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How I Cruise Solo Better (& Cheaper!) Than Anybody Else
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Jan 28, 2025
As 9 put of 10 of my cruises are as a solo cruising passenger, I am frequently asked to share my tips on how to travel cheaper, how to avoid the large 100% supplement most lines charge, how to avoid being left out or feeling lonely on board a cruise ship as a solo traveller, and also how do I make the most of cruising solo traveller. GET EXCLUSIVE PERKS LIKE MEMBER-ONLY BONUS VIDEOS BY BECOMING A CHANNEL MEMBER: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join Links mentioned in the videos: * VacationsTo Go solo search: https://www.vacationstogo.com/singles_discounts.cfm * VacationsTo Go solo hosted cruises site (https://www.vacationstogo.com/singles_cruises.cfm) and facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/94234526207/) * MyCabinMate.com https://www.mycabinmate.com * Crewmate Finder https://cruisematefinder.freeforums.net/board/1/seeking-cruise-companion * SilverSurfer.com https://www.silversurfers.com/silversurfers-forum/category/travel/looking-for-a-cruise-companion/ * singlestravelintl.com: https://www.singlestravelintl.com/trip-category/singles-cruises/ * Cruise Critic Roll Calls https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/20-roll-calls/ BUY MY CRUISE-THEMED T-SHIRTS ———————————————— * Check out my T-Shirt range at https://tipsfortravellers.myspreadshop.com , http://bit.ly/TFTStore or https://tips-for-travellers.creator-spring.com
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0:00
part way through a recent summer
0:02
Mediterranean Cruise I was looking down
0:04
the pool deck it was packed with happy
0:06
Cruisers having a great time but it
0:07
struck me I was on the wrong Cruise Line
0:10
as a solo Cruiser I should have avoided
0:13
this particular one Not only was it
0:15
costing me the same as the couple
0:18
in the cabin next to me but I was also
0:19
feeling rather kind of left out despite
0:21
the throngs of happy people that were
0:24
all around me on the cruise welcome
0:25
aboard I'm Gary bembridge 18 of our last
0:28
20 Cruisers have been solo and after
0:31
that experience I took a step backwards
0:33
and I want to share with you what I
0:35
realized makes for a much better solo
0:39
Cruise experience first off I realized I
0:42
must Focus my plans back on lines that
0:44
are more interested in us as they also
0:47
tend to offer more solar cabins lower
0:49
supplement deals and a better solo
0:52
onboard experience now one fellow of the
0:54
channel Peter actually put this rather
0:56
nicely by suggesting there are three
0:59
types of cruise lines first those who
1:02
actively appreciate encourage and
1:04
embrace us as solo Cruisers lions like
1:08
Norwegian Cruise Line Saga Ambassador
1:10
and Fred Olsen these lines have many set
1:14
of cabins they have frequent Deals they
1:15
have activities and importantly the crew
1:17
and the programs are used to dealing
1:20
with and addressing kind of the needs of
1:22
us as solo Cruisers the second group
1:24
which are in reality most of the cruise
1:27
lines are those that see us as a kind of
1:29
interesting sideline but whose main
1:32
priority remains coupled families
1:34
multi-generational Travelers you know
1:36
we're a bit of an afterthought now
1:38
includes lines that I have been on like
1:40
celebrity Holland America Cunard Pinot
1:44
cruises virgin voyages silver sea
1:46
Windstar Oceania and pananton here you
1:48
might be surprised about some of those
1:50
and I'll come to a little bit later why
1:52
then the third group where I or other
1:55
solos have felt most out of place are
1:58
lions which I think actually show very
2:01
little interest in us now interestingly
2:03
the leader in each of the four main
2:06
Cruise categories actually fall into
2:08
this group so Carnival Cruise Line in
2:10
the mass Resort category
2:12
princess in the premium category Viking
2:15
in the small ship luxury and Seabourn in
2:18
the Ultra Luxury these lines have no
2:20
solar cabins they have no to very rare
2:23
solar promotions they have limited solo
2:25
focus on board certainly in my
2:27
experience now many people have also
2:28
told me they believe Royal Caribbean
2:30
should fall into this group too but
2:32
there is another factor that I found
2:34
does impact my solo experience even more
2:37
by taking that into account there's
2:40
another thing that I really need to
2:41
focus on after going solo on classic
2:43
ocean Expedition River and Barge
2:46
Cruisers I feel most comfortable I
2:48
realized when going smaller this is
2:52
where I find solo cruising works best
2:55
for example I went on a barge Cruise in
2:58
France on crossy Europe Deborah there
3:00
were just 15 people there mostly French
3:02
they all knew that I was solo from the
3:04
minute I got on and they included me in
3:06
absolutely everything the same I found
3:09
also on River Cruises you know you've
3:11
got between 150 people and it's the same
3:13
I've found the same to also be true on
3:17
smaller ocean ships like Azamara Quest I
3:20
was on Oceania Insignia and Windstar
3:22
star Breeze there are not many people on
3:24
the ship they get to know and include me
3:27
really easily and it's all without much
3:29
effort just because you know each other
3:30
and you see everybody all around I feel
3:33
more and more uncomfortable the bigger
