ISSUE EIGHT
Why travel matters Celebrating the travel industry during these difficult times
Pay no solo supplement for own cabin*
Pay no solo supplement for our Iceland, Greenland & East Canada voyage* 21 days | 23 Sep ’20 – 13 Oct ’20 From GBP £13,300/pp This rare, adventurous expedition traverses three enigmatic coastlines, offering a unique insight into the vibrant Inuit and Viking history of the North Atlantic, and the possibility of witnessing the northern lights. Zodiac-cruise the remote south coast of Iceland, home to the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the world, and keep watch for whales and seals in their summer feeding grounds. Enjoy a traditional kaffemik with friendly Inuit locals in southern Greenland and discover the magnificent Torngat Mountains National Park in Canada.
Limited time offer Book a Balcony Stateroom and pay a no solo supplement for a sole use cabin* Available until 31st March, 2020 or until sold out.
For more information and to book, contact your preferred wholesaler or Aurora Expeditions: Freecall 0 808 189 2005, email agents@auroraexpeditions.co.uk or visit www.auroraexpeditions.co.uk/europe-uk-agents *Terms & Conditions apply. Valid on select ship voyages only and select cabins. Prices and offers correct at time of printing and subject to change. From prices based on Balcony Stateroom category B, gratuities are not included. Offer is valid on new bookings only aboard the Greg Mortimer, in Balcony Stateroom B category which must be booked and deposited by 31 March, 2020, or until sold out, whichever comes first. Promotion is subject to availability at the time of booking and capacity controlled. The promotion is not available in conjunction with any other offer, can be withdrawn at any time and is not redeemable for cash. Normal booking terms and conditions apply. To confirm your booking, a completed booking form and non-refundable deposit in the booking currency is required within 7 days of reserved berth/s. Additional terms and conditions may apply. Please visit www.auroraexpeditions.co.uk/find-out-more/terms-and-conditions for full terms and conditions.
Issue eight | Check-in
WELCOME This, of course, is not the welcome note we were expecting to write you. In previous issues of Solus magazine, we have used this space to talk about the wonderful world of solo travel, how it continues to grow exponentially and how attitudes and operators are changing around it. But, as Why travel matters the Covid-19 pandemic has seen airlines ground entire fleets, companies suspend tours and the Foreign Office do the once unthinkable, advising against all but essential travel indefinitely, it’s difficult to write confidently about the future of the industry or the holiday in general. No one really knows what the world will look like after the lockdown finally ends and the coronavirus pandemic finally abates – but one thing is for sure: we will travel again. It’s important during this period when we can’t travel that we remind ourselves why we do and how you, as travel agents, bring joy to so many. This issue of Solus, therefore, is about the difficulties we face, but it’s also a celebration of the solo holiday. If you’ll indulge us for one moment, we’ll quote Hilaire Belloc, the Anglo-French writer and historian, who said: “We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” Take care of yourselves and we’ll see you all soon.
Solus is brought to you by Waterfront Publishing
ISSUE EIGHT
Celebrating the travel industry during these difficult times
How we are helping you during the pandemic
Across Waterfront Publishing titles, which include Solus, Cruise Adviser and ABTA Magazine, our aim is to report, reassure and rebuild. That is: report news as it happens, reassure the trade, and help to rebuild confidence in the industry. We will be inviting industry leaders to share their thoughts on what the future of tourism looks like, to pressure the government to take urgent measures to protect the travel industry, and to educate and reassure agents. As the government now advises those who can to work remotely, we have produced this special digital-only version of Solus magazine to ensure it is not landing in empty shops.
