Cost of going solo

[onthegogirl]

Which cruise line gives the best deal to solo cruisers?

[AuntieBon]

Not sure but I have found that the group cruises offer some of the best rates, subtract the OBC and the price is even better :D

[flots]

carnival - in my experience - so far

[earl_m]

I book with holland America,I am being charge 30% more,i heard that RCL charges double. sometimes you can get a good deal if the ship is not sold out. you have to ask around.

[Solo Cruiser]

I have only cruised with Princess but my friends who go solo on Carnival have gotten some great deals. I know that Crystal and one of the other luxury cruise lines have offers where there is no single supplement, but their prices are out of my pocketbook's range to begin with.

 

Find where you want to cruise, check out the offerings of the ships that sail that route and then check with your TA.

[ancldaca]

I don't look at it from the supplement point of view; rather, the final bottom line cost.

 

Sometimes paying double occupancy on a particular line is cheaper than paying the supplement on the other. All other things being fairly equal, I'd take the cheaper one.

[daveco58]

The QE2 still has actual single cabins, as does Costa, and a British line whose name escapes me now. pretty good deals that way.

I got a great deal from Princess (25% supplement), but it was a long cruise, and not full.

Carnival also will negotiate the supplement, sometimes.

[KarenR_UK]

and a British line whose name escapes me now. pretty good deals that way.

 

Fred Olsen ? Some (All?) of their ships have single cabins.

So do some Saga ships (again UK based), but you have to be over 50 to book with them :D (partners allowed to go with you at 40 I think, might be 45)

 

P+O UK have varying single supplements even the occasional cruise at 0% - generally from 20% to 55% (though some are in the 75% - 85%), depending on ship and destination and time of year. They do go up (and can go up to 100%) from brochure release to brochure release so you need to book early to get the best ones (usually).

 

My best antidote to the SS is the loyalty 'discount' - cruise with the same lines and get money off that way (5% with cunard, 5-10% P+O (selected sailings) + 5-10% off on board spend (all sailings))

 

currently psyching (spelling?) my self up for the SS on the cruise I want to take next year -its popular so the SS is unlikely to be at the low end of the scale:D, just wish they would get those brochures out, so I can book it before I get (economic) cold feet !!

 

 

Karen

[PaulfromPA]

Greetings everyone:

 

I just thought of a strategy for saving some bucks for those who like to do more than one cruise in a year.

 

Suppose you book a Spring transatlantic. Yes, you could probably do cruise air, but if you want to spend some time in Europe after your cruise, you have two options: 1) Pay extra for "custom" air, or 2) Buy your own air. The problem with buying your own air is that in order to keep the cost reasonable you normally have to buy a roundtrip ticket. I don't know why, but unlike most domestic airlines, the cost of a one-way international flight is higher than a roundtrip. Okay, so you buy a round trip and then put in an arbitrary return date figuring you won't use the return.

 

But wait a minute! How about booking TWO transatlantics instead? That way you only buy one roundtrip ticket, but get the international portion of your air on two cruises.

 

Personally, here is what I am looking at: As you can see from my signature, April of 2008 I am going eastbound on the Carnival Freedom. The final destination is Rome (or close to it.) So I am thinking of doing a late fall 2008 westbound transatlantic. That way I could buy one roundtrip ticket going FROM Europe in the Spring and then returning TO Europe in the fall.

 

Now it gets even more interesting. I don't necessarily have to choose Rome as my destination city. For instance, for the fall TA I am thinking about a Barcelona - Miami cruise. My spring TA is Miami - Rome. So I could do roundtrip air to either Barcelona or Rome, and then depending on which city I choose (probably based on cost) I could just take a train between Barcelona and Rome as needed in whichever direction is needed.

 

Anyway, I guess my point is clear: It seems there is a way to basically get air for two cruises by only buying one roundtrip ticket. I am gonna think seriously about this one! :cool:

 

Paul

[Solo Cruiser]

What a great idea Paul. When I did my TA there was a lovely, elderly couple on board who summered in his home of Genoa, Italy and wintered in Ft. Lauderdale. They never flew back and forth, they cruised TA both ways. They were in their mid eighties and very active. They used their cruise each spring and fall as relaxation vacations.

 

You would have to book your own airline ticket tho since cruise air doesn't leave that extended a time before trip completion I don't think. But it sure seems like a great way to get your money's worth.