Thinking About a Solo Cruise? Here’s What to Know.

11.09.2024 - 10:45 / nytimes.com / Janet Bava

When cruising resumed after Covid-era travel restrictions were lifted, cruise lines wanted to fill ships fast. Some, like Windstar Cruises, which operates small ships carrying 148 to 342 passengers, pursued solo travelers with discounts on the penalties singles usually pay to occupy a cabin alone.

“To fill a lot of capacity in a short time, who do you go after? Those who don’t have to ask permission or arrange schedules for two,” said Janet Bava, the chief commercial officer for Windstar, which reduced its single occupancy fares to 120 percent of the standard fare a person sharing a double cabin would pay. Previously those solo cruisers were paying up to double the fare to have a cabin to themselves.

But the cruise industry has since recovered — Carnival Corporation recently announced 2025 bookings are pacing higher than 2024 in both price and occupancy — and many solo deals are disappearing. Windstar, for one, is snapping back to 2019 prepandemic pricing models.

“Now there’s less space,” said Ms. Bava, noting that the goal of every cruise line is “to maximize revenue at double occupancy at 100 percent.”

Still, even with increasing prices, travel advisers at the Virtuoso network say solo cruising is one of the top cruise trends for 2025. Solo travel in general has been on the upswing in the past few years. In a survey on 2024 travel intentions, Booking.com found that 59 percent of respondents planned to travel alone.

Savvy cruisers know that deals always exist in the dynamic world of cruise pricing for those who book early and otherwise game its unique economics. Here’s what you need to know about going solo affordably.