UK single passenger - Caribbean cruise line choice?

[janem2]

Hi,

 

My husband and I are planning to take his mum on a 70th birthday birthday cruise in the Caribbean in early 2013. We will fly/ cruise. Which is the best line for the lowest single person supplement? Looking at the supplements in the brochures I have (for 2012 to give me an idea) they all seem very high. Would also prefer a cruise line that won't have a lot of children on board but I am thinking that in Jan/Feb that that issue won't be too bad on any line (wouldn't want the Ventura again though.. we did that on our only other cruise.. should have joined this forum first!)

 

 

Thanks

 

 

J

[firefly333]

Most lines have some cruises that come and go with lesser solo supplements. Watch the tues sales on RCL and Celebrity. They will list the solo supplements on sale and some TA sites list them. There are some deals on solo supplements but you wouldnt find the deals in brochures as they change depending on if they are trying to fill up a ship or not.

 

I know Carnival only has 200% solo supplements right now, so cross them off your list to watch.

[138east]

I'd get a good TA and price it out. Ships sail to the Caribbean from Florida, San Juan, New York and Baltimore, so you have to factor in the cost of airfare and the cost of the cruise. The rules for UK bookings are also different - On RCL I believe you can still take advantage of any price drops up until sail date (in the US we can do this only until final payment date). Look at the big picture - don't focus on just the single supplement.

 

You should also look at the itineraries - if you sail from San Juan, the prices are often less (but the airfare more), but the ports are more interesting. These also are the more port intensive cruises - 5 ports on a 7 day cruise. I've been sailing 10-11 day cruises from Bayonne(NY) with several sea days and 4-5 ports - usually a number of Brits on these cruises.

 

I sail solo on RCL and have found their single supplements to be 170% or lower for Caribbean sailings. Sometimes they have good deals in Jan and Feb before President's Day. Search the web for a cruise price monitor to get an idea of the prices for 2011 and 2012.

 

What kinds of cabins are you looking at? On some ships it would be possible to book a balcony cabin with an inside across the hall. The RCL Voyager class ships like the Explorer and Adventure have all their inside cabins on decks 6-10 - no insides down on decks 2 & 3. You would want to look at cabins near the aft elevators so you can have easy access to the most popular destinations on the ship.

[Skywench]

I sail solo on RCL and have found their single supplements to be 170% or lower for Caribbean sailings. Sometimes they have good deals in Jan and Feb before President's Day. Search the web for a cruise price monitor to get an idea of the prices for 2011 and 2012.

 

 

Op said they want to avoid a time with lots of kids on board. In the US, President's Day is around a week when lots of schools have winter break, so you might find lots of kids/families cruising at that time. In 2013, President's Day is Feb 18.

[CruiseLuvver]

You could check out which ships have single cabins too - Norwegian Epic and P&O Azura both do, but they sell out fast.

[LHT28]

P & O have a couple of Adult only ships but have no idea on the SS

 

All the mass market ships will have kids & SS can range from 25-200%

depending on the cruise

[kitty9]

On the mass market lines, you can pretty much expect the single supplement to be 200%. Once in a very great while, you might find something at 175%. The luxury lines can have SS as low as 25%, but you're going to be paying a much higher fare. Check out NCL Epic. They have dedicated solo cabins with no single supplement. You can also check Radiance of the Seas, as that ship has two or three solo, inside cabins.

 

All of January, the first and last week of February will have fewer children. Stay away from the second/third week of Feb (the date varies) because it's President's Week and many schools are closed, and therefore a lot more kids.

[Dancer Bob]

Cunard has some Caribbean sailings in the winter, usually Queen Victoria. Prices are mid-range, not many children. The ship has a more British ambiance, would your mum prefer that?

[jeph]

I'm surprised that Holland America hasn't been mentioned. They do an excellent job, and I've always found their single fares to be one-and-a-half times the per-person double rate, as opposed to the usual practice. On other mainstream cruise lines, solo travelers generally get no break-- you pretty much have to pay double.

[jcl410]

I just did a fake booking on the P&O Ventura in Feb/2013. She sails 14 day RT from Barbados. The cost (including airfare from the UK) starts at 1679 pound per person with two in the cabin; a single would have been 2689.... That's "only" a 60% suplement...

 

Last year I took a cruise on Star Clipper line (a 450 foot sailing ship;not a traditional cruise ship); They were offering a two for one sale. For me as a single, they sold me a cabin with a 0% single supplement.

 

Aloha,

 

John