Solo vs 2 --Pricing HELP!!!

[Laney219]

I was checking out an upcoming cruise--going solo vs. bring my mom along in the cabin.

 

I thought I understood how the pricing would work, but after doing a side by side comparison, I am completely confused.

 

I am thinking that based on the prices the possibility exists that the single supplement for this sailing is not 200%.

 

Is there a place to confirm?

[spookwife]

on occasion they do indeed give a break to Solos. I have seen it as low as 125%

[Clarea]

I was checking out an upcoming cruise--going solo vs. bring my mom along in the cabin.

 

I thought I understood how the pricing would work, but after doing a side by side comparison, I am completely confused.

 

I am thinking that based on the prices the possibility exists that the single supplement for this sailing is not 200%.

 

Is there a place to confirm?

You are confirming it by displaying the prices on the website. Note that the single supplement can change at any time.

[Laney219]

on occasion they do indeed give a break to Solos. I have seen it as low as 125%

 

Thank you for your reply. Is there a place to check for lower supplements?

[Laney219]

You are confirming it by displaying the prices on the website. Note that the single supplement can change at any time.

 

Thanks Bob.

 

I noticed on sale flyers there is a line for single supplement charges. Wasn't sure if there was another place to check for all sailings.

 

When I priced it out, there is no 'single supplement' percent indicated, as I have seen on a flyer.. just wanted to confirm that as the difference vs. Royal making a pricing mistake (cause that never happens! :rolleyes:)

[Clarea]

Thanks Bob.

 

I noticed on sale flyers there is a line for single supplement charges. Wasn't sure if there was another place to check for all sailings.

 

When I priced it out, there is no 'single supplement' percent indicated, as I have seen on a flyer.. just wanted to confirm that as the difference vs. Royal making a pricing mistake (cause that never happens! :rolleyes:)

The only place I see single supplements listed by percentage is on the weekly sales flyer. Travel agents might have other resources.

[Laney219]

The only place I see single supplements listed by percentage is on the weekly sales flyer. Travel agents might have other resources.

 

Darn.. that is what I was afraid of!

 

Thanks for your help again Bob! Happy New Year!

[138east]

You can also follow this thread which is not RCL specific. You will find out what solos are doing on all cruise lines. Someone recently mentioned Cruiseplum as a solo resource.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=851324&page=213

[Clarea]

Darn.. that is what I was afraid of!

 

Thanks for your help again Bob! Happy New Year!

You're welcome, and Happy New Year to you too.:)

[maryann2]

Royal charges double for solos most of the time now. The difference in price might be that as a solo you are only paying port taxes for one person.

[xxoocruiser]

Cruise solo regularly and there's no exact science as to how to determine the single supplement as it varies regularly. When cruising solo you really need to set your budget max that you're willing to pay while also being flexible with the dates rather than concentrating on trying to find a low single supplement.

 

Other things to consider:

• RCCL ships that have dedicated single cabins without a single supplement are often more costly that if you were to book a standard cabin with a single supplement. Reason being there are so few dedicated single cabins so if you don't book a single as soon the itineraries are published which is generally the cheapest time the rate go up as the supply of single cabins goes down. Yes single cabins are also subject to supply vs. demand. So definitely compare prices.
  
• RCCL cabins designed specifically to be a single only count for 1 C&A point per night vs. a standard cabin booked with a single supplement earns double points. If you're very close to a tier jump that's something to consider.
  
• RCCL offers various BOGO specials (which tend to be fairly regularly) so that's a good time to check for single rates . Generally speaking you get the benefit of a reduction on the single supplement with these types of specials. Not always but more often than not.
  

Edited January 1, 2016 by xxoocruiser

[Laney219]

Cruise solo regularly and there's no exact science as to how to determine the single supplement as it varies regularly. When cruising solo you really need to set your budget max that you're willing to pay while also being flexible with the dates rather than concentrating on trying to find a low single supplement.

 

Other things to consider:

• RCCL ships that have dedicated single cabins without a single supplement are often more costly that if you were to book a standard cabin with a single supplement. Reason being there are so few dedicated single cabins so if you don't book a single as soon the itineraries are published which is generally the cheapest time the rate go up as the supply of single cabins goes down. Yes single cabins are also subject to supply vs. demand. So definitely compare prices.
  
• RCCL cabins designed specifically to be a single only count for 1 C&A point per night vs. a standard cabin booked with a single supplement earns double points. If you're very close to a tier jump that's something to consider.
  
• RCCL offers various BOGO specials (which tend to be fairly regularly) so that's a good time to check for single rates . Generally speaking you get the benefit of a reduction on the single supplement with these types of specials. Not always but more often than not.
  

 

Appreciate the time it took for this reply... I do realize all these tips and tricks. The question was specific for the cruise I priced out since everything kind of fell into place w/ itinerary, schedule, price, etc.

