Solo Cruises - Options are Growing

With solo travel becoming a progressively popular segment of the travel market, many cruise lines are acknowledging the promise of growing their solo guests. Change is slow, and options may be limited, but it is going in the right direction. For several years now, companies like Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have offered a limited selection of staterooms designed for single occupancy. More recently, additional lines have begun to follow suit. Celebrity has added several staterooms on their newest ships. Some cruise lines have events designed for solo travelers to meet each other and develop a friendship with the other solo travelers early in the journey.

Some cruise lines without dedicated solo cabins allow individual travelers to book standard rooms without paying the typical single supplement. Others allocate a portion of their ships' capacity specifically for solo travelers, offering reduced single supplements. River cruise ships generally provide options for solo travelers with solo options or smaller groups for easier interactions.

Also, if you can be flexible, around 90 days ahead of a schedule departure, sales on the rooms will be offered with some offering no fees or incredibly low solo supplements. If you sign up for a newsletter called VacationsToGo they often send out sales on cruises which can be filtered to solo pricing. If you sign up for the cruise line emails, you will also get sale notices.

Working with your favorite travel advisor to help find the perfect trip at the best price is a good option too. But the good news is that being able to cruise as a solo traveler is getting easier and, in some cases, competitively priced. Research is always beneficial to make sure you are getting the trip you want, at the price you want to pay.

Below is a list of cruise lines (both river and ocean) offering single occupancy staterooms and/or low or no single supplements. Most of these have limited options which sell out quickly, so keep that in mind. There may be more, but these are confirmed.

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity provides a limited number of single occupancy Infinite Veranda and Inside staterooms on its Edge Class ships only – Beyond, Edge, Apex, Ascent, and Silhouette. These rooms offer all the same amenities and services as a double stateroom.

Cunard

Solo cruisers will find single occupancy cabins without a single supplement on Queen Mary 2. They have several transatlantic offers.

Crystal

Both of Crystal’s ships offer single guest rooms. Onboard activities include special solo programming and there is always a solo table in the dining room for solo travelers.

Explora

Single Supplement from only 25%. For guests undertaking an Ocean Journey solo and those who simply prefer to enjoy a suite to themselves, we are delighted to offer a lower supplement fare, with all services and amenities included.

Guests enjoying their suite solo can book any suite with a single supplement starting from only 25% above our current per person fare.

Holland America Line

Solo cruisers will find 12 single occupancy ocean view staterooms on the Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam, and Koningsdam.

HX - Hurtigruten

Solo travelers: No single supplement cruises (10/31/2024) Pay no single supplement on select cruises. Hurtigruten makes Norway more affordable for solo travelers by reducing the single supplement to zero* on select Norway Original voyages. Offers available on select departures only.

HX offers a mix of free and reduced solo supplements (capacity controlled) on bookings of inside twin cabins on ever sailing. The line offers dedicated solo travel meet-ups and cocktail hours on every sailing as well.

MSC Cruises

50% off our solo travelers’ supplement* on selected Winter 2024-25 cruises in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. They suggest that they have singles cruises, but that wasn’t evident.

Norwegian Cruise Line

All Norwegian Cruise Line ships have single occupancy cabins with no single supplement. Depending on the ship, categories may include studios, solo insides, solo ocean views, and solo balconies. Norwegian Aqua will also feature studio staterooms with access to the Studio Lounge when it launches in spring 2025.Nine of NCL’s ships feature studio staterooms, which include access to the Studio Lounge. These ships are: Norwegian Bliss, Breakaway, Encore, Epic, Escape, Getaway, Prima, Viva, and Pride of America.

PONANT

Refinement, curiosity, authenticity… Ponant’s unique travel philosophy reinterprets cruising and invites you to discover or rediscover iconic destination with luxury small ship cruising.

They offer a free solo supplement on nearly 200 voyages through the end of 2025 in a variety of cabin categories on Le Commandant Charcot, Le Boreal, L’Austral, Le Soleal, Le Lyrial, and the six PONANT Explorers ships.

Royal Caribbean International

All Royal Caribbean’s Quantum Class ships feature single occupancy balcony staterooms; some also have single occupancy interior rooms. All Radiance Class ships have some single occupancy interior rooms, as well, as do some Voyager Class ships.

Virgin Voyages

Each Virgin Voyages ship features 46 single occupancy cabins including six solo Sea Views and 40 solo Insiders. Their demographic is definitely a younger, party crowd. They do not allow children to sail.

Windstar Cruises

Windstar always has a selection of itineraries that are available to solo travelers at a single supplement of 120%.

River Cruising

AmaWaterways

AmaWaterways has four European river ships that offer single occupancy staterooms with no single supplement: AmaCello, AmaDante, AmaDolce, and AmaLyra.

Additionally, a 25% single supplement is available on fixed window staterooms on all Europe sailings, as well as on Category C staterooms on all Mekong sailings (based on availability).

American Cruise Lines

American Cruise Lines offers single occupancy cabins on every small ship and riverboat in its fleet. All have either a balcony or a window that opens to let in fresh air.

CroisiEurope

Take advantage of their no Solo Supplement offer on selected departures. Family owned Since 1976 they have established themselves as the European leader in river cruises and specialized in intimate-sized cruises on rivers, canals and seas.

Emerald Cruises (Scenic Group)

All Emerald River ships have single occupancy cabins except for on the Douro and Mekong Rivers.

Gate 1 (Monarch) Cruises

With solo cabins, and regular sales on trips, including no solo supplement sales periodically, Gate 1 offers good options for solo river cruises. They own their own ships.

Riverside Luxury Cruises

For all reservations through the end of 2025, Riverside is offering no single supplement when booking select Harmony Suites on Riverside Mozart and select Melody Suites on Riverside Ravel and Riverside Debussy, for virtually every voyage.

Riviera River Cruise

Riviera offers several solo-only departures (on all its itineraries) on which all cabins are entirely single supplement free. For instance, in 2025, there will be 30 dedicated solo sailings. Additionally, on every sailing, Riviera offers four or five cabins with a 25% single supplement.

Scenic

Several of Scenic’s river ships feature single occupancy balcony suites. On the Rhine, Main, and Danube Rivers these ships include Scenic Jasper, Opal, Amber, Crystal, Jade, Jewel, Ruby, and Pearl. Other ships with single occupancy balcony suites are Scenic Sapphire in the south of France and Scenic Diamond in Bordeaux.

Tauck

Tauck waives the single supplement entirely on every Category 1 cabin on every Tauck river ship, for every sailing of every itinerary. Additionally, on nearly every itinerary, there will always be select departure dates where the single supplement is reduced by $1,000 on one or two of the higher cabin categories.

Uniworld Cruises

Luxury River cruising, Uniworld posts on their site “love our Solo Traveler guests, which is why we’re happy to offer many dates every year with 100% Waived Single Supplements”.

Note: this information was accurate on the date published. Subject to change by vendors.