Single Person Cabin

[keevilp]

Next year we are looking to cruise with RCI as a group - Ideally from Southampton.

 

We have 3 couples going in addition to my mother.

 

Naturally, the couples want cabins of their own - leaving my mother with a cabin on her own. To be fair this would be her preference anyway!

 

The problem is that for the 3 couples RCI are looking to charge around £3000 per cabin (£1500 per person). However, for my 65 year old mother they are looking to charge £3000 for her alone.

 

This does appear grossly unfair.

 

Anyone have any thoughts / ideas

 

We are Diamond Crown & Anchor members who want to continue with RCI. However, feel that next years cruise may have to be with another company.

[Marie51]

Next year we are looking to cruise with RCI as a group - Ideally from Southampton.

 

We have 3 couples going in addition to my mother.

 

Naturally, the couples want cabins of their own - leaving my mother with a cabin on her own. To be fair this would be her preference anyway!

 

The problem is that for the 3 couples RCI are looking to charge around £3000 per cabin (£1500 per person). However, for my 65 year old mother they are looking to charge £3000 for her alone.

 

This does appear grossly unfair.

 

Anyone have any thoughts / ideas

 

We are Diamond Crown & Anchor members who want to continue with RCI. However, feel that next years cruise may have to be with another company.

 

I went on a cruise last year in my own cabin and had to pay double price. I do not think it is fair but this is the way it is.

[madforcruising]

Yep you always will pay the cabin price, regardless if it´s one or two passengers in there. Taxes and fees are only on a per person basis.

 

I travel as a single as well and actually don´t see anything unfair with this. It´s the same with Hotels, I pay for the room regardless if staying on my own or with two people.

 

Most major cruiselines do this. However there are sometimes specials with reduced rates for singles and some cruise lines charge less as well.

[onyourtoes]

Next year we are looking to cruise with RCI as a group - Ideally from Southampton.

 

We have 3 couples going in addition to my mother.

 

Naturally, the couples want cabins of their own - leaving my mother with a cabin on her own. To be fair this would be her preference anyway!

 

The problem is that for the 3 couples RCI are looking to charge around £3000 per cabin (£1500 per person). However, for my 65 year old mother they are looking to charge £3000 for her alone.

 

This does appear grossly unfair.

 

Anyone have any thoughts / ideas

 

We are Diamond Crown & Anchor members who want to continue with RCI. However, feel that next years cruise may have to be with another company.

 

To the best of my knowledge, and please someone, correct me if I am wrong, but since most cruises are booked as "per person double occupancy" if you book a room as a single, you get charged double fare. If you go with another cruise line, except if it's a cruise line that offer single cabins, which I don't know of any, you will still end up paying double. Does mom have a girlfriend that she can travel with to split the cost?

 

Good luck:)

[Goldryder]

To the best of my knowledge, and please someone, correct me if I am wrong, but since most cruises are booked as "per person double occupancy" if you book a room as a single, you get charged double fare. If you go with another cruise line, except if it's a cruise line that offer single cabins, which I don't know of any, you will still end up paying double. Does mom have a girlfriend that she can travel with to split the cost?

 

Good luck:)

 

Costa have single cabins on many of their ships and even those which don't the single occupancy rate is a flat 80% across the grades...this is changing for all new bookings from December 1, 2009 to 30-80% single supplement rate. None of the 150-200% mularky charged by RCI, Princess et al.

[cb at sea]

You really need to think of the cost of a cabin as the price for 2 people...sort of like a hotel room...for $___ you can have 2 in the room!

 

If the cruiselines would price that way, then there wouldn't be such discontent when only 1 is sailing!

[Garyorient]

Being pedantic.

If they are charging you £3000 for a cabin, they won't ber charging her £3000

 

Reasonable to assume that the port taxes and charges will run at £150 - £200 pp (dependent on the cruise) so whilst the 2 share will cost £1500 per person, the single will be about £2800.

[amybeth4]

This is how the travel industry is. Typically you're charged 150% - 200% of the rate. Sometimes it's called a "single supplement."

 

I had my own cabin on the Majesty 4-nighter. They definitely had an unadvertised deal going on, because I only paid $396 for my interior cabin which was a pretty good price considering I was alone.

[Beanie01]

The only thing about comparing the cost of 2 in a cabin compared to 2 in a hotel room is that in a hotel, all you get is the room. That's all you're paying for. On a cruise, each passage includes food and all the ship's amenities. With a solo traveler, they are 1 person eating and utilizing the amenities, not 2. So I could understand charging a solo traveler the per person rate, plus 25%. I don't think it's fair to pay double.

[relaxandenjoy]

It is an unfortunate fact of being single. I do understand it though:

 

Say the maximum capacity of the ship is 2000 people. They are planning on the lodging plus on board spending of 2000 people. If only 1000 people are on the ship, not only would they make 1/2 as much on rooms, but 1/2 as much on shore excursions, drinks, casino, etc. They just couldn't afford to do business this way.

 

I actually asked my brother to go with me on the next cruise. (We've traveled together a lot and much of our family is on this cruise.) As long as I had a cabin anyway, it didn't cost much more for a 2nd person.

[hooked-on-travel]

They probably figure they're losing the money a second person in the room would be gambling and drinking away. Need to make up for that with room charge. I don't know. It's no different than the people who bring a baby and say, "I carried my own formula, so it's not like he/she's eating in the dining room. Why do I need to pay the same as an adult?" Most logical answer to that one I've heard is the explanation that says babies aren't getting drunk and playing the slots to make up the other half of their cruise fare. To be honest, I'm not either, but I thank the rest of you who make up for me. ;)

 

 

UPDATE: Julie, you posted the same idea while I was typing...

