Are the new solo-category rooms really a bargain?

[julig22]

I realize that the initial cost depends on the cruise but I'm thinking more in terms of the options for future price adjustments. I booked a solo OV (upgraded to balcony with WP points). Since I'm not using the NCL airfare on this one, I'd be eligible for FCC except that because of the limited number of solo cabins, they are sold out.  The cost for a comparable regular cabin is now less than the cost of the solo cabin. Ironically, I did originally book as double-occupancy but the cabin I wanted on the upgrade just happened to be a solo, so had to change it.

I'm thinking that I might just book my next cruise, paying double occupancy. More cabin choices.

Note - access to solo lounge isn't a factor. They generally don't exist on the ships I'm considering, plus I wouldn't use it anyway.

Thoughts? Experiences?

[Asawi]

I have looked at solo insides and ov on several ships that don't have Studios and Studio Lounge. They really are the least desireable rooms in the categoies. 

I will be in a solo inside on Star later this year. I booked early so I got one of the least crappy of the crappy locations though. I don't know how re-pricing would work since price only went down very recently and not by much. Only a couple of solo inside left and regular inside is much more than what I paid.

[Edsny]

No.They are tiny and sometimes more money than a regular inside cabin.

[Maanio]

Well my solo inside on the jewel was a corner one so I enjoyed it. (Less noise)

[Serengeti228]

4 hours ago, julig22 said:

I realize that the initial cost depends on the cruise but I'm thinking more in terms of the options for future price adjustments.

 

A good point that I didn't think about when I recently booked, for the first time, a "solo inside cabin" in a small ship 350 days out! This booking is exceptionally far away for me as I normally book last or very last minute cruises. The price tag is high at a moment but I am expecting future price reduction and thus repricing in the months to come. Now I should start wondering whether the future price for this solo inside cabin, if not "sold out" (another point!), will remain below the usual inside cabin for single use.

 

[DorothyB]

1 hour ago, Edsny said:

No.They are tiny and sometimes more money than a regular inside cabin.

You are confused about the question.  He iasn't asking about "studio cabins" but about the new "solo balcony", "solo inside", etc that are regular sized cabins

[DorothyB]

I booked a solo balcony on one cruise and they are now sold out but the other balcony cabins are still more than what I paid for the solo cabin.  Interesting question - but what if you book double occupancy cabin and the price doesn't go down below the price of a solo cabin?

[hallux]

2 hours ago, Edsny said:

No.They are tiny and sometimes more money than a regular inside cabin.

You're thinking of the STUDIO.  NCL has SOLO categorized cabins in inside through balcony categories now (was announced in November 2023 and sailings started in January 2024), this is what the OP is asking about.

[zqvol]

9 hours ago, julig22 said:

I realize that the initial cost depends on the cruise but I'm thinking more in terms of the options for future price adjustments. I booked a solo OV (upgraded to balcony with WP points). Since I'm not using the NCL airfare on this one, I'd be eligible for FCC except that because of the limited number of solo cabins, they are sold out.  The cost for a comparable regular cabin is now less than the cost of the solo cabin. Ironically, I did originally book as double-occupancy but the cabin I wanted on the upgrade just happened to be a solo, so had to change it.

I'm thinking that I might just book my next cruise, paying double occupancy. More cabin choices.

Note - access to solo lounge isn't a factor. They generally don't exist on the ships I'm considering, plus I wouldn't use it anyway.

Thoughts? Experiences?

I tend to agree with you. While there is a savings with the solo cabins (not talking about studios), the locations are less than ideal and sometimes you end up much better just booking the cabin you want and not worrying about the solo cabins. 

[julig22]

6 hours ago, Edsny said:

No.They are tiny and sometimes more money than a regular inside cabin.

The new solo categories are regular cabins that they have "re-purposed" as solo. Completely different than the solo studios available on some ships. But they seem to be some of what NCL considers to be less favorable - so the PrivaSea cabins for example. Which I happen to like LOL.

[zqvol]

6 hours ago, Edsny said:

No.They are tiny and sometimes more money than a regular inside cabin.

They aren’t tiny, they are regular cabins that are just priced differently, albeit usually in the worst locations on the ship. 

[julig22]

6 hours ago, Maanio said:

Well my solo inside on the jewel was a corner one so I enjoyed it. (Less noise)

Yes, my solo balcony is on the Sun is the cabin I chose because of location. I found it on an earlier cruise when I used my points to upgrade and that's what they gave me. I had to book solo OV in order to upgrade to a solo balcony.  At the time, the solo was $400 less than a regular OV - but now the regular OV is less than what I paid and solo OV is sold out.

[julig22]

4 hours ago, DorothyB said:

I booked a solo balcony on one cruise and they are now sold out but the other balcony cabins are still more than what I paid for the solo cabin.  Interesting question - but what if you book double occupancy cabin and the price doesn't go down below the price of a solo cabin?

That's the $64,000 question. Or in the case of a cruise I'm looking at, only about $150.

In watching what's happening, the chances of solo pricing going down seems to be slim, due to inventory. So possibly worth the gamble.

[DorothyB]

I'm currently booked for two cruises in solo balconies.  I am happy with the cabins on both cruises.

 

Oct Getaway from New Orleans - I paid base fare of $1,699.  Solo balconies are now $1,899.  Sail Away balconies are now $1,998.  Basic balconies and Family balconies are both $2,098.  My cabin is mid-ship deck 10 (so cabins above & below) and the same size as the smaller regular balconies.  The solo lounge is on decks 10 & 11 and I'm pretty sure the snacks, etc are on deck 10.

