A New Cruise Company Opens To Serve Solo Female Travelers 55 and Over

by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 3:25 PM ET, Wed March 13, 2024

Traveling solo can certainly have its hiccups. This is especially true if your plans include taking a cruise, where you're likely to be charged extra to book a cabin as a single traveler. More than a few cruise lines add on what's known as a ‘single supplement’ charge.

These types of extra costs are merely one consideration when cruising solo, especially for women. Safety is another issue.

A newly announced luxury cruise brand aimed at solo travelers may go a long way toward resolving some of these challenges.

Acknowledging the lack of suitable options for mature women, the travel social network A Small World has just announced the creation of The Solo Cruise Company. The company is exclusively offering itineraries for solo female travelers who are 55 and over.

The tours offered by The Solo Cruise Company will focus on empowering women to visit places that might otherwise seem “remote or seemingly challenging,” according to an article published by TTG Luxury.

The Solo Cruise Company’s website describes its cruises as “the epitome of luxury cruise expeditions designed exclusively for solo travelers,” adding that the itineraries are “For mature solo traveling women” who want to “take advantage of the fully hosted featured expeditions to share a truly unforgettable experience with like-minded solo travelers.”

The cruises will each include professional hosts who bring a “wealth knowledge” and will be part of the journey from start to finish.

The itineraries being offered by The Solo Cruise Company include such destinations as the Amazon, the Mekong in Vietnam, Antarctica, and Africa and the Indian Ocean. The company, which was founded by Grant Holmes and Michael Cooper, also promises exclusive shore excursions, and a private car and driver on select departures.

Holmes told TTG Luxury that the idea for the company resulted from what he felt was a “gap in the market for luxury cruises catering specifically to solo female travelers, who often have different concerns to male counterparts.”

A recent survey by JourneyWoman underscores that gap. The survey found that while women over 50 prefer to travel alone, 70 percent feel ignored and undervalued by the travel industry.

“My partner Michael [both in life and in The Solo Cruise Company] and I have heard many stories from mature solo female travelers about the loss of a spouse or partner or the impact of retirement from a career they loved where they felt their traveling days had come to end,” Holmes told TTG Luxury. “Some of those stories are very sad and some were incredibly uplifting, but the joy and opportunity we know we have now is to create incredible itineraries and experiences that solo female travelers find exciting, fun and fulfilling.”

The fully hosted trips offered by The Solo Cruise Company will allow for between 15 and 20 women and will feature guide pre- and post-cruise activities, as well as accommodations at some of the top hotels around the world.

The timing of transfers for its travelers will also be a particular area of focus. With safe transport being a top priority, the company will not include any evening transfers in its itineraries.

“We are especially careful about the types and timings of transfers to airports,” Holmes told TTG Luxury.
Additional details of trips with The Solo Cruise Company include using female drivers when possible and VIP arrival and departure service at airports as available.

The launch of The Solo Cruise Company comes at a time when the cruise industry has been trying to do better at accommodating solo travelers.

Solo cabins, for instance, have long been a rarity on modern cruise ships, which favored staterooms designed for two or more until Norwegian Cruise Line started the trend in 2010 aboard the Norwegian Epic. Now, many other cruise lines are jumping on the single-cabin bandwagon.

The newly announced cruise company also comes at a time when women are increasingly traveling on their own.