best deal for a single who doesn't want to share a cabin

[Michelle1959]

I had to cancel a June 2008 cruise I booked in August 2007, months before Carnoval started charging more to single cruisers who want a cabin to themselves. In a few months I will be booking a new cruise for June 2009. With that in mind, I'm looking for the best deals for solo cruisers who doin't want to share a cabin with a stranger. I'm open to any cruise line and need to find the cheapest deal as I'm a single mom.

Also what is the best place to find the best deal. I'm going to try and do this one without a TA. I'm hoping to do a 7-day eastern caribbean cruise.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

By the way, my son and I are very excited about the move from our apartment to a townhouse rental, even if we will be losing 10 sq ft. and having to pay $200 a month more in rent.

[Vincev]

Michelle,

You may still find a pretty good singles rate on a 1A cabin on some Carnival ships. Try using "CruiseCompete" and entering what you want and see what offers you get from TA's. There are also some good online places you can check as well including some that advertise on Cruisemates.

Vince

[ragtiki2005]

Michelle, I also used cruisecompete for my recent cruise on the Carnival Destiny and got a pretty good deal on an aft balcony cabin on deck 7. Bob

[Michelle1959]

Thank you both, I will check out Cruise Compete.

[My2cents]

FYI - I bought the single rate on Princess to Alaska this June. I got the same rate by calling the cruiseline direct as my AAA agent could offer for the same ship/trip/cabin. They charged 175%. I'm also a single mom...but kids are grown. This will be my first solo cruise, but my 11th time to cruise. I find I get better service by scheduling direct w/the cruise line and bypassing the TA (have done it both ways...50/50).

When you book direct...you can call periodically to see if the rates have gone down and ask for a refund for the difference. If you use a TA...the TA has to call and request this for you...they won't/don't care to as they're busy making money for new clients.

Hope you have a good time.

[kryos]

Originally Posted by Michelle1959

Also what is the best place to find the best deal. I'm going to try and do this one without a TA. I'm hoping to do a 7-day eastern caribbean cruise.

I find that the best singles deals can be had in two places: Go with a luxury line's 2-for-one sale ... many of them feature certain sailings as 2-for-one specials. Problem with these sailings, however, is that they are onboard luxury lines, so your base price will be much higher for the cruise. However, on the bright side, they could actually work out cheaper in the long-run if the cruise includes a lot of the things that standard cruises don't ... such as one or more free shore excursions, perhaps a free marina day, liquor, gratuities, etc. On that type of cruise, you could actually very well walk off the boat with a zero (or close to it) onboard bill for the week, where on a main stream cruise line ... yes, your cruise would have probably been cheaper, but then you might be paying $1,000 or more in onboard charges.

Your other option is to investigate the various main stream cruise lines and see what kind of single supplements they are offering. Sad to say, I've found these almost uniformly to be 200% or close to it. Unless the sailing is selling very, very poorly ... like an end of season Alaska run (where the weather may turn out to be crap), or a sailing right after the holidays when the cruise line is struggling to fill the ship, the major cruise lines have absolutely no concern for singles. Their cabins are set up to hold two people minimum, and that's what you will pay for ... two people ... whether or not you have that many in the cabin.

Now, of course, understand that I am not talking about singles rates for special groups here. I'm just talking someone booking a cruise as a single on their own. There are some travel agencies that offer special singles cruises where the single supplements may be better.

I've found in my extensive research that only Holland America routinely gives consideration to singles. They offer single supplements of anywhere from 30% to 50% to 60% on basic inside and outside staterooms. They also offer a single partner program on most sailings where you can pay one-half the double-occupancy rate for a certain class of stateroom, and the cruise line will match you with another same-sex roommate. If they can't match you, then you make out. You get the stateroom to yourself without having to pay anything additional.

As far as I know, Holland America is the only cruise line to offer so much for singles, with the exception of the luxury lines. The old QE2 has some single occupancy staterooms (in all cabin categories), but of course, as we know, that ship is going into permanent dry dock in Dubai this November.

I plan to do a more formalized survey in the next month or so all the cruise lines to get some more information about their singles programs and rates, but I have a feeling my initial findings will be about the extent of what I come up with.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[Dannyboy]

Hi Michelle

I read one of your post on American Airlines.
Go to DINING REWARDS @ AMERICAN AIRLINES.
When you become a VIP, see details. you can earn 10 air miles with every dollar you spend, including tip and taxes.

