Post CRUISE LINE Single Supplement/Solo Bargains HERE

It is the same itinerary so repeating it. I had been looking for a good deal on Royal as I had a voucher and OBC to use up before the end of the year. Same price for each cruise. My son and his family live in Helsinki so will visit him each week too.

I will look out for Celebrity deals for you.

 

Thank you for the information. I think that I will be booking one near the station so I don't have to carry luggage on the subway. Rex sounds like a great hotel though.

 

If you only need a hotel for 1 night then the ones near the Central Station might be okay but the reviews I've read of several of the lower priced ones didn't compare with the Rex. If the subway wasn't going to work out for me then a one-time taxi would have been okay given I was staying for 4 days/3 nights and would get better value and comfort at the Rex.

Just booked MSC Poesia 1/19/13 Balcony cabin. With single supplement and taxes it came to $1113.08. It's the final day of the sale where you book an inside and get a balcony. I looked at RCCL cruises and balconies are like double this price.

 

I landed up canceling this cruise and booking the Navigator. With my Diamond Plus balcony discount and Next Cruise deposit on board credit, the Navigator was just $82. more but I qualify for an accessible cabin which gives me a huge balcony and also the Concierge Lounge access every night means I won't have to pay for any alcohol, which alone would be more than $82. for an entire cruise. Also, I'm just not comfortable with the MSC reviews.

I was all set to book the Vision cruise. Even found a great hotel in Stockholm for $100./night. Then I contacted SPB tours for St. Petersburg tour and found out Hermitage is closed on Mondays, the day Vision docks there. Even at such a bargain price, it's pointless for me to visit St. Pete and not visit the Hermitage so I decided not to book. Just glad I found out before I put all that money down.

Have just booked the Hermitage through Royal so they probably have special openings for cruisers but not with private companies.

Have just booked the Hermitage through Royal so they probably have special openings for cruisers but not with private companies.

I wondered about that since I saw the offering on the RCCL website. The tour didn't appeal to me because SPB included a lot more. When you get back please give us a report. Have a great time!

BAse price is $449 inside and $499 Outside- port fees ~ $200 more.

BAse price is $449 inside and $499 Outside- port fees ~ $200 more.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I'm ready to wake my travel agent up I'm that excited!

Hi, your welcome. Have you been on this ship solo? I did the Jewel and the Epic before. There is also a NCL sale starting Sunday that is being billed as a residential sale; I am wondering if that will drop the price even more

Hi, your welcome. Have you been on this ship solo? I did the Jewel and the Epic before. There is also a NCL sale starting Sunday that is being billed as a residential sale; I am wondering if that will drop the price even more

I was on the Star (see my signature) when it was brand new and sailed in Hawaii but I wasn't solo.

I was on both Jewel (twice) and Epic as a solo.

There is also a NCL sale starting Sunday that is being billed as a residential sale; I am wondering if that will drop the price even more

That has me frustrated because they do have the best price guarantee, so if I book today and the rate goes down tomorrow, I'll still be 7 days before sailing to qualify for the "refund" But it does not apply to guarantee cabins. I just don't want to hold off til tomorrow and find out the solo supplement has been restored. That would be worse than say, losing another $50. off the cabin at the double rate. I've seen in the past where a "sale" price turned out to be higher than an earlier rate. If you notice, they are ending the current promotion of all of the perks and 50% deposit today. The other thing I don't like is they won't put the booking for this cruise on a 24 hr hold. Longest they will hold it for is 4 hrs. Oh well, the price as it stands is terrific and, again, thanks for pointing this out.

Did you take the inside or outside GTY? When I did the Jewel 2 years ago I had a inside GTY and then the price dropped so they gave me a porthole outside.

Did you take the inside or outside GTY? When I did the Jewel 2 years ago I had a inside GTY and then the price dropped so they gave me a porthole outside.

Taking inside gty. I usually get assigned the highest cat inside. But I also got an outside on one of my cruises. It was either on the Dawn of the Spirit. Speaking of the Spirit, I sailed on her when she first entered the NCL fleet. They were desperate for bookings due to the last minute nature of her entry into the fleet and I was able to get a balcony with no single supplement for Alaska for a crazy price (a lot less than what they want for the Star). That was a sweet deal. My nephew just came back from the Sky. He and his girlfriend booked an ocean view gty and landed up with a large aft balcony cabin. By the way, my t.a. managed to get the res on a 24 hr hold so we'll see tomorrow if there's a change in the rate and if it's for the better. Also, I don't think you mentioned if you are going on this cruise. Edited June 10, 2012 by cruise pup

Did you take the inside or outside GTY? When I did the Jewel 2 years ago I had a inside GTY and then the price dropped so they gave me a porthole outside.