3:36
and the bigger the ship gets so for
3:37
example on a recent Sky princess with
3:39
over 3 600 passengers mostly couples and
3:42
families it was much harder and I felt
3:45
much more left out to sort of be
3:46
included and involved now importantly
3:48
really importantly on smaller ships all
3:51
the crew quickly get to know me they get
3:54
to know that I'm traveling solo and
3:56
they're not doing that awful thing where
3:58
crew keeps saying in a kind of surprise
4:01
judgmental tone are you by yourself is
4:03
no one joining you I get a lot of that
4:05
on bigger ships because of course the
4:06
crew don't know that you're by yourself
4:08
they don't recognize and know you
4:10
because you're just one of many
4:11
thousands
4:12
but with all of that in mind how though
4:15
do I find I can Cruise cheaper even when
4:18
doing all of that cruise lines almost
4:20
always make us solos pay the same price
4:24
as two people because of course they
4:27
want a certain Revenue per cabin now
4:30
while I must have been on many of my
4:31
cruises I still am paying the same as if
4:33
my partner Mark was coming with me there
4:35
are five key things I have found that
4:38
help me get around or reduce that
4:40
supplement I always Focus first on
4:43
trying to get a seller cabin as this is
4:46
often the best way of getting a lower
4:49
price however I do find I need to plan
4:52
really far in advance because there are
4:54
still very few of them in fact they're
4:56
so limited that I was able to list all
4:58
the lines and all the ships of them on
5:01
my website tips for travelers.com
5:03
in doing that list I spotted three
5:05
really interesting things which will
5:07
help as you look for ships one it's
5:10
mostly newer ships or recently renovated
5:12
ones as Cruise Line slowly become more
5:14
aware that solo Travelers like you and I
5:18
is a big trend for example celebrity
5:20
used to only have four solar cabins on
5:23
only one of their older Solstice class
5:25
ships the silhouette but when The Edge
5:27
class came in they've now got between 16
5:29
and 24 the same there's two on the newer
5:31
Holland America ships even Oceania a big
5:33
favorite of mine they're installing
5:35
solar cabins right across their Fleet
5:37
the second thing I noticed is that UK
5:39
based Cruise Lines offer more solar
5:42
cabins than any other Cruise Line groups
5:44
lines like Ambassador they have 89 solar
5:47
cabins on their ships Fred Olsen has
5:49
between 37 and 64. they've added solar
5:52
cabins onto the ships they bought from
5:54
Holland America twenty percent of saga
5:57
cruises cabins are Solo the third thing
6:00
I noticed is that the most comprehensive
6:02
solar Caverns are is still a Norwegian
6:05
Cruise Line they have this what they
6:07
call solo Studios you have a key card
6:09
access area a solo traveler's Lounge
6:12
some ships have almost a hundred of
6:14
these they're pretty small though
6:16
they're all inside cabins they're not
6:18
actually my idea of fun
6:20
importantly though when I'm looking at
6:22
solar cabins in addition to booking way
6:24
in advance I always compare fares with
6:28
what that line and ship is offering on
6:29
an ocean view and an inside cabin
6:31
because they're often still cheaper even
6:34
if you're paying a surcharge then the
6:36
solo cabin you know solar cabins are in
6:37
high demand prices shoot up and people
6:39
focus on them and they don't look at
6:41
comparing with what other cabins are
6:42
going for now the next thing that I rely
6:44
on a lot probably more than the first
6:47
one is I like a balcony cabin so I
6:49
constantly look out for low or no Solo
6:53
Traveler deals
6:55
I sign up for email marketing
6:57
newsletters for all the cruise lines I'm
7:00
interested in because that's normally
7:01
where I found they announce their solo
7:04
deals and offers I also asked my travel
7:06
agent Sarah Bolton of travel counselors
7:08
to constantly be on the lookout
7:10
searching out for solar deals and alert
7:13
me when they come along so having travel
7:14
agents another good way of doing it now
7:16
I've had really good success with this
7:18
especially on luxury and small ship
7:21
lines both of my Expedition cruises on
7:24
Silversea had really low solar deals as
7:26
well as my panont Antarctica my Asmara
7:29
Mediterranean Cruise my region 70s
7:30
Caribbean cruise and an upcoming
7:33
Windstar Norway Iceland cruise I find
7:35
most of these deals happen in what I
7:37
call the shoulder period so early and
7:40
late in the Mediterranean and Caribbean
7:41
season so you're talking like March
7:43
April time September October time but
7:46
also the transatlantic repositioning of
7:48
ships around these times is a great time
7:50
for solo deals too another really good
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way I find you know solo deals is going
7:55
to whose aggregation side so
7:57
vacations2go.com they have a solo deal
7:59
search Tab and it shows either really
8:02
low price cruises even if you're paying
8:04
a supplement but importantly cruises
8:06
going at that particular time which have
8:08
no supplements at all so that's a good
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one now if you're UK based or you want
8:12
more UK Cruisers I find the site passion
8:15
for cruises.co.uk does pretty much the
8:18
same thing I also by the way look at
8:20
solo Cruise group trips though I haven't