Publisher Sam Ballard sam@cruise-adviser.com Publisher Anthony Pearce anthony@cruise-adviser.com
Senior sales manager Bryan Johnson bryan@cruise-adviser.com 020 3865 9338 Sales manager Rory Collins rory@waterfront-publishing.com 020 3865 4815 Graphic design Matthew Coles Sub-editor Nathaniel Cramp Waterfront Publishing 12-18 Hoxton Street London N1 6NG info@cruise-adviser.com 020 3865 9360
----Waterfront Publishing is an award-winning independent magazine publisher based in central London. It creates print, mobile and online media and provides editorial, design, proofreading and marketing. Trade magazines Waterfront has two in-house magazines: Cruise Adviser, a multi-award winning cruise magazine, and Solus, the only travel trade publication dedicated to solo travel, both of which are aimed at travel agents. Waterfront also produces ABTA Magazine on behalf of ABTA, the Travel Association. The magazine forms the centrepiece of a range of ABTA publications including an ABTA Magazine World Travel Market special edition; a series of ABTA Magazine destination and trend supplements; ABTA Golf and the ABTA Country Guides. In October 2019, ABTA Magazine won Trade Publication of the Year at the Travel Media Awards. Contract publishing Waterfront offers contract publishing services and has produced magazines for Travelzoo; Emerald Waterways, the Cruise Lines International Association, UK and Ireland (Clia); Cruise & Maritime Voyages; The Travel Village, JV Pastor Groupe and Advantage Travel Partnership. The Studio In September 2018, Waterfront launched a new creative agency. The Studio by Waterfront specialises in design solutions across print, web and social media. The Studio offers a tailored approach for all clients, with copywriting, proofreading and design elements available. Trend forecasting In summer 2019, Waterfront Publishing formed a joint venture with Globetrender, a trend forecasting agency dedicated to the future of travel. It specialises in forward-looking, consumer-facing editorial, as well as trend reports, research and consulting services for the travel industry. See Globetrender.com
SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
3
Issue eight | Check-in
Contents Check-in 03
Welcome An introduction to this issue of Solus at a difficult time for the travel industry
05
News ABTA urges government change
07
Experience Each issue we chat to a solo traveller about their experience going it alone, this time Leah Stockford shares her thoughts after heading to the Arctic with Aurora Expeditions
Explore 09
Immersive Tavel Kim Benjamin looks at the rise of immersive travel and investigates some of the best new experiences for solos
13
Technology and solos Gadgets and apps can help solo travellers stay in touch and keep healthy.
16
Havana club Heidi Fuller-love dons her dancing shoes in the Cuban capital
18
Cruise Sam Ballard looks at some of the options for solo travellers now that cruise is no longer just the preserve of couples
eful trends
SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
4
NEWS COVID-19
ABTA launches Save Future Travel campaign ABTA is appealing to its membership, the wider travel and tourism industry to lobby government ABTA is appealing to its membership, the wider travel and tourism industry, all travel agents and tour operators, their families, and anyone who supports the industry and wants to ‘Save Future Travel’. ABTA first called for urgent government intervention to support the travel industry and take action around refunds several weeks ago. Since then, the Association has held discussions with relevant government departments and the Prime Minister multiple times. Despite this, and the Government promise to ‘do whatever it takes’ to protect businesses and jobs, the travel industry is still waiting for action. ABTA is now calling for widespread industry support to ‘Save Future Travel’ by asking individuals to visit savefuturetravel.co.uk and email their local MP to highlight industry asks.The automated system is to be backed by a social media campaign under the #savefuturetravel hashtag. ABTA is urging supporters of the campaign to use social media to contact their local MPs and Government ministers. To protect normally perfectly viable and healthy businesses, ABTA has asked the UK government to act,
as administrations have already done in the likes of France, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands and Denmark. These countries have proposed temporary changes to regulations that ABTA says are not fit for purpose in the current climate. While holiday bookings have dried up, businesses are refunding the mass cancellations of future trips, while still awaiting refunds from airlines and hotels. Without support from the government a number of businesses will go under, putting hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk, ABTA added. Under this scenario, the taxpayer would be liable for billions of pounds of refunds that the ATOL scheme won’t be able to cover. Mark Tanzer, ABTA chief executive, said: “ABTA has been doing all it can on behalf of the industry to make it clear to Government the devastating impact this crisis is having and to provide workable solutions to help them to do what it takes to support us. We now need additional help from colleagues, friends and supporters to make our industry voice as loud as possible. The time has come for the industry and anyone who loves to travel to get
behind our campaign to ‘Save Future Travel’. The Chancellor promised UK businesses that he would do “whatever it takes” to help the country get through this pandemic, and we need the Government to act. “This crisis has created extraordinary difficulties for everyone, in ways that none of us could ever have predicted. Many sectors have been hit hard but few have been hit as hard as travel. The changes that we have asked for are reasonable, as has been shown by other governments taking similar action.”
