I Cruised in The SMALLEST Cruise Ship Cabin (1 Guest Only)

ad – This content was created on a press trip (similar to those travel agents and journalists take). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’ve just disembarked a cruise where I stayed in a tiny inside cabin designed for just one person.

Coming in at only 6 ft 6 inches wide, these cabins are located right in the middle of the ship in an area that most guests don’t have access to.

I spent nine nights onboard in one, and it was such an eye-opening experience. I did things I’ve never done on a cruise before. 

I have stayed in inside cabins loads of times in the past, but only ones which are considerably bigger and never by myself.

When I saw that the cruise that I was taking onboard Norwegian Breakaway had the studio solo cabins onboard, I wondered if it might be worth giving it a go. 

I was cautious because I wasn’t cruising solo on this cruise, so it wouldn’t be the most obvious choice, but curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to try out the cabin and the other parts that went along with it.

I hoped that it would feel futuristic and cosy, maybe like a little spaceship cabin, but I wasn’t sure if it would feel claustrophobic being so small.

I couldn’t imagine how there could be enough storage in a room this size, and I didn’t know if I would be okay with having the shower in the main room.

Nine nights is a long time to have regrets, so I hoped that I’d enjoy it. I also hoped that I wouldn’t miss having a balcony or a window, as this cabin had no access to the outside.

I was assigned cabin 11547 and went straight to Norwegians website to have a look at where it was. 

All of the studio cabins are on decks 10 and 11, so I did have a rough idea where I’d be.

The studio cabins are located down a corridor that only the studio cabin guests have access to. When I boarded the ship, I was able to use my cruise card to open a secret door, which led to them.

I loved all of the colours in the corridor and I saw a sign that said “Studio Lounge”. I decided I’d come back to check that part out later.

I didn’t have to walk very far down to find my room, and walking into the cabin was so exciting. I’ve known about these rooms since 2010, and have wanted to cruise in them ever since.

On one side there was a big bed and I loved the colours of the room, given that there was no windows I knew that the lighting would be important, especially with the walls. You wouldn’t want a harsh, bright light here, but it was all really well designed. 

I say no windows, there is a window above the bed that looks out into the corridor. At this point, I wasn’t sure why I’d want to look out into the corridor, but as the cruise went on, it made more sense. 

On the other side of the cabin was a toilet in a little room and a shower that opened up into the room itself. Normally, I’d think that was a bit strange having a shower that opens directly into the cabin, but it would only be me staying there after all, and to have a fully separate bathroom would take up a lot more floorspace. 

On the furthest wall was a small sink and my storage space. 

Luckily for me, I didn’t have to wait very long to find out about how much storage there was. My suitcase arrived at my door, and I was able to unpack.

On a cruise, you leave your bag in the terminal with a luggage tag on it, and they bring it to your room for you. On a ship like this with 4000 guests, there are probably 5 or 6 thousand suitcases, which is mind-blowing. 

There were two wardrobe hanging areas, one with a safe on the bottom and another with a couple of shelves.

I managed to unpack all of my clothes without a problem, but knew that I’d have to keep things tidy or it could get messy fast.

If I left my shoes all over the floor, for example, I’d definitely be tripping over them. I usually put my shoes under the desk area. 

Next to the sink were some little cubbies, and this is where I’d put most of my stuff that I needed throughout the day, like chargers. This became my “bits and bobs” area. 

There were loads of plug sockets in this cabin, which I wasn’t expecting, given that the room is so small.

I had 3 US sockets, then a U.S. and European socket closer to the bed. (These weren’t right next to the bed, but the cabin was pretty tiny, so nothing was ever too far away.) I’d charge my phone here and everything else on the other side. 

The bed itself was pretty big, and it certainly didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything bed-wise. I still had two pillows and plenty of room.

One massive benefit of a solo cabin like this, instead of a regular cabin, is that this is just one big mattress. In the standard cabins, it’ll be two twins pushed together. 

After unpacking and pushing my suitcase under the bed, I headed down the corridor to check out the solo lounge.

No other cruise lines have anything like this, and I have a lot of friends who love cruising solo with Norwegian because of this.

The space is split over two levels, and there are plenty of seats where you can sit if you want to make friends and chat with the other solos.

It’s a good place to work too, if you want to bring your laptop and just have more space than when you’re in your room. 

The fact that everybody who is in here is cruising solo is great because you’re all in the same situation.

That said, though, not everybody who stays here really is solo in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes it’s just a case that they are travelling with an odd number of people in their group, and regular cabins don’t make sense for that.

I have shared a cabin before where I’ve been the random third person sleeping on the sofa, and it’s fine. But this is so much better. 

Often on cruises, it’ll cost more if you do want to stay alone in a cabin as a solo cruiser. Instead of sharing and splitting the cost with your cabinmate, you’re basically paying for the missing person as well.

Price is one of the reasons I think that solo cabins like this are a great idea. There is no solo supplement to stay here – the price is just the price. 

Great in theory, of course, and I hoped that actually staying in the cabin would live up to the idea I’d built up in my head over all of these years.

Norwegian first launched these solo cabins on a ship called Norwegian Epic. I sailed on her in 2015, and I had a standard inside cabin back then.

I shared the room with my brother, and we had a great time. I couldn’t have gone down the secret corridor though, because I wasn’t cruising solo. 

On the bottom level of the Studio Lounge, there was a bar and a section with a coffee machine and cake.

I don’t drink coffee, so I’m afraid I can’t comment too much on that, but I met lots of people onboard who would start their day, every day, with a coffee from here. I’m told it’s good. 

The lounge felt bright and spacious, and in total, there are 57 cabins onboard that have access to this space. 

Heading back to my room, I decided to order some cans of water. This is something I would have never considered a year or so ago, until I had some, and now I do it every time I cruise with Norwegian.