I booked my daughter using a frequently Flyer reward for a Ruby Princess cruise during SPRING BREAK in March 2009, it's wonderful to have the miles to plan a vacation.
I will be on the Ruby Princess 1/17/2009 and Crown Princess 1/25/2009, solo.
I hope you the besk on your ventures at sea.
PS, Princess provides a hotel, when you book Western/Eastern back to back. I did the same last December 2008. I had a really relaxing time and I'm still in the gym, loosing the LBS I gained.

Danny

[IBCRUZIN']

The best way to get a solo cruise is still Carnival. However, recently I have found that Carnival is not selling as many Cat 1A as they used to. There are approximately 10 cabins on each Carnival ship that is labeled as a Cat 1A. This is generally because the shape or configuration of the cabin makes it impossible to have two twin bed (or a queen) on the floor. These cabins are the ones that go to solos for 150% of the double occupancy price. Prior to this hike in fuel and food cost, Carnival would sell many more Cat 1A guarantee cabins then there were actual Cat 1A on each ship. Booking a Cat 1A guarantee allows the ship to move these passengers around, filling Cat 4 cabins with these 1A guarantee passengers while upgrading higher rate passengers. Kind of like an escalator.

Again, I say this was prior to this vacation season. I now have noticed that on many cruises on Carnival, it is not unusual to find that the lowest category available is now Cat 4A. These cabins go for 200% of the double occupancy price which is significant more than a Cat 1A pricing which may in the end put you in the same exact cabin. I think now they are basically just making the 10 or so Cat 1A cabins available at the 150% price. Once those are gone, then they sell Cat 4 cabins.

Also, Carnival use to start to lower the price of this lower priced cabins right after the final payment date has pass. This season I find they are not doing this much either. The prices do go down. However, not nearly as much as I have seen in the past.

All in all, the best way to get the best price for a solo cabin is to book well in advance, at least 6-9 months while these Cat. 1A cabins are available.

Good luck.

[Divemaster]

Check HAL closely - sometimes you can single at about 150%. That said, dragging your kiddo on a cruise is another alternative - they can be useful for hauling heavy luggage, disposing of surplus dollars and pocket change, and putting suntan lotion on your back. Heck, in the pre911 days I used to toss mine on the bridge to help steer the ship.

Originally Posted by Michelle1959

I had to cancel a June 2008 cruise I booked in August 2007, months before Carnoval started charging more to single cruisers who want a cabin to themselves. In a few months I will be booking a new cruise for June 2009. With that in mind, I'm looking for the best deals for solo cruisers who doin't want to share a cabin with a stranger. I'm open to any cruise line and need to find the cheapest deal as I'm a single mom.

Also what is the best place to find the best deal. I'm going to try and do this one without a TA. I'm hoping to do a 7-day eastern caribbean cruise.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

By the way, my son and I are very excited about the move from our apartment to a townhouse rental, even if we will be losing 10 sq ft. and having to pay $200 a month more in rent.

[Dannyboy]

I just booked this morning on Celebrity's new Solstice.
The pricing is under a group rate, unless your a travel agent, the price is the best I could find anywhere.
The cabins are 194sf/54sf veranda. plus a $100 ship board credit.

I am a single Dad, taking my daughter, she is 21.
We booked an Aqua Class cabin on the Penthouse deck on 11/30/2008.

Good luck
Dannyboy

[JulieOregon]

Hi Michelle,
I noticed while I was looking at Vacations To Go, they have a column on the left side that lists single rates....If you look at the cruises listed, most have less than a 50% surcharge....some actually have none and most 30-40%. Hope this helps...Julie

[JulieOregon]

Hi Michelle,
I noticed while I was looking at Vacations To Go, they have a column on the left side that lists single rates....If you look at the cruises listed, most have less than a 50% surcharge....some actually have none and most 30-40%. Hope this helps...Julie

[Mary49]

Originally Posted by ragtiki2005

Michelle, I also used cruisecompete for my recent cruise on the Carnival Destiny and got a pretty good deal on an aft balcony cabin on deck 7. Bob

Hi Bob, so I guess Cruisecompete is pretty safe to use if you find a good deal? Thanks Mary49

[ragtiki2005]

Yes, they are good. Did business with two different companies with no problems. Bob

[T C]

I'm confused ... are the catagory 1-A rooms specific pre-assigned rooms on a certain deck? Or ..... are they whatever the cruiseline has left over & needs to put a warm body in prior to sailing?
Thanks, TC