Solos operators cancel tours G Adventure, Saga and Intrepid are among the operators to have suspended tours and updated their cancellation policies. G Adventures has suspended all tours departing until May 31, 2020. It said that any traveller booked on a tour departing between those dates will be eligible for a 110 per cent travel credit of all land services, including pre or post nights and transfers, which can be used on any tour departing within the next two years. Intrepid Travel and Peregrine Adventures tours are suspended globally until May 31, 2020, while Saga has suspended its until May 1.
SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
5
1 edition. £2.3m in revenue A single issue of Explore, a publication created for Advantage Travel Partnership by Waterfront, generated more than 600 bookings*. Find out about creating your own loyalty magazine by emailing info@waterfront-publishing.com.
FE AT U RES | R O OM SE RVI C E M E NU | SHORE EXCUR SIONS
ISSUE ONE
GLOBE
ISSUE FOUR
THE ONLY DESTINATION FOR THOSE SELLING CRUISES
Explore Issue One
December 2016
MARCH 2018
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
FJORD FOCUS A JOURNEY TO WEST NORWAY
*Source: Travel Weekly, November 2017
Jeannine Williamson joins CroisiEurope in the heart of Prague, before exploring the lesser-known Elbe en route to Berlin PLUS 10 OF THE BEST WILDLIFE CRUISES EXCLUSIVE RITZ-CARLTON INTERVIEW CRUISE & MARITIME VOYAGES IN AMSTERDAM
BRILLIANT BANGKOK INFOCUS: INTREPID COACH VS CRUISE HOW TO SELL: SOLO TRAVEL
WHY THE THAI CAPITAL IS SO MUCH MORE THAN A BACKPACKER HAVEN
CRUISE & MORE HOLIDAYS OF A LIFETIME
ON THE HORIZON THE LATEST CRUISE NEWS
EMERALD WATERWAYS AN IN-DEPTH LOOK
WONDERFUL WORLD FOUR BUCKET-LIST STOPS
Issue eight | Check-in
EXPERIENCE
Leah Stockford, 43, London Each issue we chat to a solo traveller about their experience going it alone, this time Leah shares her thoughts after heading to the Arctic with Aurora Expeditions Travelling with Aurora Expeditions was not my first time travelling solo. Having made my first solo travel trip when I was 17 to Australia and Asia and then multiple trips thereafter you actually get the bug of going by yourself. As much as I love travelling with friends and family there is nothing better than going into the unknown when you actually end up meeting more people by yourself. I have made some very dear friends over the years and I enjoy having the freedom to do what I want when I want – it’s so very invigorating. For this specific trip I chose
SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
the Arctic as I had always wanted to see Greenland’s ice shelf, polar bears and experience the magnitude of icebergs. My friend wanted to come but couldn’t make it work so I decided I would go regardless. It was a lifelong dream, so nothing was going to stop me fulfilling it – I’m so glad I made that decision. It was a bit nerve-racking going on a ship by myself, which I hadn’t done before, but everyone was very friendly. Since the Arctic trip I have actually booked with Aurora Expeditions again to go to Antarctica in 2021 by myself
7
again. Before joining the trip I had a few worries about whether I might get on with people on board – you are on the ship for a long time. I was more used to travelling from destination to destination rather than being in one place, so to speak, and I was a little nervous about my roommates. What would they be like? Especially as I don’t like to share! But you then realise you are worrying about nothing. And I had the best two roommates you could hope for – you just respect their space and they respect yours. I was unsure about whether the age group
Issue eight | Check-in
would be too old, but how wrong I was? The group was all different ages and although I was among the younger ones on board, the majority of them were so much fun and I made some great friends. The staff on board were also delightful – very informative and everyone was attentive with whatever your needs were. A big thumbs up to Angela who was our kayak guide who had us up at the crack of dawn every day but always with a smile – we laughed a lot and I was fortunate to have such a brilliant group of people out on the water every day. I loved the daily talks, too, whether they were about flora and fauna or climate change or tips on photography. One thing about traveling solo is that you get to talk to everyone and everyone is always welcoming especially at dinner and at drinks – and very supportive when kayaking, doing that solo can be hard work! Sometimes after kayaking I would sneak off for a power nap before the next paddle and I didn’t need to bother anyone – I just had myself to think about, which was great. I would say to anyone who is nervous about travelling solo: don’t overthink it, just do it. If you want to experience a great adventure don’t wait for people, live your dream. You really have nothing to worry about. Remember you are not alone and it’s a great confidence booster. I would highly recommend it!
SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
8
TOURS
Issue seven | Section Name
One step beyond Kim Benjamin looks at the rise of immersive travel and investigates some of the best new experiences for solos Gone are the days of travel defined by ‘been there, done that’. Today’s travellers are craving more engaging and increasingly authentic ‘immersive’ experiences – ones that resonate with them on an emotional level, where they can give back to a community or bring lasting memories home. For solo travellers, this concept is proving particularly attractive. With many immersive travel itineraries focusing on local culture, visiting areas off the beaten track or based on particular themes such as food, adventure SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
and wellness, travellers can focus on a particular passion, all at their own pace and with like-minded people. “Travellers are seeking out more unique and immersive experiences across multiple areas in a destination,” says Brian Young, managing director at G Adventures. “They provide travellers with the opportunity to gain an understanding of the local way of life. Active-style trips are great for those looking to switch off, disconnect from everyday life and reconnect with themselves. People are opting for achievement-based
9
trips where they can challenge themselves both physically and mentally.” Exodus Travel launched Exodus Edits last November in response, it says, to a rise in requests from a younger demographic for experience-rich, small group tours and adventures with a similar age mix. Whether you are looking to boost your adrenaline levels, indulge in a food-themed tour, deep dive into a new culture or you simply want to kick back and relax, solo travellers will be spoilt for choice when it comes to immersive experiences.
Epic adventures Machu Picchu is on most people’s bucket list and you can visit this and more with Exodus Edits’ immersive tour of Peru. It includes an introduction to Peruvian food and drink alongside trips to Rainbow Mountain and the Salineras de Maras salt flats. Travellers can also enjoy an authentic insight into rural community life. For those in search of a more active itinerary, another option from Exodus is a tour through Jordan. Stay at the Wadi Rum UFO Camp where you can sleep under the stars and enjoy early morning camel rides across the desert. The trip also includes a journey to the Red Sea coast, hiking the Wadi Mujib trail and the chance to soak in the Dead Sea. Riviera Travel offers several adventure-themed itineraries curated especially for solo travellers, featuring hotels in convenient locations and meals where the wider group is encouraged to come together. You can opt to visit Marrakesh in Morocco on a six-day guided tour, taking in the medieval medina and the city’s labyrinth of souks, before heading into the Atlas Mountains. Riviera Travel has a 13day solo tour to Costa Rica from the Caribbean to the Pacific. Highlights include the chance to explore the active Arenal Volcano, visiting the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve from hanging bridges and a zip line tour through the rainforest, as well as the chance to visit the remote Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge. SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
10
Food and cultural delights
Issue seven | Section Name
As part of its National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures collection, G Adventures’ newly launched Cultural Wonders of Mexico tour focuses on food and culinary traditions. Starting in Mexico City, travellers can immerse themselves in the local cuisine with a visit to the city’s bustling food markets, where they can try some traditional delicacies. They can also enjoy a Mexican-style breakfast following a sunrise tour of Mexico City’s Xochimilco, a system of canals built by the ancient Aztecs. In Oaxaca – widely acknowledged as Mexico’s foodie capital – highlights include a visit to a local family’s kitchen, learning how to make chocolate at a grinding mill, a tortillamaking workshop and sampling Mezcal, a local beverage made from the agave plant. You can also experience food and drink closer to home, with Riviera Travel’s wine cruise taking in Burgundy, the river Rhone and Provence, where solo travellers can wind their way through some of France’s celebrated wine regions. As part of the tour, you can stop at various wine cellars, take part in tastings and explore the neighbouring countryside.
SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
11
Issue seven | Section Name
Natural wonders & wellness Get an unrivalled view of local wildlife on the Galápagos Islands with G Adventures’ onboard the Reina Silvia Voyager yacht, which offers two cabins dedicated to solo travellers. You can cruise the Galápagos and go kayaking, exploring the region’s more remote ports and wild, rocky coasts. Check out some soulsoothing tai chi and relaxing yoga with Exodus Exits’ tenday journey through Vietnam, which also features leisurely cycle rides through the rural countryside and the chance to recharge with nourishing local dishes. With travel plans likely to be disrupted for the next few months, it’s well worth looking at what’s on offer further ahead. AmaWaterways is launching an 11-night cruise and land adventure with its river cruise ship AmaDahlia, scheduled to set sail on the Nile in Egypt from September 2021. The immersive itinerary takes in Luxor and Cairo and offers travellers the chance to experience Egypt’s local communities and its historic sites.
SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
12
TECHNOLOGY
What to tech on your travels Gadgets and apps can help solo travellers stay in touch and keep healthy and happy. Kim Benjamin looks at some of the latest and most useful trends
SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
13
Issue eight | Explore
Innovations in technology mean it’s easier than ever before to stay connected, be entertained and share experiences while travelling. Technology can also enhance our health and wellbeing and provide an element of safety and security, an important aspect for all travellers, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic. We’ve taken a look at the latest technology gadgets that can enhance solo travel, helping people to stay in touch, monitor health and even check if food is gluten-free, as well as listing essential apps to help you make the most of your time away. Portable battery power banks are a must. Opt for ones that will stay charged for a few days rather than hours. With the range of power banks available, you can have anything from a stick-like lipstick-style design, such as one from Anker, to Jackery Bolt’s stylish compact aluminium offering, to ones that look like a slim book. If you have several devices with you, invest in one with triple chargers. And what if you’re miles ‘off the grid’ and are unable to recharge? Solar power banks are the ideal solution here – all you need is some sunlight. For those who want to document and chart their travels, drones can help you take professional standard photos and videos while on the road. There are long-range options for the ultimate in panoramic views or check out the ultra-compact selfie-taking drones that fit neatly in your pocket. “Be sure to search for drones with ‘follow me’ autonomous SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
14
Issue eight | Explore
tracking so you can focus on where you’re going while your ‘eye-in-the-sky’ wingman records you from afar,” advises Steven Hummel, senior research analyst at the Consumer Technology Association. Some of the more popular products include DJI Spark and the Zerotech Dobby but bear in mind the different regulations in destinations regarding drones, and do your research carefully before you consider flying one. Health is a top consideration when travelling, particularly for those going it alone. Track your heart rate, levels of fitness, calories burned and sleep patterns with a range of wearable devices, such as a
Fitbit or smart watch – ideal for monitoring your health levels. If you have specific health needs, such as following a gluten-free diet, you can test your food at restaurants or out and about with a gluten sensor starter kit from Nima. Other useful tools include portable water purifiers, such as the Steripen Ultra. Whether you travel light or over-pack, you’ll want to ensure that you bring everything back safely. Antitheft luggage from the likes of Pacsafe can help ensure your belongings are protected from a range of threats, with features such as anti-slash fabric and lockable straps. The more sophisticated – and more
expensive – options even have RFID-blocking wallets built in, helping you to keep sensitive data such as passports or ID cards safe from hackers. Not every traveller may want to get away from it all, in which case it may be useful to consider a portable mobile/ wi-fi hotspot, so you can have access to data and the internet. You can either rent these for a short trip or own them if you are planning several trips or extended travel. “As 5G networks and infrastructure become more widespread, 5G mobile hotspots will be a must-have for travellers needing ultra-fast speeds and low-latency response times,” says Hummel.
APPS NO TRAVELLER SHOULD BE WITHOUT By Kim Benjamin The likes of Google Translate, iTranslate and Microsoft Translator are indispensable to help you master the lingo when abroad. Language translation apps are continually evolving, incorporating neural networks and artificial intelligence algorithms. They can now more accurately recognise words, both verbal and text, and string coherent sentences together. By integrating with your phone’s camera, some translation apps can identify and process native text directly from an image and transpose the transcribed text using augmented reality (AR)features. Getting from A to B can prove testing in unfamiliar destinations. But if you’re armed with navigational apps such as Google Maps – which are now also enhanced with AR – you can use Google Live View. This overlays virtual signs, arrows and pop-ups on the SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
screen on your phone to help direct you as you walk. “This can be especially useful in areas where ‘real-world’ signs are obscured,” says Steven Hummel, senior research analyst at the Consumer Technology Association. Another app, Wayfinder, can go even further, populating your screen with helpful and relevant stops along your path. Mobile payment apps are essential, too, offering a safe and secure way to pay for goods on the go. Popular ones include Apple Pay and Google Pay, with security features enhanced by biometric technology. This means you can use fingerprint readers and voice or facial recognition before completing payments, giving you added peace of mind. With retailers, restaurants and hotels across the globe increasingly adopting mobile payment technologies, transactions are both convenient and secure.
