no single supplement? Where?

[nocarbs]

Any hints on how to find a cruise without that large single supplement charge? Late Aug. or early Sept on NCL is what I'd like.

[imsulin]

NCL is not one of the cruise lines that offers a "guaranteed share" program for single cruisers. However, you might have better luck during mid-Sept., as that is the "off season", and you might not have to pay the 200% (cruise rate only) single supplement, and it might go down to 150% or lower. Holland America DOES offer the "guaranteed share" program, where you pay the single rate, and could end up with a same-sex roomate. You have to book at a certain cabin category or higher, though. Cruise lines aren't very "single friendly"!

[dustyroad]

i cant answer your question. all of us single cruisers would love to know this. there is absolutely nothing wrong with the share program and you do save money but i personally do not want to share a cabin with stranger. i have been alone for so long i dont think i would do well with a strangers habits along with my own. all i can tell you is i used [url="http://www.vacationstogo.com"]www.vacationstogo.com[/url] my last cruise and only had to pay $100 extra for the cabin too be by myself. from what i have read this was a super deal. of course i booked 13 months in advance and it was a 1a guarentee. i was moved to a great inside quiet 4a on the main deck. i dont know if booking this early had anything to do with the great price or not.

DUSTY

Carnival Spirit, 9/10/03 Alaska glacier bay

Carvival Spirit, 5/11/05
Alaska glacier bay again

[tomc]

I always do a single share and have had no problems at all. You do need to adjust your head to the idea of having a perfect stranger sharing your bedroom for x number of days. After that, it's fine. Usually, the other person is a veteran of s.s. cruising and knows the rules, so there are no difficulties.

I told this to a friend and he went, "Eeuuuuuwwwwww." I said, "Practice a bit. Go out on the street, grab the first guy you see and have him share your bedroom and bathroom for ten days." All I got was another, "Eeuuuuuwwwwww."

* * *

Put "Cruise Critic" in e-mail subject line: [email]tomcarten@hotmail.com[/email]

[dustyroad]

tom

you are just tooooo hilarious!!!

DUSTY

Carnival Spirit, 9/10/03 Alaska glacier bay

Carvival Spirit, 5/11/05
Alaska glacier bay again

[kitty9]

I've done many cruises as an independent cruiser and I've done lots of research about single cruising. One of the things that I've found is that most of the travel experts, the ones who write the travel books and articles in travel magazines, all pretty much sat that the single guarantee is not one of the greatest ideas in cruising because you just never know who you're going to get stuck with. I must respectfully disagree with Tom about the guaranteed share program. Personally I would never ever want to share a room and especially a bathroom with a complete stranger. You're going to be in very close quarters with this person for at least a week, and if there's even one thing that this person does that drives you crazy, your vacation could be miserable, and who wants to spend a lot of money to be miserable.

There are ways to circumvent the huge single supplements. Look for two for one cruises. I did a Radisson cruise that was a 2'fer and it was nice not paying 200%. You only pay the first person fare for this type of cruise. Also, Radisson has some cruises that only charge $99 over the first person fare. That's a great deal. There are some cruise lines that have SS at only 10% to 25% of the first person fare on some of their cruises, but those are the luxury lines like Crystal and Seabourn and their fares are higher to begin with, but if you find one of their highly discounted cruises, they can be much cheaper in the end than paying the 200% that the mass market lines charge. Plus some of those luxury lines include things like drinks and tips, so you come out ahead in that area also.

You can also look for single specials that some cruise lines have. With those, they offer selected cabins for only the first person fare and no SS. You have to do your homework, but there are deals out there.

Darcie

[gdeltry]

[url="http://www.YourOwnCabin.com"]www.YourOwnCabin.com[/url] offers cruises without a single supplement via a weekly newsletter they send out. So, you never have to share a cabin with a stranger, always you own cabin. I shared a cabin once quite a while ago and swore I would never do it again. I am booked for the Celebrity Century on July 31st and the Summit on Oct 25th at great rates.

[kryos]

[quote name='dustyroad']i cant answer your question. all of us single cruisers would love to know this. there is absolutely nothing wrong with the share program and you do save money but i personally do not want to share a cabin with stranger. i have been alone for so long i dont think i would do well with a strangers habits along with my own. all i can tell you is i used [url="http://www.vacationstogo.com"]www.vacationstogo.com[/url] my last cruise and only had to pay $100 extra for the cabin too be by myself. [/QUOTE]

Thanks for that great piece of advice! I have been on vacationstogo's website and saw some great deals, but I didn't realize they could work "deals" for singles too! That's nice to know when booking my next cruise.

I just referred a friend and business associate to vacationstogo when she expressed interest in getting in on my Zuiderdam cruise for the end of August. We have a writing project to work on and figured the cruise would be the perfect time to get together and knock it out. She just couldn't get a reasonable price for the sailing and we had pretty much given up on the idea. Then I had her check vacationstogo, and even her regular travel agent told her to grab their price because he could no way match it.

But I thought their great prices were only for double occupancy. It's nice to know they could maybe work some magic on a single occupancy who is uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a cabin with a stranger.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[nocarbs]

Thanks for all the suggestions and help. Found an ad on cruisecritic home page. Got a great single rate on MSC Opera Dec. 11.

[emerald777]

I also subscribe to the Yourowncabin.com newsletter which has some super deals. But I also waste a lot of time checking prices on sights like Travelocity and Yahoo travel which can sometimes hold a nice surprise! Just yesterday I found a 5 day on the Celebration in December for only 329.00 for a solo! But if you are looking at a particular ship and time, it can be pretty difficult. Glad you found something good though!

[Oppgaard]

NCL SPIRIT has a 6 night cruise that departs Vancouver on 9/25 and arrives in San Francisco on 10/1. It goes up through the inside passage and at this time they have great rates with no single supplement. It would be a great cruise for anyone wanting to travel solo. Even the balcony cabins are available at this pricing.

Jerry

[skconnell]

I believe this is the company I used to get emails from. However, it appears to be an inactive (or inaccessible) web site. Any ideas?

[BaumD]

Yourowncabin discontinued their service and newsletter about 2 months ago.