MSC discriminating solo cruisers?

[goldrusher]

MSC is refusing to allow a single to book a cabin on their ships.You can go on and book a cruise and there are lots of cabins available, but then backup and change the  passenger to one and  it says no cabins available!!!   It will not let you boo a cabin even  if you pay double the rate!!!!  Have heard they want more people on board to buy drinks and spend money,  We usually book 7-9 cabins and one s a single with the others with 2-3 in a cabin and many are 1 or 2 cruises from black status..  If they will  not allow singles, they will lose all our bookings for the other cabins.   Shame on you MSC   Looks like discrimination!

[wikoffclan]

There was an MSC special for Solos back last fall. I didn't book and regretted it because I was running into the dilemma you mention. Then suddenly, just about a 6 weeks ago, I came across the ability to book a solo with less than 100% upcharge for an Inside Guarantee ($250/pp double - $350/solo) for a cruise less than 2 months out for MSC Seaside Sept. 10, 2023. Since then I've been assigned a balcony (!!) and have had 2 offers to upgrade to YC. 

I realize this doesn't solve your group problem, but Solo offers may come up again. The alternative is to book a double and have a "no show". Good luck and happy sailing.

(BTW - RCCL often does the same thing and I have not seen them charge less than double for a Solo in a Very long time)

[no1talks]

If a ship is probably going to reach capacity, the company doesn't want a cabin to go to just one guest when there will likely be two guests in the cabin by the time the cruise sets sail.

Two passengers usually...
Gamble more.
Drink more.
Eat more specialty dining.
Go on more excursions.

On board spending is a very big deal to cruise companies. It's strictly business.

[Essiesmom]

I share your disappointment, especially when looking for last minute bookings.  But this problem in not limited to MSC.  I have also faced it on Celebrity and Carnival.  The solution may be to book as far out as possible, and choose times when kids are in school and demand is slightly less.  
 That said, I did manage a solo B2B in August on Seaside, and I have a solo booking on Seashore for December.  EM

Edited September 4, 2023 by Essiesmom

[emmas gran]

Sorry but not correct I booked a YC veranda for 9th September in June

[8420PR]

MSC is selling single cabins on 3800 of 3977 cruises (per German website).  

[Mark_T]

5 hours ago, wikoffclan said:

The alternative is to book a double and have a "no show"

Do be careful with that approach as MSC did make changes to the T&Cs to allow them to levy a surcharge in that circumstance over and above the loss of the other fare...

 

They do not always use that right, but it is there in the contract.

 

6 hours ago, goldrusher said:

If they will  not allow singles, they will lose all our bookings for the other cabins.   Shame on you MSC   Looks like discrimination!

They tend to block single sales when they are sure they will fill the ship anyway, and wanting single occupancy isn't a protected class so annoying as it may be, it is not actionable discrimination.

 

There are solid economic reasons behind this issue, and they do seem to have a lot of cruises that offer solo options so they are not the worst offenders, try Celebrity where according to a recent post there were single supplements raising a solo booking to 450% of the price for double occupancy...

Edited September 4, 2023 by Mark_T

[wikoffclan]

4 hours ago, Mark_T said:

try Celebrity where according to a recent post there were single supplements raising a solo booking to 450% of the price for double occupancy...

Agree. Which is why I haven't sailed Celebrity solo!  I had also heard that cruise lines are cracking down on the 'book double, sail solo' scheme. I've never tried it. There's not a cruise that's been worth it to me to chance it. With enough patience, I can usually come up with a solo rate on an interesting cruise that fits my budget and schedule. Lately MSC seems to be the most solo friendly rate-wise.

[RD64]

1 hour ago, wikoffclan said:

Agree. Which is why I haven't sailed Celebrity solo!  I had also heard that cruise lines are cracking down on the 'book double, sail solo' scheme. I've never tried it. There's not a cruise that's been worth it to me to chance it. With enough patience, I can usually come up with a solo rate on an interesting cruise that fits my budget and schedule. Lately MSC seems to be the most solo friendly rate-wise.