8:23
actually been on one yet so come back to
8:26
vacationsstogo.com they run 8 to 10
8:29
hosted solo Cruisers every single year
8:31
I've signed up for their newsletter I've
8:33
joined their Facebook group for these
8:34
now these group Cruisers have a free
8:37
roommate match program if you request a
8:40
roommate and they can't find you an
8:42
appropriate match of the same sex and
8:43
roughly the same age they will pay the
8:46
supplement for your stateroom so you pay
8:49
just for one person I also keep an eye
8:52
on solo travel sites now the most
8:55
interesting one that I've come across is
8:57
called singles travel intel.com it's a
9:01
members club for over 50s and as a
9:03
member of the club if you become a
9:04
member of the club you don't have to
9:05
remember the club but if you become a
9:06
member they give priority on booking any
9:09
low or no seller offers as they come in
9:12
you get first dibs on those they also by
9:14
the way run group cruises for solos
9:16
which include things like a single meet
9:18
and greet pre-cruise stay very specific
9:21
events on board so that's a great
9:22
opportunity for solo Travelers of course
9:24
the final way of cracking and breaking
9:26
that awful surcharge is sharing a cabin
9:29
with a stranger it's you know not on one
9:32
of those hosted Cruisers it's not for me
9:34
but I did find several sites where you
9:37
can do this and these include my
9:40
cabinmade.com
9:41
crewmate finder and on silversurfer.com
9:45
they're they're very active with a
9:48
surprisingly large amount of people
9:49
looking to share in the description of
9:51
the video you'll find those links this
9:54
leads me to an issue many solar Cruisers
9:56
are really concerned about how do I
9:58
cruise without being left out or lonely
10:01
and how do I make the most of the cruise
10:04
I have six key things that I do and that
10:08
I have to suggest first of all
10:11
go on a theme or a group Cruise Follow
10:14
Your Passion there are theme cruises
10:16
which focus on everything from Like A
10:18
Game of Thrones Star Trek motorbiking
10:19
knitting and so so much more everybody
10:23
in the ship is drawn by one key focus
10:26
and it's a really great chance for our
10:28
solar travelers to mix and mingle you
10:30
know really really easily I'm for
10:32
example also planning to run tips for
10:34
travelers group Cruisers so you can sign
10:36
up for the newsletter if that appeals to
10:38
you second make friends and plans before
10:42
you go the best way I find is using the
10:45
Cruise Critic roll call for my cruise I
10:48
find the roll call for my cruise and I
10:50
seek out other solar Travelers or
10:52
like-minded Travelers and I find that
10:54
plans emerge for shed excursions get
10:57
together drinks and so on also by the
10:59
way look on Facebook as increasingly I'm
11:02
finding that someone on the cruise has
11:03
set up a group to discuss that
11:06
particular cruise that I'm on I met
11:08
recently one of the really loyal
11:10
followers of the channel and I met a new
11:12
friend of hers Yolanda recently they
11:13
were actually both on the Rotterdam at
11:15
the time they'd met via online roll
11:18
calls and they were part of a group of
11:20
Travelers they were doing Zoom calls to
11:22
plan events before the trip of course
11:25
another key thing to do is go to the
11:27
solo meetup on board but I find they can
11:30
be really hit or miss so I tend to look
11:32
for other meetups on board that may be a
11:35
good match for me so for example on a
11:37
recent Queen Mary 2 transatlantic they
11:40
had meetups every day or every few days
11:43
for LGBT Travelers friends of Bill W
11:45
Crafters Knitters veterans women's
11:48
Institute Masonic Brethren service clubs
11:51
rotary and on and on and on and the
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lines will usually let us you know set
11:55
up any informal Meetup and advertise it
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in the daily program to speak to the
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cruise director I also suggest going on
12:03
Cruise Line Excursions partly because
12:06
that adds some safety of numbers and a
12:08
guide of course when exploring ports but
12:10
I find if I focus on a theme like for
12:13
example in the Caribbean I always tend
12:15
to book Beach and snorkeling tours I
12:17
find the same people are also doing the
12:20
same excursions time after time so it's
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really easy to get to know and start to
12:24
mix with them in other regions where
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I've wanted to do sort of more varied
12:28
excursions I book those that are
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activities like on my recent Norwegian
12:33
fjords cruise I booked things like
12:35
cooking wild water rafting hiking or
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something I knew would be grouped with
12:40
others like on rrb boat trips because
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this only takes eight or ten of you one
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thing that I find an absolute must do as
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a Solo Traveler is the on-board
12:49
activities they are a great way of
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connecting I tend to focus on classes so
