Flexabiliy is the key to Solo rates if you want to avoid the high suppliments

You have to just keep an eye out and take one when they come up.

You might not get exactly what you want but can go twice for the same money or get a better ship/cabin or a longer trip.

P&O just had some good solo rates, for April,May

Fred Olsen often have them.
MSC and Costa sometimes have good deals

what about this one

http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=10009

Vision of the seas have a special over 55 Solo rate for the 15sept
Copenhagen to Athens 15n

Cheapest inside cruise only direct with RCI is £855 with taxes and gratuities.

You will Need to do some research on the flights. does not look like there are direct flight, but might get it under £200.

email from Gill Cruises to day with single pricing for the Aurora P&O £999
Look at their web site and see what else they have on offer.
A lot are with Fred Olsen and P&O. it would seem that P&O have a lot of offers on all their cruises which makes me think that they are discounting to fill their ships.
Sue

Sorry W/J I had not scrolled down the page and seen your response in total>
Yes I think price wise it will be hard to beat the P&O prices. the OP says they have called Scotland Cruise Centre and I always or almost always book with them.
I do my homework get the best price possible and then call them and see what Ali can do for me.
W/J I am holding an option with them for the Solstice for 7th September. In the end with 11% discount and the room upgrade for CC members Ali is only £45 for me and £64 for the balcony for my friend.
I will stick with what I know as I know if there are any price reductions Ali will obtain those for me without any problem. Also T/A I know and their reputation is preferable than an Internet TA based in the US.
That is just me sailing as a woman on her own and not really wanting to take a chance and following your and Graham's advice which I do value.

Sue

The main thing is that you still need to look for the Solo deals because the TA's don't always find them even if you have an open request for them.

Some cruise lines don't push the Solo rates too much because couples can double book and get even better deals, you book the cabin you want as a solo and the cheapest cabin avaialble as another solo and save money on the 2pax rate in the higher priced cabin when the solo sup is zero.

Using the cruise line fare as the guide is sensible for these special deals(over 55/solos) since every TA should be able to match or better them. RCI and Celebrity seem to have the best discounts for over 55's when they have them.

There seem to be a fair amount of solo rates,
here is the link for the gills list

http://www.gillscruise.com/solo_singles_cruises

I see they have that vision deal cruise only for £1095 £200+ more than RCI direct so worth checking the real cruise line prices sometimes.

Thanks both very much for your replies. I did go back to Scotland Cruise Centre and they emailed me back saying there was nothing coming up for 10 days or even 7 days for £1,000

I did also email Gills yesterday asking for prices and giving them the details and as yet haven't had the courtesy of a reply. Also had a similar experience with Gills in the past when I emailed them for a price on a specific cruise and they never bothered to reply.

Scotland Cruise Centre said the problem with leaving it last minute is getting the flights.

Speaking to my mum last night we spoke about a cheaper alternative which is an organised coach holiday that will take her to different parts of Europe. Not quite a cruise but she will be fine on her own, will get the benefit of excursions etc.

I myself get lots of cruise emails as I am still subscribed to most sites so I will keep an eye out. As you say being retired she is very felxible as to when she can go.

I just wanted to know if £1500 was what other single cruisers would pay for 10 nights in the Med?

Thanks again.