Despite the fact that more and more people remain, or become, single well into their adult years, most travel deals are still offered on a per-person, twin-share basis.
Quite often, that fact is buried deep into the fine print on the brochure or website, and many people have begun the booking process to find that that bargain journey is only going to be a bargain if they can find a friend.
There are, obviously, all sorts of reasons for this (basically to do with the bottom line and the economies of scale), but it has become entrenched because operators and their agents are stuck in a “couples” and “families” mindset.
I usually travel alone — yes, call me a sad singleton if you must — but I don’t choose to be lonely. And since I’ve discovered cruising — I’ve done a dozen of them in the past four years — I have found the best of both worlds: the chance to be on my own among thousands of people, some of whom I will strike up a conversation, perhaps even a friendship, with.
While some companies are offering single-occupancy cabins (Norwegian Cruise Lines is leading the way here with studio rooms on its newer ships), most of them want to put a solo passenger into a twin room — and, of course, charge them twice as much.
I’ve been fortunate to be on several cruises, mostly with Costa, where the single supplement has been waived, so I’ve had a double cabin to myself. But that depends on availability, and I’ve been able to book on undersubscribed cruises at the last minute.
Anyway, I’m glad to say (hat tip: Jennifer Harvey at cruise.co.uk) that Fred Olsen, a company that specialises in cruises for more mature, mostly British passengers, is now offering to scrap the single supplement on certain sailings. The alternative offer for people who are travelling in couples or groups is a free drinks package.
The message is that it pays to shop around — and a good place to start is Vacations to Go, which has a dynamically updated list of free and discounted single supplements (registration required.)
If you don’t have the time to do the research yourself, use an agent who is on top of the deals and the differences between cruise companies.
