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Are all the cruise lines the same? In order to travel alone you must pay for two passengers?

Hmmm in cruises usually you pay by the room because they have to sell all the rooms, and the rooms are a set size. I actually always thought that selling by room made more sense because if I wanted to save money and squish 3 people into a room, the hotel was still "selling the room" and should just charge me for the room having people in it. But they should have smaller rooms with just a twin bed in it for singles, that cost less because they're smaller.

I guess on cruise ships though they have those all-you-can-eat deals, and in that case you're only eating "half" the food of a 2-person group. So what they should do is bill you in parts. Pay one part for whatever size room you choose, small medium, large, etc. You can get whatever size you want no matter how many or few people you stuff in it. And then you choose your meal plan. If for example you're not a drinker, you could probably save quite a bit by choosing the non-alcohol plan ...

I know this is sort of after the fact. But I went on an 8 day cruise some years back. Since I was traveling alone I planned to have a room by myself as well because I don't mind being alone and wanted solitude in the room. My travel agent told me that my quest for solitude would cost me $500 extra dollars as a single. She convinced me to take on a room mate that she provided and spend the saved money on one more outfit. I did share the space with a very nice person. I did not hate it, but I didn't love it either. It was nice to have breakfast and dinner with someone I knew though. And I did save $500.

Generally on any cruise or hotel stays you pay what is called a single supplement. I always feel as if I am being punished for being an independent single traveler <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Also, for hotels, look for Jr. suites rather than a room. Many times you are charged one flat fee.

Vannie

I did some more researching and actually it does seem like they give single travellers a break, don't they? If a couple takes a room, it's say $1200. If a single person takes that room, it's only say $900. So the single person *is* getting a discount on that room in essence because they are eating less of the meal plan. So my previous thought of 'room costing one price then add on meal plan usage' is pretty much going on right now!

I think it's misleading to claim a couple pays "$600 each". I'm sure marketers do that to make it seem cheap. But they are getting that room for $300 more dollars than you are. Sure, an extra person is eating food, but I'd personally have to eat quite a lot of food to rack that up and I don't eat enough to make it worth that. And most couples work off a shared budget, so "the family unit" is paying that $1200. Yes they are choosing to squish 2 people into that same bed that you have one person in. But that goes back to my theory that a room is a room and that you should have the ability to squish as many or as few people into it as you want.

I'm very much a person who likes to have options to choose from rather than being forced to take a one-size-fits-all plan that doesn't fit me <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> So I like the idea of one set price for the room, and then a choice of different meal plans to choose from. For example my boyfriend hates formal clothes. So we would never go to a cruise's formal dinner.

Single rate passengers? here is the formual..
You pay the price of 2 passengers for the cabin since the price of the cabin is based on double occupancy.. So in essence as a double passenger reservation your getting a great deal to share the cabin with someone else. You take the price of the cabin for 2 minus the port charges and federal taxes of one passenger = the price of the cabin for a single passenger.

Some cruise lines offer what is called a single passenger cabin its usually a small upper and lower bunk cabin at a great rate.