In the past, passengers traveling alone were often seen as a bit of a liability — one passenger in one stateroom is definitely much less financially viable than filling ships with two people in each cabin.
Enter the single supplement, that nagging fee that solo travelers often have to pay to compensate for their economic inefficiency, which can cost as much as double the per-person cost of two people traveling together in one cabin. It is an unfortunate, but often necessary, single traveler tax. Michelle Baran But one by one, as the number of solo river cruisers continues to increase and as river cruise capacity balloons creating greater competition between the river cruise lines, solo passengers’ cumulative buying power is beginning to hold some sway, and river cruise companies are responding by adding more departures with waived single supplements.
“It is extremely important that we continue offering programs specifically for solo travelers … without any additional costs or sacrifice,” said Kristin Karst, executive vice president of AmaWaterways, which recently announced that it will now have a limited number of base category (lower deck, category D and E cabins, which range from 160 to 170 square feet and have a fixed window), double-occupancy staterooms with no single supplement available on all of its 2015 and 2016 sailings. “We continue to see high demand in this fast-growing market.” Additionally, Ama has four vessels that have two single cabins onboard with French balconies, and two vessels that have one single cabin with a fixed window onboard, all of which are 140-square-foot cabins with one twin bed. Other river cruise lines have been increasing their offers for solo travelers as well. Uniworld, which says that 10% of its customer base is made up of solo travelers, currently waives the single supplement on more than 80 departures — 54 in 2015 and 29 in 2016 — including on river cruises on the Rhine and Danube as well as in France, Italy and Russia. Uniworld’s waived single supplement offers are inventory controlled and as such, availability changes throughout the season. Thus far, 20% of Uniworld’s 2015 Europe sailings had or will have a waived single supplement offer. These offers are not available for suites, but is otherwise not restricted to specific cabin categories. For 2015, Tauck eliminated the single supplement on its lower deck, Category 1 cabins on its ships in Europe, something the company has been doing since 2013. While the program itself isn’t new, each year Tauck continues to sell out of the Category 1 cabins for solo travelers despite the fact that the company’s fleet has grown by 75% (from four ships to seven) since 2013. In addition, Tauck this year reduced the single supplement by up to $1,000 for solo travelers booking Category 4 and 5 cabins on 37 departures of 15 different river cruise itineraries. Avalon Waterways, Scenic and Emerald Waterways all feature reduced and waived single supplements for solo travelers as well.
So, wave your lone traveler flag high and proud, solos! It would appear you are no longer a liability but rather a hot commodity, and river cruise lines with their ever growing number of cabins to fill are vying for your business, one solo traveler at a time.
Thank you for sharing great tips for Individual Travelers!
So much to remember from the non stop events over the past 9 weeks.
First thing I do when I return to the USA is obtain a new passport.
For the second time a customs official has questioned if I was the same person on the passport!
This week he broke out laughing!
I reminded him in 30 years he would be old too. But he did not believe me.
Other travel surprises:
I do not like unplanned travel!
There were NO seats on the train I tried to reserve this week to take me from Lyon France to Torino, Italy and on to Florence where I left my luggage.
After 5 weeks of train travel this had never happened before
Reservations: I do not like not knowing where I will sleep the next night. Of course money solves all problems but when an entire town is booked because of a scout competition, I found I had to move on because 'there were no rooms at the inn'.
WIFI: When there was a short term train strike and the hotel had no wifi and there are NO LONGER internet cafes, I had a melt down. Of course it was solved, but this caused my hosts to ask if 'I had ever traveled before'? And this prompted creating a list of what make my travel more difficult.
Now I search for a mobile wifi device that works in all countries. Slow Travel:
Because of some commitments to do interviews or participate in events, I found myself traveling every 2 days. That barely gives you time to unpack! Finding a laundry on short notice is also more difficult. Here again the problem was solved in Lyon via the internet. Hotels need to install coin operated laundry facilities.
Down Time
A writing trip that gives you NO time to write is not productive. Returning from a trip with more than 30 stories to remember and write will keep me chained to the computer for 2 months. All worth it but reports from the road would make far more sense.
Some things I noticed on this trip:
Everything in Germany was a new experience since I had not been there since my 'see Europe in 3 weeks trip' after college.
Traveling in Italy is easier because I know what to expect and how to solve the strike problems or missed trains.
Large train stations are like mini cities and Germany has some wonderful stations. They offer luggage storage, all kind of food (up until 9pm or even 8pm), clean bathrooms for 1 euro, one offered showers. And two had shopping malls within 1 block of the station!
Germany has the BEST reservation staff. Day one I asked for a day ticket to Cologne to 'test' my train skill and made reservations for seats on my next travel leg. When the train was late and I missed the tight connection, the reservation office with BAHN simply found me a seat on the next train without any charge. Wonderful. Not so for the BAHN office in Bolzano................1 hr wait for a reservation.
Changes since last year:
Women here do not wear 4 inch heels. Women are now wearing stylish flat shoes
And they walk and walk. This must contribute to no weight gain.
No one tries to talk with ‘strangers’. Perhaps there are too many of us over the years and they get tired of us
In Italy and Germany most of the sandwiches are one type of pork or another. If you do not prefer port, travel with the word for chicken or turkey A very luck encounter with a young woman in Germany who spoke Italian as well as English. Thanks to her I traveled with the word 'turkey' written on an index card.
The isolation of the 'cell phone' is getting worse. No one looks up from that small screen.
This year fewer tourist were blocking the view by holding ipads in the air.
Far more real cameras were seen. And yes the selfi stick is still out there. Now they offer one with a 3 foot stand so you don't have to tire your arm. Ridiculous.
I sail transatlantic solo every year to work in Italy for HometoItaly.com and am accustomed to the 'couple' atmosphere aboard a ship.
But I was NOT prepared for the masses of bodies pushing and shoving at EVERY event.
With nearly 4,000+ passengers there are NOT enough tables to feed everyone in the food court, there are NOT enough chairs on the pool deck, there are NOT enough seats in the entertainment venues.
When people have to wait the group can become ugly. An example was the stop in Palma. Imagine 4,000 people exiting at the SAME time because NCL did not plan a longer stop in Palma. It looked like a line of prisoners going to the exercise yard.
When we arrived at the end of this maze the EXIT DOORS WERE LOCKED and the masses piled up pushing and complaining. Every day aboard this ship feels like you are leaving a soccer stadium.
Promised shuttle buses: NOTHING PROVIDED
So the solution is to go where the crowds don't follow: you are forced to eat early (as if you lived in Florida) or late. Too late and they have already closed the buffet and you eat cold pizza or burgers.
You watch a movie out on the deck. Too cold for many people to watch a NOT first run movie.
No one is in the library but it is a midget area next to a bar.........only good early in the morning.
There is a quiet zone on the top deck and the ONLY place you don't hear children having a meltdown.
And of course you can stay in your room
Why I took the trip? The price was so low it was more cost efficient that staying in a hotel the last week of my trip.....of course I imagined I could work the entire trip, sure that didn't happen