[Tom Crusin]

This is how the travel industry is. Typically you're charged 150% - 200% of the rate. Sometimes it's called a "single supplement."

 

I had my own cabin on the Majesty 4-nighter. They definitely had an unadvertised deal going on, because I only paid $396 for my interior cabin which was a pretty good price considering I was alone.

I sail the Aug. 31 4-nighter on Majesty. They only charged me a 130% single supplement. Advertised rate was $199 double occupancy, and they charged me $256.50 as a single.

[vegasres]

My very first cruise a LOT of years ago, I went on the Costa Flavia out of Miami, and had a single cabin. I had to pay 150%. The cabin was really tiny. It also had a pull down bunk on top of the bed, and I really don't know how you could have put 2 people in that cabin. In addition to that, the cabin was inside, and quite dark. Needless to say I didn't spend much time in the cabin, and today the ships cabins are a lot bigger than that little cabin I had, and if I was travelling solo, I would gladly pay double for the kinds of cabins they have now. They are a lot better than that single one I had for 150%.

[stephanie1]

I travel myself and I do not get charged for 2 people. ITs a few hundred

dollars cheaper than double, but not double.

 

Why are they charging 200% anyway???

[aloha of the seas]

Another rate reduction that your mom may benefit from that you may not, is the fact that she might be older than 55. Certain cruises offer discounts, considerable, for seniors. It is necessary to be vigilant, because they may only be there for a day or so, so you need to act fast. You can take advantage of these even if you have aleady booked, but don't book counting on this.

[madforcruising]

The only thing about comparing the cost of 2 in a cabin compared to 2 in a hotel room is that in a hotel, all you get is the room. That's all you're paying for. On a cruise, each passage includes food and all the ship's amenities. With a solo traveler, they are 1 person eating and utilizing the amenities, not 2. So I could understand charging a solo traveler the per person rate, plus 25%. I don't think it's fair to pay double.

 

 

In addition to what has been said already regarding less income form onboard spending I´d like to comment on two more points you are missing.

First of all the food and ships amenities. Food is budgeted really low on a daily per person basis, so not much savings there and the ship amenities are there regardless if there´s a person less or more. The shows will cost the same and the entertainment staff still does their job.

 

But my second point is more important. You forget the ship does not only provide you a room like a Hotel, but also transportation. It is costly to run a ship and sail it from port to port. The ship needs to sail regardles of how many people are onboard and the cost for running the ship are shared among all guests based on cabin / berth availability, so your 25% figure wouldn´t work, or the difference had to be paid with higher fares for all.

 

Again this is a solo cruiser that would love to see lower single rates, but I see it´s not very realistic.

[shelmo]

Ive just booked two doubles and a single cabin the single was about £350 cheaper than the double. Noticed you were from the uk I booked through Thomas Cook cheaper and a lot more helpful than most sites

[financialgrl]

BF will not travel, he hates all the AP mess these days so I am basically "single" too. I, too, always prefer a room by myself when I cruise but because I am paying double for that, as someone else already mentioned, I just take someone else with me. The former budget analyst in me can't justify paying so much for just me, so last year on the Explorer to Bermuda, I took two older teen nieces who had just graduated from high school. I still paid the double occupancy rate and both girls split the cost of the less 3rd passenger fare. I still ended up paying the same as I would if I were alone but somehow in my mind spreading the cost of the room over 3 people at least made it seem more economical and two nieces got to take a trip they otherwise would not have been able to make. It didn't hurt that they were had each other to run the ship with and they were old enough to take care of themselves and I still had a lot of alone time.

 

BTW, years ago I used to travel to resorts in the Caribbean with a bunch of friends and the same rule applied. I either had to pay double for the room or find a roommate so it does exist elsewhere. Not sure if it is still the same but years ago Atlantis in the Bahamas was the same way.

[madforcruising]

BF will not travel, he hates all the AP mess these days so I am basically "single" too. I, too, always prefer a room by myself when I cruise but because I am paying double for that, as someone else already mentioned, I just take someone else with me. The former budget analyst in me can't justify paying so much for just me, so last year on the Explorer to Bermuda, I took two older teen nieces who had just graduated from high school. I still paid the double occupancy rate and both girls split the cost of the less 3rd passenger fare. I still ended up paying the same as I would if I were alone but somehow in my mind spreading the cost of the room over 3 people at least made it seem more economical and two nieces got to take a trip they otherwise would not have been able to make. It didn't hurt that they were had each other to run the ship with and they were old enough to take care of themselves and I still had a lot of alone time.

 

BTW, years ago I used to travel to resorts in the Caribbean with a bunch of friends and the same rule applied. I either had to pay double for the room or find a roommate so it does exist elsewhere. Not sure if it is still the same but years ago Atlantis in the Bahamas was the same way.

 

It´s the same in the majority of Hotels worldwide.

[mirgloin]

There seems to be some variation in different cruise lines' rates for single travelers. I have priced a few cruises on Carnival and RCI and found that RCI seems to charge a bit less for single cruisers. Not a whole lot, but a hundred dollars or so for an inside cabin. Of course, every situation is different--and it depends on what sort of deals the cruise line may be offering on a particular day.

$100 or so in savings is probably not enough reason to take a cruise line you don't prefer, but if all other things are equal in your opinion (or you prefer the line offering the "better" single rate) you can use the savings to help pay for parking, specialty dining, sodas, a shore excursion, or something like that.

[norcalal]

By being there at the right time you can get a real bargain. I have a D-1 corner aft for 100 bucks more than the cheapest inside rate at this time!

 

Caught a senior rate on the right day and noticed the corner aft was available.

 

I don't care what the supplement % is, as it is relative to what the current rate is...and I have seen the rates change during the day. If it is an attractive offer...I'm in...dam the supplement...full speed ahead :eek::D:)