CRUISING FOR SINGLES; SOME IDEAS TO SAVE MONEY

Typically, single passengers get savaged when it comes to supplements on cruises. Mainstream lines typically charge anything from fifty to one hundred per cent over and above the per person price for the privilege of sailing with them, especially in peak season. To say that this puts a lot of people off is a bit of classic understatement.

Beginning in the last decade or so, some companies such as Norwegian Cruise Line and, to a lesser extent, Royal Caribbean, P&O and, latest of all, Cunard- began adding dedicated single cabins to their larger ships. While very welcome, the cost for these rooms is still pretty substantial when compared to the average cost. And it has to be said that these cabins, often shoe horned into older ships during refits, do not always have the best locations for all of that extra outlay.

So, are there other options? Well, yes. For passengers happy to sail mainly to and from the UK, both Fred. Olsen and Cruise and Maritime Voyages feature large numbers of single cabins across all of their ships, offered at a reasonable price point. But if you want a big ship with all the bells and whistles of Vegas-on-Sea, then the small, intimate ships of Fred, in particular, might not float your metaphorical boat. As with all things, there has to be some kind of compromise somewhere down the line.

The very upscale Holland America Line offers a 'single share' programme, where passengers pay the per person rate for a double room, and are assigned a room to share with another of the same sex. If no one else shows up, there is no supplement. And, while some people are more than happy with this arrangement- always a bit of a gamble- the more naturally shy and reserved might baulk at bunking in with what is, quite literally, a complete unknown. Here again, you have to be prepared to compromise.

More reasonable in terms of single supplements are the boutique lines such as Crystal and Silversea, where the quality of the accommodation is never an issue, and the single supplements may range from only ten per cent upwards. Against that has to be balanced the quite high fares that these super luxury lines charge in the first instance.

You'll also generally get better bargain single rates on repositioning voyages, as well as early spring and late autumn itineraries. But again, the possibility here is that you might not get any really good weather on your voyage. It's very much a case of chancing your timing, and hoping that Lady Luck might just, perhaps, smile on you. Bon voyage!