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Why are solo so expensive?


jasminejazz
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Carnival used to be my go-to cruise line for cheap solo cruises, but lately they do not seem to have any.

 

However, if I check the NCL website everyday, I often find interior cabins (not solo) at the cheapest prices, not only do you have the extra room but on the last two cruises with them I was allowed to use the solo lounge (I have heard others were not allowed) but if you are like me not needing others to be with you an interior room is great.

 

Notice, you can still get good deals if you book a cabin for four or more on Carnival, I did that for my landlady and her sisters - they had a great time, but I was also invited along and since I did not want to share a cabin with four sisters I looked at getting a solo on the same ship --- it was only 25% less for just me as what they asked for the four women.  They really want to pack as many people as they legally can in a cabin.

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I went solo 3 weeks ago on the Legend to see Alaska.   I find $300 a night to cruise still a bargain.  I paid $2,200 for my 7 days and that included room, food, and entertainment.  Hotels today will cost you  $200+.  One good thing that helped me was I had a voucher to use from American Airlines.  9 months ago I gave up my seat to go on a later flight.  So my $430 Philly to Seattle flight was a freebie.   Doing that Alaska cruise was wonderful and worth every dollar.  I did three excursions.  I ordered one Margarita, and that was basically it for the extras

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On 6/18/2019 at 5:51 AM, ed01106 said:

Reread what you wrote.  Then ask yourself, "if I was the CEO of a cruise line how much effort am I going to put into attracting PerfectlyPerth to sail with us again?" 

 

In case you are missing what I am saying:  Every cruise line knows exactly how much each type of traveler racks up in on-board expenses.   If singles as a class spend less on drinks, casinos, port exertions, premium restaurants, spa, shops etc than couples than the cruise line has a strong incentive to want couples over singles. 

 

And then even with in the class, lets say the top 15% of singles spend on board $350+ per day, but you only spend about $25 a day. 

 

Take a wild guess  who is going to get the email "Congratulations as past single cruiser of XYZ lines we have a special offer exclusively for you.  The regular double occupancy price for cruise ABC is $1299 pp double occupancy.  But we have a special offer if you reserve within the next 7 days you can have the cabin as a single cruiser for only $1300.  Yes, that's right a $1 dollar single supplement.  But there is more, we will include a $150 OBC and rather than our normal policy of giving singles double points, for this cruise offer only we will triple them.   This offer is not transferable and only applies  the named rewards member." 

 

I will give you a hint:  You are not going to be on that email distribution list.  But the singles who spend $350 per day will be.  There is a reason why one of my sisters is constantly getting free hotel stays at the local casino, despite her claim she doesn't gamble very much.   

  

 

Ummm care factor zero! Seriously. I am not loyal to any specific line because I select my travels based on destinations. I really don't give a toss about "OBC" - that is not remotely part of my decision making process when booking my travel. And given some of my trips have cost over $60k each - I really don't care whether some bored CEO is checking what I am spending in a gambling den or giving any thought to whether I will travel with their line again.

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How little I spend per day may not give the whole picture.  I have been personally responsible for 9 people taking their 1st or 1st & 2nd cruise.  I paid all or much of the fares for the cruises.  If I wasn't cheap,  I couldn't afford it.  I enjoy solo cruising,  and I love introducing my family to cruising. 

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  • 1 month later...

I think the perception of solo cruising being more expensive is really just because of marketing. The cabin costs what it costs, but by advertising "per person, double occupancy," the cruise lines can use smaller numbers in their ads and make it look cheaper than it actually is.

 

I'm guessing the only reason that hotels don't do this, too, is because a much larger percentage of their clientele is traveling solo.

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15 minutes ago, SpeedDaemon said:

I'm guessing the only reason that hotels don't do this, too, is because a much larger percentage of their clientele is traveling solo.

Because a cruise includes far more than hotels -- hotels offer the room and possibly an amenity or two, whereas a cruise includes the room, the food, some (or all) beverages, the destination, many more amenities, and possibly stops in various ports.  There's no comparison to a hotel - it's apples and oranges.

 

(That being said, it's not uncommon for hotels in Europe to offer lower rates for solos, either in smaller rooms, or sometimes even in a standard double room.)

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1 hour ago, calliopecruiser said:

Because a cruise includes far more than hotels -- hotels offer the room and possibly an amenity or two, whereas a cruise includes the room, the food, some (or all) beverages, the destination, many more amenities, and possibly stops in various ports.  There's no comparison to a hotel - it's apples and oranges.

 

(That being said, it's not uncommon for hotels in Europe to offer lower rates for solos, either in smaller rooms, or sometimes even in a standard double room.)

