Single supplement fees

[speedoguy1]

Newly divorced guy. The last cruise I was on was as a married man to a lady. Would like to go cruising.

 

I saw in another thread on this topic that a lot of ships have reduced their single supplement costs.   What is your experience spoon now that Covid is winding down.  Are the cruise lines hungry for the single traveler and treat them fairly with single supplement pricing?

2nd part of question:

since I am not out yet I don’t have a lot of gay friends. But most definitely would feel comfortable going to any of the meet and greets on the ship.   Has anybody else ever been in this situation in were the people welcoming at these meet and greets.

i’m an older guy.  early 60s.

 

Open to Caribbean cruises, European cruises, and Mediterranean cruises.

 

 

 

 

[Stealthdog]

There are two things for you to look at.  Some cruise lines seem to do a decent job at the single supplement cost.  Ive done some mock bookings for times my partner cant join and most of the time it seems the cost is greatly reduced. 

 

Another option is some cruise lines are creating solo occupancy rooms for single travelers, including single lounge spaces.  I think NCL and Holland are leading this effort.  But i think Virgin and Royal are also offering.  Ive done mock bookings on NCL for the solo room and most of the time it seems cheaper to do a single supplement for a different category.  But the solo lounges may be easier for you to meet up with other single travelers.

 

Ive done meet and greets on celebrity, royal, and ncl - they are all very welcoming.  Each sailing is hit or miss on how popular the meet ups are, so you really dont know until you are on the ship.

 

Good luck - i hope to hear how your future cruises go!

[rsmdude]

In the last few months Princess has had quite a few cruises with little to no supplement, I was on a Mexican Riviera cruise last week and paid zero supplement.  I also have booked a transatlantic cruise next month where there was no supplement.  NCL does a really good job for courting solo cruisers always as well.

 

Every cruise I have been on has had a daily lgbtq+ meeting, some have been a ghost town and others were a sizable group.  I’ve heard of some with 40-50 people.  They’ll announce that in the ship’s daily printed activities sheet.

[SireDoime]

On 2/20/2022 at 11:15 PM, Stealthdog said:

Another option is some cruise lines are creating solo occupancy rooms for single travelers, including single lounge spaces.

Though sadly, these spaces are very cramped, and no bigger than a walk-in closet; some smaller than a traditional inside cabin.

 

However, most solo travelers accustomed to such accommodations will not see any issue.

Myself, I like space, and lots of it. For this reason I have never, and will never sail in a "solo cabin" or an inside cabin, for that matter.

 

Since the industry deliberately charges solo cruisers from 25% - 200% more per person, those solos cabins should be larger and equal in size to double occupancy balcony cabins and suites.

 

But, that's my opinion...

[cublet]

Hello,

 

If I may, I'll answer in three parts.

 

Single Supplements in double occupancy cabins:

Some cruise lines charge a flat $ or £ surcharge, not a percentage. Some, mostly premium & luxury, charge less than a 100% surcharge. Many 'standard' class cruise lines occasionally offer little or no single supplement - but only (1) when bookings first open to get the numbers in, and (2) later or close to sailing when sales are not going too well. Clock enough cruises with Royal Caribbean and after 340 points (outside the scope of this thread) the single price in any grade of cabin is only 75% of the couple's price in that cabin. It's actually a little less than 75%, but, again, that's outside the scope of this thread.

 

Single Cabins:

Royal Caribbean's single cabins on, say, Anthem, look terrible. I am no expert on the totality of ocean cruise lines but the following do not offer shoe boxes as cabins:

Cunard single cabins (ocean view & inside) 180 sg.ft.;

Saga (for over 50's) has single cabins across the entire range - standard single balcony 85% the size of double balcony at 185 sq.ft, superior balcony at 215 sq.ft equal to double balcony;

Ambassador (a new cruise line starting in April 2022 sailing form London) has set aside a number of double cabins for single occupancy from inside to balcony.

 

Meet and Mingles

I have written comments on the following thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2832943-royal-caribbean-lgbt-meetups/#comment-62703547

To my mind the friendliest LGBT+ Meets are to be found on Celebrity - that's having  friendly crew around us and friendly welcoming passengers.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by cublet
formatting

[speedoguy1]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a cruise. Just wanting to get away. The rates for single travelers during March seem to be pretty economical.

