I Found 7 Crafty Ways That Make Solo Cruising MUCH Cheaper!

Did you know that one of the worst ways to get a great fare as a solo cruiser is to book a solo cabin? I’m going to tell you why and how you can slash the cost of solo cruising and avoid paying the same as two people, like I have, by not relying on solo cabins nor cruises advertising a no or low solo supplement to do it for you.

I’m Gary Bembridge and my seven tactics are designed to get around the fact that cruise lines are less keen on having loads of solos on board because they lose the profitable spend on drinks, specialty dining, excursions, Wi-Fi, and in the casino from the missing second person in our cabin.

But first, why are solo cabins not always a good idea?

Tactic: Avoid Solo Cabins (Mostly)

A solo cabin does not automatically mean a great solo fare. It just means a cabin designed for solo, not double occupancy.

Solo cabins are limited on ships and cruise line dynamic pricing means that they increase the fare for them as each one is sold and the number of solo cabins available reduces on a sailing.

So, while you will get the best price when they come on sale when all are available, as they sell out the fare will keep rising. Often above the price of regular Inside, Oceanview and even Balcony cabins at double occupancy rates.

I’ve seen that a lot recently.

For example, Holland America are introducing new balcony solo cabins on their Vista and Signature class ships. They went on sale on the Oosterdam and Zuiderdam, and due to high demand prices soon rocketed making them more costly than other cabin types.

I often see Norwegian Cruise Line Inside Solo Studios, a dedicated area for solo cabins, often costing more than paying for regular Inside or Oceanview at double occupancy rates.

So, if solo cabins appeal know which ships have solo cabins, and to help I have a regularly updated list on my blog at tipsfortravellers.com/solocabins.

Then get your travel agent to let you know, or sign up to cruise line newsletters, to be alerted when new itineraries come on sale and ensure you book the moment they do, as that’s when they’re going to be at the lowest price.

Also, always check prices of other cabin grades to ensure solo cabins are cheaper.

I hardly ever cruise in solo cabins because I’ve been able to get a better price by using other techniques.

Tactic: Book Earlier Than Everyone Else

One is by booking far ahead, and when itineraries come on sale. There are several reasons this works well for solos.

First, new sailings are usually launched with offers and discounts plus cruise lines have not yet hit the cap on number of solo travellers they are prepared to have on a sailing.

It has become clear that cruise lines set a maximum number of solo cabins they’re prepared to have per sailing. And at launch, all are available.

For example, I was interested a Ponant expedition cruise to the Antarctica Ross Sea. It was launching with a hefty discount, and they made it clear there was going to be a limited number of cabins available for solo occupancy which at launch also only have a small 20% solo supplement.

I booked on the day it went on sale getting all the discounts. Only days later solo friends tried to book and were told there were no solo slots available.

Cruise lines clearly prefer to wait to see if they can sell a cabin to a couple and get the two people fare and added on board spend.

Test this out and do a search on a sailing you’re interested in.

For example, I searched a Celebrity cruise I was keen on. When I searched for two people it showed many cabins and grade options.

I changed it to one person and most of those cabins disappeared and prices soared. Clearly, they had hit targets on how many solo travellers they wanted on that sailing.

You can on the other extreme look at booking very late, around four weeks before a cruise, as if the cruise line hasn’t sold all cabins they may offer deals. However, I generally don’t book late cruises because I find the associated costs like flights and pre-stay hotels at short notice usually wipe the savings out.

Tactic: Be Ready For Flash Sales

Flash sales are one of my most successful tactics.

I follow cruise lines on Instagram and Facebook, and signed up for their newsletters, which means I catch flash sales, often run over weekends or during major holidays, aimed at travellers with time in their hands to look for vacations.

As well as offering discounts or solo deals, many bundle in perks like all-inclusive packages or on-board credit.

As I was putting this together, one of my Tips For Travellers Patreon members (Nancy) messaged to say a flash sale had saved her $2,200 on a Japan cruise she’d already thought was a good deal and included $800 of shore excursion credit.

In her message she added, and I quote, “So everything you say on your channel about keeping your eyes open for flash sales helped me a lot.”

The flash sales I personally love as a solo traveller are the “discount off second passenger” ones.

At the time of making this, Celebrity was running 60% off a second passenger and Virgin Voyages 80% off on Instagram and Facebook, and in email newsletters.
Booking solo using those offers slashes the solo supplement down to 40% on Celebrity and just 20% on Virgin.

I’ve used this often, most recently getting 70% off second passenger on my Celebrity New York to Iceland sailing, and 80% off my Virgin Brilliant Lady Caribbean cruise later this year, making them both attractive solo sailings.

