TA with Solo Cruiser Discounts?

[JP0524]

Are there any travel agents out there that are savvy with solo cruiser discounts? I know all the tricks of booking double and then saying your guest “doesn’t show up”, but that doesn’t work if you want to pre-book drink packages etc. I’d love to connect with a travel agent that can help me out here. Thank you. 

[Bonnen]

I'm going solo and bought my deluxe drink package online just got to wait until it shows up with just one price. 

[mistertomatohead]

3 hours ago, Bonnen said:

I'm going solo and bought my deluxe drink package online just got to wait until it shows up with just one price. 

Are you doing the no show trick or are you booking without a solo supplement? Does Royal even advertise those cruises? I heard about the Celebrity no solo supplement sale and there’s a list of sailings on their public site for travel agents which anyone can download.  It’s so convenient to just have the list and book myself on the website.

[mistertomatohead]

5 hours ago, JP0524 said:

I know all the tricks of booking double and then saying your guest “doesn’t show up”, but that doesn’t work if you want to pre-book drink packages etc.

How does the no show trick work? Don’t they treat it as a cancellation where there’s no refund or best case future cruise credit? Also, don’t some promotions like on board credit say you need double occupancy? Isn’t it what travel insurance is for?  The cruise line keeps the money and you take it up with the insurance company. Seems risky but I’d love to try it even if I’d feel a little dirty.

I wonder if there are any travel professionals that would advise against doing it. Although I was talking to one and he was so proud of getting extra discounts/onboard credit by making up some issue from a past cruise.  If he’s willing to lie to the cruise line I assume he’d lie to me too.

[twangster]

There are two downfalls of adding a ghost guest to your solo booking.

1. Since the restart it has been reported that some solo guests with no-show cabin mates are not getting double points and when they call in they are denied the appeal for double points.  Prior to the restart this wasn't the issue it has been since the restart.  Other's report they are getting double points for a no-show.  It's not documented so there is no basis for appealing when it doesn't go your way. YMMV.

Another thing you can try to call in and request the GTY or double fare on a solo basis.  The website might not allow it but sometimes calling in will yield success booking as a solo.  

2. The deluxe drink package.  The easiest solution is to use a ghost guest that is under 21 years old (in North America).  By adding an 18 year old ghost the system won't require and by policy won't allow them to have the deluxe drink package.  

2 hours ago, mistertomatohead said:

How does the no show trick work? Don’t they treat it as a cancellation where there’s no refund or best case future cruise credit? Also, don’t some promotions like on board credit say you need double occupancy? Isn’t it what travel insurance is for?  The cruise line keeps the money and you take it up with the insurance company. Seems risky but I’d love to try it even if I’d feel a little dirty.

When a guest is a no show like they missed their flight or had an emergency family situation there is no refund to be had, the cancelation policy is 0% on boarding day.  The port fees and taxes will eventually be refunded for the a no-show guest but otherwise the booking is not repriced on boarding day because the sailing is closed and can't be repriced easily without engaging resolutions or revenue mgmt which the contractors in the terminal don't typically do. 

If you have two legitimate guests booked then a week before the cruise something happens that prevents one guest from cruising when you call in to cancel the second guest it could trigger a re-price at prevailing rates for the remaining solo guest.  If there are solo cabins available they could also in theory force the now solo guest to change cabins. 

The general wisdom therefore is not to report a guest on the reservation who can't sail.  

[mistertomatohead]

Thanks. I get it now. You end up eating the cost of the fare for the no show person. It can be cheaper than paying double but only under certain circumstances. I won’t be feeling dirty then.

[CruiseGus]

@twangster I don't have near the Solo cruises under my belt as you do, and i have heard of instances where booking a solo may price out to more than the same room at double occupancy, but i have yet to see on any cruise I've booked.  I always check both ways when pricing but have not seen a difference yet.

How common is it for Royal to change more for the same cabin if you book one occupant as compared to booking 2. 

Would that not be the only instance where you might want to use a "no show trick"

[SuzanneM]

There are a bunch of cruises where solo supplements aren't at 200%. You can track them here:

https://www.cruiseplum.com/solo-supplement-deals

I sail solo all the time and it's not hard to find good deals for solo cruisers if you search enough and then reprice often once you've given a deposit. 

[JohnK6404]

On 8/29/2022 at 5:42 AM, twangster said:

There are two downfalls of adding a ghost guest to your solo booking.

1. Since the restart it has been reported that some solo guests with no-show cabin mates are not getting double points and when they call in they are denied the appeal for double points.  Prior to the restart this wasn't the issue it has been since the restart. 

Unfortunately, that was our friend's experience on our last FEB Odyssey sailing. Her husband could not make it last minute and she sailed solo in an OV balcony. Since we booked really early on, the prevailing rates at that time were much higher so it made no sense to reprice the cabin, etc.

She inquired while onboard at Guest Services and they stated she would not get double points for sailing solo (would have been 4x points due to the promo). After the cruise she contacted Royal on more than one occasion and they would not budge and award any additional C&A points for effectively sailing solo and paying full cruise fare.

[twangster]

6 hours ago, CruiseGus said:

@twangster I don't have near the Solo cruises under my belt as you do, and i have heard of instances where booking a solo may price out to more than the same room at double occupancy, but i have yet to see on any cruise I've booked.  I always check both ways when pricing but have not seen a difference yet.

How common is it for Royal to change more for the same cabin if you book one occupant as compared to booking 2. 

Would that not be the only instance where you might want to use a "no show trick"

Prior to the shutdown they were not as common and often were the result of unexpected events.  For example when Cuba became off limits with little notice suddenly Royal had two ships were they had to offer refunds as options and many took that option.  As they released alternative itineraries that left two ships well short of ideal booking levels.  They released many cabins free of any single supplement.  

In other cases it's not unusual when they release future booking seasons for some ships to have a limited number of reduced single supplements that are available to everyone on a first come basis.  They tend to be very limited so they go very quickly.  Folks who search a month later won't find them because the early birds "got the worm".  

Charging a single supplement is the norm.  Lately during and since the pandemic restart they have offered more reduced single supplements but once bookings get back to normal I suspect those will disappear. 

[Bonnen]

On 8/29/2022 at 12:38 AM, mistertomatohead said:

Are you doing the no show trick or are you booking without a solo supplement? Does Royal even advertise those cruises? I heard about the Celebrity no solo supplement sale and there’s a list of sailings on their public site for travel agents which anyone can download.  It’s so convenient to just have the list and book myself on the website.

no i just booked with a travel agent. just had to pay double the cost.