Policy Change: No More Booking Single Supplements on Any Cabin?

[BoundForSea]

So I just went to book a sailing for December for a Single in a Balcony.  The sailing came up sold out....Hmmm. That doesn't look right...I went in and amended it and put in party of two.. Poof, Availability in all categories now!... So I called, she tells me that a month ago they changed the policy and now only a certain number (not many apparently) of single RESERVATIONS are allowed on any one sailing (charged at a Single Supplement Rate).  SO now, you can't book any cabin category and pay the double rate, you just can't book it at all once those few Single RESERVATIONS are exceeded. 

 

I was calling for a friend, she decided to go with another cruise line. 

 

I'm not sure I follow ANY logic in that thinking.. You're only pushing away the Single Travel market, which is pretty robust with repeat clients!

 

Add this to my list of MSCisms that will never make sense..

 

Anyone else run into this?

Edited September 8, 2023 by BoundForSea

[Até]

This spring you could get single bookings with minimal supplement on lots of MSC sailings.   Then it changed to what you see now.

[Mark_T]

45 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

I'm not sure I follow ANY logic in that thinking.. You're only pushing away the Single Travel market, which is pretty robust with repeat clients!

 

Add this to my list of MSCisms that will never make sense..

The logic remains the same as always, 2 or more passengers in a cabin will spend more on board, so even with paying double, they still lose revenue.

 

So if the cruise looks likely to sell out they will taper off the single sales.

[Essiesmom]

There is already an OUTRAGEOUS thread about this.  It’s halfway down the second page.  You can still book as a single.  I just did it for Dec.  it depends on when the cruise is.  If it is high season for families it’s a no go.  But I was able to do it in April for August, and last week for early December.  But when trying for a last minute cruise, it was no go.  EM

Edited September 8, 2023 by Essiesmom

[BoundForSea]

I scrolled and didn't see one. Maybe I missed it.  I booked for December 9th today, maybe thats why.  Nada.  Anyway, it was a surprise to me as I had no idea they decided to do this.  Good for them I guess right? More on board revenue..  

[Até]

There seems to be a lot of Meraviglia sailings with solo availability.   Most have around 50% supplement, Christmas sailing even has availability, albeit a 100% supplement.

[RD64]

Yes - there is also a thread on Celebrity - feel free to price Celebrity single cruises. Depending on the date / itinerary - a single person can be paying a 400-500 per cent supplement.

[JamieLogical]

While it is disappointing for us solo cruisers, businesses are in business to make money. More people onboard means more onboard spending. If sales are on a trajectory to fill the ship with 2-4 people per cabin, then of course they will try to get the maximum number of bodies onboard. Fortunately many ships do have studio cabins which only hold one occupant, so keep an eye out for those. And, as stated earlier, if sales for a particular sailing are going slowly, they may open it up for solo cruisers. I am on the 9/24 Meraviglia sailing and for a long time, once the studio cabins were sold out, solos were unable to book. Now, inside of three weeks, solos are able to book and pay the full supplement.

[blueslily]

1 hour ago, BoundForSea said:

I scrolled and didn't see one. Maybe I missed it.  I booked for December 9th today, maybe thats why.  Nada.  Anyway, it was a surprise to me as I had no idea they decided to do this.  Good for them I guess right? More on board revenue..  

 

Yes, there is a rather active recent thread on here about this topic. They discuss what is mentioned about a limited number of solo reservations per sailing depending on how the cruise is selling. Hope you can find that post. I cruise solo a lot. So, I totally get your disappointment. Goid luck. 

[oceans.calling]

3 hours ago, Mark_T said:

The logic remains the same as always, 2 or more passengers in a cabin will spend more on board, so even with paying double, they still lose revenue.

 

So if the cruise looks likely to sell out they will taper off the single sales.

We are two guests but only book in the YC. The only money we spend on board is for the dsc and tips, nothing else.  I bet there are plenty more guests like us that don’t need or want anything else but relaxation. Our solo friend spends plenty, especially in the casino. I think the cruise lines should change their way of thinking when it comes to solo guests. Why should solos pay double? They only eat and drink for one 🤔

[JamieLogical]

15 minutes ago, oceans.calling said:

We are two guests but only book in the YC. The only money we spend on board is for the dsc and tips, nothing else.  I bet there are plenty more guests like us that don’t need or want anything else but relaxation. Our solo friend spends plenty, especially in the casino. I think the cruise lines should change their way of thinking when it comes to solo guests. Why should solos pay double? They only eat and drink for one 🤔

 

But they take up the space of 2...3...maybe even 4 people depending on the room type and those 2-4 people each pay cruise fare and spend money onboard.