Try doing a mock booking on Celebrity for a single - I tried it last night and for the cruise I was looking at the single supplement was 556%. 

[awatt]

 Have a solo cabin booked for October. Have been looking at next year and have found many cruises I could book solo.

[RD64]

1 hour ago, awatt said:

 Have a solo cabin booked for October. Have been looking at next year and have found many cruises I could book solo.

I think, as someone has mentioned, they set a limited amount of single cabins for sale per ship, and when they are gone they are gone.

[indstate3333]

My wife and I are booked for the Seascape on 9/24.  Mother in Law booked a single with no problem.

Edited September 4, 2023 by indstate3333

[B_A_H]

First, no cruise line has to sell you a single cabin.  As others mentioned, unless the cabin is purpose built for singles, one person sailing on a full ship where two people could have occupied the cabin is cutting the cruise line's onboard revenue in half.

 

Second, MSC offers single discounts that can be quite generous.  It depends on the sailing and how far in advance you book.  I'm taking my MIL on the Seaside 10/1 7 day Caribbean and we have two balcony cabins that were $725 each plus port tax.  BTW, that same sailing is now nearly fully booked and not accepting singles. 

 

So it's not outrageous that you can't book.  You either picked an unavailable sailing or should have reserved earlier. 

 

 

[RD64]

I would assume that MSC uses an algorithm of single, double, triple, quadruple occupancy, and lifeboat capacity. There are XXX number of cabins available that can be booked at single occupancy, and once that limit is reached that is it. Moral of the story - book early with MSC or feel free to pay the variable single supplement of other lines.

[stephenp]

On 9/4/2023 at 5:24 AM, goldrusher said:

MSC is refusing to allow a single to book a cabin on their ships.You can go on and book a cruise and there are lots of cabins available, but then backup and change the  passenger to one and  it says no cabins available!!!   It will not let you boo a cabin even  if you pay double the rate!!!!  Have heard they want more people on board to buy drinks and spend money,  We usually book 7-9 cabins and one s a single with the others with 2-3 in a cabin and many are 1 or 2 cruises from black status..  If they will  not allow singles, they will lose all our bookings for the other cabins.   Shame on you MSC   Looks like discrimination!

 I can book a single cabin in most cat. even the YC for October 8th and 15th sailings  on the Euribia with no problems, the fare is high

but bookable.

 

happy cruising

 

Stephen

 

  

[dexddd]

I found it OUTRAGEOUS we booked DM in YC for past February sailing solo at one person fare.

 

I found it OUTRAGEOUS we tried to book four into a room for five and that was not allowed.  We found acceptable work around.

[CruisingWalter]

On 9/4/2023 at 9:43 AM, wikoffclan said:

Agree. Which is why I haven't sailed Celebrity solo!  I had also heard that cruise lines are cracking down on the 'book double, sail solo' scheme

 

Celebrity has Solo Infinit Balcony cabins on the Edge Class. Royal Caribbean has over 200 solo cabins, including real balconies across their fleet. You have to look for them or find a TA who has done the research and knows where they are. VV and NCL have a lot of solo cabins.

 

As others have noted, MSC, and other cruise lines, can close down solo sales if it looks like the ship is headed to a sell-out. This is not unique to MSC, we've seen this happen on other cruise lines as well. 

[wikoffclan]

2 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Royal Caribbean has over 200 solo cabins, including real balconies across their fleet. You have to look for them

I sailed a Solo Balcony on Odyssey OTS in April of 2022. Great cabin (7650), BIG balcony, Fabulous shows, wonderful trip. Only drawback... no double points for sailing Solo. 

[Langoustine]

The OP (Goldrusher) seems to not understand private enterprise.

