Since she was a child, Janice Jones had always dreamed of seeing Antarctica with her own eyes. That wish finally came true in early 2026, at the age of 71, when she embarked on a journey to Antarctica’s Ross Sea, aboard Aurora Expeditions’ Douglas Mawson . What’s more, she was making the journey on her own.
During her career as an academic, Jones had done plenty of solo trips to attend conferences, and she had even taken some vacations alone. At home in Queensland, Australia, she keeps active with kayaking and walking, and considers herself “very independent.”
But heading to the furthest reaches of the Earth on her own? “There's no one to turn to and say, ‘Where did I put that?’” she explained.
Those worries proved to be unfounded, as she quickly fell in with a community of like-minded travelers aboard Douglas Mawson . She also found moments of happy solitude, during which she could work on miniature watercolor paintings of her experiences, whether that was encounters with penguins or sea-kayaking adventures.
“I'm a widow, and I've lived alone for 10 years,” Jones told me. “I quite like the peace and tranquility of being on my own; I think most of the other solo travelers are similar. I was delighted to meet some others aboard and find that they were similar in temperament and thinking, independent, calm, happy people.”
In fact, I was one of them. Like Jones, I had some nerves about embarking on a 26-day voyage by myself. Who would I share meals with? Would I have anybody to talk to? It turned out there was no reason to worry: I met some of my fellow solo travelers before I even boarded the ship, in Dunedin, New Zealand, and I made lots of friends once we were sailing together.
By traveling this way, Jones and I were both part of a trend toward solo travel, particularly by women and particularly on expedition ships.
Consider that the operator HX Expeditions says nearly 20 percent of its passengers are solo travelers these days, with the figure up 74 percent since 2022. On a recent Northwest Passage trip I took with the company, more than a third of the 300 guests aboard were traveling on their own.
“Over the last few years, we’ve seen a shift in how people want to travel, and more guests are choosing to do it solo,” said Steve Smotrys, managing director and senior vice president of commercial for the Americas for HX Expeditions. “A lot of people are realizing they don’t need to wait for the ‘perfect’ travel companion to take the trip they’ve been dreaming about. And on an expedition, it’s very easy to connect with others along the way.”
There are many motivations for traveling solo, Smotrys explained, and going it alone can come down to something as simple as scheduling conflicts with friends and family members. One thing he does notice is that “bucket list” destinations are particularly popular with those traveling independently. HX Expeditions says about a third of its guests to the Antarctic, 34 percent, are there as solos.
Other operators are seeing the same trend. “We’ve really seen solo travel change over the last few years,” said Cedar Swan, the CEO of Adventure Canada. “More people are choosing to travel on their own not because they want to be alone, but because they want the freedom to travel on their own terms while still being a part of a community once they’re onboard.”
Swan said that as many as 25 percent of the guests on any given voyage might be solo, with far-out destinations such as the Northwest Passage, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Newfoundland being more popular with those booking just for themselves.
As the number of solo cruise travelers continues to grow, companies are increasingly tailoring their offerings: creating solo cabins, offering low single supplements, or eliminating those charges altogether. Cruise companies are also working to enhance the on-board experience, making time for solo traveler meet-ups, reserving tables at restaurants for solo travelers to connect, and even, in the case of Crystal Cruises, organizing an Ambassador Program that provides companions for dancing and dining.
Here’s a closer look at what a few leaders in the solo-cruise space are offering now.
Adventure Canadahas dedicated solo cabins on each of its two new ships, Ocean Nova and Ocean Victory with no single supplement. It also has an option to match solo travelers with a roommate based on gender, with triple-share options sometimes available.
Aurora Expeditionsmakes 10 cabins on each of its departures available with no single supplement, and the company has no single supplement at all on select voyages. Aurora also gives guests the option to share a room with another traveler based on gender and stateroom category.
Crystal’s Ambassador Program consists of gentlemen hosts who serve as dance partners and dining companions for solo travelers. The line also reserves dining tables for solo travelers to share, and offers solo cabins on Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony with no single supplement.
HX Expeditionshas no solo supplement on select departures, including new Alaska itineraries, with low solo supplements on others.
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditionsoffers single-occupancy cabins , and has a cabin-sharing program where guests can opt to share a cabin with another guest of the same gender.
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