Single Accommodation

[Live4cruises]

Are there any single cabins on Westerdam? The person for whom I'm asking is not willing to risk the "share" category.

 

Thanks

[RuthC]

No, there are only three single cabins in the entire HAL fleet. They are all (one inside, two outside) on the Prinsendam.

However, all cabins on HAL are available for single occupancy.

There is a single supplement ranging from and additional 50% to an additional 100% over the per person, double occupancy rate, depending on category. Sometimes you can do a bit better on the %-age increase.

Although I have not yet experienced this myself, there is word that there is a limit to the number of cabins that will be available to singles on any given cruise.

[Kween Karen]

Hey Ruth......guess I better book some MORE cruises before they run out of singles!! LOL....I think I have enough!

[Cruisin Suzin]

Hey Ruth......guess I better book some MORE cruises before they run out of singles!! LOL....I think I have enough!

 

Wow How I envy you and Ruth to be able to cruise so much and so often..and yet you both never take a moment for granted and are always such willing spirits to share your experiences..:)

[RuthC]

Wow How I envy you and Ruth to be able to cruise so much and so often..and yet you both never take a moment for granted and are always such willing spirits to share your experiences..:)

Thanks. Now, please, throw chocolate. :D

 

There was a time when I had to pinch pennies, and budget very carefully just to have enough for food. But, I scrimped and saved, and eventually my husband and I were able to take a cruise every year. After he died I took longer cruises, but still it was only one a year.

Now I've reached the point where there is no reason not to enjoy what I have saved for all those years. It's my little attempt to keep peace in the family.

If there's nothing left when I die, there's nothing for the relatives to fight over. :p

[Bill B]

I now cruise 'solo' (divorced) and always pay the single supplement - there is no way I would share a stateroom with a stranger.

 

A word of advice -

It's best to book early if the single supplement is 50% (or sometimes even less). If/when the ship looks like it will fill, they will increase the single supplement to 100%.

 

Last weekend I booked a Cat. HH on the Volendam, 14-day 'Pacific Treasures' (with a 50% single supplement). The day after I made the deposit, the single supplement jumped to 100% i.e. waiting one day would have cost me an extra $819 to book the exact same room. I got in 'just under the wire'!

[bob brown]

This is an interesting subject. Do to its demographics, you would think that HAL would have more single cabins than the three RuthC mentioned on the Prinsendam.

An interesting development is the new "Studio" single cabins on the NCL Epic. If they are successful, they may lead to other lines trying similar.

I think the only other mainstream cruiseline that has built ships with some singles in recent years is P&O.

[Tamaracboy]

Thanks. Now, please, throw chocolate.

 

There was a time when I had to pinch pennies, and budget very carefully just to have enough for food. But, I scrimped and saved, and eventually my husband and I were able to take a cruise every year. After he died I took longer cruises, but still it was only one a year.

Now I've reached the point where there is no reason not to enjoy what I have saved for all those years. It's my little attempt to keep peace in the family.

If there's nothing left when I die, there's nothing for the relatives to fight over.

 

Ruth:

 

Your philosophy and attitude should be a shining (Foil wrapped chocolate) example for us all ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)

 

r.

PS: Kween Karen seems to have priorities in order as well :cool:

[luvcruisn']

A word of advice -It's best to book early if the single supplement is 50% (or sometimes even less). If/when the ship looks like it will fill, they will increase the single supplement to 100%.

 

Last weekend I booked a Cat. HH on the Volendam, 14-day 'Pacific Treasures' (with a 50% single supplement). The day after I made the deposit, the single supplement jumped to 100% i.e. waiting one day would have cost me an extra $819 to book the exact same room. I got in 'just under the wire'!

 

On some cruises the single supplement may be 100% more to start with. I checked the pricing on the Maasdam July 2011 Voyage of the Vikings cruise, and it is a 100% supplement for the least expensive cabin. I checked with a HAL representative, and he said that some cruises are so popular that the pricing for singles is 100% from the beginning of the cruise bookings. This makes some of the HAL cruises very expensive for singles.

[dolfndreams]

I have had great experiences travelling solo always have a great time and meet great people (just too complicated to find others willing to commit to a itinerary who have both the funds and the interest in travel and not willing to risk the share program). As I planned my Alaska trip next year it was interesting to try different bookings.

 

I want to do a cruise tour it priced out to about 160%, however if I booked the cruise portion alone it was 200%. Sounded like a good reason to keep the land tour portion:D

 

Actually ended up with a great price on the land portion, definitely cheaper than trying a DIY although I'm going to keep exploring.

 

Definitely pays to try out different options.

Nan

[nchank]

It is best to live well and die broke!

 

 

 

Thanks. Now, please, throw chocolate. :D

 

There was a time when I had to pinch pennies, and budget very carefully just to have enough for food. But, I scrimped and saved, and eventually my husband and I were able to take a cruise every year. After he died I took longer cruises, but still it was only one a year.

