I Tried a Solo Cabin with Lounge Access on Norwegian Luna: Here’s My Review…
I’ve recently returned from a cruise onboard Norwegian Luna, the newest cruise ship from Norwegian Cruise Line (at the point of writing this post!). She launched just a few weeks before I walked up the gangway in Miami, and so I was fortunate to be among the first passengers to ever experience this incredible ship.
In this post today, I’m going to tell you about my cabin during this cruise, which was a ‘Studio Stateroom’ on Deck 12 of the ship. This is a cabin type launched by Norwegian Cruise Line that accommodates just one passenger. While perfect for solo cruisers, they’re also perfect for anyone travelling in another group size who would benefit from the privacy of their own cabin. For example, I took this cruise with my friend, and we both opted to book Studio staterooms. That way, we had the luxury of our own space to retreat back to each evening, and we could also use the communal space within the Studio area to hang out in during the cruise - I’ll show you this space later in this review.
I’m going to share with you photos of my cabin, and also photos of the Studio Lounge, which is the private lounge area that’s reserved only for these cruising in their own cabin.
If you’d like to watch our video review from this cruise, here’s a link to that over on YouTube. If you’re not already subscribed to my channel, please consider doing that now - you’ll help me to reach so many more people with my content!
You’ll find Studio staterooms on both decks 12 and 13 of Norwegian Luna, and they’re all within a closed-off section of the ship. This means that only those cruising in this cabin category are able to access this area, which adds a real sense of exclusivity to the offering.
Your cabin key card will not only unlock your own cabin, but it will also be used to unlock the corridor where you’ll find all of the Studio staterooms.
If you’re reading this review and wondering whether to book a stateroom on deck 12 or 13, there really isn’t much of a difference. My friend had a cabin on deck 13 while I was on deck 12, and both cabins were absolutely identical - we couldn’t find a single difference between them. The only point to note is that the Studio Lounge (the private lounge for solo passengers) is on deck 12, so you might want to book a cabin on that deck to avoid the flight of stairs in between (especially if you have any accessibility concerns!) if you’d prefer. In the same light, the deck 13 cabins could be slightly quieter if it’s a sociable bunch onboard for your cruise, as it’s further away from the lounge (note: I had no issues with noise from the lounge during my cruise!).
Let’s head into my cabin (12513) and have a detailed look around.
Okay, the Studio staterooms offered from Norwegian Cruise Line are SMALL. They’re among the smallest cruise ship cabins available at sea, and I know that this is an aspect that puts a lot of people off.
People often ask me how claustrophobic these cabins feel when you’re inside, and my honest answer is that they really don’t! There are some clever design touches in these spaces that really make them feel bigger than they are - in fact, you honestly don’t even think about the tightness of the space when you’re cruising in here (or I don’t, anyway!).
Size-wise, these rooms are typically 94 square feet in size. A fun fact is that there are some top suites in this fleet of ships that boast larger balconies than this cabin - yes, can you believe that?!
If you’ve ever cruised solo, you might be aware that most cruise lines out there have single beds in solo cabins. However, that’s not the case on here! The bed in here is larger than a single bed, which automatically gets a huge ‘thumbs up’ from me - after all, how many solo travellers do you know that would choose to sleep in a single bed at home?
These small Studio cabins have almost everything that you’ll find in their larger relations designed for two passengers. The key thing that’s missing (and I can’t believe it’s missing!) is a refrigerator. It’s been my long-standing criticism of these rooms that they seem to have completely overlooked having a mini fridge in here, which means that you don’t have the luxury of keeping things cool when you’re sleeping (or not in the room). I’d love to see this change in the future.
Here’s a few points to think about with this stateroom type:
There’s a fair amount of storage in here, with two hanging areas, and three drawers.
Although there’s a good amount of storage, lots of it is open. Look at the large compartments in the middle of the room, and also the hanging area on the left - these areas are difficult to keep tidy on longer cruises, in my experience! Be careful with what you opt to store here - it’ll be ‘on show’ for the whole cruise!
Want to get rid of your suitcase? Easy - it’ll fit under the bed, so just slide it under there once you’ve unpacked!
Interested in power? You’ll find US power outlets, European power outlets and also USB power outlets in these Studio staterooms!
You’ll find a hair dryer in here - it’s attached to the wardrobe underneath the desk in the above photos!
The mirror above the desk and also the mirror in the bathroom (which we’ll look at next) light up - you can operate these using the switches beside each mirror.
My final point before we move into the bathroom - pay particular attention to the placement of mirrors in this cabin. As you walk around (albeit in a limited space) and also as you lie in bed, you’re going to see mirrors to your side/infront of you. This will undoubtably help with the illusion that this cabin is larger than it actually is!
Next, let’s move into the bathroom…
Again, this space is incredibly well designed, but it’s worth highlighting that it is small. Interestingly, the design team have opted to make the dividing wall between the bedroom and the bathroom area glass, which does really help to open it out.
I’ve seen cabin bathrooms in the past where you’ll struggle to use the toilet if you’re carrying any extra weight, but in here that’s not going to be a problem. Where it could be interesting is manoeuvring in and out of the shower cubicle - the space there is pretty tight, to be honest!
