Cruise Europe affordably

5. Or, go it alone
Affordable European cruising for solo travelers is getting more difficult almost by the day. While it was typical for older ships to be built with a complement of dedicated staterooms for the unaccompanied traveler, they — the single cabins, not the single travelers! — are becoming an endangered species.

While it is true that most single cabins can be found on higher ticket or European cruise lines, booking such a cabin may still make your European sailing more affordable than paying the 100 percent supplement for traveling solo in a double-occupancy cabin on a mass-market cruise ship. It's not that single-occupancy cabins always sell without supplement, but rather that the supplements tend to be much lower, almost always below 50 percent on European itineraries. Besides the QE2, Costa's Romantica, along with lines such as Peter Deilmann Cruises, Fred. Olsen Cruises, Hurtigruten and Saga Holidays offer single-occupancy cabins on some of their ships (on Saga Ruby, 25 percent of staterooms are designed for solo travelers.

For those who may be traveling solo, but don't mind sharing accommodations to save money once onboard, there are a number of "guaranteed share" programs available. These programs, managed by the cruise lines, match up solo travelers with other singles of the same sex and smoking preferences, each paying only the per-guest, double-occupancy rate. While these programs are rarer than they were a decade ago, Princess and Holland America still maintain them. Holland America's "Single Partner" program is our pick, as their policy is to guarantee that participants won't pay the single supplement, even if HAL fails to find a suitable cabin mate.

But even without line-sponsored programs, it's possible for solo travelers to find the same result through third-party organizers:

SinglesCruise.com conducts numerous singles cruises, including European itineraries, though most of their sailings are in spots better favored by singles like the Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, etc. They provide advantages in both price (see "Affinity Groups," above) and services. They will, on selected voyages, provide a roommate-matching service for persons of the same sex, age range and smoking preference to obviate the single-supplement requirement, but they are unclear on what happens if they fail to find you a cabin mate, so check.

We prefer the program offered by VacationsToGo.com. Their roster of hosted singles sailings includes all the major cruising areas of the world. Though their thrust is primarily social interaction among their single guests on their hosted sailings, their match program will attempt to find an appropriate roommate in the same way that cruise line programs do. One excellent feature is that if they can't find you a match, they will pay the single-supplement themselves, guaranteeing that you'll not have to pay any more than as one of two guests sharing a double-occupancy cabin.

Keep up with boards and blogs. Using the Internet to find other solo travelers looking to share shipboard accommodations can be very effective, and you can trade info with prospective roommates on such classified sites as epage.com before making a choice, which gives you some decision-making power over who you share with, rather than putting all your faith in the cruise line or charter operator. However, the terms of such arrangements are always a bit muddy, and what happens if the cabin-mate you find online flakes out and decides not to go should be a major concern.

6. It's a family affair
As far as I can recollect — and that goes back more years than I care to reveal — it has been a rite of passage and an educational adjunct that no classroom can rival for American parents to take or send their children to Europe to absorb the culture, history, diversity, and, in some cases, to acquaint themselves with the land of their roots. Cruises are an ideal way for families traveling together to accomplish this amicably and affordably. There are advantages of family travel aboard ship, regardless of region: generational "me time" (adults and kids being able to hang with independently without mom and pop worrying about their kids' safety), the easily accessible wealth of onboard and off-ship enrichment, and the economical structure of most cruises (close to all-inclusive). In Europe, of course, hands-on, in-person acquaintance with that enrichment ashore is invaluable.

You may consider cruising with your extended family — grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren — or choose to cruise with your nuclear family. Regardless, family travel is, by definition, group travel, though not necessarily in groups large enough to qualify for the term under the cruise lines' definition. Nonetheless, traveling with more than a single travel companion focuses your decision-making process into two areas: amenities and pricing.

Slide show   European escapes There’s endless adventure around every corner — food, wine, shopping, art and more. more photos

Both aspects apply to extended family cruising. Obviously, the more family members that come along, the more cost-advantage pricing plays a role. But with multi-generational parties traveling together the ideal choice of cruise ship is one that appeals to all age ranges. Royal Caribbean arguably has a reputation for being a top choice in that regard, and we concur. Choices for entertainment, activities and enrichment appeal to the full spectrum of ages and tastes. But the other aspect to consider when booking a family trip is cost, and with that consideration in mind, for cruise lines offering European itineraries, our three choices are:

Again, Royal Caribbean. With bigger ships come bigger staterooms, and nowadays no cruise line has the patent on cabin size. But RCI has earned a reputation for their family-friendly staterooms. Beginning more than a decade ago with the inception of the 70,000-ton Vision class of ships, Royal Caribbean introduced the Royal Family Suite, a 500-square-ft. suite accommodating eight guests, albeit in somewhat cozy environs. Royal Caribbean's Freedom-class ships (Freedom of the Seas, Independence of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas) also offer the option of booking the 1,215 square-ft. Presidential Family Suite, accommodating an amazing maximum of 14 passengers. Typically, at least one of the Freedom-class ships is stationed in Europe during the warm weather months.

Ocean Village. For those traveling with small children this budget-priced one-ship operation owned by P&O is both affordable and chock-full of kid-friendly amenities.

South Florida-based Faber is a longtime contributor to Cruise Critic. Beyond our Web site, Faber's work has appeared in a myriad of outlets, including Cruise Travel Magazine, "The Miami Herald" and "The Total Traveler Guide to Worldwide Cruising." 

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