Single Supplements on Cruise Ships: A Brief Guide

Standard cruise fares are charged per person based on double cabin occupancy. So if a person stays alone in a cabin, cruise lines require them to pay double the regular fare so they don't lose money on solo travelers. This fee is what's called a single supplement, a surcharge added to the cruise fare of a passenger traveling alone in a stateroom designed for use by more than one person.

Single supplements can be anything from an additional five percent of the rate up to 200 percent. In some cases, the rate of the supplement may be determined by special sales or even the cabin category chosen.

Many cruise lines have created cabins for solo travelers to combat the costs of single supplement rates, but they certainly vary. Here are the current single supplement rates for popular cruise lines and which cruise lines offer solo cabins.

Mainstream Cruise Line Single Supplements

Balcony stateroom aboard Freedom of the Seas (Photo: Aaron Saunders)

Many mainstream cruise lines are trying to combat the loss of revenue from solo travelers by transforming double-occupancy cabins into single-occupancy cabins to utilize space and decrease guests' costs. Instead of single supplements on cruise ships, many cruisers booking a fare on a mainstream cruise line can book a solo cabin with no extra fees.

Most major cruise lines still charge single supplement fees when booking double occupancy rooms instead of a solo cabin. It’s hard to find cruises without single supplements. The only way to avoid these fees is to take advantage of sales or promotions offered through cruise lines.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s single supplements for double occupancy rooms range between 50 percent to 100 percent of the standard cruise fare. They often offer reduced single supplement rates during their sales or promotions. Norwegian also offers studio cabins for guests flying solo, and there’s no single supplement charge when booking their studio staterooms.

Studio cabins are available on Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Viva, Norwegian Prima, Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Breakaway, Pride of America and Norwegian Getaway.

Royal Caribbean's standard single supplement rate is 100 to 200 percent, depending on the sailing. However, they’ve eliminated the need for single supplement fares by adding solo cabins to many of their cruise ships. Some ships may have up to 28 solo cabins, while others only house two to three.

Royal Caribbean offers inside studio staterooms, virtual balcony staterooms and a super studio ocean-view stateroom with a balcony. These are available on Brilliance of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas and Spectrum of the Seas.

Holland America’s newer ships, such as Rotterdam, Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam, offer solo cabins with full-size beds. On the fleet's other cruise ships, the single supplement rate for double occupancy ranges from 100 to 200 percent.

Celebrity Cruises typically charges a 100 to 200 percent single supplement fee. However, they also provide single staterooms with no extra fees onboard Celebrity Beyond, Celebrity Ascent, Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Silhouette.

Virgin Voyages regularly has promotions that waive single supplement fees on double occupancy rooms. Standard single supplement rates on Virgin Voyages are 100 percent of the standard fare. The cruise lines also provide single cabins for Scarlet Lady, Resilient Lady, Valiant Lady and Brilliant Lady without additional fees.

Princess Cruises offers solo cabins on Sun Princess, and on other ships with no solo cabins, travelers are subject to a single supplement rate of 100 to 200 percent.

MSC Cruises occasionally offers sales on single occupancy fares, and cruisers can expect to pay a single supplement rate of 50 to 200 percent. The cruise line has also added solo rooms to some of its ships, including MSC Bellissima, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Meraviglia and MSC Virtuosa.

Popular cruise lines for families, such as Carnival Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line, charge a 200 percent single supplement fee and do not offer solo cabins.

River Cruise Line Single Supplements

Panorama Suite on Avalon Imagery II (Photo: Marilyn Borth)

While most river cruise lines don’t offer solo cabins with zero extra fees, they regularly offer promotions that waive single supplements on cruise ships for double occupancy rooms. Or offer them at a reduced rate. We recommend shopping around when booking river cruises to find your destination's lowest single supplement rates or select cruises without single supplement rates.

Avalon Waterways doesn’t offer solo cabins on its river cruise ships but regularly waives the single supplement fees on certain cabins on most European and Southeast Asian sailings. Booking in advance with the help of Avalon Waterways' staff can ensure you book a cabin with no single supplement fee.

Standard single supplement fees may apply between 25 and 200 percent on some Avalon Waterways sailings.

