Trying to find solo cabins without luck

[Lois R]

On 9/4/2023 at 12:59 PM, Roz said:

I've done 30 solo cruises and never booked a solo cabin. 

Hi Roz, I have probably taken twice that many and never booked a solo cabin either. 

[leaveitallbehind]

8 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi Roz, I have probably taken twice that many and never booked a solo cabin either. 

Then maybe you should look for cruise lines - NCL, RCCL, and Celebrity, to name a few as examples -  that have certain ships with dedicated solo staterooms for future bookings.  The point being that there are a number of cruise lines, such as those mentioned, that in recent years have launched ships with staterooms that are designed specifically as solo cruiser staterooms vs a standard double occupancy stateroom priced at a solo cruiser rate - which is almost always close to the full double occupancy rate less one occupants port fees and taxes charges. 

 

The designated solo staterooms, while being somewhat smaller than the standard double occupancy staterooms, are priced at a rate that is typically significantly lower than the standard double occupancy stateroom rates for solo cruisers - often by 30% or more.  As you indicate that you apparently cruise quiet often as a solo cruiser, this is something that you may want to look into for future cruises that may save you a significant amount of money on your current typical solo cruise fare.

Edited October 14, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[hallux]

@leaveitallbehind NCL has now re-classified over 1,000 standard size staterooms across the fleet as "solo" rooms.  EVERY ship now has rooms classed in that way...

[Essiesmom]

8 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Then maybe you should look for cruise lines - NCL, RCCL, and Celebrity, to name a few as examples -  that have certain ships with dedicated solo staterooms for future bookings.  The point being that there are a number of cruise lines, such as those mentioned, that in recent years have launched ships with staterooms that are designed specifically as solo cruiser staterooms vs a standard double occupancy stateroom priced at a solo cruiser rate - which is almost always close to the full double occupancy rate less one occupants port fees and taxes charges. 

 

The designated solo staterooms, while being somewhat smaller than the standard double occupancy staterooms, are priced at a rate that is typically significantly lower than the standard double occupancy stateroom rates for solo cruisers - often by 30% or more.  As you indicate that you apparently cruise quiet often as a solo cruiser, this is something that you may want to look into for future cruises that may save you a significant amount of money on your current typical solo cruise fare.

 It the point is, the rate charged for one person in the solo cabin, even though it is smaller, is not the per person rate charged in a regular cabin.  It is more often 150%.  Or to be more clear, they were paying 75% of what a couple would pay.  I have friends who loved the solo cabins on the QE2.  I participated in a cabin crawl on my one cruise on her, in her last season.  The solo cabin was so small, the floor space was about equal to the dimensions of the bunk.  It was speculated that those cabins were originally intended for servants.  I recently viewed a video of a solo balcony cabin on MSC Grandiosa.  The bed is a couch that makes up as a single.  Actually it is a bunk sofa, makes into an upper and a lower.  Across from the couch was a small desk.  The floor space reminded me of that QE2 solo.  However, it did have a lovely balcony.   EM

[Lois R]

8 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Then maybe you should look for cruise lines - NCL, RCCL, and Celebrity, to name a few as examples -  that have certain ships with dedicated solo staterooms for future bookings.  The point being that there are a number of cruise lines, such as those mentioned, that in recent years have launched ships with staterooms that are designed specifically as solo cruiser staterooms vs a standard double occupancy stateroom priced at a solo cruiser rate - which is almost always close to the full double occupancy rate less one occupants port fees and taxes charges. 

 

The designated solo staterooms, while being somewhat smaller than the standard double occupancy staterooms, are priced at a rate that is typically significantly lower than the standard double occupancy stateroom rates for solo cruisers - often by 30% or more.  As you indicate that you apparently cruise quiet often as a solo cruiser, this is something that you may want to look into for future cruises that may save you a significant amount of money on your current typical solo cruise fare.

Oh, I was not complaining😃...I was just stating a fact. I LOVE the space with a regular sized cabin😃

And I have no desire to to size down.  And yes, I have been cruising solo for many years......20+

NCL and Royal hold no appeal for me. I sailed with Celebrity for many years. More recently I have been sailing with Silversea.  

[leaveitallbehind]

42 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Oh, I was not complaining😃...I was just stating a fact. I LOVE the space with a regular sized cabin😃

And I have no desire to to size down.  And yes, I have been cruising solo for many years......20+

NCL and Royal hold no appeal for me. I sailed with Celebrity for many years. More recently I have been sailing with Silversea.  

I didn't take your comments as a complaint - I just thought maybe you weren't aware of the solo stateroom option as it has generally only become more popular across the different lines in recent years.  I also understand the preference for the larger staterooms.  Sorry if I came across in the wrong manner and you misunderstood my intent. 

[Lois R]

9 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I didn't take your comments as a complaint - I just thought maybe you weren't aware of the solo stateroom option as it has generally only become more popular across the different lines in recent years.  I also understand the preference for the larger staterooms.  Sorry if I came across in the wrong manner and you misunderstood my intent. 

We are good🙂 no problem.

