Looking for a cruise, on a ship with sails preferably, where a single older woman will not feel 'out of place' and out of money due to the 'single' levy on cost. Am willing to pay the extra for my own cabin, but within reason. Suggestions? Ideas? Smaller is better than bigger....enjoy at sea more than in port. Thank you in advance for any info you can send my way.!

Try an inside cabin on Holland America. Lots of singles post on the HAL board at cruisecritic.com.

Oops, didn't notice the part about "sails" until after I posted.

We have sailed on the Starclipper ships -sail boats large- and there have always been middle age and up single folks aboard. You might check out their website. We loved the sailing. Max 170 people on Starclipper. Open seating and not formal or stuffy. You not only get Americans but other countries. Like that.

First of all, there aren't that many options for sailing ships to begin with. There are a couple of different options that you could consider besides a traditional cruise.

You could do a cruise along the Croatian coast on a small sailing ship. The cabins there are small (and not cheap). You could do a "blue cruise" on a small sailing ship in Turkey, where you just book a cabin. Again, this isn't a cheap option, and it's definitely not a traditional ship.

Then you have Star Clippers and Windstar, which have larger ships with sails, though Windstar rarely uses the sails. These are all the options I can think of off-hand, so it's not a large number of things to check to see if something is in your price range. Windstar tends to be the more expensive otpion because it's more luxurious.

Finally, while it's not at all a sailing option, the Hurtigruten line offers a few cheaper cabins on their Norwegian coastal cruises.

But I think all these cruises will charge for a single supplement.

My last suggestion would be a group-trip with OAT because they will sometimes offer a reduced or occasionally no single supplement; the company also offers both river and small-ship cruises throughout Europe (including both Greece and Croatia), so that is certainly a consideration. Many but not all their small-ship cruises are on sailing ships, and the groups are small at just 16 people; plus, shore touring is always included. The nice thing about OAT is that singles are not uncommon on their trips. These Europe trips aren't cheap, but they are a good value because they include most meals, both on and off the ship. But most all OAT trips include both a land- and water-based component, not just a cruise. But the pricing can include airfare, and that will save you a LOT of money going to Europe this summer.

Smartours, a similar kind of company to OAT, offers a Greece trip including a cruise, though not on a sailing ship.

The most cost-effective option would be to book a cabin-category guarantee for an inside single-use cabin on a traditional large cruise ship since these are typically the cheapest cruises. That would give you the best chance for a free upgrade, but a free upgrade is more likely on a cruise of more than 1 week. Almost all the big ships in Europe offer longer than a week itineraries.

Our TA just sent out information that Oceania, which rarely has reduced single supplements, had a couple of Med. cruises with only 25% single supplements. Very unusual.

Dreps, Is Transatlantic on the 25% list?Love Oceania. Casual elegance at its best.

I only saw mention of the two Med. cruises. If you're really interested in Oceania, contact our TA's Oceania expert, Susan Walsh, and see if she has more information: [email protected].(or call 800-856-1155). We now use Brown & Keene for all our luxury (and premium) cruises and exotic land programs.