Is there such a thing as an Alaskan cruise for a single traveler without a single supplement?
 

Hi. Please bear with me, as I know nothing about cruises. I am married but often travel alone when my husband and son do their "boy's trip" each year. This year, I'd love to participate in a higher end Alaskan cruise. I would not be interested in sharing a room with someone I don't know, nor do I wish to pay for two passengers (or a single supplement) if only one is travelling. I guess I'm not looking for a typical "singles" cruise either. Any suggestions of cruise lines to investigate? Can you seasoned cruisers give me some advice? Thanks!

Alaska cruise has become very expensive and if you want higher end, get ready to open your wallet wide. Most cruise lines charge 200% single supplement which means you'll pay full fare for the second berth in your cabin, except for ports charges. I'd suggest Regent and I think they may only charge 150% supplement.

Thanks, Roswalt. What if I scale down from high end to small but active, informal, excursion ship. Anything but the huge mega ship. Can I fare any better?

Sorry to be the messenger of bad news, but that will actually cost you more. Rule of thumb is the smaller the ship, the more it costs. Mass market, with the single suppliment is really your least expensive option. Holland America is one of the few that do not charge 200%. They are generally 125-150%. For high end lines, Regent as Roswalt mentioned. They are a good value as they are truly all inclusive. Your only extra charges would be your tours. Get in touch with a cruise travel agent in your area. That would be your best resource.

Thank you for the information.

Would you go someplace other than Alaska and does season matter? If you search off-season for a particular area or even a relocation cruise some cruiselines either waive single supplement or cut costs so much that it accomplishes the same thing - my elderly mother has travel friends who do just that since they prefer their own cabins.

It was my impression, checking all kind of cruises, river cruises charge 200% (the price of 2 people, even if there is only one in a cabin) except the cheapest category is 175%.

Sea cruises charge 150-175%. Last minute cruises may be much cheaper.

Gail, what is a relocation cruise? One way to return the ship to a particular destination? I'd like to hear more about this option if it could accomplish my goal. Also, time does matter, because it needs to roughly coincide with my husband and son's trip, which is during the latter part of August. Would I consider a destination other than Alaska? You bet!

A relocationtion cruise is when the ship is going from Europe to the Carribean or Pacific to the Carribean. These are usually done at the turn of the season either the spring or fall and it usually involves many days at sea with no stops.

I am receiving special offers form some cruise lines; the latest I got is from Silversea on September European cruise. It states they only charge 110% single supplement plus a special rate. Of course this is luxury cruise line and is not cheap. If anybody wants more details, e-mail me [email protected].

Since you'd be paying for two anyway, why not treat a friend to free accommodations? She'd have to pay airfare and any extras, but you might enjoy the cruise more if you've got someone with you. The high penalty cruise lines impose on singles mean you stand a good chance of being "singled out" as the only solo traveler on boat full of the extended families and groups cruise lines are most actively courting these days. That may not matter to you, but you need to be aware of that possibility.

Most people aren't aware of how cruise lines actively discourage singles by making them pay twice what everyone else pays (and sometimes more than that, if you figure in special promotional rates that aren't available for single occupancy). They only find out about the penalty when they're widowed or divorced and decide to start cruising again, or sometimes under more benign circumstances like yours. The unfortunate reality of crusing is that if you're single and unable or unwilling to pay a large discriminatory penalty, your only choices are to convince a friend or to take your chances with an unknown stranger. However, as others have noted, if you're very flexible about where and when you go, you might be able to find an occasional cruise that's unpopular enough so that the cruise line has trouble filling it. Under those rather desperate circumstances, they will quietly reduce or even eliminate the single penalty because the reduced revenue from a cabin wastefully occupied by one person is better than no revenue at all from an empty cabin. But they don't make any effort to publicize such things, so you'd need to find a travel agent who works with single and solo clients. And sometimes the cruise lines will insist on singles paying the full penalty even when the ship isn't full. Managers can be very stubborn in their insistence that singles are undesirable.

How about considering another solo vacation while your husband and son are away? If you book your own arrangements, perhaps in a major city in Europe, you can avoid the penalties nearly all packaged travel companies impose on singles and get a decent bargain. Independent travel is the best and most cost-effective way to travel alone.

I have been cruising as a single for 4 years now and enjoy it tremendously. It is on small expedition ships which are about 170% costwise. The people I meet are extemely friendly and always invite me to join them for meals and activities. That aside, I just got a brochure from Star Clippers and couldn't believe their great single rates - 50% for some categories and 100% for the higher categories. I see the post is dated April so any information for Iregeo is a little behind the times.