 

The sale doesn't apply to special rates so the price didn't drop. According to the list the price would go down $20. I did a dummy booking on their website and the price remained the same. I'd rather have the $449. off than the lousy $20., n'est-ce pas? Anyway, I gave my cc info to my t.a. and I should be all set. Very exciting.

Hello, I saw that special on NCL and I was thinking of booking it myself but I don't know if I can get off work with that little of notice. I did go through the booking on Expedia though and it said you can get a 200 dollar air fare credit on select NCL bookings but only if you called them. Apparently the online bookings didn't reflect the price. I don't know if it will apply for you but it might be worth checking out.

 

Also, I'm new to cruising and I'm trying to find a good solo trip to go on so I'm thinking the Carribean. I found this thread about solo supplements and it seems a good way to find good deals. Is there a website or another method you guys use to find these trips without the solo supplements or do you just have to scour the travel sites until you find one.

.... Also, I'm new to cruising and I'm trying to find a good solo trip to go on so I'm thinking the Carribean. I found this thread about solo supplements and it seems a good way to find good deals. Is there a website or another method you guys use to find these trips without the solo supplements or do you just have to scour the travel sites until you find one.

 

Tacomaguy, welcome to cruising ... and to the board.

 

I'll offer a couple of generic thoughts. I am, by far, not the most experienced cruiser around here so hopefully others will come along and make more suggestions and/or clarify/correct anything I write.

 

I agree that, as a "newbie" cruiser, the Caribbean should probably be your first choice -- for several reasons. Ships cruise the Caribbean year-round, thus making the Caribbean one of the least expensive cruises. Too (especially for a young person), the Caribbean has a more "party" atmosphere than does say Alaska, New England, et al.

 

Cruise pricings are somewhat of a study in simple Economics 101. The more people going to a certain place on a certain date the higher the price. Prices will be higher on newer, bigger ships (usually), during summer (when the kids are out of school), holidays, spring break, etc. Those who have flexibility in their work/vacation schedules are often the ones booking the best prices.

 

Also --and this is an important point -- always consider the cost of airfare. You may find a GREAT deal on a cruise but discover the airfare is astronomically expensive. (Summers, holidays, one-way tickets, etc.) Again, this is Econ 101. The greater the demand, the higher the price.

 

About those websites.... I'm sure many (most) of us get a ton of cruise/travel email from a variety of places. (While I've been a rather inactive member of Cruise Critic since 2000, I still haven't exactly figured out their policies. But here's what I think....)

 

While, I guess, CC allows posters to mention websites like Priceline and TripAdvisor (see several posts up from this one) they do not allow mentioning the names of travel agents, travel agencies, or travel selling websites. Best I can figure, Cruise Critic "sells" cruises and doesn't want any competition. That's only fair as they do provide these many boards which are not only sources of good information but also a means to get to know your fellow cruisers.

 

It has been my experience that finding great rates for anything (not just cruises but airfare, hotels, car rentals) is somewhat like finding a needle in a haystack. There is no simple, one-stop-shopping for any of them. For some of us the hunting is half the fun. For others it's frustrating.

 

Poke around on the internet and sign up for emails from several different sites. You will probably soon discover which ones are best suited to what you are looking for.

 

Others, feel free to add/comment/correct.

 

Good luck and happy sailing but beware: cruising can become addicting!

I booked this on the MSC Cruises UK website. It was more than double the price on MSCs US and European websites. If you have a UK connection it should be bookable.

 

18th November, 2012, 16 nights/17 days aboard the MSC Musica starting in Venice and calling at Valetta, Barcelona, Casablanca, Salvador (Brazil) and ending in Rio de Janeiro. Inside cabins (inside guarantee are available on the website sometimes!) for £380 inclusive per person with NO SINGLE OCCUPANCY SUPPLEMENT! That is £23.75 per night or $37 US for the cabin. Outside and balcony categories were also available without sole-occupancy supplement - but again only on the UK MSC website.

 

If you collect Avios, you will find the taxes to pay to fly back from Rio very low. I paid 30,000 Avio + £25 to fly from Rio to London and that came with a free 64 Kg (140 lb) luggage allowance. I start with a flight from Manchester (UK) to Venice for £42 including a hold luggage allowance.

 

It would be good to have more solos travellers on the ship. Solos are so much more interesting and outgoing!

 

Hoping someone find information this useful.

 

Regards, Tim.

I booked this on the MSC Cruises UK website. It was more than double the price on MSCs US and European websites. If you have a UK connection it should be bookable.

 

18th November, 2012, 16 nights/17 days aboard the MSC Musica starting in Venice and calling at Valetta, Barcelona, Casablanca, Salvador (Brazil) and ending in Rio de Janeiro. Inside cabins (inside guarantee are available on the website sometimes!) for £380 inclusive per person with NO SINGLE OCCUPANCY SUPPLEMENT! That is £23.75 per night or $37 US for the cabin. Outside and balcony categories were also available without sole-occupancy supplement - but again only on the UK MSC website.

