Queen Anne: No Single Cabins ??

[njguy_south]

It is interesting with the big change in the cruise industry of including single or solo cabins, the Cunard has chosen to NOT include single cabins in their new ship, Queen Anne!  When booking those cabins on QE, QV, and QM2, one must often book month or years in advance.  Celebrity Cruises has recognized the need to cater to single travelers, and are including such cabins on all of their new Edge Series ships.  However, Cunard decides to take a step back.

[Se1lad]

A pain that there aren't any - I expect Cunard think they can make more money through the single supplement! I've always thought it a shame on the other ships that the single cabins are only for Britannia.  I've always thought it would be a good idea if they could sell the single cabins for any grade - I'd quite happily pay say 45% of a Q6 fare for a single cabin if it allowed me access to QG.

[carlmm]

Right, if the single supplement was less, there was no need for single cabin. Back in time there was less than 50% supplement for Grill cabins in the QE2. 

[Se1lad]

7 minutes ago, carlmm said:

Right, if the single supplement was less, there was no need for single cabin. Back in time there was less than 50% supplement for Grill cabins in the QE2. 

I suppose the problem is that nearly always seem to sell all the Grill cabins, so why would they sell them at a lower price with a reduced single supplement, plus lose out on additional revenue from on board spend?

[Underwatr]

1 hour ago, Se1lad said:

A pain that there aren't any - I expect Cunard think they can make more money through the single supplement!

Whenever I've seen single cabin pricing it's generally been comparable to single occupancy of a double Britannia cabin.

[Dancer Bob]

Agree with Underwatr. The effective single supplements on single cabins I've priced I've seen range around 45%-60% or so. I admit though, I don't travel at peak times.

[deck chair]

10 hours ago, Dancer Bob said:

Agree with Underwatr. The effective single supplements on single cabins I've priced I've seen range around 45%-60% or so. I admit though, I don't travel at peak times.

I am paying a 74% single supplement for a BV on the upcoming QM2 voyage from NY to Sydney.  

Deck Chair.

[Windsurfboy]

As a comparison Saga has nearly 20% single  (all with balconies) cabins which are 80% of the size of their standard 2 person balcony cabins, for a 55% supplement. 

 

I understand they sell out first. Showing demand for singles. So there is a market if Cunard want it.

[Underwatr]

On 9/14/2022 at 8:47 AM, deck chair said:

I am paying a 74% single supplement for a BV on the upcoming QM2 voyage from NY to Sydney.  

Deck Chair.

And for that small upcharge you get a balcony.

[deck chair]

52 minutes ago, Underwatr said:

And for that small upcharge you get a balcony.

Hi 

Not that I am a math major, but it appears to me that a side-by-side comparison shows me the BV is a better deal than a single especially since you get the balcony and more space. 

[showingdiva]

The single KC cabins on QM2 with the double round windows are fabulous though.

 

Been in both (just back from a single cabin) and a single occupancy balcony, and would choose the single cabin every time.   They are at a premium though.

[Westsail32]

How much is the Cunard single supplement?  150%, 175%, 200% ?  

[philsuarez]

It probably makes more sense design wise just to build standard double berth cabins. That way they can be dual purpose 

[pkpon]

What baffles me is that the three HAL Pinnacle Class ships all have specifically designed outside single cabins. Admittedly they are not in the best position as they are right at the bow under the theatre. But they are in the original design of the ships so why would Cunard change it?

[Dancer Bob]

Charging a premium for "not in the best possible position" sounds like a good reason.

[Jonem2001]

There are a number of ‘interesting’ (head-scratching!) decisions made with Queen Anne, and for me, this is the biggest puzzler given how popular these are in the cruise sector.

 

If the HAL design had the singles, and QA has specifically removed them, I can only imagine that Cunard thinks one of two things - that the cost benefit does not justify including them, or the cost-benefit doesn’t justify them ‘yet’.

 

Given that Cunard does not have trouble selling out the existing cabins on the other Queens, and the theoretical cost-per-berth should be lower on QA to make them still-more profitable, I would have thought them a no-brainer in the current market. I give Cunard the credit of having made a deliberate, commercially-driven decision here.
 

My hope is that Cunard have decided to use their two-berth cabins more flexibly for singles as @philsuarez suggests above - making some available from the pool to suit season/demand as applicable using only one type of cabin ‘stock’. Although the price would need to be lower than the existing supplement for a two-berth cabin on the other Queens to offer something the market would see as equivalent as getting a single-occupancy, the lower cost-per-berth on QA could make it as profitable… and more desirable for passengers at the same time than a traditional smaller one-berth cabin. A win for everyone, and with the lower cost of maintaining/marketing fewer cabin types too.

 

The other potential option, as I see it, is that Cunard have decided to refit single cabins in some form at a later date when inaugural demand for QA drops and the double occupancy demand does die down. That would be both expensive (refit costs, ouch!) and poor initial market service for the high demand for singles. So I think this unlikely.

 

I’m curious to see what happens with pricing strategies and marketing approaches when the QA beds in… (pun unintentional!).

Edited September 21, 2022 by Jonem2001

[jimdee3636]

I agree with @philsuarezand @Jonem2001. I usually cruise with my wife, but a few times I've gone on very short solo cruises when my wife couldn't get away. One of those was on the Norwegian Bliss, which has 99 sq. ft. "studio" (single occupancy) inside cabins. I tried one to see what it would be like. Well, I found out. For the five nights I was on the ship, I spent every minute wishing I had paid a little more for a "regular" (about 160 sq. ft.) inside cabin, which would have seemed palatial compared to the studio. Norwegian and certain other lines often have no (or extremely low) single supplements, and not only for inside cabins. If you're traveling solo, you should look for those rates rather than squeezing yourself into something that's the size of a prison cell.

[Underwatr]

On 9/18/2022 at 6:12 PM, Westsail32 said:

How much is the Cunard single supplement?  150%, 175%, 200% ?  

Cunard charges a single Britannia traveler 175% of the per-person double occupancy rate. I think Grills is 200% of the per-person rate but I don't have direct experience. I'm pretty sure that this is applied to the advertised rate; you're only charged the actual port fees, etc applicable for one person.

If curious you can make a trial booking (up to where payment is requested) online and see how the fares compare.

[IB2]

I expect that the reality is that the QM2 cabins became singles because they were added during the refit and 'work', in terms of design, only because the long side of the room is parallel to the corridor, unlike the normal arrangement where the rooms run across the ship.  With just a single bed positioned along the room (and hence ship) there is a reasonable amount of floor space for one person.  But they'd struggle to get the usual large double bed in there which would leave a cramped cabin for two.  So making them singles was a design solution to use those under-utilised ships' spaces to add to its capacity.

 

You pay extra for them, so you don't save compared to single-occupying a normal cabin, but then of course you are getting a decent cabin for your money.   But it wouldn't have made financial sense to design along-ship single cabins with giant windows from scratch, so we're lucky to have them now!