Doing my first river cruise alone was one of the most fulfilling travel experiences of my life. There is something about traveling solo that makes me feel fiercely independent and unstoppable. The only downside to traveling solo, however, is the cost. Well … sometimes.
My favorite part of traveling solo? It gives me an excuse to take selfies. © 2019 Britton Frost
Solo passengers often have to pay single supplements, meaning that they usually must dole out what a couple would pay for the same stateroom. Though single supplements can run high, some companies waive these fees. Some river cruise operators also have solo cabins, or, in Riviera’s case, a waived solo supplement for a certain amount of travelers on every departure. But more on that in a minute.
Singles Often Pay More, But Not Always
Single supplements are not the only important thing to factor in to your cruise when traveling by yourself. They are also important when looking at traveling in groups. Some groups choose to bunk together, however if you want your own room while traveling with a group of friends, you should look to the reduced or waived single supplement programs that some cruise lines offer.
First, we will talk about Riviera since we mentioned them at the beginning. As stated, Riviera offers a select number of waived single supplements on every sailing. On each departure, Riviera offers between four and six cabins with no single supplement. Let me reiterate that that is on every departure that Riviera offers.
That is not the only solution that Riviera provides for solo travelers, though. The line also offers solo traveler cruises. On each of these sailings, all single supplements are waived. Not only are these sailings nice because of the ability to get many different solo travelers together, but they are also great for groups of travelers. If you are planning on taking a river cruise with a group of friends, everyone could book a cabin to themselves without having to pay anything extra.
Tauck is another cruise line that offers waived single supplements on every departure. When booking the lowest category stateroom, the single supplement is waived. Just keep in mind that there are a limited number of these category one cabins, so it is important to check availability.
Tauck and Riviera are the only two cruise lines that waive single supplements on each sailing offered. However, that doesn’t mean that other cruise lines charge single supplements on every sailing. Many cruise lines offer incentives for solo travelers on select itineraries.
AmaWaterways has a couple of options for solo cruisers looking to avoid a steep single supplement. The company will offer a reduced single supplement of 25 percent on select itineraries booked by March 31, 2021. Ama also allows guests booking any fixed window stateroom in 2021 & 2022 a reduced single supplement of 25 percent. That will be discounted further to 10 percent for those booking select fixed window staterooms by March 31, 2021. The company also has solo cabins on four of its ships that can be booked without an additional supplement. More information can be found here.
Avalon Waterways is waiving the single supplement on select 2021 sailings. There are only a limited number of staterooms available for this promotion per departure – so if you are looking to book a solo cruise with Avalon, now is a great time to do it. Additional information can be found here.
Also offering savings for 2021 cruises is CroisiEurope. CroisiEurope has waived the single supplement on select 2021 departures. Sailings vary in location from Italy, to Amsterdam, to France. There are also ships in CroisiEurope’s fleet with solo cabins which will, of course, not have a single supplement. More information on these itineraries can be found here.
Last on our list of cruise lines offering reduced or waived single supplements is Uniworld. Uniworld is waiving single supplements on select 2021 including the Enchanting Danube, Castles Along The Rhine, and more.
Single Supplements
| Company | Single Supplement |
|---|---|
| AmaWaterways | 25 percent single supplement on select sailings if booked by March 31, 2021; 25 percent single supplement on all fixed window staterooms in 2021 & 2022; 10 percent single supplement on fixed window staterooms on select sailings in 2021 if booked by March 31, 2021; Single occupancy cabins with no single supplement. |
| Avalon Waterways | Single Supplement waived on cruise portion of select 2021 sailings. |
| American Cruise Lines | Single occupancy cabins; 150-175 percent single supplement for double occupancy cabins. |
| CroisiEurope | No single supplement on select 2021 departures. |
| Crystal River Cruises | Additional single supplement from 110 percent. |
| Emerald Waterways | 2 designated single cabins on each ship. |
| Riviera | Between 4 and 6 cabins with no single supplement on every sailing, plus solo only itineraries. |
| Scenic | Waived single supplement on select 2021 sailings. |
| Tauck | No single supplement in all category one cabins. |
| Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection | Waived single supplement on select 2021 sailings. |
| Viking River Cruises | 150-200% single supplement fee. |
Read more about single supplements in the following articles:
For me, so far, river cruising has been the only way to go. I have traveled solo on most of my 24 river cruises. I now am hard of hearing and wonder if I would be accepted by these cruise lines because of that disability.
We agree. I don’t think the cruise companies discriminate against those who are hard of haaring.
thanks for this solo traveler information. it is the first time i have had this information in front of me. i will use it in the future to plan solo trips. i have cruised solo on american cruise lines and vantage.
James-Did you enjoy your Vantage River Cruise? Which one did you take?
Thank you. Sandra
How can a single supplement be greater than 100%? That would mean paying more than the fare for 2 people in a double occupancy cabin.
Most cruise fares are based on double occupancy. This means that if a single supplement is 150 percent, it is 150 percent of the per person fare based on double occupancy.
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Be sure to check where the boat will be docking. Often I found that it is not close
to the city so you will need to call a taxi if wanting night life.
Have not had the pleasure of going on a river cruise yet, just want to know what kind of sleeping arrangement are there on a “river cruise”. Have heard that the boat stays on the river port so the passenger can enjoy the night life where they are at while on a cruise.
Hi MarE,
I have been on three river cruises and with each, there was at least one port where the ship docked in the evening to allow passengers to explore at night. I’ve experienced Vienna, Phnom Penh, and Libourne, France–whomever sets the itinerary gets it, they make sure the passengers know how late at night they can stay out (Phenom Penh was 11 p.m. as I recall).