[leaveitallbehind]

55 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

 It the point is, the rate charged for one person in the solo cabin, even though it is smaller, is not the per person rate charged in a regular cabin.  It is more often 150%.  Or to be more clear, they were paying 75% of what a couple would pay.  I have friends who loved the solo cabins on the QE2.  I participated in a cabin crawl on my one cruise on her, in her last season.  The solo cabin was so small, the floor space was about equal to the dimensions of the bunk.  It was speculated that those cabins were originally intended for servants.  I recently viewed a video of a solo balcony cabin on MSC Grandiosa.  The bed is a couch that makes up as a single.  Actually it is a bunk sofa, makes into an upper and a lower.  Across from the couch was a small desk.  The floor space reminded me of that QE2 solo.  However, it did have a lovely balcony.   EM

While your example is not incorrect, I think it depends on the cruise line.  Some of the newer launch ships that feature these staterooms are not quite as small and crowded as your example, and the pricing is scaled accordingly.  Celebrity Edge class ships, as example, offer their solo's as a veranda stateroom at 142 sq. ft. with a 42 sq. ft. balcony as compared to a standard veranda at 201 sq. ft. with the same balcony. So yes it is measurably smaller (29% smaller) but not so much that a solo cruiser would find it uncomfortably cramped.  

 

It's just another option and a fair answer to solo cruisers who were previously limited to double occupancy staterooms with their corresponding pricing based on double occupancy.

[TotesMcGotes]

On 8/27/2023 at 7:00 AM, yarramar said:

Virgin Voyages specializes in single cabins. I would think that there will be availability on most cruises without having to pay a single supplement.

https://www.virginvoyages.com/ahoy/stories/cruising-solo

Yes, they have a whole category of solo cabins (inside and Oceanview)This is what I was first going to book when planning my birthday cruise.  However, I ended up roping in a few friends so ended up just going with a regular balcony room (sea terrace).  In the future, I definitely want to try one of their solo cabins, especially the Oceanview one.

[donaldsc]

A GOOD TA should be able to answer your question easily as they have search engines that can do things that we can't.  A TA who either can't or won't is not a good TA and they should not be used.

 

DON

[navybankerteacher]

On 8/23/2023 at 6:18 AM, SoloAlaska said:

...
 

sometimes solo cabins are more expensive than a larger interior cabin if there is no singles supplement on that itinerary.

Precisely - if you are interested in getting a low price cabin, just shop around. There is no magic making any single cabin cheaper than all regular cabins.

[navybankerteacher]

On 12/1/2023 at 11:08 PM, donaldsc said:

A GOOD TA should be able to answer your question easily as they have search engines that can do things that we can't.  A TA who either can't or won't is not a good TA and they should not be used.

 

DON

Of course TA's operate on commission - which means the lower the fare you demand the less time they will be inclined to spend on you.

[new_cruiser]

It's also worth checking the specials page of lines that you are interested in. They sometimes have a reduced or no solo supplement special so you can get any cabin on the ship for slightly more or the same price as the per person double occupancy rate. 

 

For anyone interested in cruising on small ships (by which I mean around 140 to 350 passenger capacity), such specials are frequent on some lines. Star Clippers almost always has a list of cruises with no solo supplement, currently about 3 dozen cruises are on the list. Such specials used to be rare on Windstar, but in the last few years they've had a list of cruises with reduced or no solo supplement. Currently, they don't have many with a zero solo supplement but many are 20% (meaning the fare is 120% of the per person double occupancy fare). 

 

I was booked on a Windstar cruise with no solo supplement last spring and it went on sale with a much lower price. I wasn't sure if they would honor the no solo supplement for the sale price but they did so I'm pretty happy with them. 

[SailorJoe22]

My upcoming cruise, I was given a regular stateroom. I think the studios are only on certain ships?

[hallux]

30 minutes ago, SailorJoe22 said:

My upcoming cruise, I was given a regular stateroom. I think the studios are only on certain ships?

You specifically book a Studio category, they're not just given to you because you're sailing solo.  You booked an inside cabin so you got an inside cabin.  Yes, NCL (and to some extent on other lines) has Studio cabins on 9 ships, though one only has four of them.

[1412p0oi]

On 8/22/2023 at 1:37 AM, MDav123 said:

Hi there, I'm hoping to do a cruise next year for the first time. I'm open to different destinations so am willing to set sail from any location. 

 

However, as a solo traveller the cost of a single supplement can be quite prohibitive, and when I look at specific cruises all the single cabins seem to sell out very quickly.

 

Does anyone know if there is a way to do a search where you can see which cruises have single cabins available throughout next year, rather than by having to go through each cruise and departure date one by one?

 

Many thanks 

Depending on the cruise it's probably cheaper or the same price for a solo cabin. Only a few cruise lines have them anyways. 

 

I recently booked Norwegian for an Alaskan cruise. Solo cabin was literally $50 cheaper than the standard interior cabin (next cheapest option), for like half the space. So not saving much money at all in this case.

[hallux]

8 hours ago, 1412p0oi said:

Solo cabin was literally $50 cheaper than the standard interior cabin (next cheapest option), for like half the space

You were looking at a Studio compared to a regular inside.  NCL now has some "regular" size cabins categorized as 'solo'.

 

Also, for what it's worth, the Studio cabins are not half the size - a regular inside cabin is as small as 135 sq. feet, a Studio is 99.

[1412p0oi]

3 hours ago, hallux said:

You were looking at a Studio compared to a regular inside.  NCL now has some "regular" size cabins categorized as 'solo'.

 

Also, for what it's worth, the Studio cabins are not half the size - a regular inside cabin is as small as 135 sq. feet, a Studio is 99.

Sure, but it’s still labeled as a solo cabin option that was the cheapest and only kind available on my ship.

 

Does it matter if “they now have some available” if it’s not on every ship and therefore not on the specific ship for my cruise? 
 

That aside, the point still stands about the pricing. It’s not necessarily erasing the single supplement on many cruises. Just perhaps a bit cheaper in some cases. I’ve also played around with other itineraries and switching between 1-2 people to see my option: