Solo travel · Real numbers
The single supplement
is not always double.
Every price here is the fare one line was publishing for one cabin on one sailing — priced for one guest, and priced again for two. That makes the supplement something you can measure rather than something you have to accept on faith.
131–193% What a solo sailor pays, against one half of a couple
183% The median — so "about double" is fair, and often beatable
255 Norwegian Studio sailings with no supplement at all
66 Solo sailings at or under $175 a night
Price your own trip
Narrow it down, then sort by whichever number you are actually optimising for — the nightly cost, or how badly the line is penalising you for travelling alone.
Before you use these numbers
- Nothing here is held. These are the fares the lines were publishing when the data was last read. A fare becomes yours at deposit, not before.
- Gratuities and airfare sit outside the number. Virgin includes tips in the fare; Norwegian does not. Compare the nightly figures with that in mind.
- Norwegian Studios are smaller. No supplement is not the same as a free upgrade — you are buying a cabin built for one person, and that is the trade.
- A low supplement is not automatically a good deal. A sailing at 130% of an expensive fare can still cost more than 190% of a cheap one. The per-night column is the one that pays your bill.
Single supplement questions
What exactly is a single supplement?
Cruise fares are quoted per person assuming two people share the cabin. Sail alone and the line still wants the cabin's full revenue, so it charges one person a percentage of what two would have paid. A "100% supplement" means you pay two full fares for yourself. This page shows what that percentage actually is, sailing by sailing, rather than quoting the industry average at you.
Is the supplement really always double?
No, and that is the single most useful thing on this page. Across 810 Virgin Voyages sailings priced here, a solo sailor pays between 131% and 193% of the per-person double fare. The median is 183%, so "about double" is a fair rule of thumb — but the spread is over 62 points, and the cheapest sailings are nowhere near it.
How do Norwegian Studios compare?
A Studio is not a discounted double — it is a smaller cabin designed and priced for one person, with keycard access to a private Studio Lounge. There is no supplement to calculate because there is no second fare being assumed. That makes Studios the benchmark on this page rather than a row with a percentage beside it. The trade-off is size and the fact that Studios sell out early on the popular sailings.
Can I book these fares here?
Not directly, and the numbers are not held. They are the fares each line was publishing when the data was last read — accurate as a starting point and as a comparison, but a fare only becomes yours at deposit. Send me a sailing you like and I will re-price it live, check whether a promotion beats the number shown, and tell you if the answer is that you should wait.
Which cruise lines have low to no single supplement?
Norwegian is the strongest for solo-built cabins — the Studios carry no supplement at all. Virgin Voyages is adults-only and runs periodic reduced-supplement promotions on selected sailings and cabin grades; when one is live, the sailings on this page move accordingly. Celebrity has purpose-built solo cabins on its Edge-class ships. Beyond that the picture varies by sailing rather than by line, which is why this page prices individual departures instead of ranking brands.
