Solo cabins on cruise ships - review of three cruiselines

I frequently travel on my own and am always looking out for a better deal for the solo traveller. This year I have found that my favourite cruise lines … Holland America, Princess, Norwegian and Royal Carribean seem to be charging more than double for a solo traveller especially on the last minute cruises.  Usually it's 50 to 100% more if you want the cabin to yourself. So when you find a deal where you are paying a similar price to what one of two going on a cruise its a deal.

Every once in a while I come across deals on NCL and just lately RCL for their solo cabins.  I must admit I didn't like the solo cabin on the NCL Breakaway as they used very junior cabin attendants (so cleanliness of the cabin was an issue), the cupboard door was broken and even though I reported it the first day and even with escalations they didn't repair it until the last night. There were also problems with awful smells in the corridors.   Also I don't like having the shower in the bedroom as water gets everywhere.  All the promises of socializing and a special rep to help solos were not real as the rep only showed up once and not at the time published.   Also lately, the solo cabins are so popular that you can get an inside cabin for yourself at a lower price. NCL says its due to supply and demand.  So I don't recommend NCL's solo cabins.

I was also in a solo ocean view cabin on Costa, but again don't recommend it as its a twin bed, in the lowest deck by the engine and near the crew area, so noise is an issue day and night.  It did have a full bathroom.   But if you want cheap it is a very good deal for one of these cabins - I paid $600 CDN for a 7-day cruise.

I am going to try RCL's solo virtual cabin on the Ovation of the Seas, as its the most reasonable priced option to go on a Hawaii cruise. It has a full size bathroom, virtual sea views and what appears to be a double bed.  The best was the price was similar to the double occupancy rate for one person out of the two going.  I also received $225 OBC ($50 from Expedia and $175 from RCL).
Hope this helps.