The single supplement: why it exists and how to avoid paying it

Most of the travel industry sells rooms, not beds. The headline price is almost always "per person, based on two sharing", which means that when you take the room alone, someone has to pay for the empty half. That someone is you.

Royal Caribbean's own FAQ puts it plainly: fares assume two guests per stateroom, and a single guest pays 200% of the category's per-person fare unless pricing states otherwise.¹ It's the bluntest version we found written down by a company, but the logic underneath is the same everywhere.

There's no single "typical" supplement figure worth quoting. It changes by property, season and operator, so be wary of anyone who gives you an average without saying where it came from. What you can do is choose products where the problem doesn't arise. Three approaches work.

1. Share a room with another solo traveller

This is the small-group tour answer. You book alone, the operator pairs you with another solo traveller of the same gender, and you pay the standard price. The fine print varies, so read it.

If you are trans or non-binary and your passport marker doesn't match who you are, the passport rule matters. Ask the operator in writing, before you pay, how they handle room allocation in your case.

The other cost of sharing isn't money. It's someone else's alarm, shower schedule and snoring. Plenty of people love it and leave with a friend. Others find it the worst part of the trip. Know which you are.

2. Book a cabin built for one

On a cruise, a supplement can cost as much as a second holiday. Some lines have built cabins for one person with their own pricing. These are the ones we confirmed on official sites.

• Norwegian Cruise Line. Studio staterooms on Aqua, Bliss, Breakaway, Encore, Epic, Escape, Getaway, Prima, Viva and Pride of America. All except Pride of America also have the Studio Lounge, a private space for Studio guests that doubles as the easiest place on board to meet other solo cruisers. NCL also sells solo inside, oceanview and balcony cabins priced for one.⁶
• Celebrity Cruises. The Edge Single Stateroom with Infinite Veranda is 184 sq ft in total, including a 42 sq ft veranda, on Celebrity Edge, Apex, Beyond and Ascent. Celebrity Silhouette has four single inside staterooms.⁷
• Holland America Line. Single Ocean View staterooms at the front of Rotterdam, Nieuw Statendam and Koningsdam, described by the line as carrying no single supplement. It has announced solo verandah cabins on Oosterdam sailings from autumn 2027.⁸
• Royal Caribbean. A limited number of Studio Interior cabins, category 2W, on Quantum and Oasis class ships only.¹

Solo cabins are few per ship and sell early. "No supplement" also doesn't mean cheap. Compare the solo fare with the full double fare and decide whether the privacy is worth the difference.

Other lines may have singles too. We only list what we could confirm on the company's own site at the time of writing. If you know of one we missed, tell us through the Corrections page.

3. Pick operators that waive it

A few operators make "no single supplement" part of the pitch. Two checked examples, both aimed at older travellers:

• Saga Holidays (UK). Its singles holidays are for travellers aged 50 and over, and its Europe and Mediterranean hotel holidays come with single rooms at no extra cost.⁹
• Road Scholar (US). The educational travel non-profit pairs you with a roommate of your gender if you choose the double option, and on most programmes you can pay a small fee for your own room.¹⁰ It also lists programmes with single rooms at no extra cost on special dates.¹¹

Outside tours, the simplest hotel fix is still a genuine single room: small, one bed, priced for one. Some hotels still keep a few. Hostels with private rooms are another route, and not only for people in their twenties.

Five questions to ask before you pay

1. Is the price per person or per room? If it's "per person sharing", ask for the all-in price for one.
2. What happens if no roommate is found? Not every operator spells it out on the pages we read. Get the answer in writing.
3. Who decides who I share with? Same gender, passport gender, mixed by choice: the rules differ.
4. Do solo cabins come with any shared space? On NCL the Studio Lounge is reserved for Studio guests.⁶
5. Does the offer depend on the date? Waived supplements often apply to specific departures only, as with Road Scholar.

Where to find this on our city pages

Every city page has a "Cost for one" block with a daily budget for one person and, where a source exists, the typical single supplement. Try Lisbon, Porto or Copenhagen. The "cost for one" component of the Solo Score measures exactly that: what it costs to be on your own in that city.