Here’s everything you need to know about solo cruising

Cruising with 9Travel brings you the best tips and tricks plus everything you need to know, from self-confessed cruise addict, Honida Beram aka Cruising With Honey. She has sailed the seven continents of the world, on a seafaring mission to uncover the globe and share her adventures.
Travelling solo can be daunting, but cruising solo is one of those truly rewarding and enjoyable experiences that everyone has to experience at least once.
Unlike regular travel, when you cruise on your own, you’re never really on your own, and you are most definitely never lonely.
Having cruised over 50 times, at least a third of my adventures having been solo and the only time I’ve felt a little disadvantaged is when I can’t wrangle a fellow cruiser to take (yet another) photo of me enjoying a cocktail on the Lido deck.
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Solo cruising is synonymous with self-care.
Ask any seasoned cruiser who has gone it alone, and they will attest to the joy of ‘me time’. It’s the closest feeling you get to going to a land-based day spa, except you’re on the sea and the only person you have to worry about is you. It’s not selfish, It’s the ultimate therapy.
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Whether it’s an ocean or river cruise, large or boutique ship, cruise companies make sure that solo travellers are taken care of. From single meet ups, cocktail parties, seminars and inclusive activities, there is always something to do onboard.
Honey tip: Don’t shy away from attending a fun activity alone. Cruisers are some of the friendliest and most social people around and will happily invite you to join their trivia team or their table for dinner. Go to any karaoke night and you’ll soon have a tribe of new friends.
The crew and entertainment teams onboard are also very savvy – their job is to ensure everyone is having a wonderful time, especially solo cruisers.
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The question I get asked the most around solo cruising is about safety and I tell them it’s extremely safe.
Excursions are well coordinated, the guess work of getting to different countries is taken care of, and there’s always a medical centre on hand.
Let me share a story. An elderly follower of my blog reached out to me, nervous about going on her dream world cruise on Cunard. Her husband had recently died, but he had made her promise to still fulfil her dream. She was nervous, but I encouraged her to go.
On her return she excitedly relayed how she danced in the ballroom (Cunard has designated dance partners) she never ate alone, and, despite mobility issues, she joined numerous shore excursions that suited her ability. She had the time of her life and could never have experienced such a joyous adventure if it wasn’t for cruising.
Cost is a valid concern, and in many cases, solo cruisers will pay the single supplement. In other words, double the fare.
I can understand that this can appear to be unfair, but let’s compare it to a land-based holiday. When you book a hotel room, you are paying for the room even if you’re staying in it alone. If it’s $500 per night, that’s the total daily rate. On a ship, the difference is that your daily rate also includes meals, shows, activities and even beverages. And, you might even score some onboard credit.
However, lots of cruise lines do waive a percentage or sometimes the entire single supplement. There are some ships that even have dedicated solo cabins that are smaller and suit one guest.
Honey tip: Do your research and find out if the ship you want to cruise on offers solo rates on select voyages.
I’ve done some research, and this is by no means definitive, but here are some cruise lines to look into if you want to hit the high seas solo:
Cunard
On Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Mary 2, Britannia staterooms include single-occupancy options. If booking a voyage online single fares will only appear once a stateroom grade is selected.
Coffee mornings and drinks receptions for solos are organised and there’s the option to dine on shared tables.
Holland America Line
The single supplement is 175 per cent. Pinnacle class ships – Rotterdam, Nieuw Statendam and Koningsdam – feature up to 12 single cabins on each ship.
MSC
MSC regularly has promotions, including 50 per cent off the single supplement for Northern Hemisphere Winter 2024-2025 cruises in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. (Current promo information here).
Selected ships, including Meraviglia class, Meraviglia-Plus, and World class have solo cabins that are called a ‘studio interior’.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line call themselves the ‘pioneers’ of solo cruising having debuted their Studio staterooms in 2010. Since then, nearly every new NCL ship has solo cabins, including the upcoming Norwegian Aqua, which features access to a Studio Lounge shared only by solo cruisers. 
The fare for these Studio cabins do not attract a solo supplement and is less than paying a double occupancy rate.
Riviera Cruises
Riviera offers no single supplement on select cabins and suites on all sailings. This offer is available across a variety of itineraries in October 2024 and the single supplement on middle and upper deck cabins and suites has been waived.
Riviera also offers exclusively reserved, dedicated solo sailings. On these solo-only departures there are no additional single supplements across the entire ship.
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean offers studio staterooms on select ships that do not attract the usual single supplement fee (the standard single supplement rate is 200 per cent). These are available on select ships, including Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas for the 2024/25 season, and Anthem of the Seas for the 2025/26 season in Australia. They also come in a variety of options, such as inside studio staterooms, virtual balcony staterooms, and super studio ocean view staterooms with balconies.
Viking
Cruisers can secure 25 per cent off the Single Supplement on the majority of river itineraries for 2025 and 2026 (excluding Egypt, Mekong & Mississippi) in select cabins. 
Aurora Expeditions
Aurora Expeditions will introduce dedicated solo cabins on every sailing with no single supplement starting from the Arctic and Beyond 2026 season. Each sailing will have 10 dedicated solo cabins across its fleet of three small ships, the Greg Mortimer, the Sylvia Earle and the Douglas Mawson These solo cabins will be available across a variety of stateroom categories.
Celestyal Cruises
Celestyal single supplement varies between 30-50 per cent for cabins.
Coral Expeditions
Solo supplement depends on the destination and dates, and ranges from no supplement through to a supplement of 50 per cent.
Uniworld
The solo supplement on Uniworld (river cruises) ranges from 0-75 per cent, however every sailing is different. Solo cruisers are introduced to other solo travellers on the first night of every cruise.
If you’ve ever cruised, you will know that cruisers are a special breed, in the best possible way. Most everyone, Including the crew, is friendly, up for chat and generally in a great mood.
I’ve made life-long friends on my solo adventures. When you’re on a ship, bonding comes easily. It’s funny how quickly strangers become friends in a hot tub.
Here’s my final and hopefully most encouraging Honey tip: Don’t wait for your friends and family to organise their annual leave, take the plunge and go on that cruise you’ve always dreamed of – and make those deliciously special memories that you can call your very own.
Stay tuned for more expert advice in the next instalment of Cruising with 9Travel.