Why do some cruise lines/travel agencies not like us?

I used to be able to use a very well known large online travel agency/search engine to search for cruises priced for one person. Now, they no longer have this option and I have to click through several screens on a specific cruise in order to get the solo pricing. It was so nice to be able to search for cruises based on my criteria and see a nice list of cruises priced for one passenger.

I also can't search for solo pricing on the Royal Caribbean site, but then again, since they seem to be strictly pricing their cruises with a 100% solo supplement for every cruise (except a smattering of Tuesday sales for last minute cruises), I guess there's really no point in having the option to search by number of passengers any more :(

Royal Caribbean was my favorite line, with Princess a close second, but Princess lets me search by number of passengers, and also doesn't charge 200% for insides and oceanviews so I guess I am going to be shifting my preference to Princess when searching for cruises. NCL also allows searching for solo travelers but I'm not too sure I'd like that line, based on everything I've read here - I just don't think "freestyle" is my style.

I am really sad about this because I feel like Royal Caribbean doesn't care about me, and doesn't want my business. I'm a very good on board spender ($$$) You'd think they might want to keep me around a bit, but apparently not :mad:

I'm not sure of the reasoning behind the online agencies changing their search engines to be anti-solo cruiser. Any thoughts on that?

Once all my next cruise certificates on Royal are used up, I will be sticking with Princess. I have four Royal cruises to get through, and then unless they change their attitude towards solos, that will be it.

It's very sad to feel so unloved by what was once my favorite cruise line in the world. :(

I tried just now on the RCCL website and I had no problem choosing 1 person from the drop down list for number of people. Maybe there was a glitch or they were working on the website.

As for "not liking us" it's a matter of wanting more people in one cabin. It's a bitter pill to swallow for us solos, who have to pay more than others, but the reality is that the cruise line makes their money from on board expenditures on your sea pass and not so much on your cruise fare. Ideally they want 4 or 5 people in a cabin. They know the probability is that is not going to happen and the majority is going to be couples or two friends sharing a cabin and some cases probably some children.

What they are missing is that we've shown a willingness to spend money up front while many of those couples are the type that are low spenders and proud of it. You know what I mean - "I don't buy drinks, I don't do specialty restaurants, I don't do shore excursions, I don't do spa treatments, I don't, I don't ..... They take pride in achieving the lowest account at the end of the cruise. While I do believe in managing your spending carefully and properly and not going wild I don't see the the point. Anyway my point here is that solo cruisers have shown they have more available for discretionary spending in that they begrudgingly pay the extra fare. It's a valuable market few cruise lines are tapping in to except for NCL with their Studio Cabins.

Travel Agents are going to be a problem as they are commission based and it will take about as much work to do the booking for one person as it does for two. Unless you can find a really good agent I would book direct or through a company that specializes in singles or solos. There is a well known one that offers reduced single supplements (sorry but that's what they call them) for certain sailings of most of the major cruise lines.

What drop down menu? I am on the main advanced search page now and there is no such thing. :confused: I am really going to miss Royal Caribbean for solo cruising. I'm not sure if I will even sail that line with friends as much either. They have cut so many corners that it isn't as much fun as it used to be.

You have to choose a cruise to look at first. Some sites are like that. I really don't understand your ire against the cruise line or agencies that don't bring up number of passengers in the initial search. I suppose those with more than two in a cabin should be just as angry?

Thank you. I know about that though. I want to be able to compare cruise prices for several cruises at once, not have to do it one at a time. They are making it very difficult for solos.

edit. I responded before you changed your post, but yes, it also makes it difficult for any number other than two. What I don't get is that on a large online agency's website I could search by number just a couple weeks ago, and now I can't. I don't understand why they changed

I've always run on the assumption that it's not the agencies making those changes, but that the platform their system runs on gets an update/upgrade, and I've certainly seen many examples of websites that "update for update sake" or "upgrades" that end up being downgrades. (most recently, see Yahoo Mail). Perhaps that's what's going on here.

Short answer: They don't "like us" as much because they don't make as much money from us.

The Serenade has studio rooms....not many but 125%. I still search on that online TA, but I can't compare side by side, which I guess you want...don't rule out Norwegian....I dislike freestyle, but their abundance of studios , the studio lounge and the dedicated cruise director make the 150% seem more palatable....