I ordered 24 and thought that would be good for nine nights. I wasn’t sure where I would put them, but I figured I’d sort that out later.

The paperwork all went above the bed, which was good, it kept it out of the way but still accessible. There are nightlights here too.

By this point, I needed to go to the toilet, and I was weirdly excited to try out the tiny room. You could, of course, keep the door open if you wanted to, since it’s only you in the room anyway, but I thought that there was plenty of space, and there was everything you needed in there.

If you are a lot taller or wider than me, it might be more squishy, but overall, I didn’t have any problems. My friend Tony, who describes himself as a “fluffy cruiser” said that it was perfectly good for him too… 

I was just as excited to try the shower. I know that might sound strange, but everything is exciting on a cruise.

The shower itself was a good size, but I scared myself half to death on the first day.

I had the light on actually in the shower but most of the main lights off in the room for some reason. When I turned around I saw my reflection staring right at me but for 0.001 second my brain definitely thought that it was another person.

I never scared myself like that again, it was just the first time, but it really did make me jump. 

I had a couple of towels on the side and one for the floor as well. I was worried that the water would go everywhere and I’d make a mess, but it didn’t at all.

In this area, there is a hard floor that nicely separates the bathroom from the bedroom area.

On the door at the far end, there were plenty of hooks, and small things like this really do make a big difference when the cabin is tiny. They really made the most out of every inch. 

Looking at this door, you might wonder where it goes. It looks as though it goes right into next door, and you would be right if you assumed that.

This cabin is an interconnecting cabin, meaning that you can have these doors unlocked if you are cruising with the person staying in there.

I think that’s a great idea if you are friends or family, but still want your own space, you both get your own big beds. You get your own toilets and showers, and if you have a friend who’s really messy, they can keep all their stuff in their room, and you can keep what you want in your room. 

You can control your own temperature too, as the thermostat is here. It was a warm-weather summer cruise when I took this trip, but the air conditioning was great; the room got really cold and snuggly. 

My cabin steward must have been very strong because it took all my strength every night to untuck the quilt, or duvet, from under the end of the mattress.

Every room onboard is cleaned every day, and my cabin was spotlessly clean. I feel like I saw every centimetre of this cabin because I was in it for nine nights.

I set up my daylight alarm clock so that I wouldn’t wake up in the dark, and I went to bed. It was very quiet down this part of the corridor, and because there aren’t many cabins down here, it was rare that people walked past.

I could hear people having conversations in the corridor occasionally, but overall, it felt like a very quiet part of the ship.

At one point, I did do a live stream in the room, and it’s weird how hundreds of people watching me chat live doesn’t make me self-conscious, but the thought that one person in the real world might hear me really does.

You can watch that live stream here:

I don’t think I annoyed anybody anyway, and all my cabin mates were great. 

I opened the shutter on the window into the corridor a little, and it was a beautiful purple colour, which was really relaxing.

The windows are one-way, so nobody can see in them at all, and it’s all blurred out too, so you can see the odd shape wandering by.

It definitely helped to make the room feel less claustrophobic, although I never felt that it was anyway.

As the cruise went on, I got more organised with the storage in the cabin. I found hidden, extra places to put things up high and down low. 

I was a bit nervous about where I would put my vast amount of water when it arrived, but I found out that there was more storage space in the stool by the bed, so that was sorted.

(Sorted is your Britishism of the week; it means it’s fixed or it’s been taken care of.)

I had to get it sorted out when, once upon a time, somebody took my ‘do not disturb’ sign from outside my cabin during the night.

Luckily for me, that’ll never happen on this cruise because they have a “make-up room” and “do not disturb” buttons actually within the cabin itself. These buttons light up lights outside in the corridor. 

We also had a good hair dryer in the cabin, and the power was controlled by putting my cruise card into the slot by the door.

There isn’t a fridge in this cabin, but honestly, I’m quite glad about that. I’d much prefer to just have an extra drawer or cupboard for my clothes, and I can’t see where one could fit anyway.

There was a small table and a coffee machine over here as well, and I rearranged the entire cabin during my live stream. I moved the table over near the shower and sat on the stool with the water in it. 

I wish I had known about the stool storage from the start. Another tip I’d give anyone staying in this room is to do some laundry. 

I get a free bag with my loyalty status with Norwegian, and it is my favourite thing ever. You put your dirty clothes into the bag, and they arrive back all clean and folded nicely.

I wish that worked like that at home, it’s fantastic. I still have the tags in my clothes. I could take them out, but it reminds me of the cruise. 

Because I wasn’t really cruising Solo on this trip, I was able to spend a good amount of time in a standard inside cabin, too, which really helped me to compare. It was just as nice a room and the bathroom was massive.

(Maybe it wasn’t massive, but it felt like it compared to mine anyway.)

One of the biggest benefits of my solo cabin over this standard inside cabin, in my opinion, was the location.

Not just because of the solo lounge, but also because I was closer to the middle of the ship and not too far from the top decks.

We never felt any movement here at all, and we were so lucky with the weather on the cruise. 

I’d have been quite happy to stay in the standard inside cabin too, and I have in the past, but having my own quiet corridor and tiny cabin was such a treat.

I’m used to sharing inside cabins with another person, so I probably had more space to myself by having a solo cabin just for me.

To find out what it’s like staying in this cabin, in the video below:

Before You Go

I was recently lucky enough to spend some time on Norwegian Aqua, find out what I though of her here:

I Spent 8 Days on a BRAND NEW Cruise Ship (Before Her Launch)

My favourite (and first-ever) Norwegian ship is Norwegian Spirit. Have a look at the recent upgrades made to her here:

This Ship Had a $100,000,000 Upgrade – Still my Favourite?