL RCCL DCL Princess & Celebrity.

I’m mid-50s & just did my 1ST solo cruise on Princess. (I’m also married)

Thoroughly enjoyed it . But few actual solos on ship.

Helped that wk 1 DH was on…we play hard so enjoyed a quieter 2nd wk.

I did dine with others each night & often joined those couples to play trivia, have a drink, later.

Doing the next 2 wks on NCL Getaway—sailed it once & love it!

(ALL ships should have deck 8 waterfront with bars on the deck,)

A lot of solos on these cruises as no solo supplement.