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if there's classes for cooking Bridge
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painting crafts dancing folding towels
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whatever I go because everyone's
13:01
interacting often you're put into groups
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to work on little projects or stuff the
13:05
other thing that I find really great are
13:09
those activities where you collect
13:11
points now all the cruises I've been on
13:13
recently I could collect points for
13:15
going to certain activities like
13:17
shuffleboard mini golf and so on first
13:20
of all it's great because I collect the
13:21
points and I can redeem them for Cruise
13:23
Line merchandise at the end but
13:26
importantly I find the same people go to
13:28
those activities so I get to make
13:30
friends I get to feel part of a group
13:31
and I've often then joined them for
13:34
drinks or dinners or even on excursions
13:36
or touring the port doing them also
13:39
means that the cruise director and the
13:41
entertainment team they get to know that
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I'm cruising solo and they often connect
13:45
me with people they look out for me and
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it's just a really great bonus
13:49
people love to talk to strangers on
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cruises I'm not particularly chatty or
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sociable or extroverted on land but on a
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cruise I always talk to people
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especially when I'm solo if I'm sitting
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I don't know in the theater for example
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I turn to the person next to me and
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somebody say something like are you
14:05
having a good time or something like
14:07
that it's always worked out and again
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it's just so much more
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great because you start to just get
14:13
friendly faces that you start seeing
14:14
around the ship one of this brings me to
14:17
dining which I know many uh people get
14:20
stressed about when seller cruising now
14:21
I've traveled for years for business
14:23
before I did this and I was used to
14:25
dining by myself and in fact I like to
14:27
die in soda in fact I find getting to
14:30
dine at a table by myself is harder on a
14:32
cruise than dining with others on many
14:35
lines it's much harder to get a table
14:36
for yourself anyway when it comes to
14:38
dining we're in cruising solo I think
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there's two key approaches and I use
14:44
both of these first of all
14:46
with the main dining room if I want
14:49
certainty and I want familiarity on a
14:52
cruise I go for a fixed dining time and
14:55
I ask for a table of six or more people
14:57
that means I can get to know people well
14:59
there's enough people at the table so if
15:01
I click the sum more than others I can
15:02
rotate around who I sit with each night
15:05
importantly then I have the same serving
15:07
staff who know I'm so low they build a
15:09
rapport and they make you feel welcome
15:11
they're really good at doing that as
15:13
they get to know you I always go for
15:15
that bigger table because I found the
15:17
most difficult times traveling solos who
15:19
have been put on a table perhaps with
15:21
one other couple at once or two couples
15:24
and me and you basically kind of feel
15:26
the odd one out cruise lines of course
15:27
often put set of Travelers together or
15:29
importantly tell us they think may be a
15:31
good match based on age for example
15:33
however if I think on a cruise I
15:36
actually want to meet as many people as
15:37
possible and see where it all goes I
15:39
then go for any time dining it's way
15:43
more hit and miss in my experience but I
15:45
figure I'm seeing people for one email
15:46
and so I can move on if some don't work
15:49
out it also allows much more flexibility
15:51
because I can then arrange it down with
15:53
people I've met on excursions or on
15:55
those activities so that's a big plus
15:57
now with specialty dining though I
16:00
always book to sit by myself and find I
16:03
often have to go early get an early
16:05
booking to do that I don't like sharing
16:06
it especially dining because many people
16:08
go to them for a treat or a special
16:10
occasion and I kind of feel more
16:12
uncomfortable because you just feel
16:13
intruding a bit more another thing that
16:15
I like on smaller and Ultra Luxury lines
16:18
is they also welcome always encourage
16:20
you to ask a member of the entertainment
16:22
team no the singers or the dancers to
16:24
dine with me and they all love to do
16:26
that so as a Solo Traveler I recommend
16:28
trying and seeing if that works for you
16:30
if you found all of this interesting why
16:32
not find out more about the lines to
16:34
avoid cruising right now by watching
16:36
this video where I start with my biggest
16:38
regret of line and why see you over
16:41
there
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