Roommate finder

[txsloth]

Anyone know a good way to find a roommate for a cruise? My brother wants to join us on the Equinox in December, but a single occupancy room is prohibitively expensive. Anyone with good experiences travelling with a previously unknown roommate? Any horror stories:D?

[kitty9]

I recommend friends or other family members. I would never share a cabin with a stranger. Some might not have a problem with this, but it's not for me. Just the bathroom situation alone is enough to make it a no brainer. I have heard stories of roommates bringing back "entertainment" for the evening leaving the other person to have to sleep somewhere else. Problems with roommates with drugs, or being heavy smokers or drinkers. You pay a lot of money to take a chance of getting the roommate from hell. Not worth it imho.

[DeltaOne]

Anyone know a good way to find a roommate for a cruise? My brother wants to join us on the Equinox in December, but a single occupancy room is prohibitively expensive. Anyone with good experiences travelling with a previously unknown roommate? Any horror stories:D?

 

Some travel agents do group cruises for singles. I used to work with a guy that went on such a cruise. He ended up marrying one of the single ladies he met on the cruise. You can decide for yourself if that's a "good" or "horror" story. ;-)

[bqkali]

Anyone know a good way to find a roommate for a cruise? My brother wants to join us on the Equinox in December, but a single occupancy room is prohibitively expensive. Anyone with good experiences travelling with a previously unknown roommate? Any horror stories:D?

 

The best way is to spread the word to friends, family, coworkers, neighbors. Even if they can't go, your brother might be able to find a "friend of a friend" through word of mouth. Just make sure the roommate is compatible before they go - same sleeping hours, drinking habits, cleanliness issues, etc. A short conversation about expectations can make any roommate situation go a lot smoother than jumping in blindly.

 

If that route doesn't work, there are several websites where you can post for travel companions. Unfortunately, Cruise Critic does not let us mention those websites by name :( I only know of one website specifically geared toward cruise roommates, but there are many out there for travel companions in general where he can specifically list the cruise he is intending on and hope for responses.

 

If you really want him to go with you and those options don't pan out, you could look into a triple occupancy stateroom. It might be worth it to buy a suite (with plenty of room for 3) instead of a double room + a single occupancy room...assuming you're not looking for "private" time.

 

Lastly, he can just sit it out and hope that either the fare goes down or the single supplement % goes down (or both!) so that he can afford a room to himself. No guarantees with that option though.

 

I have roomed with strangers on land trips before (but not cruises) and while I've had a few minor issues, a quick conversation usually clears things up. Sometimes they don't realize that what they're doing is bothersome. I never take offense if someone makes a polite request. I've never had any horror stories and I actually have one very good friend who I still keep in touch with who originally was a "stranger roommate".