Rewind about 18 months ago, I was just starting to plan the Cruise Life Group cruise for July 2018 on the Norwegian Escape. After some discussion and rearranging my early 2018 cruise schedule I was going to be booking solo for the first time this trip. Fortunately NCL has a great option for solo travelers in their studio cabins (Pride of America, Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, Escape, and Bliss). I’ll go into some more detail below regarding the perks and amenities you get with being in a studio cabin. With that said, I was traveling with a group of 15, so I did not take advantage of everything it has to offer those truly sailing solo.
No single supplement
With the amount I sail and always being on the hunt for good deals, I generally can get a good feel for how a particular sailing is priced. My assessment on the NCL studios is that they are about 150% of a double occupancy inside fare. While sailing to sailing will vary, this is sort of my rule of thumb starting point. Last minute sail away rates can also make this assumption waiver, but those rates generally won’t include any of Norwegian’s “Free at Sea” promos. In any case, it’s not as cheap as double occupancy pricing, but it’s certainly better than paying double!
Studio Lounge
This was one area that I loved and did take advantage of quite a bit. There was always water, juice, coffee, and light snacks available. It was perfect to grab something late night or early without having to head up the Garden Café. It also served as a great meet up place for other friends in the studios. I even just sat in there a couple times while I was editing photos. It was a great space in my opinion.
Studio cabins themselves
At about 100 square feet I found the accommodations to be more than sufficient for one person. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking but I probably only used about 50% of the storage available in the cabin. I do tend to travel light though. I was only traveling with a carry on suitcase and a backpack for the seven night sailing. Aside from not having a mini-fridge it had all the basic amenities of any non-suite cabin.
Solo guest coordinator
This was one area that I did not take advantage of much. The coordinator held solo meetups every evening at 5:00 pm. The first night was in Tobacco Road and all subsequent nights were in the Studio Lounge. Some from my group went the first evening just to see what it was all about. I was the annoying guy who corrected every person who kept calling it a “singles” meet up. The coordinator explained about the meet up locations and that group dinners would be booked each evening at 6:00 in one of the main dining rooms. I think this is a great option for those who are truly sailing solo, but I’m not sure I would ever find myself eating dinner so early on vacation. Fortunately I had all my dinners planned with my group for the week so this was not an issue for me.
To summarize, I think the studios are a great option for those sailing with family or friends who don’t have a cabin mate, someone truly sailing solo, or anyone who just wants their own space. It’s an added offering on already awesome ships!
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