It has nothing to do with liking solo cruisers or not; it's just their business model. Cruise lines now make up a significant portion of their revenue with on board sales. Two people in a cabin are going to spend 2x the amount then one solo cruiser. Sure, you may spend just as much as two people, but the cruise line looks at average spending and solos on average spend less then 2 people in a cabin. That's just the undisputed fact. The cruise line's executives answer to their stockholders for profitability; not solo cruisers. That may seem unfair, but that's the capitalist country we live in and it's that system that rises the capital to build these fabulous cruise ships.

Now, as far as solo pricing; I'm still able to get solo price using various travel websites. Some travel website may be more solo friendly then others. You need to find those website that give you the pricing you want. You may need to call RCI directly for solo pricing if so be. No cruise line, airline, hotel would ever want to directly discriminate against any particular customer, but they don't have to make it easy either. Solos do make up a portion of the traveling public and they do want your business...but at a certain price point. Cruise line would prefer a solo cruiser in a cabin vs it empty because of the lost opportunity cost they can never recoup.

So, I did a little experience and found Jan 11th sailing out of San Juan on the Serenade of the Seas. Cheapest inside GTY at $419pp or $838 single. Yes, it 100% supplement, but still that only $120 per day for a 7-night Caribbean cruise. You couldn't stay at most nice hotels for that and that includes food and entertainment. Of course you need to add port tax and airfare...but still an incredible deal. Solos cruisers just have to stop around and find the best deals as prices vary widely by sailing date, ship and cruise lines. Lastly, as solo cruiser you get the added benefit of twice the space and total privacy of your cabin.

What drop down menu? I am on the main advanced search page now and there is no such thing. :confused: I am really going to miss Royal Caribbean for solo cruising. I'm not sure if I will even sail that line with friends as much either. They have cut so many corners that it isn't as much fun as it used to be.

"How many people in cabin?" put 1 You can do a dummy booking with number of passengers, state or province, age or other possible reductions. I think single supplement is something we have to live with if we want to cruise. At least now double points help. I'd rather do my interior for the privilege of having my own room. I, too, do on board spending. Don't intend to leave RCI to a lower lever cruise line for the sake of a few dollars. I live a thrifty life generally but do like to holiday by cruising.

"How many people in cabin?" put 1 You can do a dummy booking with number of passengers, state or province, age or other possible reductions. I think single supplement is something we have to live with if we want to cruise. At least now double points help. I'd rather do my interior for the privilege of having my own room. I, too, do on board spending. Don't intend to leave RCI to a lower lever cruise line for the sake of a few dollars. I live a thrifty life generally but do like to holiday by cruising.

You can only do this after you select a specific cruise. You can't compare prices across several cruises, for just one passenger.

I will still cruise Royal, but only when I can sail with someone else unless they quit with the 100% supplements. I just booked another cruise yesterday, on Princess, and my single supplement was about 40%. That's not exactly a "few" dollars to me. $600 buys a lot of pina coladas :D

You can only do this after you select a specific cruise. You can't compare prices across several cruises, for just one passenger.

 

I will still cruise Royal, but only when I can sail with someone else unless they quit with the 100% supplements. I just booked another cruise yesterday, on Princess, and my single supplement was about 40%. That's not exactly a "few" dollars to me. $600 buys a lot of pina coladas :D

You can often get a low single supplement on RCCL, but the only way I know how to find it us thru that online TA. In the summer of 2012, I did a 12 day Med cruise on the AOS for $759, I think a 12% supplement! In February, I'm cruising on the SOS in a studio with a 25% supplement during Feb break.

I have had a case where I am sure the travel agency is discriminating against me as a solo. I have received many e-mails from them. Two of them I have responded to in order to get a quote for a solo. Both times I received an e-mail that I would get a quote from them within two business days. I have never heard anything back with a quote - I just get new offers.

I have had a case where I am sure the travel agency is discriminating against me as a solo. I have received many e-mails from them. Two of them I have responded to in order to get a quote for a solo. Both times I received an e-mail that I would get a quote from them within two business days. I have never heard anything back with a quote - I just get new offers.

The truth is that private businesses don't have to treat everybody equally - they can refuse service to anyone for any reason, as long as that reason isn't one protected by law. If they choose not to serve redheads or people over 6' tall, they can do that......they may get bad publicity or a civil suit, but it's legal for them to do that.

Scrapnana - plenty of fish in the sea that want your money. Whenever I get an email with an attractive deal, no matter what the agency/line, I check with my usual agency's site to see what their pricing is for the same sailing(s). Nearly always they have a similar price.

The one thing that I have found since I started cruising solo is that it's hard work to find a reasonably priced cruise.

I am on a huge number of mailing lists, and frequently search websites. My two best deals were listed on a well known cruise website here in the UK.