I assume almost any cruise I would take there would be some nice gay boys to get to know. Hopefully.

so now I’m trying to decide on the following cruise lines

Royal Caribbean,

celebrity

NCL

All three of them have very attractive rates for the week of March 19. Can leave either from South Florida or San Juan. Most difficult thing is finding good airfare to San Juan.

seems to all be expensive from the Midwest that week.  

 

which cruise line do you think would be best for a single gay traveler?

 

 

[Denman]

I see zero supplements for all the NCL cruises at that time and personally, I'd "Jump for Joy" out of Miami.  But, the crowd will likely skew younger so it depends on what ages intrigue you, I suppose.  If you want a more mature crowd and the extra cost is no object, then go for Celebrity for a more refined experience.  Also, if you prefer fewer children on board, then Celebrity is best as NCL, RCL and CCL all are full of slides and amusement park features that attract families.  There's no guarantee on how many will show up at the FOD gatherings, but definitely go the first night they are listed because if they are not supported in the beginning, they tend to fade away or at least that's been my experience.  I've never been on the massive RCL ships that you're likely looking at but the only advantage I could see is that there will be some more guys on board just because of the higher ship population in general.  I'd pass on San Juan mostly because it's not worth the effort to get there unless there's some of the ports further south that interest you.  And the NCL Epic is a strange ship (they never built another like it for a good reason, I think).  I was on it for a transatlantic sailing in 2011.  And,  I've been on the RCL Explorer as well and although it was nice, it's now 22 years old.  Also, if you're on any of the gay dating (or hookup) apps,  you'll likely see quite a few guys on the ship once you board and also on port days if you have coverage.  Chat them up if there's interest since many of them don't attend the gatherings.  Some ship wifi systems block them or I'm told you have to buy the highest grade/speed of internet before they work.  Hope that helps!  Let us know what you choose.

[speedoguy1]

I went ahead and booked celebrity.

march 26th - April 2.  Now the wait and excitement begins.

Denman, I appreciate all the advice that you gave.  Your comments regarding less kids on celebrity sealed the deal.

now I hope that I will have a great time as a solo Traveler.  

Edited March 8, 2022 by speedoguy1

[dugknight]

On 3/8/2022 at 2:29 PM, speedoguy1 said:

I went ahead and booked celebrity.

march 26th - April 2.  Now the wait and excitement begins.

Denman, I appreciate all the advice that you gave.  Your comments regarding less kids on celebrity sealed the deal.

now I hope that I will have a great time as a solo Traveler.  

Not sure which ship you're on, but hit up the Martini Bar in the evenings. It seems to be the hotspot for the LGBT crowd. On our last Alaskan cruise, it was almost half gay every night!

[speedoguy1]

Booked on Celebrity Apex 

[RICHARD@SEA]

15 hours ago, dugknight said:

Not sure which ship you're on, but hit up the Martini Bar in the evenings. It seems to be the hotspot for the LGBT crowd. On our last Alaskan cruise, it was almost half gay every night!

Which half??? Top or bottom???

[cublet]

15 hours ago, speedoguy1 said:

Booked on Celebrity Apex 

Hello,

 

Well done you. Head to the Martini Bar and you'll have a great time.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[HappyCruiser616]

I've been on 19 cruises but never alone. I'm now starting to travel solo for the first time and face the same predicament of the single supplement. I've done hours of research on cruise prices in the past few weeks.  I ended up booking NCL Pearl (had to pay nearly 100% for the single supplement), Carnival Glory (paid about 75% markup) and Celebrity Reflection (less than 25% markup..yay!). The "solo" cabins aboard NCL are intriguing although in my research they  frequently cost more than the inside cabins, even with the single supplement. (And I'm not a huge fan of the "Breakaway class" ships which have the most solo cabins)  It's a weird time for cruising as cruise lines try to recover.  I wish they would court solo travelers more but I doubt it makes much financial sense to them. Hope you enjoy your travels! 

