debrad149

So I've always known that to cruise solo, there would be a "single supplement" to pay. What I don't understand is how one person could pay MORE for a stateroom than the total two people would pay. My husband and I are leaving in two weeks for our southern Caribbean cruise and are trying to talk my sister into going even though she would have to go alone as she is single and none of her friends can get vacation for that week. I personally think it would be incredibly relaxing to take a cruise by myself and I think she would have a wonderful time. But when I looked into the reservation, the cheapest she could get a stateroom is for $1289. The cheapest stateroom for two people would be a total (yes, I read it correctly, this is the TOTAL price for the room), $1109.

How can they justify that? Even if you add the fuel supplement for RCCL, it shouldn't be more than $140 extra. What am I missing?

debrad149

Actually the fuel supplement would only make up $70 of that, not $140, because the fuel supplement is only $70 per person, and isn't even in that price yet.

And they also aren't offering the balcony stateroom guarantee room when the reservation is only for one person.

Doesn't seem fair...

mona2

Does anyone know what would happen if she books a partner and that person just doesn't show up? Would the cruise line recalculate her bill?

Louise

From everything I have heard you would have to pay the difference. I think the only way you might not have to is if you are both booked with air and all and you carry insurance in the event a travel partner cancels. But, it would have to be a really good excuse which the insurance company would accept.

swaymock

That does seem odd - did you phone RCCL to clarify or are you just relying on a website? I'm sure we have all seen some monstrous mistakes on websites.

I'd personally be thrilled to take a single cruise, especially if my sister was onboard also.

Matter of fact, can I be your sister?????

FainaAgain

My husband doesn't like to travel, and I've done some tours and cruises by myself. This is the first time I hear a room for 1 person is more then for 2 people.

Maybe you're confusing "per person" when for one it would be $1,289, for 2 will be $1,109 per person total 2,218?

awayami2

I am going on a cruise with my parents. They are sharing a cabin, I booked a single. The cabins were booked at the same time with the same travel agent.

My parent's "cruise fare" (not including taxes, port fees, fuel surcharge, etc.) was $690 per person. The cruise fare for me was $1,900. They are both balcony cabins. As debrad149 suggested, they would not offer a balcony stateroom guarantee for a single. And my parent's did not even get a senior discount.

On a RCI cruise earlier this year, my travel agent called RCI and got them to do the guarantee rate for a single, but no-go this time.

Yes, it is unfair, but my parents would not travel without me, so I had to pay up. I think they are discriminating against single people to make an extra buck (or, like, $520 extra bucks).

FainaAgain

Ami, those balcony cabins for you and your parents, are they the same category?

awayami2

Faina, my parents booked the balcony stateroom Guarantee, which was not available to book as a single occupancy. Both cabins were booked at the same time in our travel agent's office.

I did not get a mini-suite or anything, just a regular balcony cabin.

JBHapgood

Sometimes singles really do end up paying a lot more than twice the available &quot;per person double occupancy&quot; price. That usually happens when cruise lines make special bargains available through agencies or consolidators. But those arrangements specifically preclude single occupancy; so if you call one of those agencies about something you've seen advertised they'll tell you that the offer isn't available for single occupancy. They'll then quote the full &quot;brochure rate&quot; with the standard penalty (usually 200%), which can be as much as <i>three</i> times the advertised price!

But I don't think that's what you saw. The web site may not always work correctly for &quot;exceptions&quot; like single occupancy. Or it's possible that the price is correct. Cruise lines are imitating the airlines in imposing &quot;non-commissionable surcharges&quot; and &quot;fuel surcharges.&quot; While those fees are quoted &quot;per person,&quot; some cruise lines charge singles <i>two</i> of these fees (on the grounds that they're already paying for two people). That may or may not explain the difference. Call the cruise line and talk to a live human being.

But do bear in mind that mass-market cruise lines really don't want single-occupancy bookings. They make their profit from the numerous extra-cost items they're continually hawking throughout the cruise. A cabin occupied by one person is wasting half its productivity, so they feel justified in charging double the fare (and double the fees). Of course they'll take the money from any solo passenger who somehow isn't deterred by the penalties, but a single passenger is definitely a second-class customer.

Another possibility is for your sister to share your cabin. That may not be desirable for any of you, but you'll all get a discount! Cruise lines want to pack cabins with as many passengers as possible to maximize productivity and revenue, so they give discounts for triple or quad occupancy.

Eschew

For all that money, book a &quot;large&quot; suite for the three of you, may end up costing less money and have more space.

With oil at $100, some airlines are dropping the fuel surcharges. Maybe the cruise lines should follow suit.

debrad149

My sister ended up going on the cruise with us after deciding to just suck up the difference in price. It doesn't seem fair to discriminate against solo travelers and I hated to see her pay so much for it but she needed the vacation and ended up having a great time.

Regarding the earlier comment about paying for two people and then the second person just not going, there were signs at the port stating that every person listed on the SetSail Pass (the RCCL paper you take with you to board the ship) must be present in order to board. Not sure how strict they are with that policy, just something to consider.