 

At the same time all those per-person costs don't exist for the imaginary second person solos pay for.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I went on a 5 day cruise with a friend a few years ago. Both of us are claustrophobic so we went with a balcony cabin.  When they split a queen sized bed, it becomes a cot.  I'm a very restless sleeper and the only reason I did not fall out of bed was there was no room to fall. As it was my tossing and turning resulted in bruised and torn knuckles because of hitting the corner of the light fixture over the bed twice.  She needed the bed near the bathroom so her CPAP cord would reach the single outlet on the other side of the room. Getting up during the night to use the bathroom was a bit of a worry. We got along fine and had a great cruise. But I promised myself I would never share a cabin with someone again unless I didn't  mind sharing the bed with them.

I am booked for an 18 day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego thru the Panama Canal in a Verandah cabin solo. I am paying double except for the port fees. I feel I should get the full shipboard credit instead of half of it and my travel agent is checking on it. Otherwise, I still think I'm  getting a pretty good deal. It's  about 350 a day but that includes a room, 3 to 5 meals a day, a variety of entertainment, educational opportunities, It is a splurge that I deserve.

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1 hour ago, Emhk13 said:

I went on a 5 day cruise with a friend a few years ago. Both of us are claustrophobic so we went with a balcony cabin.  When they split a queen sized bed, it becomes a cot.  I'm a very restless sleeper and the only reason I did not fall out of bed was there was no room to fall. As it was my tossing and turning resulted in bruised and torn knuckles because of hitting the corner of the light fixture over the bed twice.  She needed the bed near the bathroom so her CPAP cord would reach the single outlet on the other side of the room. Getting up during the night to use the bathroom was a bit of a worry. We got along fine and had a great cruise. But I promised myself I would never share a cabin with someone again unless I didn't  mind sharing the bed with them.

I am booked for an 18 day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego thru the Panama Canal in a Verandah cabin solo. I am paying double except for the port fees. I feel I should get the full shipboard credit instead of half of it and my travel agent is checking on it. Otherwise, I still think I'm  getting a pretty good deal. It's  about 350 a day but that includes a room, 3 to 5 meals a day, a variety of entertainment, educational opportunities, It is a splurge that I deserve.

Hope you have a great time and I totally agree with your last sentence....It definitely a splurge I deserve as well:classic_smile:.  I always go solo. I have a shared a cabin 3 times in 16 years.  The last time was with my sister and even that was a strain. I am very used to my own space as I have lived on my own for almost my entire adult life (I am 61).   As for your cruise, what line? And when are you sailing?

 

I just booked a "retirement celebration cruise" (solo of course)….it is pricey but as you said, I am worth it. I am going on a TA crossing with another cruise after getting to Europe....22 days total and I am still researching possibly staying in Rome for another week (or possibly a 3rd cruise:classic_biggrin:).

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Holland America. I'm  flying to Tampa at the end of January  and will spend time with family and friends before heading to Ft. Lauderdale on the 4th of February.  I intend to spend 4 days in San Diego  before heading home to Ohio. 

I was widowed 6 years ago. I miss him but truly appreciate being on my own. I spend a fair amount time with my daughter's and grandchildren.

My husband's idea of vacation was beating the GPS predicted time of arrival in Florida to see his daughter, sister and mother.

 My retirement splurge last winter,  I spent most all of February driving  all over the Southeastern US, visiting the Biltmore, friends and family in Florida, an a 4 day visit  to Savannah, stopping to see a friend on the east side of North Carolina on my way home. I had some days to wander and found a nice yarn shop and a great little diner in Beaufort, South Carolina where they have porch swings in the park facing the harbor. I never drove more than 8 hours a day. And drove my daughters back home nuts if I didn't  text my hotel by 5 pm. 

I have no one to please but myself and I'm  loving it.

 

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On 5/29/2019 at 9:37 AM, caffeine_demon said:

I understand that the "room"/"cabin" costs the company the same whether it's for one or 2 people - so I'm ok with that - but what annoys me is :

1 - Paying for the non existent person's food.

2 - The fact that the supposed "bargain" lower supplement cabins actually cost just about as much (or more) than the cheapest twin occupancy cabins,

 

Grr!

Yes I’m finding the cruise lines are supplying a few 99sf cabins for single but are still charging as much or more than a double occupancy.

Grrrrrr!

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  • 4 weeks later...
3 hours ago, SantaAna,CA said:

Yes it can be up to a double fare cruising as a solo.  May I make a recommendation?  The site vacations to go (all run together of course) has a special section for singles sailings that have discounted, and sometimes even no, single supplement.

Yes, but those are singles/hook-up focused cruises. Not what I am interested in. VTG also lists lower single supplement cruises. There are rarely any 0% though.  One of the reasons I have lately been doing river cruises, where you can find both single cabins and no single supplement rates if booked far enough in advance.

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  • 5 weeks later...
On 9/13/2019 at 11:38 AM, Splinter said:

Yes, but those are singles/hook-up focused cruises. Not what I am interested in. VTG also lists lower single supplement cruises. There are rarely any 0% though.  One of the reasons I have lately been doing river cruises, where you can find both single cabins and no single supplement rates if booked far enough in advance.

 

No, they are just special prices for solo travelers.  Interesting you thought it involved something else though!

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