How to Find Cheap Cruises as a Solo Traveller (Without Paying a Fortune!)

Cruising alone might sound amazing, total freedom, your own space onboard, and no compromises.

But when you look at the prices, you might change your mind! Even the so-called “solo” rooms can be ridiculously expensive.

There are ways to cruise solo for less. You just need to know where to look. In this article, we explore solo cruising and ways to cruise solo more cheaply.

Why Are Solo Cruises So Pricey?

Most cruise fares are based on double occupancy, meaning solo travellers often pay extra, or often double the price for the cabin.

Some cruise lines do offer solo cabins, but they’re limited and often still overpriced.

The trick might be to look beyond solo rooms and get creative with your booking.

Best Ways to Find Affordable Solo Cruises

• Look for Reduced or No Solo Supplements
  • Some cruise lines offer deals where solo travellers don’t pay extra.
    • Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) sometimes waives the solo supplement in standard cabins on their older ships.
    • NCL is one cruise line that offers purpose-built solo cabins on its newer ships. They clearly saw the potential of the growing solo cruiser market.
  • Other lines that sometimes have offers with no solo supplement on specific itineraries or routes are MSC and P&O.
• Choose the Right Cruise Lines
  • Some lines are just better for solo travellers price-wise.
    • Marella Cruises often have no solo supplement.
    • Fred. Olsen & Saga have good solo cabin options.
    • Norwegian Cruise Line has dedicated solo areas, but they are often still pricey.

Mainstream lines like Royal Caribbean, MSC, and Celebrity do have some solo cabins, but they sell out fast. They are usually cheaper than a standard cabin for designed for two people.

• Consider a Guarantee Cabin
  • Instead of picking a solo room, book a guarantee inside or in Oceanview. Sometimes, the price is close to the solo rate, but you get a better cabin!
• Book at the Last Minute
  • If you’re flexible, solo rates can drop significantly closer to sailing.
    • That’s great for grabbing deals, but can be risky if you need a specific itinerary.
• Go Off-Peak
  • Avoid school holidays, Christmas, and summer,
  • For lower fares, look at the “shoulder seasons” -January, February, September, and early December.
• Check Travel Agents and Cruise Websites Regularly
  • Some solo deals don’t even make it onto the cruise line’s website.
  • Sign up for emails from cruise specialist travel agents. Sometimes they get exclusive discounts.

Our cruise on Celebrity Infinity was cheap as it was booked at the last minute, and many other passengers had cancelled due to a major change in itinerary.

Find out all about this older ship, and whether we got value for money here:

Alternative Ways to Cruise Solo for Less

Repositioning Cruises

One-way trips (like Europe to the Caribbean) are often much cheaper per night.

Repositioning cruises can often be found when ships change location in the spring and autumn.

They have more sea days but offer great value if you love relaxing on board.

Find out everything you need to know about repositioning cruises here:

You Need To Take a Repositioning Cruise – Here’s Some Huge Reasons Why

Group Cruises with Solo Perks

Solo cruise groups sometimes book blocks of solo cabins at a discount.

You often get a group leader to sort out any problems, which is a great option if you are nervous about travelling alone for the first time.

Consider River Cruises

Some river cruise lines (like Riviera Travel) don’t charge extra for solo travellers on certain sailings.

Saga – a cruise line for the over-fifties, doesn’t charge a single supplement on some cabins.

Don’t get trapped into thinking you have to book a designated solo cabin because that will be the cheapest option. It isn’t always the case.

As many of you will know, I don’t travel solo. For my own personal safety I usually travel with my partner, friends or family. There are some strange people on the internet, and my face is well known to many who cruise so I’m afraid it isn’t an option for me anymore.

I have a friend, Fraser, who travelled the world alone in 2023, and is my “go-to” if I have questions about solo cruising.

In 2023, I was fortunate to spend around 250 nights on cruise ships, when I decided to take a Sabbatical from the Corporate world. Over this year (and all of the cruises I’ve taken in the years prior, and also since then!), I’ve built up a huge knowledge base across a wide range of cruise lines, cruise ships, and also ports of call all around the world.

Fraser at Sea

Watch this great video from Fraser At Sea next about solo cruising.

It covers everything from booking the right cruise in the first place to hints and tips about things that have worked well for him (and the things that haven’t!) once onboard:

Before You Go

Find out why the design of cruise ships has changed to include more balconies here:

Why Cruise Ships Have More Balconies Than Ever Before

Find out about some weird and wacky things you might find on a cruise ship here:

14 Crazy Things You Won’t Believe Exist on Cruise Ships