Singles cruises to Costa lot less

The high cost of a single supplement has long been a bone of contention for cruise passengers, even more so in recent years as fewer ships are designed to accommodate solo travellers.
While the smaller expedition ships and lines such as Fred Olsen and Saga are equipped with single cabins, the newer, bigger ships are all about maximizing the use of space.
On many sailings one person occupying a double cabin might have to pay double the fare for couples, especially annoying when cruise holidays are a popular choice for single travellers.
That might be about to change. First P&O squeezed some single cabins into their next mega-ship, Azura, and now Costa has announced it is cutting its single supplement by up to a half for bookings after December 1, bringing it down to as little as 30 per cent instead of the flat 80 per cent in force now.
The single fare for a 12-night cruise from Rome in January has been cut to £836.70 for a double inside cabin on the Italian line’s newest ship, Costa Pacifica. The voyage calls at Olympia and Athens in Greece, the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus, Ashdod for excursions to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and and Port Said and Alexandria in Egypt.
And on a seven-night voyage from Dubai in March a solo traveler can travel for £700.70 in a double inside cabin on Costa Luminosa, sailing to Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.
These fares are cruise-only, but Costa can book flights and transfers as well. Bear in mind that Costa add a mandatory service charge of seven euros per day on cruises up to eight nights, and six euros per day per for longer cruises.