Now I've reached the point where there is no reason not to enjoy what I have saved for all those years. It's my little attempt to keep peace in the family.

If there's nothing left when I die, there's nothing for the relatives to fight over. :p

[Cinder Again]

I was going to travel single to the Amazon on Oceania this Fall, with a married couple. Oceania wanted to charge me 200%, even though they were paying for only one flight, (Flights were included) etc...I got so mad, I canceled and told my friends to go without me.

I understand why they need to charge a bit more for singles, but we don't eat two peoples food, use two peoples towels, etc. and it just seems unfair if I have to pay the exact same price as a married couple pays. If it comes to that, I will take other vacations. Or seek different cruise lines. Regent was fair, I think it was 125%, the last time I sailed them. My preference/loyalty is with HAL, as long as they are loyal to me. I'd rather have a smaller single supplement for my mariner reward.:D

Grand Circle travel and Overseas Adventure travel have very fair single supplements, or sometimes no single supplement.

There are tons of us single retirees who have the time and finances to travel, but don't want to feel gouged. I hope HAL pays attention to this group, and doesn't try to take advantage. I can sometimes find a travel companion, but I like longer cruises, and it's difficult to find someone I want to stay with in a small space, if I don't already love them.

[ab0si]

I was going to travel single to the Amazon on Oceania this Fall, with a married couple. Oceania wanted to charge me 200%, even though they were paying for only one flight, (Flights were included) etc...I got so mad, I canceled and told my friends to go without me.

I understand why they need to charge a bit more for singles, but we don't eat two peoples food, use two peoples towels, etc. and it just seems unfair if I have to pay the exact same price as a married couple pays. If it comes to that, I will take other vacations. Or seek different cruise lines. Regent was fair, I think it was 125%, the last time I sailed them. My preference/loyalty is with HAL, as long as they are loyal to me. I'd rather have a smaller single supplement for my mariner reward.:D

Grand Circle travel and Overseas Adventure travel have very fair single supplements, or sometimes no single supplement.

There are tons of us single retirees who have the time and finances to travel, but don't want to feel gouged. I hope HAL pays attention to this group, and doesn't try to take advantage. I can sometimes find a travel companion, but I like longer cruises, and it's difficult to find someone I want to stay with in a small space, if I don't already love them.

 

As someone who frequently travels solo (not cruises though, my up-coming HAL cruise will be my first solo cruise) I understand your feelings. But, the economics of cruising versus land tours is different. The supplement for a land cruise simply needs to cover higher per person hotel costs. There is very little addition per person cost and, very importantly, very little if any loss of potential revenue. A cruise on the other hand loses the potential on-board spending of the non-existant second person. On-board spending contributes a large part of a cruise-line's profit margin.

 

Of course, things are not that simple. The above ignores the possibility of having additional unsold cabins due to singles choosing not to cruise.

[agabbymama]

Every tour or cruise I've ever gone on always charges a single supplement.

 

Right now I have a bus tour to New Orleans booked at $899 pp double occupancy. To go single, the price goes up to $1299 pp. So almost 50% more.

 

I started traveling in 1987 and my first trip to England on a bus tour was going to be double, so I found a friend to go, but we didn't hit it off, it was a miserable trip, so I won't do that again. If I can't afford the price, I won't go.

 

Our HAL cruisetour to Alaska was $2720 pp. A friend was going to go single and his fare was $4420, so not double, but maybe 65% more.

 

If we want to travel single, we have to be prepared to pay more. It's that simple. The companies aren't going to take a loss just to let us travel single. JMO.

[airlink diva]

I was going to travel single to the Amazon on Oceania this Fall, with a married couple. Oceania wanted to charge me 200%, even though they were paying for only one flight, (Flights were included) etc...I got so mad, I canceled and told my friends to go without me.

I understand why they need to charge a bit more for singles, but we don't eat two peoples food, use two peoples towels, etc. and it just seems unfair if I have to pay the exact same price as a married couple pays. If it comes to that, I will take other vacations. Or seek different cruise lines. Regent was fair, I think it was 125%, the last time I sailed them. My preference/loyalty is with HAL, as long as they are loyal to me. I'd rather have a smaller single supplement for my mariner reward.:D

Grand Circle travel and Overseas Adventure travel have very fair single supplements, or sometimes no single supplement.

There are tons of us single retirees who have the time and finances to travel, but don't want to feel gouged. I hope HAL pays attention to this group, and doesn't try to take advantage. I can sometimes find a travel companion, but I like longer cruises, and it's difficult to find someone I want to stay with in a small space, if I don't already love them.

 

Girlfriend you are preaching to the choir!!

That's the only thing about cruising that I hate is that single supplement.

I know the basic logic to the cruiselines is the solo cruiser will spend less and to make up the difference,let's charge them more for the cabin.

