Going Solo

There are a growing number of people out there who travel alone, but what can they get from a cruise?

There are a couple of key points that most single travellers ask when they speak to me, What is the Single Supplement and What is there for me to do? I would add to that, can I get a single cabin?

So read on and find out what I can do.

What is the Single Supplement?

The honest answer here is it varies from cruise sailing to sailing and line to line, and can be anything from 100% to no supplement at all. The only sure way to find out is call and ask about the sailing you are interested in.

What is there for me to do?

Every cruise line puts on events and entertainment during the day for all passengers to go to if they wish, and I have found that most people on a cruise are polite and friendly so single passengers will not feel left out.

Some have special event just for single passengers, and perhaps a more special warmer welcome from the cruise lines team when you board. You may even find a number of dance hosts on board so you will have someone to dance with, like on Cunard or Fred Olsen.

Can I get a single cabin?

Well all ships are built to maximise space, so there are very few single cabins on most ships although there are some exceptions.

Fred Olsen have singles available on all there ships, both inside and outside cabins. NCL have 'The Studios' an number of single cabins in a designated private area on The Epic, and when the new ship The Breakaway is launched next year there will again be a small number.

 A single cabin on P&O Azura

P&O have a small number of single cabins on Azura, and next year after her refit in late March Ventura will have had theses added. In addition last year Oriana had a small number of single cabins added when she had a refit.

So does all this help? I hope so, the easiest answer is to give me a call with the cruise you are interested in and let me have a look.

Do they listen?

What am I talking about you ask?

Well all the cruise lines get a variety of feedback from guests; the questionnaire's they ask us to fill in before we leave, a variety of 'focus groups', letters direct to them - usually complaints and feed back from various review websites like, on www.cruise.co.uk.

But, with all that feedback do they really listen and make things happen, well Norwegian Cruise Line say that they have in the design of their next new ship the Norwegian Breakaway. So why not read on.


Recently our NCL Account Manager gave us a briefing on the Breakaway, part of which indicated that they had taken on board things people said about their ships and facilities and what people like from other cruise lines, and that they brought that thinking into the design of the Breakaway.

If you have read my blog from the beginning you may recall that I went on the Norwegian Epic in the Caribbean in November 2010. And I wrote a blog about the Balcony cabins, they have unusual features, with a separate shower and toilet and a sink in the cabins, read here. Now in an sector where hygiene is paramount, it is an unusual feature.

I was not the only person to mention this, at the time it was in all the forums and blogs about the ship.

So they listened, the new ship will have the traditional style bathrooms, hurrah! I have found a picture on the NCL website of the mock up of the balcony stateroom, looks a little more refined, less over the top colours.

There is a return of ocean view cabins, perhaps for the budget conscious and based on feedback there will be some larger stateroom that will take 5 people, so as to cater for the many families with 3 children. Some excellent features here.

The ships home port will be New York, so she will be themed based on the big apple but we will get the chance to see her as there will be a transatlantic sailing from Southampton as she heads to her new home.

There are some other new features, and I thought I'd add NCL's video of thge ship to highlight these.




So it seems like they have listened to the words of their customers, but as I always say its down to actually sailing on her to see if everything works out. So we have just got to wait until next April to see whether the marketing is right, hope I get the chance to visit when she calls into Southampton?