[ouse456]

try using vacations to go site. it is easy to use and there is even a way to call up single cruises by the percentage a single passenger is required to pay over the regular two passenger fare.

[phillygwm]

On 4/1/2022 at 10:16 AM, HappyCruiser616 said:

 The "solo" cabins aboard NCL are intriguing although in my research they  frequently cost more than the inside cabins, even with the single supplement. (And I'm not a huge fan of the "Breakaway class" ships which have the most solo cabins) 

My first NCL cruise, on the Epic, was in a studio cabin.  It was nice but small.  Since then, the cost of a studio is close to the cost of a regular (larger) inside cabin with the supplement.

 

I'm not sure how much time you spend in the casino but on my subsequent NCL cruises I was casino rated so my supplement was waived.  Depending on my play on the previous cruise, I've qualified for anything between an inside and a mini-suite and I've been able to upgrade if I cared to.  Definitely worth checking into if you have a CAS card.  

[kanadakid]

On 3/7/2022 at 6:48 PM, speedoguy1 said:

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a cruise. Just wanting to get away. The rates for single travelers during March seem to be pretty economical.

I assume almost any cruise I would take there would be some nice gay boys to get to know. Hopefully.

so now I’m trying to decide on the following cruise lines

Royal Caribbean,

celebrity

NCL

All three of them have very attractive rates for the week of March 19. Can leave either from South Florida or San Juan. Most difficult thing is finding good airfare to San Juan.

seems to all be expensive from the Midwest that week.  

 

which cruise line do you think would be best for a single gay traveler?

 

 

Id tend to pick the one with complementary access to the spa/fitness center, as a great way to buff up between meals and meet like minded men. Not sure which of these three might meet your needs as Ive just sailed Carnival and NCL

[kollegekreed]

If you happen to gamble a moderate amount, you can generally book through the casino and get them to waive the supplement as well 

[GaNavy]

On 9/12/2022 at 9:34 PM, kanadakid said:

Id tend to pick the one with complementary access to the spa/fitness center, as a great way to buff up between meals and meet like minded men. Not sure which of these three might meet your needs as Ive just sailed Carnival and NCL

This has gotten tricky. Royal's Quantum class ships not only don't have complimentary sauna/steam, they don't even have a locker room for the gym.

I've cruised solo many times, always fun, easy to meet people, and you don't have to negotiate or wait around on anyone else.

[wesport]

I lost my partner in February, and am now face with cruising solo after 44 cruises together. I have booked 2 Celebrity with no single supplement, and one Princess with no single supplement. Seabourn also has select cruises at 1.5 the rate for solos. Being 5 star on HAL our preferred line, they just double the rate and am really not sailing on them at this time. 

[Chad_O]

13 hours ago, wesport said:

I lost my partner in February, and am now face with cruising solo after 44 cruises together. I have booked 2 Celebrity with no single supplement, and one Princess with no single supplement. Seabourn also has select cruises at 1.5 the rate for solos. Being 5 star on HAL our preferred line, they just double the rate and am really not sailing on them at this time. 

I am very sorry for your loss. I admire you for returning to the things that were of joy to you with your partner-cruising included. I am so glad you found some single supplement free options to ease you back in. Enjoy those cruises and the happiness they will bring. I suspect that is what your partner would want for you. Regards, Chad

[kanadakid]

14 hours ago, wesport said:

I lost my partner in February, and am now face with cruising solo after 44 cruises together. I have booked 2 Celebrity with no single supplement, and one Princess with no single supplement. Seabourn also has select cruises at 1.5 the rate for solos. Being 5 star on HAL our preferred line, they just double the rate and am really not sailing on them at this time. 

Just booked Carib Princess in Jan with no supplement as well and a pretty good deal.  First time aboard Princess so hoping for the best

 

[wesport]

10 hours ago, Chad_O said:

I am very sorry for your loss. I admire you for returning to the things that were of joy to you with your partner-cruising included. I am so glad you found some single supplement free options to ease you back in. Enjoy those cruises and the happiness they will bring. I suspect that is what your partner would want for you. Regards, Chad

Thanks. Cruising was our passion, so I will continue the journey for both of us.