 

Feb Prima from Galveston - I paid base fare of $1,979.  Solo balconies are sold out.  Sail Away balconies are sold out.  The least expensive basic balcony is currently $2,458.  My cabin is towards the back of mid-ship on Deck 12 with cabins above & below.  The Studio Lounge is on the same deck but Forward.  Across the hall is the edge of an area that doesn't say what it is.  The medical center is several cabins down and across the hall.  The cabin is the same size as the smaller regular balcony cabins.

[julig22]

12 minutes ago, DorothyB said:

I'm currently booked for two cruises in solo balconies.  I am happy with the cabins on both cruises.

 

Oct Getaway from New Orleans - I paid base fare of $1,699.  Solo balconies are now $1,899.  Sail Away balconies are now $1,998.  Basic balconies and Family balconies are both $2,098.  My cabin is mid-ship deck 10 (so cabins above & below) and the same size as the smaller regular balconies.  The solo lounge is on decks 10 & 11 and I'm pretty sure the snacks, etc are on deck 10.

 

Feb Prima from Galveston - I paid base fare of $1,979.  Solo balconies are sold out.  Sail Away balconies are sold out.  The least expensive basic balcony is currently $2,458.  My cabin is towards the back of mid-ship on Deck 12 with cabins above & below.  The Studio Lounge is on the same deck but Forward.  Across the hall is the edge of an area that doesn't say what it is.  The medical center is several cabins down and across the hall.  The cabin is the same size as the smaller regular balcony cabins.

It isn't until after final payment that the pricing for the "regular" double-occupancy cabins seems to fall to lower than the solo pricing. And by then the limited solo cabins are sold out. For me, FCC is nearly as good as a price reduction prior to final payment, as I still have future plans with NCL.

[debenson0723]

I just got off the Joy, where I had a solo inside. It was o. Deck 5 forward and concerned about being that low and next to Q. I loved this cabin! Never heard anything from Q and very little foot traffic. Was on a corner and occasionally heard the room stewards but after 9am. For what I paid vs a regular inside, I would do it again.

[JamesIowa]

8 hours ago, zqvol said:

They aren’t tiny, they are regular cabins that are just priced differently, albeit usually in the worst locations on the ship. 

I mean, yeah, you’re not going to get an aft facing solo balcony, not sure what you meant by this over generalization. I booked a solo balcony on joy about a year in advance and am on deck 12 mid. There were other locations to choose from, and higher decks iirc, only picked deck 12 as that’s where others in my party are staying (and they even put us within a cabin or two apart).Some are in a good location, some bad….so like every cabin category then? 

 

Edited Monday at 03:00 AM by JamesIowa

[SoloAlaska]

18 hours ago, julig22 said:

It isn't until after final payment that the pricing for the "regular" double-occupancy cabins seems to fall to lower than the solo pricing. And by then the limited solo cabins are sold out. For me, FCC is nearly as good as a price reduction prior to final payment, as I still have future plans with NCL.

Really depends on the cruise. I like booking cruises with no solo supplement so the regular cabins are often cheaper. I booked my TA 5 months out and it was cheaper than the solo cabins where when they were available. Now looking forward to a price drop after final payment and getting some FCC.

[julig22]

40 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

Really depends on the cruise. I like booking cruises with no solo supplement so the regular cabins are often cheaper. I booked my TA 5 months out and it was cheaper than the solo cabins where when they were available. Now looking forward to a price drop after final payment and getting some FCC.

I wish! I haven't seen a no solo supplement cruise since they added the solo category, although I have seen double occupancy lower than the solo cabins on occasion. I must be looking at the wrong cruises.

[SoloAlaska]

6 minutes ago, julig22 said:

I wish! I haven't seen a no solo supplement cruise since they added the solo category, although I have seen double occupancy lower than the solo cabins on occasion. I must be looking at the wrong cruises.

Did a very quick search and there are some TAs without any supplement coming up. I love TAs but know not everyone does.

[julig22]

9 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

Did a very quick search and there are some TAs without any supplement coming up. I love TAs but know not everyone does.

Where are you finding them - the NCL site is useless for that, because everything comes up as solo discount now.

[Eggs2Go]

Pick a TA and do a mock booking. For example, the Encore eastbound in Nov and westbound in Dec both have no solo supplement on insides and OV.  

[SoloAlaska]

58 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Where are you finding them - the NCL site is useless for that, because everything comes up as solo discount now.

Exactly as eggs2go said. I search with 2 then search for one and the prices are the same. I’m on the Encore Westbound in December. The balcony price was too good to pass up. A balcony is cheaper than a Studio 🥳.

[julig22]

4 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

Exactly as eggs2go said. I search with 2 then search for one and the prices are the same. I’m on the Encore Westbound in December. The balcony price was too good to pass up. A balcony is cheaper than a Studio 🥳.

Yea, I can do a side-by side comparison in my browser but was hoping for a list someplace. I had a PCC that would send me a list but she's no longer with NCL and my current PCC isn't exactly helpful except when I'm calling to book something.

[julig22]

On 6/24/2024 at 9:01 AM, julig22 said:

Yea, I can do a side-by side comparison in my browser but was hoping for a list someplace. I had a PCC that would send me a list but she's no longer with NCL and my current PCC isn't exactly helpful except when I'm calling to book something.

And just when I started using a split-screen to compare pricing side-by-side, they changed the web site to include final pricing, so pricing now includes taxes. So now all solo pricing will look lower than double occupancy at first glance, since taxes aren't doubled. Argh...