Short answer: They don't "like us" as much because they don't make as much money from us.

I disagree. This is not always the case on cruises. A solo who drinks will spend more on cocktails than a couple who are teetotalers. A solo who books the ship's shore excursions will spend more than a couple who go sightseeing on their own. A solo who plays Bingo will spend more than a couple who don't play Bingo. A solo who eats in surcharge restaurants will pay more than a couple who do not. And on and on.

Many years ago, I wanted to book a land vacation in Mexico. I saw a brochure that said that a room would cost $75 per person per night if it were occupied by a couple, and $50 per person per night if it were occupied by three people. I figured that the cost would be $150 per night for one person. But no! The charge was $200 per night for one person.

I called the tour operator to ask why. The people kept telling me that it was the single supplement. I told them that the single supplement should not make the room cost more than $150. They just couldn't understand my reasoning. I kept getting switched from person to person, and I kept telling them that it made no sense that I should lie and tell them that my friend Betty is coming with me so that I could save $50 per night. And that I should eventually tell them that Betty couldn't go after all, but she doesn't want her money back.

Finally someone understood what I was getting at and said, "Maybe they give you a bigger room" as an explanation for the extra $50 per night. "Why couldn't they give me a room they were going to give to two or three people?" I asked. "If it's big enough for them, I'm sure it would be big enough for me."

Then she said that maybe the hotel just didn't want people by themselves staying there, and that's why the price for a room for one person was too high. She said that a couple staying at the hotel would most likely eat all of their meals at the hotel and buy bottles of champagne, while someone by himself would most likely eat elsewhere.

When I disagreed, she suggested that people traveling by themselves tend to be unmarried, and if you couldn't find someone to marry you, you must be really stupid, and that's why the charge for the room was $200 and not $150, because the tour company figured that if you were single, you were really stupid, and you wouldn't be able to figure out that you were overcharged.

Of course I did not book a hotel with that tour operator.

Wow, that's awful :eek:

I disagree. This is not always the case on cruises.

Of course it's not always the case; nothing is always going to happen - but it is statistically true, and those statistics are how they make their business plans.

.

When I disagreed, she suggested that people traveling by themselves tend to be unmarried, and if you couldn't find someone to marry you, you must be really stupid, and that's why the charge for the room was $200 and not $150, because the tour company figured that if you were single, you were really stupid, and you wouldn't be able to figure out that you were overcharged.

 

Of course I did not book a hotel with that tour operator.

What bizarre reasoning! Some people choose to live on their own - I'm happier than when I was married. Some people have been widowed.

It seems the stupid one is the person who came up with that reasoning!

WOW is right...that tour operator sounds like the stupid one:eek::rolleyes::mad::confused:

Here is something stupid HAL is doing. They have a room mate share program- you book a room and cruise that qualifies and they get you a room mate or you get the cabin to yourself without supplement.

Sounds great, right. But the Alaska cruise my TA checked today it was more to book the single share than to book it solo. And by alot of $! Do they think we don't know math? Who would pay more for a possible share than less to be alone?

This isn't new. When I looked at HAL's share program many years ago, I found that it only applied to certain, more expensive categories. No real saving over solo in a basic inside.

I've learned- never believe cruise line marketing. Always do your homework. If they make it difficult- that's a warning sign it's not a good deal, and they know it.

A K inside is 1398 solo supplement and 1898 as a share. So HAL does allow the cheaper cabins. But $500 more as a possible share- that's insane!

[quote=vacation luvver;41098619 A solo who drinks will spend more on cocktails than a couple who are teetotalers. A solo who books the ship's shore excursions will spend more than a couple who go sightseeing on their own. A solo who plays Bingo will spend more than a couple who don't play Bingo. A solo who eats in surcharge restaurants will pay more than a couple who do not. And on and on.

While you're right, as others have pointed out they go by 'average spending'. I just wonder if they really calculate this or just assume that it's the case.

I'm recently home from 22 days of b2b cruises I sat at tables of 8 on both cruises and on the 22 days I was the only person to buy a bottle of wine and, being a wine lover, I bought one every day (and brought the remainder to my room for lunch the next day). I spent way more than the other 14 people combined (occasionally someone would buy a glass of wine). I seriously wonder if this made the statistics.

Interestingly my preceeding cruise put together a table of solos. There were 3 out of 7 who bought a bottle of wine every day, and most of the others bought one occasionally and if they didn't they bought a glass of wine.

I know it's apocryphal, but I really wonder what the statistics say or if they just assume.