Plan
Travelling Solo on an Expedition Ship.
Solo travel is common on expedition ships, and you do not always pay a supplement. Some ships have dedicated solo cabins, and cruise lines regularly release no-single-supplement departures. Glacial Expeditions tracks those sailings and can tell you which dates and ships let a solo traveler avoid the extra cost entirely.
What a single supplement is and why it exists
A single supplement is the extra amount charged when one person occupies a cabin built for two. Cruise lines price a voyage per cabin, so a solo traveler is asked to make up part of the missing second fare. It is a pricing decision, not a penalty, and it varies widely between lines and departures.
Three ways to avoid paying one
There are three reliable routes around a supplement: book a ship with dedicated solo cabins, book a departure the line has released with no single supplement, or take a same-gender cabin share where the operator offers one.
- Dedicated solo cabins. Some expedition ships are built with single cabins, sold at a straightforward one-person fare. They are limited in number and go early.
- No-supplement promotional departures. Cruise lines release these regularly on selected dates and cabin categories. We track them and can tell you which sailings currently carry one.
- Same-gender cabin shares. Some operators will pair you with another solo traveler and charge the standard per-person fare, with no supplement if no match is found.
What solo travel is actually like on an expedition ship
Expedition ships are small, meals are shared, and the days are spent in the same Zodiacs and on the same landings as everybody else. Groups tend to be sociable and quick to form, which is why so many solo travelers return to this kind of travel rather than to ordinary cruising.
Ships built with solo cabins
A few expedition ships carry purpose-built solo cabins rather than charging a supplement on a double. The National Geographic Resolution has fourteen of them, each with a private balcony, an ocean-facing bed, and the same bathroom and storage as the double cabins.
We have sailed her in Greenland — see the National Geographic Resolution review.
Hosted departures
On some voyages Erika travels with the group as host, which gives solo travelers a familiar face from the airport onwards and someone to sit with at dinner on the first night. Hosted sailings are announced as they are confirmed.
See Erika’s page for how she hosts departures and which regions she travels with groups.
Written by your expedition advisor
Erika Commisso · Travel Experience Architect
CLIA Elite Cruise Counselor · ASTA Verified Travel Advisor · Signature Travel Expert
Chris and Erika have sailed ten expedition voyages and toured seven more expedition ships. Favorite explorations so far: Antarctica, Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Alaska, the Galápagos, the Scottish Hebrides, Churchill and French Polynesia.
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