In the bathroom, you’ll find complimentary hand wash, and that’s accompanied by complimentary shower gel and shampoo in the shower cubicle. All of these toiletries were good quality - I didn’t use any other toiletries during my 7-night cruise. It’s worth mentioning that the dispensers in the shower cubicle can be removed from their holders, making their use in the small shower enclosure much easier.
There’s lots of shelved storage in here - both my friend and I felt that this was completely adequate for us as solo passengers.
A Studio Stateroom onboard Norwegian Luna has LOTS of bathroom storage - plenty for a solo cruiser!
My only real criticism of this bathroom is the location of the hand towel holder. It’s a pet peeve of mine when hand towels are housed directly beside the toilet unit, for basic hygiene reasons. Sure, I was the only person using this toilet and so I could easily manage the issue here, but my point still stands - I’d much rather see that towel holder be placed elsewhere in the bathroom, rather than directly beside the toilet unit. I actually opted to move the towel to be directly in front of the sink - you should be able to see the rail I used in the above images.
Hopefully you can tell that this cabin got my seal of approval. If you’re looking for a way to avoid paying a full ‘double fare’ to cruise in a standard cabin, then check these cabins out! I’m repeatedly surprised by how Norwegian Cruise Line design these solo cabins, and it’s great to see that there’s still such an emphasis on solo travel on this newest class of ship.
There’s one huge perk that comes with these cabins that we haven’t fully covered yet: the Studio Lounge. This is a private lounge that' you’ll find in the same area of the ship as the Studio cabins. For those staying on deck 12, the lounge is at the end of your corridor, and it’s just down one flight of stairs if you’re up on deck 13.
Let’s take a look around the lounge now…
The Studio Lounge on NCL Luna is comprised of three sections. Two of these sections are seating areas, featuring a combination of sofas, armchairs, chaise lounges and also stools. These areas are perfect for relaxing in throughout the cruise, and they feel like a luxurious lounge that you’d find in an upmarket hotel on land.
I’ve cruised on multiple ships from NCL now, and this Studio Lounge is my favourite so far - it feels much more luxurious than others that I’ve experienced, largely down to decor. The amenities offered across the lounges on other ships don’t differ - it’s just their ‘look and feel’ that does!
The third section of the Studio Lounge onboard Luna is more informal, and it’s where you’ll find the refreshments that are offered all day (and all night!).
The Studio Lounge on Luna has three sections, with one of these sections offering refreshments.
In the morning, you’ll find freshly baked mini pastries available in this area of the lounge, and this will change to be fruit, cookies and cakes after the breakfast period. Okay, you’re not going to have a full meal in here, but that’s not what it’s for. The offering in here is perfect to have a snack with your drink, and perhaps to enjoy while you strike up a conversation with another of your fellow solo passengers!
On the point of tea or coffee, you’ll find things like tea bags and sachets of hot chocolate available in the Lounge. There’s also an iced water tower, which is occasionally switched to offer lemonade, and a ‘bean to cup’ coffee machine, which offers you the ability to settle down with a hot brew at any time of day. This coffee machine is actually one of my favourite aspects of the lounge - it means that you’ll probably not spend anything on speciality coffee during your cruise, as this is totally free of charge (or ‘included’ in your cruise fare)!
It’s not just complimentary hot and cold drinks that you’ll have access to in the lounge. There are also chargeable soft drinks and alcoholic drinks in here too!
All of these drinks are self-pour, and accessed via vending machines and drinks taps within this section of the lounge that offers refreshments. Wether it’s a cold Fanta, Coca Cola, or a glass of red wine or beer you’re looking for, you should be able to satisfy yourself here. These drinks are a great addition, in my opinion. If I’m spending time in the lounge before going for dinner, I usually don’t want to be drinking coffee - I’d much prefer to relax with a glass of wine!
One criticism of this aspect of the lounge - the only cups on offer here are the plastic cups by the water tower, or plastic ‘Norwegian Cruise Line’ cups - neither of which are great options if you’d like to relax with a cocktail or a glass of wine from the tap. I do understand why they don’t have lots of glassware in here, but I’d like to see this area improve in future… My ‘workaround’ for this was to visit a bar on the ship before heading back to my cabin. I’d ask for a wine glass, and I never had any issues getting one to take back to my cabin - worth remembering if you don’t want to drink from the plastic cups!
The Studio Lounge also offers chargeable soft and alcoholic drinks - just scan your cabin key on the vending machines!
So that’s a detailed look around both my Studio stateroom and also the Studio Lounge, but would I recommend it for your future cruises?
In short, absolutely yes! These cabin types offer you the ability to avoid the steep solo supplements that the cruise industry is unfortunately (and frustratingly) all too famous for. I also find that staying in this type of cabin really helps me to meet more people onboard, largely due to the fact that I know that almost everyone using the lounge area is also cruising solo. In other words, we’re all in the same boat (if you pardon the pun!).
If you’d like to watch my video tour of both my cabin and also the lounge, then you’ll find a link below to my YouTube video. Remember - if you’re not already subscribed on YouTube, you’d be massively helping me if you did so!