CR5-7 jan9 5/1/09 15:59 Page 2
knowledge cruise
ttglive.com
Single passengers
Solocru
T
aking a cruise always used to be
joked about as the ideal hunting
ground to track down rich widows
looking for romance.
In fact, cruising has long been held up as
an ideal option for single travellers wanting
to meet like-minded souls in social and safe
surroundings.
With shared tables at mealtimes, group
activities onboard and ashore, and even
gentleman hosts to ensure that no one is
stuck for a dance partner, it’s easy to see
why cruise ships are such a magnet for
today’s Bridget Jones’s.
But with a lack of single cabins, solo
cruisers often end up in two-bed cabins and
have to pay handsomely for the privilege,
with supplements as high as 100%, though
they generally average at 70-80%.
Some cruise lines cater more strongly for
single cruisers than others, with popular
choices including Fred Olsen, Cunard and
Swan Hellenic.
P&O Cruises also caters for singles, though
its most popular ships for this market are
Oriana, Aurora and Artemis where up to 5%
of passengers can be lone travellers.
Cruises which tend to attract a higher
proportion of single cruisers include longer
voyages, northern Europe sailings and
transatlantic crossings.
The market has grown beyond more
mature single cruisers to include family
groups where one or two of the party might
require their own cabins.
Steady demand from solo customers – a
market which some cruise lines feel is des-
tined to grow – has prompted P&O Cruises
ystal Cruises
Cr
to build its first single cabins in recent years
on its new ship Azura. Single travellers
Managing director Nigel Esdale said the
are an emerging
vessel, to be launched in 2010, would have
18 outside and inside single cabins, which
market, and cruise
would be 25% smaller than standard lines are making
two-berth cabins.
more of an effort to
They will measure 120 square feet, as
opposed to 160sq ft for two-berths, but will
appeal to them. By
be designed to be more comfortable for Sara Macefield
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