[oceans.calling]

Maybe, but they do pay as two most times with the supplement and those 3-4 can be kids, possibly sailing for free and generally not full fared. I don’t think it’s guaranteed that they all will spend on board, but hey you never know. 😉

[JamieLogical]

21 minutes ago, oceans.calling said:

Maybe, but they do pay as two most times with the supplement and those 3-4 can be kids, possibly sailing for free and generally not full fared. I don’t think it’s guaranteed that they all will spend on board, but hey you never know. 😉

 

Sure there is no guarantee that they will spend money onboard, but they are definitely guaranteed not to spend any money onboard if they aren't even onboard....

[Mark_T]

5 hours ago, oceans.calling said:

Our solo friend spends plenty, especially in the casino. I think the cruise lines should change their way of thinking when it comes to solo guests. Why should solos pay double? They only eat and drink for one 🤔

If your solo friend is a big casino spender they will start to get comp offers which may help with their problem in future, but the simple reality is, as JamieLogical said above, the odds favor the cruise-line getting more revenue out of more bodies onboard, even if they are children, and increasingly these days that marginal revenue is getting to be very important to them.

 

Even with all these limitations, it does remain possible to get solo bookings on any cruise if you book early enough, and solo special deals do show you from time to time if you are flexible about where and when you cruise, you just can't rely on being able to book solo on the more popular cruises once they have been available for a while.

[RD64]

@Mark_T - exactly - from Economics 101…the marginal revenue will hopefully exceed the marginal costs for profit maximization.

[Homosassa]

I do not believe the solo cabin policy has changed; rather it has gone back to the policy for solo cabins precovid. The policy was probably suspended during start up to have passengers on board.

 

Back in 2016, my sister, sailing solo, wished to go on a cruise with us.  It was explained to us at the time that MSC offered solo rates on limited cabins on certain ships and itineraries at limited times of the year.

 

Luckily, the ship and embarcation date we were on had solo rates available.

 

Same story in 2018 when she booked solo.

[iwtobek]

Curious about the “fee” on no-shows.

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, iwtobek said:

Curious about the “fee” on no-shows.

Often it doesn't get charged, but the terms were changed to make it possible due to solo travelers making ghost reservations to get around the limits on available cabins.

 

 

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, iwtobek said:

Curious about the “fee” on no-shows.

 

From what I understand, under the terms of service, you forfeit the cruise fare of the "missing" passenger PLUS you can be assessed a 100% solo supplement.

[iwtobek]

30 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

From what I understand, under the terms of service, you forfeit the cruise fare of the "missing" passenger PLUS you can be assessed a 100% solo supplement.

Important part “you can be”. Sounds legalese to me. If you book direct MSC doesn't have your credit card details, they make a pre-authorization up to your cruise amount. I doubt they'll charge you onboard and I doubt even more they'll go to recollection. 

[Mark_T]

8 minutes ago, iwtobek said:

Important part “you can be”. Sounds legalese to me. If you book direct MSC doesn't have your credit card details, they make a pre-authorization up to your cruise amount. I doubt they'll charge you onboard and I doubt even more they'll go to recollection. 

If they decide they are going to make a charge it will be at the point when you check-in at the port, so you will not be boarding without making the payment.

 

The few reports that have been made here were for a lot less than 100%, but they do have the right to do it, so best to be honest and not make fake bookings...

 

[CarolnLarry]

In April we started looking for a Western Caribbean cruise on the Seascape in the YC.  We needed two rooms, one single and one double.  The TA looked at every cruise from early September until she found one that would accept a single. She found Dec 2 would let her book a single so we booked it.  The difference in price for the single was $156 less than the room for two people. The rooms are side by side on the 19th deck. My military discount helped lower the price.  Don't think at this price I will book another single on MSC.

[Mark_T]

33 minutes ago, CarolnLarry said:

Don't think at this price I will book another single on MSC.

Outside of special promotions, any time you are paying less than twice the fare for single occupancy of a double cabin it is a win...

 

Many lines will want more than double for that...