How to Avoid the Single Supplement (7 Practical Ways)

The single supplement is the most complained-about feature of solo cruising. Paying 75–100% extra simply because you’re occupying a cabin alone is hard to swallow — and harder still when you’re already spending several thousand pounds on a holiday.

The good news is that you have more options than you might think. The supplement is not inevitable. Here are seven practical ways to reduce it or avoid it entirely.

1. Choose a Cruise Line That Has Abolished It

The most reliable way to avoid the supplement is to book with a line that simply doesn’t charge one on most sailings.

Saga has no single supplement on the vast majority of their sailings. You pay the per-person fare. No calculation, no negotiation, no exceptions to hunt for — just the same price a couple pays per person. Their all-inclusive model means the fare covers drinks, tips, insurance, and door-to-door transfers too. Browse Saga →

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Studio cabins are purpose-built for solo travellers and priced at a Studio rate — not a modified double rate with a supplement applied. On newer ships, solo balcony options are available. The Studio Lounge comes with keycard access. Check NCL Studio availability →

If avoiding the supplement is your primary criterion, start your search on these two lines. Everything else involves some degree of hunting.

2. Book a Dedicated Solo Cabin

A dedicated solo cabin is a single-occupancy cabin designed and priced for one person. You’re not paying for a double room with an empty bed — you’re paying for a cabin that was always meant to be yours alone.

Lines that offer them:

• Saga → — Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Adventure together carry over 100 solo cabins, including single balcony options
• NCL → — Studio cabins on most ships; solo balconies on newer vessels (Prima, Viva, Bliss)
• Fred. Olsen → — 26 on Bolette, 22 on Borealis, 8 on Balmoral
• Cunard → — 30 single staterooms on QM2, some with balconies; fewer on Victoria and Elizabeth
• P&O → — Solo cabins on Iona and Arvia (newer ships only)

The critical point: solo cabins sell out first. They’re the first to go on any popular sailing because solo travellers are actively competing for them. If you see the cabin and itinerary you want, book it.

3. Book Early — and Know Which Cabins to Target

This is the most practical single piece of advice in this guide.

On Fred. Olsen, a set number of inside and ocean view cabins are reserved on every sailing at zero supplement. When those cabins sell, the remaining cabins attract a 50–75% supplement. The no-supplement cabins go first — sometimes months before departure.

On Saga, solo cabins sell out well ahead of popular itineraries. The balcony options in particular have a loyal returning solo traveller audience who book the moment new sailings are released.

The practical implication: if you’re planning to cruise in the summer or over the Christmas and New Year period, don’t wait. The people who get the best deals are almost always the people who book earliest.

4. Search in Wave Season (January to March)

Wave season is the cruise industry’s equivalent of a sale. Cruise lines run their most aggressive promotions in January, February, and March — typically featuring reduced deposits, free upgrades, and in some cases no-supplement or reduced-supplement deals on cabins that would otherwise attract the full charge.

How to use it: - Sign up to email lists for Saga, Fred. Olsen, NCL, and P&O before January - Watch for “solo supplement waived” or “single supplement reduced” promotions specifically - Wave season deals apply to sailings later in the year — this is when you book, not when you travel

It’s also worth noting that January is when lines release their new season itineraries. The earliest bookings on a new season often come with the best pricing.

5. Be Flexible on Itinerary and Departure Date

The supplement is not applied uniformly. It varies by sailing, cabin grade, and time of year.

A popular summer Mediterranean sailing on a Friday departure will carry the highest supplement. An autumn Atlantic Islands sailing on a mid-week departure will often carry a reduced or waived supplement on inside cabins — simply because the sailing needs to fill.

Useful flexibility principles:

• Shoulder season sailings (May, September, October) often have better solo pricing than peak summer
• Less popular itineraries — the Baltic in November, the Canaries in February — attract more solo-friendly pricing
• Longer cruises (14 nights or more) sometimes have proportionally better solo rates than short sailings, because the line needs to fill more cabins
• Last-minute bookings can occasionally work — but only if you’re genuinely flexible on cabin type, and solo cabins may already be gone

The supplement is negotiable in the sense that it responds to demand. Look where demand is lower.

6. Consider Repositioning Cruises

Repositioning cruises — sailings that move a ship from one region to another at the end of a season — are consistently the best-value cruises in the market, and solo travellers who know about them use them deliberately.

Why they work for solo travellers: - The line needs to fill the ship, so pricing is aggressive - Supplement is often reduced or waived on inside and ocean view grades - Itineraries are long (10–21 nights) and often unique — transatlantic crossings, the Azores, the Canaries - Fewer families mean a calmer, older passenger demographic

The trade-off: repositioning sailings are point-to-point. You’ll need to fly one way, which adds cost. If you’re flying from the UK to a Caribbean port to pick up a transatlantic back to Southampton, factor in the flight. But the cruise fare itself is often very low.

Cunard’s QM2 transatlantic crossings are the most celebrated example — and for some solo travellers, the crossing is the destination. Explore Cunard crossings →

7. Use a Solo-Specialist Travel Agent

Most people book cruises either directly with the cruise line or through a general travel agent. A third option — a travel agent who specialises in solo cruising — gives you access to knowledge the other two routes don’t.

A solo-specialist agent knows: - Which sailings have no-supplement cabins available and how many are left - When supplement deals are likely to appear and on which lines - Which cabin grades on which ships offer the best value for solo travellers - How to read the fine print on supplement policies (which sometimes exclude certain cabin grades or departure dates)

They also often have access to group sailing blocks — where a travel agent books a block of cabins at a negotiated rate and sells them to solo travellers at a reduced or zero supplement. These don’t appear on the cruise line’s own website.

The cost is nothing — travel agents earn commission from the cruise line. You pay the same fare you’d pay booking direct, but with better information and potentially better availability.

The Honest Summary

Most solo travellers who avoid the supplement consistently use at least two or three of these strategies together. Choosing the right line is the foundation; early booking and timing layer on top of that.

Related Guides

• Cruise lines with no single supplement UK — line-by-line supplement policies
• What does a solo cruise cost? — full pricing breakdown
• Solo cabin guide — what solo cabins actually look like and which lines offer the best ones
• Cheap solo cruises UK — finding value at every budget
• Which cruise line is right for you? — decision guide