CruisesCabins: As with a hotel room located beside a pop or ice machine, stay clear of a cabin near the laundry room. On some days, people will be lined up down the hall, noisily talking and blocking doors. Save money: Go on a repositioning cruise where the cruise line sends the ship from one location at the end of the cruising season to another part of the world for the start of another cruising season. Ships will leave the Caribbean and sail to Alaska for the start of the Alaska cruise season in May, then sail back to the Caribbean in September. Lines don't want to send the ship back empty. These sailings usually last two or three weeks in April, May, September, October, and November. The downside is that the cruise is one-way. You must purchase one-way tickets to the point of departure and from the point of return. 
Close to Home: Every year around Halloween, Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas moves from Boston to Miami, stopping in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; St. Croix, US Virgin Islands; and Oranjestad, Aruba, along the way. The price for this 10-night cruise starts at: $899.00 per person (not including fuel charges and other fees). 
In the spring: Holland America's MS Maasdam repositions from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Montreal. This 15-day trip starts at: $1,209.00 on www.CruiseBrothers.com ($80.06 a day) and stops in Charleston, South Carolina; Newport, Rhode Island; Bar Harbor, Maine; Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; and Gaspe, Sept-Iles, Saguenay, and Quebec City, Quebec.
Some cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean, have a special "repositioning" section on their Web sites. Others don't separate them. Look for one-way routes that have only one or two departure dates a year. (Source: Peter Greenberg: Tough Times, Great Travels) Cruises (Solo Travel): To avoid paying the single supplement fee, you must find a roommate. Holland America matches you with another solo cruiser of the same gender, if there is one on your trip. Lines such as Princess, Crystal, and Costa, work with 
Singles At Sea for singles-themed trips. They have a "match program" to help save on costs.
If into the social meeting and greeting scene, some companies arrange singles cruises aboard regularly scheduled cruises: the Boca Raton, Florida-based Singles Travel International will either find you a roommate or cover the supplement fee themselves. All Singles Travel organizes singles cruises and tours and offers an optional roommate- matching service. Other reputable solo travel companies include the members-only a Solo Mio and Adventures for Singles. If you prefer to find your own roommate, Cruisemates.com has a message board so cruisers so you can match up itineraries. Other travel-focused social networking sites such as Where Are You Now? and Travelocity's Meet Me In ... are resources for single travelers trying to coordinate with friends or family. See:
Cruises (Deals): Each spring, Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess departs for a 22-night trans-pacific cruise from Beijing to Vancouver with 12 ports of call: Beijing and Dalian, China; Kagoshima, Japan; Pusan, South Korea; Vladivostok, Russia; Muroran, Japan; and Anchorage, College Fjord, Glacier Bay National Park, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan, Alaska, before landing in Vancouver. The price: $1,869.00 per person or $595.00 a week. No comparable regular cruise hits all of those ports. In comparison, a one-week cruise only to Alaska from Seattle or San Francisco starts at $599.00 the same per-week price for a quarter of the destinations.
Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas sails in November from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Colon, Panama, via Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Santa Marta and Cart-agena, Colombia; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; and finally, Colon. Price for this 8-day journey starts at $399.00 per person, plus up to $140.00 as a fuel charge. In comparison, a regular 7-day Royal Caribbean cruise to the Caribbean costs the same price, but you stop only in ultra-touristy spots. (Source: Peter Greenberg: Tough Times, Great Travels) |
