Hi all some help please about taking a short Australian based cruise as a solo simply to enjoy the sights and maybe some good food and wine.
I have been looking for a short cruise,say for 6 or 7 days and to that end visited a booking agencies today to find out more.
What I was told by them is basically as a solo on a cruise I would have to pay for a twin cabin, that is pay for two people or if not then at least cop a 70 percent surcharge. Is that right? Bit tough I think.
I am interest to know from other solos what they may have done in taking such a holiday. Any information really would help,links,best boats and destinations. I am thinking Melbourne to Tasmania would be good but open to suggestions form the experienced.
Clare46 said
06:40 PM Jan 8, 2014
I've done a couple of cruises and the cost is the twin share rate plus 60% so an extra $60 dollars added on to every $100. A site that shows a lot of cruises in Australia and to other places is
-- Edited by Clare46 on Wednesday 8th of January 2014 06:45:06 PM
grill n chill said
07:49 PM Jan 8, 2014
Thanks Claire for the reply. Have I got it right when I assume then if a trip is advertised as let's say a $1000 twin share then regularly the cost for a solo is approx. $ 1600. ?
shekon said
08:59 PM Jan 8, 2014
You are right there Peter, I was going to book a cruise before Miss Daisy happened and by the time you are penalised for being a single, unless you want to share with some random person, the cost was amazing. It would have been cheaper for me to go and pick some person of the street and pay for them to come with me, because as a couple you get all sorts of discounts.
There are companies that do single fare cruises, the name just escapes me now, certainly do a search for them and they will come up. Sometimes with the bigger cruiseliners as the date is closer and the rooms are not full they will sometime waive the single supplement.
Good luck with it all, and glad to see you are looking at doing some travel at last.
nomadic1 said
09:43 PM Jan 8, 2014
You could try this site www.vacationstogo.com/. I haven't tried it myself but I know others who've used it and been very happy. If you scroll down and look on the left hand side you'll see a tab thingy that says 'singles discounts' - I'd try that one.
nomadic1 said
09:43 PM Jan 8, 2014
Sorry - I have no idea how to make it 'clickable'. Just do a copy/paste.
grill n chill said
11:05 PM Jan 8, 2014
Some good links thank you. I have had a good look at them all and the more I learn the more I am surprised.
Some cruise lines and holiday trips ( but not all) for solos cost more than two people travelling together. the justification is the ships are renting space. Reminds me about the solo caravan prices in parks argument. But to charge a single slightly more than two people is a mystery to me.
Still there are also bargains to be had it's just the choices become limited.it seems also cabins are mainly internal for singles,no balconies. Can anyone tell me what these Internal cabins are like?
I am still interested in the cruise idea. Even at the inflated prices for solos when you consider the daily rate it's still good valve.
Allara said
06:52 AM Jan 9, 2014
I have been on 2 cruises before and they are very relaxing. Previously you could book into a shared cabin but that changed after the Diane Brimble case.
Going from Melbourne to Tasmania is only overnight so not really worth it, look at 5 - 10 days.
If you don't snore I would think of going too. :)
Cheers
Allara
milo said
08:24 PM Jan 9, 2014
I too love cruising after doing it with my dad, but like op I was a bit put off from the single person fees..
Clare46 said
11:20 PM Jan 9, 2014
It might seem expensive but I'm doing another one in May which works out at $220 a night and that is all inclusive unless you want to spend extra. It would cost more than that to stay in a hotel and buy meals
-- Edited by Clare46 on Friday 10th of January 2014 08:02:26 PM
extreme potato said
06:00 PM Jan 10, 2014
I have nearly always had an inside cabin. It suits me fine! It is very dark so i sleep late, start my day late morning and then take late dinner, late shows and then socialise till the early hours.
i now travel with a friend but have gone solo many years ago. Each time, I booked a twin share cabin. On one trip nobody was booked with me so I had shared price with sole occupancy. Another time, I shared with a much older lady. It was okay. She left the cabin early, had an afternoon rest and went to bed early. I hardly ever saw her. Neither of us made any attempt to be buddies but if you are with someone congenial, you have that choice.
native pepper said
09:00 AM Jan 11, 2014
There are also other alternatives for cruises, where you don't have to pay a fortune and get a wonderful trip. But if you are going on one to hope to meet someone, they may not be for you.
