goalonenow51

Recently divorced and wanting to do some travelling, but seems like there is a substantial financial penalty for travelling alone, especially on cruises. I am a 51 y/o single male and would like to travel alone, but the cost is daunting. Can anyone give me some advice?

sognatrice2

I don't have experience with cruises, but I have been traveling mostly independently for years.
I think there are cruises for singles, and/or you might ask about sharing a room if you are interested in an organized tour.

I understand the rationale behind a penalty for single travelers, but don't agree with it, and prefer to do my own planning. I've never regretted it!

Best of luck to you!

gail

My mother has traveled alone, with friends, on tours and independently for years. She has on rare occasions been able to find a cruise during an off-season that has a special on single-occupancy. However, in general the "single supplement" charge for any cruise or tour is very high.

Some package tours will find you another person on the tour and "roommate" you together - this would not be my preferred way to travel, but some don't mind. I don't think cruises do this, though.

My understanding is that even "singles" cruises don't mean you get a single room.

kybourbon

Grand Circle Travel waves the single supplement on many of their trips. www.gct.com

LoveItaly

If you travel on your own, you buy your own airline ticket, get your own hotel room, pay your own restaurant bill, buy your own subway ticket, museum ticket etc. That way you do not pay a "single supplement".
Bet you will have more fun too, and meet interesting people on your trips.

gail

To LoveItaly - Agree - but that does not work real well on cruises - which OP stated he was interested in.

LoveItaly

gail, I reread goalonenow51's message.
He stated that " seems like there is a substantial financial penalty for travelling alone, especially on cruises".
I did not read that as he desired to only go on a cruise.
He asked for some advise.
And consequently I did.
Cruises are not good deals for single travlers.
So, I was attempting to give him some "food for thought"
I am not knowledgable about not being charged a "single supplement" for a cruise.
Am aware, as sognatrice2 stated, that some cruises offer a passenger a choice to share a room with a stranger.
That would not be something I would want.
And sognatrice2 stated she thought that some cruises are for singles. Not famaliar with those either.
Just putting in my two cents worth on how to travel without paying a single penalty.

suze

The "penalty" for traveling single is ONLY when you buy pre-packaged deals (i.e., cruises or air/hotel or group tours).

For independent travel, the only extra expense of going single is that you don't have someone to split the hotel room bill, as you would sharing a double with a mate or friend or companion.

I am a 50 y/o single female and have traveled at least one major trip per year for the past 25 years. Probably half of those solo. I have always done my own planning, chosen my own itinerary, booked my plane ticket direct with the carrier, booked my own 3-star hotel rooms direct with the hotels.

If you are willing to investigate truly independent travel and plan trips yourself, the cost needs not be daunting at all.

LoveItaly

Suze, that was what I was trying to convey. I agree with you a 100%.
goalonenow51 has not posted anything since his 10/09/04 thread.
Think this is a "dead" thread.

suze

LoveItaly, you must be right. I guess not many people read 'other topics'. I'm always on the Europe branch which is very active, as you know, so I didn't realize it's kind of quiet here!

LoveItaly

Hi Suze, kind of quiet here, noooo, dead is more like it! See you on the Europe board!.

lynn001

Why not join a volunteer group? You will be with other (most likely) solo travelers, contributing to great causes, and really learning about the place you are visiting by haveing direct contact with locals. I volunteered for Volunteer Vacations Hawaii this past spring and it was the most amazing travel experience I have ever had. The staff was so friendly and knowledgable, they really made me feel like a part of there "OHANA" or family. I chose to go to hawaii because it is still exotic and in the US. Happy travels.

everittp

I am a widow and prefer to pay the single supplement rather than share my room with anyone. I just book the lowest inside instead of the upper with balcony. I'm only in my room to sleep and change so don't miss the window. And, if there is any rocking, lower is better. I've weathered some storms that had others very ill.

I always request traditional dining at a large table. That way, I get to look forward to meeting the same people at dinner. This means I only have the "Where are you from? Where have you travelled? conversation one night. The rest of the evenings, I can look forward to pleasant dinner conversation.

faith77

Helo,
I've done 3 one week cruises solo over the years and I think that cruising is a good way to travel solo.
You can get ok deals (less of a single supplement) if your flexible about when you travel. Check out cruisemates and cruisecritic bulletin boards for lots of good info.
Faith

Lea_Lane

All the above has been useful. Another ploy is to compensate. Go off-season, budget on air, food, so forth. Is it worth it for you to go? Probably! Don't let a supplement keep you from traveling.
Lea

Roley

The single supplement is such a scam. People seem to think that hotels & cruise ships are somehow compelled to design & build rooms for two or more people. As if practically everyone in the world was a siamese twin. They like to force people to share either with a travelling companion or a total stranger - because it cuts down costs in providing other facilities like bathrooms. I've found this particularly bad in the hotels in America and the UK where the concept of a "single room" seems beyond the comprehension of hotel owners and architects. And yet as the burgeoning solo-travel industry proves, there IS money to be made from single travellers.

In the UK, one travel company, Travelsphere, does packages and tours with no single supplement - and everyone is allocated a single ensuite room. Unfortunately to do this they often have to stay in hotels in the middle of nowhere. But I still applaud them for trying (though I wish they had a few less "romantic couples" posed in the brochures!)

Can I also plug my favourite country, Austria? There, the architects and hotel owners seem mysteriously enlightened as to the provision of single rooms. Their single ensuite rooms may (sometimes) cost more than half-a-shared-double in the same hotel, but I don't mind paying a small premium in recognition of the costs of installing and cleaning all those extra bathrooms. If you shop round you can reduce this to about 25% extra instead of the 100% premium I pay on a hotel room in the UK or US. And in some hotels I've stayed in in Austria, the single rooms are cheaper than the per-person price in a double. Ho ho! A double premium? How very unreasonable!

So I suppose I agree with the other people that making your bookings independently will reduce the premiums you pay for solo travel - and travelling in Europe may offer hotels with facilities for solo travellers ignored by other sectors of the tourist industry.

Rol

kfusto

Check out myowncabin.com. It is a subscription service that offers single cabins at great rates. There are always quite a few to chose from and the savings are substantial.