I've been writing for years that cruising is a great holiday for single people - or would be if the cruise lines didn't charge such swingeing single supplements.
In fact I've been saying it nearly as long as the cruise lines. Trouble is, they do ony say it. They don't do anything to make cruising more financially friendly for soloists.
Until now that is.
P&O Cruises got the ball rolling by building 18 single cabins onto new ship Azura, but they have been well and truly trumped by Norwegian Cruise Line's new Norwegian Epic, which has 128 Studio cabins reserved just for single people.
They are very small - I had look-see when I was on last week and could almost reach from one wall to the other - and all inside but fine for one person, especially as there is no single supplement.
There is mood lighting ("romantic moments" and "time to go home") and en-suite facilities and the Living Room, a two-storey area with TVs and a bar that is reserved just for singles so they can meet other lone travellers. It'll make the 100 square feet Studio bareable.
And now ultra-luxury drinks-inclusive cruise line Silversea is getting in on the lone travellers' act by reducing the single supplement to 10% of the per person double-occupancy fare on four cruises this year and to 25% on nine cruises.
The cruises are all over the place - in the Med, Caribbean, Far East, South America, Indian Ocean and Middle East - and in both oceanview and balcony cabins, so it's not like they are just trying to sell off the stuff no one else wants.
Now all we need is for the others to recognise that soloists are worth pursuing after all and cruising really will become a great holiday option for single people.
Jane Archer
