Michael Flack Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 Warm Greetings I have been returning to the thought of a cruise and have noticed a distinct difference in two person prices for rooms, for instance a two person room with two guests listed show as from $699 and with only one person selected it shows as from $1582 (the prices goes up from here with every step of the room selection process) but it starts with about a $184 more costs for s single traveler. ย So it leaves me wondering what are other peoples thoughts on this, a single person eats less then two people though also may or may not spend as much in other areas. Yet also A single person may need less customer service effort then two people and so on. ย This leaves me wandering why the single person traveling ends up paying more then the combined amount of two people travelling. ย Any thoughts Kind Regards Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Flack Posted January 13 Author Report Share Posted January 13 To update I followed the two paths further and the total cost for two people sharing a room (and this is for both passengers) is $1396.30 and for one person it totalled $2420.30 a difference of $1024 savings should I manage to bring a second person with me and effectively an additional cost of $1024 should i travel alone. Keep in mind this is the total cost of the room so the extra person would never be paying any part of the fare so I am looking only at the difference between the combined total of two travellers vs one traveller. Surely a second traveller does not spend enough to equate such a large difference in room costings?ย Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanethegriff Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 I know you're kind of raising a point here and while I don't have the answers, I know some people travelling solo create the booking for 2 travellers (for this reason) making up a second traveller who will be a no show. While you won't get double points for travelling solo, you'll save a bunch which can go towards another cruise! You also get the port fees and taxes refunded for the no show traveller. Ryan79, Cactus527 and PPPJJ-GCVAB 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 I was curious about this, so I did a dummy booking for 2 travelers and for 1 traveler on Mariner on a 4 night sailing from Port Canaveral on April 4, 2024. Given the reports that Celebrity is charging extra for single travelers, I wondered if Royal may be starting to do the same. I share the observation that a single traveler does not consume as much complimentary food, and that is a cost savings for the company. If the food cost is $30 per person per day for the company, then they would theoretically save $120 on that sailing for one fewer guest. I don't really know how to apply a value on things like fewer people to take care of in a stateroom, less use of pool towels, etc. I did a 2 passenger booking in Microsoft Edge and a 1 passenger booking in Firefox in private (incognito) mode. This was necessary because if you allow for cookies, one of the bookings will bump the other. I made the booking of a spacious ocean view balcony on deck 6. The same cabin was available on the port side (cabin 6604) and starboard side (cabin 6304) directly opposite the other on the deck, so I am certain this is apples to apples. I didn't try to book the same exact cabin because I got kicked out when I used different tabs in the same browser. The two person booking was $2,919.16 and the one person booking was $2,816.08. The difference was in Taxes & Fees. Taxes on the two person booking was $206.16 and the one person was $103.08. I was not able to duplicate your results with my dummy bookings. I don't have a definitive reason for why my results were different than yours other than they are different sailings with different sets of conditions. ย bobroo, WAAAYTOOO, fireclan and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asquared17 Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 it looks like the pricing is actually the same; the only difference is less $100 for a single deposit, whereas the double occupancy has a total $200 deposit โ $100 for each person.ย so they are in fact charging the same price for a cabin whether you are single or double occupancy.ย Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcruisers Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 I just tried a few mock bookings on different cruises and picked the same room for both a single and two adult. They were essentially the exact same price, excluding the port fees (found that the single was a few dollars less) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 15 minutes ago, asquared17 said: it looks like the pricing is actually the same; the only difference is less $100 for a single deposit, whereas the double occupancy has a total $200 deposit โ $100 for each person.ย so they are in fact charging the same price for a cabin whether you are single or double occupancy.ย A deposit doesn't add to the cost of the cruise though. It's just how much you pay up front. DunkelBierJay, Kay45, WAAAYTOOO and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Flack Posted January 13 Author Report Share Posted January 13 Maybe it's something linked with the particular promotion in Australia that would mean it's weighted towards multiple travellers. Re:ย Shanethegriff:ย ย I tend to be naturally weary of anything that could get me in trouble should someone decide I was cheating the system with a fake entry for a cheaper fare. Also with covid-19 and other check-in details I would worry about how far I would need to push the second account before it could be safely regarded as a no show (many unknowns). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 So I normally travel solo and always paid the solo supplement. In a cruise ship mind, they want the rooms filled to capacity because that is more onboard spending. The op is looking at this from a human perspective as in by being single they are using less resources. That is not a concern when it comes to the cruise business perspective. They are losing onboard spending dollars, so they charge a premium. Cactus527 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobroo Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 Their underlying message to solo travelers is clear: We Don't Want You. ย Using @DunkelBierJayย example: It is going to cost the solo traveler $724 per night ($706 + $18 daily gratuity) for balcony that goes to Nassau and Coco Cay and is out of Port Canaveral. Mariner is over 20 years old.