 

I asked my mom if she wanted to go just because I thought it would only be the extra taxes and fees (in this case less than $113). When it wasn't, I tried to do the calculations to figure out why.

 

When none of my math worked, I thought about the single supplement not being 200% and if there was a way to determine if indeed that was the fact.If anyone would know a place to check for single supplements, they would be on this board.

 

Unfortunately, it seems that there is no place to figure out the supplement rate for this cruise w/o making a phone call to Royal or a TA.

 

I appreciate all the help and advice. Happy New Year to all and happy seas!

[CVU]

Call RCL if they are open and get a hopefully... correct answer. It could change if you did find a deal, so doesn't hurt to ask. Or call back again and ask as you can get different answers sometimes.

[Alter Ego]

It shouldn't be 200% due to the BOGOHO sale.

[maryann2]

It shouldn't be 200% due to the BOGOHO sale.

This does not seem to apply to the Spring Transatlantics. However it does with the Independence TA on May 1-14.

Solos pay 150%

[monctonguy]

Even with the BOGO, solo's still pay double or what it would cost for 2 ppl.....I know as I booked...only savings is on the taxes.

 

Maybe the overall rate is adjusted in the advertised base price...but even with the BOGO sale, 1 person sailing is the same cost as for two.

Don't like it...but its going to get me closer to diamond status quicker I guess..lol

[Laney219]

Even with the BOGO, solo's still pay double or what it would cost for 2 ppl.....I know as I booked...only savings is on the taxes.

 

Maybe the overall rate is adjusted in the advertised base price...but even with the BOGO sale, 1 person sailing is the same cost as for two.

Don't like it...but its going to get me closer to diamond status quicker I guess..lol

 

And that is what got me to start this thread.. I thought for $113 more I would treat my mom to a cruise. When I changed the # in the cabin, wasn't the case.

 

Which made me thing the supplement wasn't 200%, and was looking for an easy way (no phone call) way to check.

[Bevv]

When I look to see what I am being charged per person, I look at the second screen under the price to see what the charge is per person.

 

To do a comparison, do a mock booking for one person, then 2. That shows you what the price is per person in either case.

 

Divide the person 2 booking from the person 1 booking to get the supplement.

 

Booking 1 = 729.00

Booking 2 =1200.00

Supplement is 1.64%

[Caribbean Allan]

Since you are looking for prices, I thought I'd throw this in: For many cruises, I've researched online and booked my own cruise directly from Royal Caribbean. I constantly kept checking for price drops, which, on a few occasions there were. But one year, I finally decided to try my hand at going to a travel agent that specializes in cruises, as others have suggested. OMG! The prices I got were incredible! Well below the published rates that I was looking at directly on the RCC web page. I mean...... great rates! I was kicking myself in the pants for not doing this years ago. I don't think I'm allowed to name travel agents here, but I will say that it is one of the major online agencies that advertises that they specialize in cruises. Once I placed an interest online, very shortly later I got a telephone call from the travel agent. I was talking to a human body. Of course, I could have let her do all the arrangements, but I really do like to pick my own cabin. So I got on my computer at the same time the agent was on the computer, and looked at my options and then the agent made the actual reservation. Saved me a TON of money for my party of 8 and three cabins. The agent's rates were so low that they could not advertise them. So when you see an ad that says, "Call for rates", you can be assured that they are much lower rates than you can get on your own. And the travel agency threw in a small on-board credit in addition to the RCC on board credit. Give it a try, even for you solo cruise! Good luck!

[Johnamac123]

Even with the BOGO, solo's still pay double or what it would cost for 2 ppl.....I know as I booked...only savings is on the taxes.

 

Maybe the overall rate is adjusted in the advertised base price...but even with the BOGO sale, 1 person sailing is the same cost as for two.

Don't like it...but its going to get me closer to diamond status quicker I guess..lol

 

I recently booked a cruise as a solo and got 1/2 off the price of the single supplement..... not sure what the difference was on our two bookings...

[Merion_Mom]

I was checking out an upcoming cruise--going solo vs. bring my mom along in the cabin.

 

I thought I understood how the pricing would work, but after doing a side by side comparison, I am completely confused.

 

I am thinking that based on the prices the possibility exists that the single supplement for this sailing is not 200%.

 

Is there a place to confirm?

 

I suspect that the BOGO pricing is the difference.

 

If you would like to email me the specifics, I'll try to figure it out for you. (I cruise solo a lot.)

Edited January 3, 2016 by Merion_Mom

[Scrapnana]

I recently booked a cruise as a solo and got 1/2 off the price of the single supplement..... not sure what the difference was on our two bookings...

 

I was able to get 150% instead of 200% on a BOGO sale, also.