At Last, A Cruise Ship With No Single Supplement: Norwegian Epic's 'Studio Staterooms'

Solo travelers are always cranky about so-called "single supplements" on cruise ships and organized tours that force them to pay more on a per-person basis than two people traveling together.

A new cruise ship, the Norwegian Epic, begins service in July that is addressing that complaint with 128 single-person staterooms at a fair price--$799 per cabin for either of the ship's Eastern or Western Caribbean seven-day sailings. Tickets for the "studio staterooms" go on sale tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 18, 2010.  Keep in mind airfare to and from the ship, port fees, and various other taxes and fees are added to that price.

Each studio stateroom is 100-square-feet and has a queen bed or two twin beds plus a flat-screen TV and private bath. There's a common area reserved for those occupying a studio stateroom that's called the Studio Lounge that offers coffee, cocktails, snacks as well as a large-screen television and concierge service.

But wait, there's more.

Each cabin also has color-changing lighting options that allows a passenger to change the lighting depending on the time of day or his or her mood.  There's even a "love" setting for romantic nights at sea.  I can't vouch for what love lighting looks like, but if it works, it probably means the next time you book a cruise, you'll have to reserve a standard cabin for two.