Years ago we decided to go on a cruise and after checking all the prices for the short time, weren't sure whether it was worth it. In an early life of travelling, I had circumnavigated the planet on freighter and container ships, so decided to see if you could do that. We did an 11 week trip, cost us less then $5000 each and went to PNG, Indonesian, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, NZ, Fiji and back home. Change ships 3 times and had a great time, every thing is included and you are a part of the crew. In ports you are free to do what you want and stop at places cruises never go.
Single friend did a trip like that, they went round the planet and took more than 18 months, all for less than $20000. Didn't come back single, came back with a lovely lady they met on the canals of Europe. Just a suggestion, there are normally only a few passengers on board, the most we had was 10. You eat with the crew, being ex navy, spent lots of time on the bridge and the food was the best ever, anything you wanted they provided and all included, so yo spend nothing ob board. Drank some really lovely grog from lots of different places on board and you're not surrounded by hordes of drunk noisy smelly people.
Hi all some help please about taking a short Australian based cruise as a solo simply to enjoy the sights and maybe some good food and wine.
I have been looking for a short cruise,say for 6 or 7 days and to that end visited a booking agencies today to find out more.
What I was told by them is basically as a solo on a cruise I would have to pay for a twin cabin, that is pay for two people or if not then at least cop a 70 percent surcharge. Is that right? Bit tough I think.
I am interest to know from other solos what they may have done in taking such a holiday. Any information really would help,links,best boats and destinations. I am thinking Melbourne to Tasmania would be good but open to suggestions form the experienced.
I've done a couple of cruises and the cost is the twin share rate plus 60% so an extra $60 dollars added on to every $100. A site that shows a lot of cruises in Australia and to other places is
ozcruising.com
-- Edited by Clare46 on Wednesday 8th of January 2014 06:45:06 PM
Thanks Claire for the reply. Have I got it right when I assume then if a trip is advertised as let's say a $1000 twin share then regularly the cost for a solo is approx. $ 1600. ?
There are companies that do single fare cruises, the name just escapes me now, certainly do a search for them and they will come up. Sometimes with the bigger cruiseliners as the date is closer and the rooms are not full they will sometime waive the single supplement.
Good luck with it all, and glad to see you are looking at doing some travel at last.
Some good links thank you. I have had a good look at them all and the more I learn the more I am surprised.
Some cruise lines and holiday trips ( but not all) for solos cost more than two people travelling together. the justification is the ships are renting space. Reminds me about the solo caravan prices in parks argument. But to charge a single slightly more than two people is a mystery to me.
Still there are also bargains to be had it's just the choices become limited.it seems also cabins are mainly internal for singles,no balconies. Can anyone tell me what these Internal cabins are like?
I am still interested in the cruise idea. Even at the inflated prices for solos when you consider the daily rate it's still good valve.
Going from Melbourne to Tasmania is only overnight so not really worth it, look at 5 - 10 days.
If you don't snore I would think of going too. :)
Cheers
Allara
It might seem expensive but I'm doing another one in May which works out at $220 a night and that is all inclusive unless you want to spend extra. It would cost more than that to stay in a hotel and buy meals
-- Edited by Clare46 on Friday 10th of January 2014 08:02:26 PM
I have nearly always had an inside cabin. It suits me fine! It is very dark so i sleep late, start my day late morning and then take late dinner, late shows and then socialise till the early hours.
i now travel with a friend but have gone solo many years ago. Each time, I booked a twin share cabin. On one trip nobody was booked with me so I had shared price with sole occupancy. Another time, I shared with a much older lady. It was okay. She left the cabin early, had an afternoon rest and went to bed early. I hardly ever saw her. Neither of us made any attempt to be buddies but if you are with someone congenial, you have that choice.
Years ago we decided to go on a cruise and after checking all the prices for the short time, weren't sure whether it was worth it. In an early life of travelling, I had circumnavigated the planet on freighter and container ships, so decided to see if you could do that. We did an 11 week trip, cost us less then $5000 each and went to PNG, Indonesian, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, NZ, Fiji and back home. Change ships 3 times and had a great time, every thing is included and you are a part of the crew. In ports you are free to do what you want and stop at places cruises never go.
Single friend did a trip like that, they went round the planet and took more than 18 months, all for less than $20000. Didn't come back single, came back with a lovely lady they met on the canals of Europe. Just a suggestion, there are normally only a few passengers on board, the most we had was 10. You eat with the crew, being ex navy, spent lots of time on the bridge and the food was the best ever, anything you wanted they provided and all included, so yo spend nothing ob board. Drank some really lovely grog from lots of different places on board and you're not surrounded by hordes of drunk noisy smelly people.