Solo Cruises

How solo cruising works

The single supplement, explained. Most cruise cabins are priced for two. Book one on your own and you'll usually pay a single supplement, which can bring your fare close to the price of two people. There are two ways around it: a cabin designed for one, or a sailing with a reduced supplement.

Cabins designed for one. These are priced for a single traveller, so there's no supplement to pay. They're usually compact, and there are only a handful per ship, so they sell fast.

- Norwegian Cruise Line: Studio cabins on most of its fleet, from Norwegian Epic to Norwegian Luna. Most Studio ships also have a private Studio Lounge with hosted get-togethers.

- Celebrity Cruises: Single staterooms with an Infinite Veranda on Celebrity Edge, Apex, Beyond, Ascent and Xcel, plus inside singles on Celebrity Silhouette.

- Royal Caribbean: Studio cabins on over a dozen ships, including Quantum, Anthem, Odyssey and Utopia of the Seas.

- MSC Cruises: Studio cabins on its Meraviglia and World class ships, available at single-occupancy rates only.

- P&O Cruises: Single cabins on every ship.

- Cunard: Single cabins on Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria.

- Holland America Line: Solo staterooms on Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam.

- Princess: Single staterooms on Sun Princess and Star Princess.

- Virgin Voyages: Solo Insider cabins on all four ships.

- Oceania Cruises and Ambassador: Cabins for one on selected ships.

Reduced single supplements. Prefer a standard cabin, or sailing with a line that doesn't have solo cabins? Azamara, Seabourn, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, VIVA Cruises, Oceania and Ambassador run reduced single supplements on selected sailings. Offers change often, so check the price for your dates.

Meeting people on board. Ambassador hosts solo socials on cruises of six nights or more, and you can ask to share a table at dinner. On Norwegian, the Studio Lounge is the easy place to say hello. Table for one, or eight? Entirely up to you.