Solo cruises with a low single supplement

Cruises are sold on the idea that two people share a cabin. Cruise lines set their prices per person, based on two guests in the cabin. We call that the regular fare.

Book a cabin on your own and you usually pay more than the regular fare. The cruise line won't list it as an extra charge. The price for one guest is simply higher, and that difference is what people call the single supplement. Sometimes you pay nothing or almost nothing extra. Sometimes you pay double what you would if you travelled with someone, or even more.

At Cruisello we want you to see that difference up front. We show the price for one guest on every sailing we track, and how much more it is than the regular fare, so you know the exact markup before you book.

How every cruise line compares

Some lines often charge less than 50% extra for one guest. Others charge double on nearly every cruise. Here's the typical supplement for each line:

How to read the supplement

The supplement is how much more you pay than the regular fare. Take a cabin with a regular fare of €1,000. Two people sharing it pay €2,000 between them. Here's what you'd pay on your own:

• Below 0%. The line is running a solo deal. At −10% you pay €900. You get the whole cabin to yourself and still pay less than the regular fare.
• 0%. You pay €1,000, the regular fare. Going alone costs you nothing extra.
• 50%. You pay €1,500, half as much again as the regular fare.
• 100%. You pay €2,000, as much as two people would. Most lines charge this.
• Above 100%. You pay more than two people would. This usually happens on a sailing that's almost full. Lines would rather sell their last cabins to two people, because every guest spends money on board on drinks, excursions and the casino. So they price a single booking high.

Solo cabins

A solo cabin is a small room made for one guest, with one bed. Its fare is for one person, so there's no single supplement. That doesn't always make it the cheapest option, as the next section shows.

Norwegian started the trend in 2010, when Norwegian Epic launched with its Studio cabins. On Norwegian, the studios share a keycard-only corridor with a Studio Lounge that has coffee, snacks and a bar. Only studio guests can get in.

These ships sell a solo cabin on sailings we track right now. Updated daily. If there are no sailings with solo cabins available at all, the ship won't be shown here.

Norwegian isn't the only line with solo cabins. MSC has them on much of its newer fleet, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity on a good share of their ships, and Virgin Voyages, Princess and TUI Cruises on a few. Most ships only have a handful, so they're often the first cabins to sell out.

Most lines also hold meet-ups for solo travellers. How often, and what happens there, depends on the line, the ship and sometimes the crew on board. Norwegian has one every day. Some meet-ups are hosted, which means a crew member runs them and organises activities. On some ships the host also takes the group to dinner, where you're all seated at one table. Other meet-ups are just a time and a place in the daily programme where people travelling alone can find each other.

When a bigger cabin is cheaper

A solo cabin is usually about 9 m² with a small bathroom. Most are inside cabins with no window, though some ships also have solo cabins with a window or a balcony.

A solo cabin isn't always the cheapest way to sail alone. Solo cabins rarely go on sale, because there are so few of them and they sell out anyway. On about one in five sailings where we can price both, an ordinary inside or ocean-view cabin booked for one costs less than the solo cabin. The difference is usually small, but a solo cabin can cost 10% more than a bigger room, sometimes more.

If the supplement on a regular cabin is low, say under 30%, the extra space might be worth it to you. A regular cabin is often two or three times the size, with a sofa or chair and room to leave a suitcase open. Whether that's worth a couple of hundred extra is your call. Keep in mind that you'd also give up any perks that come with the solo cabin, like Norwegian's Studio Lounge.

Solo cabins also narrow down your choice of cruise. Only some ships have them, and only a handful each, so there may not be one on the date or route you want. They're usually grouped in one area of the ship, too, so you can't choose where your cabin is. If you're happy to pay a small supplement on a regular cabin, every sailing is open to you.

Where to find the best solo deals

• Sail outside peak season. Supplements follow demand. A ship that charges 100% in August may charge far less on a November transatlantic crossing.
• Watch for solo promotions. Lines cut the supplement on individual sailings for a few weeks at a time, not across the whole fleet. The table above shows each line's typical supplement. On a single sailing it can be a lot lower.
• Book solo cabins early and regular cabins late. Solo cabins can sell out months in advance. In contrast, the supplement on a regular cabin often drops close to departure, when the line is trying to fill its last rooms.
• Check both currencies. Lines set euro and dollar fares separately, so the supplement on the same sailing can differ between them.
• Look at the total, not just the percentage. A high supplement on a cheap sailing can still cost less than a low one on a pricey sailing. A 100% supplement on a €400 cruise means you pay €800. That's still less than €1,000 for a cruise with a 25% supplement.

Lowest single supplements right now

These are the sailings where going alone costs the least extra. We show one per ship, lowest supplement first, and only include sailings where the supplement is 40% or less. That's only a small selection. To see every cruise priced for one guest, browse all cruises for one guest.