Sailing solo

SAILING on a ship with thousands of other people may seem strange or scary to the introvert in search of relaxation, but a cruise might just be the ticket for a solo vacation. And with cruise companies increasingly wooing the single traveller, such deals are getting sweeter.

By now, it is not uncommon for cruise lines to waive or reduce the 10-100 per cent above standard rate fare supplement for lone travellers. Other perks include singles-friendly cocktail hours (offered by Cunard), solo traveller parties (Holland America), and even companion-hosts to dine and dance with (Crystal).

"We do get a lot of singles who sail with us regularly," says Melvyn Yap, regional director for Asia at Silversea Cruises, the Italian family-owned ultra-luxe line. "On selected sailings, we lower the single supplements. It is much easier for singletons to mingle on a smaller ship as compared to a mega ship." The line's Silver Cloud and Silver Wind ships, for instance, each cater to fewer than 300 passengers at a time.

Royal Caribbean's upmarket boutique brand Azamara Club Cruises has a reduced single supplement programme on select voyages - of 125 per cent of the double occupancy fare for solo guests - inclusive of gratuities for housekeeping, dining and bar staff.

Some companies have also started offering dedicated studio cabins, which do not come with any single supplement. British-American cruise line P&O launched its dedicated solo cabins in 2010, with 18 on the 3,100 passenger Azura. It now has others in its fleet, such as the Britannia and Ventura, which have these single-bedded boutique-designed cabins too.

In 2011, Royal Caribbean introduced single occupancy staterooms with no single supplements on its revitalised Radiance Class ships. The Quantum Class ships, launched in 2014, comes with studio staterooms, some with private balconies.

Similarly, Norwegian Cruise Line also has 100 sq ft studio cabins on its Caribbean-sailing vessels: Norwegian Epic (128 single cabins in total), Norwegian Breakaway (59) and Norwegian Getaway (59). Its Pride of America, which plies the Hawaiian islands, has been retrofitted with four. And when Norwegian Escape is launched this October, it will have 82 - featuring contemporary décor and mood lighting.

"Solo travellers are a growing market, and we are seeing an increased demand for these accommodations," says Norwegian Cruise Line's public relations specialist Christina Baez. "Our Freestyle Cruising concept allows solo travellers the freedom and flexibility to create their own vacation on their schedule - no set dining times or being forced to sit at a large group table of strangers."

Norwegian's studio accommodations comes with access to a private lounge shared only with other studio guests - a space for them to "interact with like-minded travellers" and "create a sense of camaraderie", says Ms Baez.

Solo travellers made up 2 per cent of North American cruise-goers in 2014, according to Cruise Lines International Association, the world's largest cruise industry association. With a total of 22.04 million global ocean passengers in 2014, this can add up to 44,800 customers - a figure not to be sneezed at.

CRUISE FOR ONE - SOME THINGS TO KNOW