 

If you collect Avios, you will find the taxes to pay to fly back from Rio very low. I paid 30,000 Avio + £25 to fly from Rio to London and that came with a free 64 Kg (140 lb) luggage allowance. I start with a flight from Manchester (UK) to Venice for £42 including a hold luggage allowance.

 

It would be good to have more solos travellers on the ship. Solos are so much more interesting and outgoing!

 

Hoping someone find information this useful.

 

Regards, Tim.

 

Good tip on the flight, we looked at these TA to brazil 2 years ago when they were £170 best available upto balcony no suppliments, but the flight back were so expensive.

If you have cruised with Princess before, go check solo rates on the Princess website. I'm a Captain's Circle member (with just one P cruise under my belt, mind you) and have been receiving sale flyers in the mail for weeks, and finally checked out a $919 d/o balcony (BG) price for Crown Princess out of Galveston for this winter. I did the search as one passenger, fully expecting to see around $1838 come up (200% of $919), but astonishingly, it came up $1278! (If my math serves, that's only about 140%.) I double-checked using my usual online T/A, and it was the same price. Needless to say, I booked immediately. :D:D:D

 

There are a number of itineraries in Jan and Feb 2013 that have this price out of Galveston, and others are a bit more, but they have similarly-low single supplements. I'm guessing it's not just ex-Galveston cruises, so go have a look.

Hello, I saw that special on NCL and I was thinking of booking it myself but I don't know if I can get off work with that little of notice. I did go through the booking on Expedia though and it said you can get a 200 dollar air fare credit on select NCL bookings but only if you called them. Apparently the online bookings didn't reflect the price. I don't know if it will apply for you but it might be worth checking out.

 

Also, I'm new to cruising and I'm trying to find a good solo trip to go on so I'm thinking the Carribean. I found this thread about solo supplements and it seems a good way to find good deals. Is there a website or another method you guys use to find these trips without the solo supplements or do you just have to scour the travel sites until you find one.

 

I think the NCL epic is a great solo trip- they will have solo travelers that will be easy to find to do the gathering at the studio lounge.

 

What part of the country are you located in? I found that sometimes the NCL ships have last minute specials that start 2/3 weeks in advance.

 

My strategy has been to reserve a week off from work months in advance; and then see if something comes up last minute.

I did that for the NCL Jewel 2 years ago, but planned the Epic in advance and liked it better

I think the NCL epic is a great solo trip- they will have solo travelers that will be easy to find to do the gathering at the studio lounge.

 

What part of the country are you located in? I found that sometimes the NCL ships have last minute specials that start 2/3 weeks in advance.

 

My strategy has been to reserve a week off from work months in advance; and then see if something comes up last minute.

I did that for the NCL Jewel 2 years ago, but planned the Epic in advance and liked it better

 

I'm in Phoenix, Az. I figure I'm going to have to fly to Miami if I take a carribean cruise. I saw the epic and it looked cool because of its single area seperated from the rest of the ship. I have two weeks vacation I have to use by the end of August and I'm thinking of a taking a cruise at that time. I want to find a good deal and not have to fork out double because of the single supplement. I like the fact that the studio cabins on the Epic are cheaper but I think the next cruise on the Epic is after August. I might just take your idea...schedule vacation and see if the prices drop last minute, but if I do that, don't I risk plane ticket prices increasing?

Keep an eye open on Norwegian Star 7/8/12 sailing. There are tons of available cabins now so I have a feeling the closer to sailing date they may need to drop the rates and the single supplement. I honestly don't have any idea how they handle these situations, so there's no guaranty.

I'm in Phoenix, Az. I figure I'm going to have to fly to Miami if I take a carribean cruise. I saw the epic and it looked cool because of its single area seperated from the rest of the ship. I have two weeks vacation I have to use by the end of August and I'm thinking of a taking a cruise at that time. I want to find a good deal and not have to fork out double because of the single supplement. I like the fact that the studio cabins on the Epic are cheaper but I think the next cruise on the Epic is after August. I might just take your idea...schedule vacation and see if the prices drop last minute, but if I do that, don't I risk plane ticket prices increasing?

I guess it's all a matter of how bad you want to go. Don't you deserve it?:D

I'm in Phoenix, Az. I figure I'm going to have to fly to Miami if I take a carribean cruise. I saw the epic and it looked cool because of its single area seperated from the rest of the ship. I have two weeks vacation I have to use by the end of August and I'm thinking of a taking a cruise at that time. I want to find a good deal and not have to fork out double because of the single supplement. I like the fact that the studio cabins on the Epic are cheaper but I think the next cruise on the Epic is after August. I might just take your idea...schedule vacation and see if the prices drop last minute, but if I do that, don't I risk plane ticket prices increasing?