[pzsdd6]

On 9/3/2023 at 11:55 PM, wikoffclan said:

There was an MSC special for Solos back last fall. I didn't book and regretted it because I was running into the dilemma you mention. Then suddenly, just about a 6 weeks ago, I came across the ability to book a solo with less than 100% upcharge for an Inside Guarantee ($250/pp double - $350/solo) for a cruise less than 2 months out for MSC Seaside Sept. 10, 2023. Since then I've been assigned a balcony (!!) and have had 2 offers to upgrade to YC. 

I realize this doesn't solve your group problem, but Solo offers may come up again. The alternative is to book a double and have a "no show". Good luck and happy sailing.

(BTW - RCCL often does the same thing and I have not seen them charge less than double for a Solo in a Very long time)

Hello Everyone!

I have been frustrated with all the lines and the way they prioritize “solo” cruisers. My understanding is they all give solo travelers a lower priority, even when adding a supplement of between 0-100%. One reason is only 1 person to”buy” things. This usually goes away when you have a sailing that is below a threshold, usually low bookings. It’s all business algorithms.

As stated by the quoted post, it happens, just have to play the wheel and hope you’re checking constantly. I was fortunate enough to catch the same cruise as above. I was able to book solo, no supplement, inside guarantee, 3 days ago, for 226.00 (love quick last minute getaways). Within 24 hours my cabin was assigned, ended up with a deluxe balcony deck 15. 
So the story is…..it’s frustrating for solo travelers, but with perseverance, occasionally a deal can be had! Keep trying…….feel free to share deals you may find with all our solo travelers here.

[jimmyvh]

I booked a solo cabin on the MSC Euribia for februari 2024. These are actually CHEAPER than the price p.p. for the cheapest normal cabins, which was a pleasant surprise, since they were already giving out really good deals. I was also allowed to choose a normal cabin, as long as I willing to pay double the price, so in my experience, MSC is pretty flexible on this.

I don't know how many of their ships even have solo cabins in the first place, but I did notice they sell out FAST. I kept checking prices and a week later, they were no longer available and I'd have to pay a lot more.

[Rob-Bob]

On 9/4/2023 at 12:51 AM, no1talks said:

If a ship is probably going to reach capacity, the company doesn't want a cabin to go to just one guest when there will likely be two guests in the cabin by the time the cruise sets sail.

Two passengers usually...
Gamble more.
Drink more.
Eat more specialty dining.
Go on more excursions.

On board spending is a very big deal to cruise companies. It's strictly business.

Interesting.  I wonder if the day will come when passenger history suggests they will not be spending money onboard and they will not be able to book a cruise.  If a couple does not spend anything with the cruise line on "extras" will they be flagged and prevented from booking?

[no1talks]

15 minutes ago, Rob-Bob said:

Interesting.  I wonder if the day will come when passenger history suggests they will not be spending money onboard and they will not be able to book a cruise.  If a couple does not spend anything with the cruise line on "extras" will they be flagged and prevented from booking?

 

That would be risky. Low spenders in a cabin are better than an empty cabin. It really comes down to the likelihood of a sell-out.

 

However, there have already been incidents of over-booking and bumping passengers in the cruise world. Spending history could be used as a selector, but cruise lines would be loathe to let that become public knowledge.

Edited September 25, 2023 by no1talks

[flsun]

This is surprising to me both as an avid MSC cruiser and as a TA.  I book solo cabins with MSC all the time.  Granted, there is sometimes a “single supplement”, but, as previously stated, they also run promos for singles.  A good TA can let you know when those dates are available.  Again, I’ve never not been able to book singles..

 

If this a group booking, I’d call MSC directly and have them facilitate it for you.

[morpheusofthesea]

I think you have to take your 'blinders off'. I just reported yesterday on my Poop Deck thread meeting again a gentleman on board the Seascape with us only booking single cabins through his travel agent and NOT paying double for his cabins. He told us in the summer he lives on his sail boat but now he was on board 3 weeks ago is on now for two weeks and has 15 more cruises all on MSC ships all singles all through his travel agent.