Cruise lines charge solo travelers extra. Here's how to avoid those fees.
Taking a cruise by yourself comes with plenty of perks, like doing what you want when you want. But there is one drawback that guests going it alone for the first time may not expect: extra fees.
Cruise lines generally charge single supplements when solo travelers book a cabin, tacking on an extra cost for those passengers.
“They have to look at the overall picture when they're looking at pricing out specific ships and itineraries, and they look at it as, ‘What is (the revenue) that we need to get from the cabin?’” said Michelle Fee, CEO and founder of travel agency franchise network Cruise Planners.
But it’s becoming increasingly easy to avoid those charges, as more lines add cabins designed with single guests in mind.
Why do cruise lines charge single supplements?
Single supplements help cruise operators make up the difference in earnings when only one person is in a stateroom designed for two.
“And people usually say, ‘Yeah, but I don't eat double,’” Fee said. “But you also don't drink double and you don't gamble double, so there's a lot of onboard (spending) that happens, as well.”
How much do cruise single supplements cost?
Cruise lines typically charge an additional 50% to 100% of the fare, according to Fee. If a solo traveler’s fare costs $1,000, for example, they would pay between $500 and $1,000 extra for the supplement.
Do cruise lines have solo cabins?
Yes. In fact, a number of cruise lines have invested more in one-person staterooms in recent years.
Norwegian Cruise Line – which Fee said was “ahead of the curve” when it introduced solo cabins over 10 years ago – announced plans last month to add nearly 1,000 cabins for single occupants across its fleet.
Fee said others have followed suit over the past two or three years. Oceania Cruises – also part of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. – launched its new ship, Oceania Vista, with six dedicated veranda staterooms for single guests in May. The upscale line previously debuted solo oceanview staterooms on four of its small ships in 2022.
Crystal and Virgin Voyages also have solo cabins throughout their fleets, while other lines may have them on select ships. Royal Caribbean International, for instance, has studio staterooms ranging from 101 to 199 square feet on Anthem of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas and Spectrum of the Seas.
Are solo cabins cheaper?
Solo cabins are priced for single guests, so passengers do not have to pay a supplement, according to Fee.
Cruise lines typically avoid pricing solo staterooms higher than double occupancy cabins “because then somebody could just jump into a double and have much more room,” she added.
A line may raise the price of a solo cabin if it’s running low on inventory for a particular sailing, possibly even higher than some double occupancy cabins. But the latter is unlikely to be cheaper after factoring in the supplement. “Let’s say it costs $1,000 for the solo (cabin), and the double occupancy room is $850 per person. It might cost a little bit more for that solo cabin, but not 150% of $850 or 200% of $850,” Fee said.
Cruise lines also frequently run promotions waiving or discounting the supplement.
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Fee said many lines are focusing on those accommodations because they see that solo travel comes in many forms.
Passengers could be sailing on their own, but they could also be with a group of friends who want their own space or traveling with family. “It could be that it’s a family group and one of the relatives is solo and a double-price cabin prices them right out of that family vacation, where these solo cabins allow them to take part in the family reunion,” Fee said.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What are cruise's single supplement charges, how to avoid them
