Cruise company calls for cheaper single fares

**Ally** · 06-02-2008, 02:03 PM

Quote:

British company Mundy Cruising is campaigning to reduce supplements for single travellers, reports Jane Archer.

A leading British cruise company has begun campaigning for a better deal for single travellers.

The cruise agency, Mundy Cruising, is lobbying Britain’s major lines to reduce the extra charges imposed on passengers who travel on their own.

The findings follow two research sessions with regular single cruisers conducted by the London-based agency.

Many of the passengers surveyed felt that cruise lines treated them like second-class citizens when it came to accommodation and pricing.

Others said that they disliked the stigma of being called single, preferring the term solo. Some revealed that they did not actually live alone, but liked to cruise on their own because they could be selfish and enjoy the flexibility to do what they wanted.

“Our groups understood why they pay a single supplement; the issue is the amount and the accommodation,” said Edwina Lonsdale, Mundy’s managing director. “On ships where there are single cabins, these are likely to be invisible and well out of the way.

“Many of the people we spoke to are loyal to P&O Cruises and Cunard, but they are among the worst for what they charge. We already get some deals for solo travellers but we need to lobby more to get a better deal for them.”

In a cruise report at the end of last year, Peter Shanks, Carnival UK’s chief commercial officer, forecast an end to single supplements by 2020.

From next year, Cunard is cutting the single supplement on Queen Mary 2 from 100 per cent to 75 per cent, and as low as 50 per cent on some April and May departures.

A P&O Cruises’ spokesperson said: “Unlike many other large cruise lines which charge a flat 100 per cent increase for single occupancy, P&O Cruises varies the single supplements according to each cruise with many from 20 per cent and the majority around a 50 per cent increase”.

The research company Mintel estimates that around 39 per cent of the adult population is single, totaling almost 19 million people. It has said that single people account for around 33 per cent of holidays abroad and 30 per cent of domestic trips, spending well over £10 billion a year on holidays.

Cruise company calls for cheaper single fares - Telegraph