I know some solo cruisers that spend more than married couples. As a rule, solo cruisers will book more ship tours and spend more on board,esp in the bars.

As for gouging, compared to some of the cruiselines, HAL is one of more reasonable pricing even with the single supplement rate. On some of the other major cruiselines, you lucky to come under 200%. Carnival use to offer reasonable rates,but they just join the increase rates. The same seven day cruise that I booked for next year was $759 for an outside cabin is now $1398 for the same cabin.

Now some of the higher end cruiselines offer little or no supplement, but they are out of the pricing range of most cruisers.

My advice is to research,sign up for sale list and find a great travel agent. While the pricing is going to be higher, offer you can find rates that are within reason.

Will any of the cruiselines like HAL ever go to a no single supplement rate? I doubt it.

[CtheW0rld]

It is best to live well and die broke!

 

 

indeed. i want the last check i write to bounce.

[sevenseasnomad]

My son's best friend cancelled the other day which suddenly meant we had 2 choices: pay the supplement for the now-single person cabin or bring DS in with us. :(

 

Not the best option. HAL worked with our travel agent and gave us a fantastic supplement rate---less than one-third of the full fare. In addition, DS was upgraded one category. Now we are all :). Thanks, HAL.

[Travelrd]

as you can see, my cruising history isn't very long. when i took my first cruise, i got a fantastic price for a solo mini suite even though i knew i was paying for two people. i always travel solo. the next cruise on princess the same thing happened. a fantastic price for a solo mini suite. now i'm hooked o mini suites and the price i pay is reasonable to me. but i can't afford mini suites on european cruises or cruises longer than 10 days. but i always have a wonderful time, meeti very interesting people and do what i want to do when i want to do it. i'll be retiring next year and when i'm living on a fixed income, my cruising days may come to an end but i hope not.

[MATHA531]

It's discrimination pure and simple no different than discriminating against somebody for the color of their eyes. Of course if lines discriminated against any other group of people, there would be all sorts of court cases. Why aren't singles given the same protection?

[MATHA531]

It's discrimination pure and simple no different than discriminating against somebody for the color of their eyes. Of course if lines discriminated against any other group of people, there would be all sorts of court cases. Why aren't singles given the same protection?

[CtheW0rld]

My son's best friend cancelled the other day which suddenly meant we had 2 choices: pay the supplement for the now-single person cabin or bring DS in with us. :(

 

Not the best option. HAL worked with our travel agent and gave us a fantastic supplement rate---less than one-third of the full fare. In addition, DS was upgraded one category. Now we are all :). Thanks, HAL.

 

here is another good reason to buy insurance. you have to read the fine print, of course, but a lot of policies will cover the single supplement if one party has to cancel.

[onthegogirl]

This is an interesting subject. Do to its demographics, you would think that HAL would have more single cabins than the three RuthC mentioned on the Prinsendam.

An interesting development is the new "Studio" single cabins on the NCL Epic. If they are successful, they may lead to other lines trying similar.

I think the only other mainstream cruiseline that has built ships with some singles in recent years is P&O.

 

Checked out the NCL Studio and boy are they small. Not even room for a chair. Hardly room to get out of bed. The one way window into the corridor is kind of spooky. I may travel solo but I can't imagine choosing this cabin no matter what the price. JMHO. Carole

[onthegogirl]

No, there are only three single cabins in the entire HAL fleet. They are all (one inside, two outside) on the Prinsendam.

However, all cabins on HAL are available for single occupancy.

 

There is a single supplement ranging from and additional 50% to an additional 100% over the per person, double occupancy rate, depending on category. Sometimes you can do a bit better on the %-age increase.

Although I have not yet experienced this myself, there is word that there is a limit to the number of cabins that will be available to singles on any given cruise.

Hi Ruth

 

Just for giggles I priced out a single cabin on the Prisendam for the Arctic Adventure next July. (Loved RevNeal live reports) An inside cabin with single supplement for aprox. $5,999. The single was aprox. $8,500. :eek:

[cruz chic]

I was looking at both Bermuda and Alaska cruises for next year. Hal is charging 200% for a single supp on both of these. I really hope this isn't a sign of things to come. No way am I paying $2400 for a 7 day cruise for an oceanview room. I'd like to see these super cheap deals that I hear so much about. I'm taking a New Years cruise with a blacony for less then $2400:eek:.

[RuthC]

Hi Ruth

 

Just for giggles I priced out a single cabin on the Prisendam for the Arctic Adventure next July. (Loved RevNeal live reports) An inside cabin with single supplement for aprox. $5,999. The single was aprox. $8,500. :eek:

Yes, there's something unusual in the pricing of some of the Prinsendam cruises for next year.

I priced out the single inside for a cruise, and found I could save a bundle booking an outside across the passageway. Guess I'll have to give up all that nice extra space in the single inside. ;)