The key is following all cruise lines you’re interested in on Instagram and Facebook and signing up for their email newsletters.

Tactic: Go Where And When Cruise Lines Need You

Another successful tactic I use is to pick cruises where the cruise line needs and wants me.

While lines aren’t always that keen on solo travellers, there are two times when they really need us to help fill their ships and offer more attractive fares to do that.

First in their softest weeks of demand.

So, think beyond the much-suggested tip of cruising in the shoulder periods at the start and end of a region’s season which is April / May and October / November for the Caribbean and Mediterranean, and May and September for Alaska.

This is when demand is lowest as many families can’t sail at this time, and as weather can be less certain, good prices are offered.

But to really unlock even better prices, I go deeper by looking at some specific weeks because ships are even emptier then.

For example, the week right after New Year as people head back to work after the Christmas season, or right after other major public holidays as most people will have gone over the holiday.

Early December and the run-up to Christmas usually is great too, as people are returning from Thanksgiving and waiting for Christmas and don’t take vacation then.

The first and final sailings in Alaska, Mediterranean, and Europe like the Fjords also generally are less in demand. And of course, the Caribbean during the hurricane season.

The second area where cruise lines need us to fill the ships is on repositioning cruises.

I love repositioning cruises as I can get great deals because even with no solo discount, they’re often half the price per night of the line’s usual price so effectively wiping out the solo supplement.

Repositioning cruises are when ships are moved between different regions at the beginning and end of each season, like between the Caribbean and Europe, Caribbean and Alaska and the more exotic Japan and Alaska or Australia back to North America via French Polynesia and Hawaii.

The fares are lower as they’re harder to fill due to number of sea days and length.

How do you find all these?

In addition to searching or asking your travel agent, check if lines you like have a solo cruise page on their website. Many do, especially luxury lines like Seabourn, Silversea, and Crystal where they list sailings with discounts to help us fill them fill emptier ships.

Many river cruises have them too. AmaWaterways, Riviera, Avalon and Tauck all have selected river sailings with low supplements. Also, some like Riviera even run a solo only ship, the MS George Elliot. But again, watch the price of that and compare it to other sailings.

But still when looking, check broadly and with consecutive weeks of sailings to see how prices vary.

For example, I recently went on an Avalon River cruise and by searching across two months I could see one of the weeks was significantly cheaper because it was one of those awkward weeks that most people didn’t want to travel.

Tactic: Make A Cheaper Line Work For You

Another tactic I use is to go on value lines that are so well priced they cancel out a hefty solo supplement going on other lines.

Lines like MSC Cruises, Costa, Margaritaville at Sea, and in the UK lines like Marella and Ambassador, but also, I look at regional lines like Celestyal in Greece.

These lines tend to have very low fares. But linked to this, is I don’t just focus on lines that are known for being good for solos.

For example, many recommend Norwegian as it is great for solos because they have the solo studios, dedicated lounge and many activities for solos. However, they can be pricier to cover those costs compared to these lines with a less good solo program.

So, you need to balance how important having solo program is when thinking about price and value.

Also to get a better price look at and compare a line’s older and newer ships sailing in the region.

Newer ships tend to attract the highest demand and highest fares. Whereas older ships tend to have a lower fare because they are less appealing to many.

For example, fares in the Caribbean on Royal Caribbean’s new Icon Class ships are significantly higher than their older ships on the same itinerary.

Tactic: Let Someone Else Find The Deals

Another tactic is to let someone else find the best fares for you.

There are several travel agents focusing on solo travellers like VactionsToGo.com which has a solo cruise section with the latest sailings with low or no solo supplements.

Others I see people using successfully include SoloHolidays.com and Passion for Cruises.

I have also seen Emma Cruises’s new The Cruise Globe agency, part of the CruiseMap.com, posting frequently about new solo deals they have for sale

Tactic: Gamble On The Casino Route

One other tactic which is worth considering and is used by several solo travellers I know who like a flutter in the casino, is cruising in cabins comped by the cruise line.

For example, one I know (Mary) sails solo up to 25 times a year in casino comped cabins.

Mary originally budgeted $1,000 per cruise on gambling when she started, but now only budgets a few hundred dollars per cruise which is way below the cost of her cruises.

If you want to know how this works, I have an article on my blog at TipsForTravelllers.com/casino that explains how and, of course, gambling has risks and you need to approach this with care.

Also, as a solo traveller we don’t just want decent fares we also want to go to great bucket list destinations. If you want to know the seven epic bucket list destinations you can do on a budget, I cover that in this article.

 

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