Your guide to a solo cruise holiday

What is a ‘single supplement’ on a cruise?

This is a fee that the cruise liner places on a solo traveller. It ensures the cruise liner isn’t out of pocket due to the lack of another body in a double-occupancy room, as the majority of cabins on cruise ships are designed to accommodate two people. If you want to avoid the single supplement, you can find ships that cater to solo travellers with solo cabins, get on the mailing lists for cruise liners so you can scope out any last-minute distress rates or find a friend to share a stateroom with (or see if your cruise ship can match you with another solo guest).

Which ships have solo cabins?

Before Norwegian Cruise Line introduced solo cabins to the industry in 2010, solo cruisers were forced to pay the ‘single supplement.’ Now there’s a slow but steady revolution as solo cabins (also known as ‘studios’) are on the rise. Here’s a quick look at which cruise ships offer solo cabins.

• Celebrity Cruises: Celebrity Edge
   
• Holland America Line: Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam
   
• P&O Cruises: Azura, Arcadia, Aurora, Britannia, Iona, Oriana and Ventura. Iona will be unveiled in 2020
  and will have 10 single cabins inside and 12 single balcony cabins. 
   
• Norwegian Cruise Line: Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Getaway,
  Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Bliss and Pride of America
   
• Royal Caribbean: Quantum of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas
  and Harmony of the Seas.
   
• Cunard Line: fleetwide
   
• Fred. Olsen: fleetwide
   
• Costa Cruises: Costa Diadema, Costa Fascinosa, Costa Favolosa, Costa Pacifica,
  Costa Magica, Costa Fortuna and Costa neoRomantica
   
• If that’s all a bit much to go through, World of Cruising, a UK-based magazine, has
  wrapped up its pick of the best single cabins.