ย As a solo traveler, ย I can get a lot more value for my buck on so many other vacation choices spending the same $2,888 budget over 4 days. . ย PPPJJ-GCVAB and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 1 hour ago, bobroo said: As a solo traveler, ย I can get a lot more value for my buck on so many other vacation choices spending the same $2,888 budget over 4 days. Agreed..I only sail solo when I find super deals. Less than $100/day is my target. Those are nearly impossible to find now, but when I see them I will pounce. The pricing for that example sailing is ridiculous, though.ย DunkelBierJay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobroo Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 Iโm looking forward to meeting you on Brilliance out of NOLA next January @AshleyDillo! Those sailings are right in your wheelhouse. ย Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TessFromFlorida Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 Many people share that they make a ghost booking, knowing the 2nd guest is a no show. They lose the double points but save on the single supplement.ย WAAAYTOOO and Cactus527 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 8 hours ago, bobroo said: Their underlying message to solo travelers is clear: We Don't Want You. ย Using @DunkelBierJayย example: It is going to cost the solo traveler $724 per night ($706 + $18 daily gratuity) for balcony that goes to Nassau and Coco Cay and is out of Port Canaveral. Mariner is over 20 years old.ย As a solo traveler, ย I can get a lot more value for my buck on so many other vacation choices spending the same $2,888 budget over 4 days. . ย It's not a sailing I would ever book at that price...I did that itinerary plus Nassau last year as a solo for less than $1000 total. It's crazy how the pricing is even in non-peak months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eighty8 Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 As mentioned, the answer is to book two people and have the 2nd "person" no show.ย Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelseylovestocruise Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 I book solo as long as it is the same or less than 2 people in a room. I am the only one who has the amount of vacation time to be able to do lots of travelling in the summer.ย Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 21 hours ago, bobroo said: Iโm looking forward to meeting you on Brilliance out of NOLA next January @AshleyDillo! Those sailings are right in your wheelhouse. I'd love to make it back on a sailing out of NOLA! My cruise card is full up for 2024 and 2025 already, though! WAAAYTOOO and bobroo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveling Mike Posted January 15 Report Share Posted January 15 I have 188 days on Royal Caribbean as a Solo cruiser.ย I have never paid more than 2 people.ย Most of the time I get the same price as 2 people minus the port fees and taxes.ย If you call in, you can get the same GTY cabins that they only show for 2 people and not a solo traveler.ย The newer ships have solo cabins, and they normally will cost 150%.ย I am finding lately they are setting the solo cabins at 300% so they will not be sold.ย I can only assume they are holding them for group bookings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted February 20 Report Share Posted February 20 I booked a bunch of cruises sailing out of Bayonne as soon as the Northeast Sailing Schedule opened this past week. I booked them at NextCruise onboard the Anthem. The person assisting me was a bit confused because the solo cruiser discount wasnโt automatically being applied as it usually was. She tried pricing without my C&A number and it was the same as with it. Two of them were $50 less. None of the cruises were during blackout periods, holidays-new ship-summer, and she couldnโt figure out why the discount wasnโt applying. I know itโs also โbased on availabilityโ, but Iโm booking the day the cruises were being offered. I booked anyway because I wanted to lock in cabins on back to backs. She sent an email to shoreside and told me it would take about two weeks for a response. A few days later she said she heard from a colleague that the C&A solo cruiser discount had not yet been activated for the new schedule, but that was not confirmed from shoreside. Does anyone have a similar experienceโฆor any information about this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 20 Report Share Posted February 20 3 minutes ago, BrianB said: I booked a bunch of cruises sailing out of Bayonne as soon as the Northeast Sailing Schedule opened this past week. I booked them at NextCruise onboard the Anthem. The person assisting me was a bit confused because the solo cruiser discount wasnโt automatically being applied as it usually was. She tried pricing without my C&A number and it was the same as with it. Two of them were $50 less. None of the cruises were during blackout periods, holidays-new ship-summer, and she couldnโt figure out why the discount wasnโt applying. I know itโs also โbased on availabilityโ, but Iโm booking the day the cruises were being offered. I booked anyway because I wanted to lock in cabins on back to backs. She sent an email to shoreside and told me it would take about two weeks for a response. A few days later she said she heard from a colleague that the C&A solo cruiser discount had not yet been activated for the new schedule, but that was not confirmed from shoreside. Does anyone have a similar experienceโฆor any information about this? I have no personal experience with this but I have read a few places of others having the same issue.ย Sounds like an IT shortfall.ย Who's surprised ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted February 20 Report Share Posted February 20 @WAAAYTOOOย I hope itโs an IT shortfall and not a bean counter decision. โBased on availabilityโ could mean almost anything. Oh, wellโฆIโll keep checking. Thanks for responding! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 UpdateโฆGOOD NEWS! On the Anthem now. I checked in this afternoon with Next Cruise about the missing solo cruiser discount on the cruises I booked two weeks ago. Danning said she had not received a response from the email she sent at that time. She told me she would contact shoreside and get me an answer. At 8pm I saw that Royal had emailed me fifteen new cruise confirmation receipts. All fifteen cruises had the discount appliedโฆto the original lower price! Very happy! MaryS, fireclan, Poolside and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 Thatโs fantastic news, Brian ! BrianB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.