AmaWaterways often waives the single supplement fee for double occupancy rooms on select sailings. The river cruise lines' standard single supplement rate is 20 to 25 percent, and there are no extra fees on single occupancy cabins.

Emerald Cruises offers reduced single supplements on select cruises. Offers may include a free single supplement or a single supplement reduced to 25 percent. Standard single supplement fares on Emerald Cruises are 25 percent to 100 percent.

Gate 1 Travel regularly offers promotions that waive the single supplement fee on select European sailings and occasionally waive single supplement fees in other destinations. For the best savings, we recommend booking early and speaking with Gate 1 customer service. Gate 1 Travels' standard single supplement rates are 25 percent to 100 percent.

Regent Seven Seas occasionally offers reduced single supplement rates of 25 to 50 percent. Their standard single supplement fee is 75 to 200 percent.

Riviera River Cruises waives the solo supplement fare on select sailings. Their standard single supplement fee is 10 to 100 percent.

Luxury river cruise lines like Tauck are known for reducing the single supplement fee to between 10 to 25 percent on select sailings. While Tauck doesn’t offer solo cabins, they have promotions that completely waive the single supplement fees.

Currently, Tauck offers no single supplement fee on all “Category 1” cabins on every European river cruise. On sailings without offers or promotions from the cruise line, expect to pay a single supplement fee of 40 percent.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection regularly waives single supplement fees on many sailings. Their standard single supplement fares are 25 to 200 percent.

Viking River Cruises typically charges a single supplement fee of 150 to 200 percent on double-occupancy cabins. They occasionally offer discounts with savings of 25 percent.

Luxury Cruise Line Single Supplements

Deluxe Veranda Suite on Silver Ray (Photo: Jorge Oliver)

Crystal Cruises regularly advertises offers and promotions for reduced or waived single supplement fees. Cruisers can save by choosing a zero-supplement sailing, while other single supplement rates range from 5 to 200 percent. They also offer solo cabins on Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony without extra fees.

Cunard’s single supplement rate for double occupancy rooms is 175 to 200 percent for suites. Travelers can also select sailings with solo cabins and have no single supplement fee on Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth or Queen Victoria.

Oceania Cruises single staterooms are available onboard Insignia, Nautica, Regatta and Sirena with no extra fees for solo travelers. However, a 200 percent single supplement fee is charged on double occupancy rooms.

Silversea welcomes solo passengers with single supplement fee promotions ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent. Travelers can book most double occupancy rooms at these low rates on select sailings. Single supplement fees on standard cruise fares on Silversea range from 5 to 100 percent.

Azamara offers reduced single supplement fares of 125 percent on select sailings. Standard single supplement fees apply to other sailings and range from 125 to 200 percent.

Seabourn Cruise Line occasionally waives the single supplement fee and offers reduced fares. Reduced single supplements range between 10 percent to 25 percent, and their standard single supplement rates are 150 to 200 percent.

Windstar’s standard single occupancy rates are 175 percent of double occupancy fares, but the line occasionally offers reduced pricing for only 120 percent of double occupancy fares for select sailings.

Expedition Cruise Line Single Supplements

Explorer Cabin on HX Santa Cruz II (Photo: Marilyn Borth)

Atlas Ocean Voyages typically charges a solo supplement rate of 150 to 200 percent but occasionally offers a reduced fare supplement fare of 125 percent.

Hurtigruten Expeditions (HX) currently does not offer solo cabins for travelers. However, many of its sailings waive the single supplement fee to zero, including on select expedition cruises to Alaska, Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands, Greenland and Iceland. Expect a single supplement fee of 100 to 200 percent on sailings without the fees waived.

Ponant Cruises offers solo cabins on many of its cruise ships. Travelers can book single staterooms without extra charges or select a sailing with no single supplement fees on double occupancy rooms. Select sailings are still subject to Ponant Cruises' standard single supplement fare of 100 to 200 percent.

Quark Expeditions offers promotions for reduced or waived single supplement fees on double occupancy rooms. Standard single supplement rates may apply at 200 percent. Quark Ultramarine and Ocean Explorer allow cruisers to book one of six solo cabins without supplement fees.