15
CUBA
Havana club On the look out for safe, female-friendly destinations, Heidi Fuller-love dons her dancing shoes in the Cuban capital The musky scent of hand rolled cigars drifts on the air as a bright pink Chevrolet Bel Air with gleaming tails fins (known locally as a cacharros, meaning ‘bone shaker’) bucks along Havana’s seaside Malecón to the sultry sounds of salsa. Hitching my skirt and skipping over potholes, I follow the music to local dance hangout 1830, order a mint and rumpacked mojito and mingle with the crowds to enjoy the
WiFi tip – Wi-fi almost inexistent inside buildings – the best place to get online is in one of the city’s parks
quick stepping dance that was invented here in the 1920s. As a big fan of solo travel, I’m always on the look out for female-friendly destinations where I can take dance lessons and meet locals – and fellow travellers – without worrying about safety. Latin American countries can be a challenge for women travelling alone, but here in magical, mysterious Havana, capital of this Caribbean country which was cut off from most of the world for several decades, time seems to have stopped sometime in the fifties: not only because of those vintage American cars, but also because – apart from petty theft and being accosted by the occasional gigolo-like jinetero there’s very little in the way of crime here.
Bike sharing – Ha’bici is Havana’s new bike sharing scheme, but most of the pick up points are in Havana Vieja
Seeking somewhere central, but less touristy than Habana Vieja with it’s Unesco designated sites, I decide to stay in Centro, one of the city’s most colourful districts, whose ornate and spectacularly shabby buildings look out over potholed streets where old men play dominoes, and young couples dance salsa day and night. Home of the waterfront Malecón – known as the city’s ‘sofa’ because this is where SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
18
Issue eight | Explore
everyone comes to sit and chat – Centro is also the place to find Havana’s magnificent Gothic Iglesia del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus and the city’s best paladars, those small restaurants, usually in someone’s home, where you can find some of the best Cuban tastes in town. Scams – Selling fake cigars and mixing up currencies: CUC notes for tourists and CUP which is mainly for locals
SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
I’m staying in a Casa Particulare, a ‘private house’ hotel that’s a bit like a B&B. I have a room of my own and share other facilities with the family who own it: enjoying hearty breakfasts of buttered tostada dipped into café con leche while chatting with my hosts is a great way to soak up a big dose of the local lifestyle whilst practising my Spanish. Since I don’t want to be dependent on the city’s (quite expensive) taxis or the cheap, but fairly slow, MB metro bus, I hire a bike to get around. During my two-week stay I pedal out to admire the neoclassical façade of the Partagas cigar factory,
19
then watch workers rolling and pressing cigars at the new factory; I visit the Museum of the Revolution, housed in the former presidential palace, where exhibits include a postal van that was used as getaway car when the palace was attacked in 1957, and I even do a tour of town in a vintage car. After my exhilarating three-hour trip I find myself agreeing with journalist Mark Kurlanksy, who said: ‘For all its smell, sweat, crumbling walls, Havana is the most romantic city in the world.” Intrepid Travel’s seven day Cycle Cuba is an immersive way to discover the country
SOLO CRUISE
Sail away Sam Ballard looks at some of the options for solo travellers now that cruise is no longer just the preserve of couples For years, cruise has been a holiday for couples, whether it’s honeymooners meandering around the Caribbean or grandparents celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. It’s a legacy that has been strengthened by the economics of the industry: hotels charge by the room, cruises charge by the customer. However, that rule isn’t necessarily universal. Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is one company that caters to the solo market, offering up to 190 cabins across its fleet to solo passengers, including 11 suites. Each of the company’s four ships allocates between five and ten per cent of its cabins to solo passengers without any additional charge. The onboard experience is finely tuned, too, with solo guests sitting together at dinner and offered