 

As the Epic isn't back until November, would you consider going on that in between then and March? I really enjoyed it.

 

Seeing that you would have to fly to Miami anyway, I think it would be worth waiting to go on-given that you were able to work it into your schedule of course.

 

 

 

Cruisepup- I am probably skipping the Star next week as I am trying to do the epic in December. I could change my mind though up until tomorrow of course.

BAse price is $449 inside and $499 Outside- port fees ~ $200 more.

 

For the 6/24 sailing they're now doing singles a favor and lowered the single supplement to 25% but that's based on a $649 inside rate. So the double rate is still $200. more than the 6/17 sailing and the supplement puts it to $811 plus port fees so hardly the bargain of the 6/17 sailing since the total is over $1,000.

Just a few $.02 thoughts...

 

Just booked a CatM inside on ExOS out of Bayonne for a 50+-%SS during the the WOW sale... about $1283 total.. 10 day.. I am a previous RC cruiser.

 

In looking at options, I was also considering a VOS 10 day out of Miami in Nov or Dec that also had a very good inside rate of around 47%.

 

Low SS rates seem to never appear on the higher quality cabins on mid ot low end lines. The high end lines seem to be very generous as a rule on their SS rates.. but then we are talkin $4-6k for a trip and not my $1-2 budget... :)

 

 

I have found the best SS rates are those found within the last 6 weeks before departure and .. well.. that makes it darn hard for many as they just cannot plan on that short of a notice.

 

I have some specific thoughts for TacomaGuy....

Hello,

 

Also, I'm new to cruising and I'm trying to find a good solo trip to go on so I'm thinking the Carribean. I found this thread about solo supplements and it seems a good way to find good deals. Is there a website or another method you guys use to find these trips without the solo supplements or do you just have to scour the travel sites until you find one.

 

 

1st off you are starting ion the right place.. there is almost no question out side of pricing and availability you cannot find an answer to here. Although it says 2006 or whatever, I have been coming here, using and contributing to this resource for over 10 years... and I keep coming back to plan my trips and do research.

 

Consider reading the review in my sig below... my perspective will give you one view of a persons first solo cruise... .

 

SS.. the Single Supplement.. this is the percent of the second persons fare you pay to occupy a cabin solo. $1000 pp cabin with a 90% SS rate is $1900... same cabin with a 25% SS is $1250...

 

Most lines just are not interested in offering you a deal until the itinerary is not selling well enough at a set point out from departure date. If they can get two bodies in a cabin for $2k why give it to you for less.. ( we all see the blindness in this but these are corporations, not people.. )

 

For your first cruise... well.. you do not describe yourself so it is hard to recommend a line... if I were you I would try for a smaller ship with a longer itinerary.. .One week goes by so fast, especially on your first cruise. wher eyou will be in "how do I ooperate mode" for a few days until you feel out how you and the rest of it will interact... I know on my first cruise is was like a whirlwind of activity that was wonderful, but left one saying to oneself.. "what the heck was that"..

 

there are a few decisions you need to make in regards to the atmosphere you want on your cruise... it is no secret that Cranival is more of a Party and Family line, Where as Royal Carib is less party but still fun and family.. both of these lines will have middle aged singles... I would say more the Cosmo set of RC and the Beer set on Carnival... but those are both pigeon hole statements that do not cover the wide variety of people that cruise.. and like everything you read here... take it for what it is... an opinion... mine is just one and is no better than any other...

 

You have a lot of power as a solo cruiser... where as anyone sailing with people is tied to some schedule most of the time, you can do whatever the heck you want, almost whenever you want to..

 

The best Solo Traveler tip I have today is Dollar Coins.. use them to tip bar and other service personnel.. like when the coffee arrives for wake up at your cabin, .. also at the coffee bar or other bars.. they make an impression that will garner you great service.... the folks that work these ships, work hard... approach anything you want from them with a big smile and even if it is a complaint, you will get a better response..

 

Given you want to take a sail by September.. you are in a good position to get a last minute deal.. I am not allowed to post web site info here but if you search for last minute cruises you will find several sites that track cruise 90 days out from sailing.... if you spend a few weeks scanning these sights you will get a feel for what goes for what... given you location do not discount sailing from Bayonne NJ or anywhere on the east coast as well as anything sailing for the gulf coast ports.. I imagine the airfare is similar to NYC area... If you haven;t been to New England there are good fares available on some of those itineraries out of Boston...heck with two weeks of vacation you could do the NYC to Montreal run... lots of options...

 

good hunting!

Edited June 15, 2012 by JJSMaine