companions if they want to go ashore or dance in the evenings. Geoff Ridgeon, head of sales at Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “We understand that solo travel can be a daunting thought, particularly when it is your first time, but a cruise is such a great way to combine seeing the world and having the comfort and security of not actually travelling alone. “Typically, the most popular of our sailings among solo travellers are our ‘Grand Voyages’ and aroundthe-world cruises, with specific destinations including the Baltic, Canary Islands and UK also popular. On the longer-duration sailings, around 20 per cent of guests will be solo travellers.” P&O Cruises is another company that is tapping into
the market, with specially designed accommodation for solo travellers across its fleet. The cabins are hugely popular, according to a company spokesperson, as they offer a cheaper alternative than a solo guest occupying a double room. Solo cabins are available in different categories across the fleet: Arcadia (inside and balcony), Aurora (outside and balcony), Azura (inside and outside), Ventura (inside and outside), Britannia (inside and balcony) and the soon-to-be-launched Iona (inside and balcony). Special dispensations for solo passengers are given by an increasing number of lines, although there are a few that are renowned for it. Cruise & Maritime Voyages, Saga and Crystal all have great solo SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
18
Issue eight | Explore
passenger rates and policies. It’s not just the traditional cruise lines that offer something for solo travellers, however. Aurora, the Australian expedition company also courts the group. Given solo passengers’ fondness for taking that trip of a lifetime, it’s perhaps not that surprising. The line typically has a number of polar voyages available where it does not charge a single supplement, giving guests the chance to travel to the world’s extremities without paying twice as much as those travelling in a pair. Alternatively, guests can try out the Cabin Mate service, which is available on every voyage. Solo travellers who sign up will be matched with a fellow solo guest of the same sex and, if no suitable partner can be found, the single occupancy charge is dropped. If solo passengers want their own cabin from the beginning – and aren’t prepared to chance it with the Cabin Mate scheme – they will pay a 50 per cent surcharge. Craig Upshall, director of sales UK at Aurora, said: “Solo travel is an enriching experience for travellers who are keen to share the adventure with new acquaintances and experience everything that a small group adventure has to offer. Guests can now join Aurora Expeditions who offer an informal, enriching style of travel and a small group size, which ensures camaraderie and fun for all. We have shared dining on board so no one is left alone and the expedition team on the voyages are very adept at ensure that everyone is included and part of the group.” SOLUSMAGAZINE.COM
19
Pay no solo supplement for own cabin*
Pay no solo supplement for our Iceland, Greenland & East Canada voyage* 21 days | 23 Sep ’20 – 13 Oct ’20 From GBP £13,300/pp This rare, adventurous expedition traverses three enigmatic coastlines, offering a unique insight into the vibrant Inuit and Viking history of the North Atlantic, and the possibility of witnessing the northern lights. Zodiac-cruise the remote south coast of Iceland, home to the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the world, and keep watch for whales and seals in their summer feeding grounds. Enjoy a traditional kaffemik with friendly Inuit locals in southern Greenland and discover the magnificent Torngat Mountains National Park in Canada.
Limited time offer Book a Balcony Stateroom and pay a no solo supplement for a sole use cabin* Available until 31st March, 2020 or until sold out.
For more information and to book, contact your preferred wholesaler or Aurora Expeditions: Freecall 0 808 189 2005, email agents@auroraexpeditions.co.uk or visit www.auroraexpeditions.co.uk/europe-uk-agents *Terms & Conditions apply. Valid on select ship voyages only and select cabins. Prices and offers correct at time of printing and subject to change. From prices based on Balcony Stateroom category B, gratuities are not included. Offer is valid on new bookings only aboard the Greg Mortimer, in Balcony Stateroom B category which must be booked and deposited by 31 March, 2020, or until sold out, whichever comes first. Promotion is subject to availability at the time of booking and capacity controlled. The promotion is not available in conjunction with any other offer, can be withdrawn at any time and is not redeemable for cash. Normal booking terms and conditions apply. To confirm your booking, a completed booking form and non-refundable deposit in the booking currency is required within 7 days of reserved berth/s. Additional terms and conditions may apply. Please visit www.auroraexpeditions.co.uk/find-out-more/terms-and-conditions for full terms and conditions.
