This is not a redesign of HX’s live website. It is an outside-in concept prototype created to show how I would approach content hierarchy, storytelling, and the digital user journey for the Travelling Solo page. Any final direction would be shaped by HX brand guidelines, analytics, SEO priorities, live inventory, and commercial goals.
Solo.
Not alone.
The best trip you ever take may be the one you choose for yourself. No compromises. No waiting for the perfect travel companion. Just expert-led exploration, a small ship, and places few people ever experience up close.
There's a particular kind of freedom that only solo travellers know. Standing at the bow at midnight as pack ice drifts past. Choosing the longer trail without checking if anyone minds.
Sitting down to dinner and finding yourself in conversation with a glaciologist, a wildlife photographer, and someone who just retired and decided Antarctica seemed right.
Your itinerary.
Your pace.
Be as private or sociable as you like. Flexible dining, optional onboard gatherings, days shaped entirely around your interests. Take the longer hike. Stay out on deck until the light is gone. Order another drink and keep talking to the person you just met.
No one is waiting. No one needs to compromise. That's the whole point.
Independent travel.
Natural connection.
Almost 20% of HX guests travel solo — which means every voyage has a natural community of curious, independent-minded people, connected not by who they came with, but by what they came to experience.
Conversation starts easily here: after a Zodiac landing, during an expert lecture, in the Science Centre, or over dinner after a day spent somewhere most people only dream of reaching.
Somewhere
extraordinary
Zodiac landings among penguin colonies. Icebergs the size of cathedrals. Evenings with expedition scientists unpacking what you saw that day — and what to look for tomorrow.
View Antarctica expeditionsWildlife that has never learned to fear humans. A living laboratory of evolution — explored with naturalists, guides, and fellow curious travellers.
View GalápagosDeep fjords, the midnight sun and coastal communities shaped by ice, weather and distance.
View GreenlandThe route that defeated explorers for centuries. Yours to cross in expedition comfort — with the same sense of wonder intact.
View Northwest PassageA guest story module could bring the solo experience to life through a verified traveller interview, UGC, or first-person editorial feature — especially for users who are interested, but still wondering whether they will feel comfortable travelling alone.
The point would be to show the emotional arc: arriving independently, finding natural connection through landings and lectures, and leaving with the confidence that solo expedition travel is not a compromise — it is its own kind of freedom.
This could also become a repeatable content format across destinations: solo in Antarctica, solo in the Galápagos, solo in the Arctic.
Solo savings,
made simple
Most cruise cabins are priced for two people sharing. When someone travels alone, an additional fee — called a solo supplement — can apply. The content opportunity is to explain this clearly, without letting pricing mechanics dominate the emotional sell too early.
A note on pricing
On the live page, this information could sit lower down or inside an accordion. Users who are ready to compare departures still get clarity, while inspiration-led users are not asked to process booking mechanics too early.
Low solo supplement — every departure
A reduced solo charge is available on every departure while allocated solo cabins remain. A compact card or accordion could explain this in plain English.
No solo supplement — selected departures
On selected departures, HX may remove the solo supplement completely. This should be clearly distinguished from “low solo supplement” to avoid user confusion.
Book early, go further
Solo-friendly rates are limited by cabin allocation, so booking early gives travellers the best chance of securing their preferred cabin, itinerary and rate.
Not sure which expedition is right for you?
Our team knows these voyages well — many of them have been on them. Call, email, or chat to find the sailing that's right for you.
Speak to the teamThe best solo rates
are easier to secure
when you plan ahead.
The current page already explains that solo cabin allocations are limited. I would keep that message, but frame it as helpful guidance rather than pressure — giving users a clear reason to act without interrupting the sense of discovery.
If Antarctica, the Galápagos or Greenland is already on a traveller’s list, this is where the page can shift from inspiration to action.
Find your
expedition
A clearer departures module could reduce ambiguity around “related cruises” by labelling whether cards are featured examples, current offers, or the full set of eligible solo options.
Reassure first.
Convert second.
A solo traveller may be excited and hesitant at the same time. A short FAQ or accordion can support SEO, reduce uncertainty, and keep practical information available without overloading the top of the page.
Will I feel out of place travelling solo?
Bring the almost-20% solo traveller proof point forward, then explain that expedition travel naturally creates shared experiences through landings, lectures, wildlife sightings and onboard spaces.
What is a solo supplement?
Define the term in plain English. Many users may not immediately understand cruise pricing language, so the page should remove jargon before it becomes a barrier.
What is the difference between low and no solo supplement?
Use a simple comparison: low solo supplement means a reduced solo charge; no solo supplement means the charge is removed on selected departures.
How do I find eligible solo departures?
Keep the solo traveller toggle explanation, but place it after the user is engaged — or inside an accordion for users who are ready to compare trips.
Can I be private and still meet people?
This is one of the most important emotional questions. The answer should position HX as social without being forced: flexible dining, optional gatherings, expert-led activities and shared discovery.
Ready to explore solo — without going it alone?
Speak to our teamThe strategy behind
the prototype
This prototype is not intended as a final redesign. It is an outside-in exercise showing how I would think about content hierarchy, emotional motivation, user reassurance, product clarity, and testing opportunities for the Travelling Solo page.
Content hypothesis
- Lead with desire before asking users to process pricing mechanics.
- Reassure the hidden concerns: loneliness, awkwardness, safety, dining and fit.
- Make HX distinctive through expedition teams, science, wildlife, landings and shared discovery.
- Move from inspiration, to reassurance, to expedition selection, to action.
What I would test
- Hero messaging: emotional proposition versus savings-led proposition.
- CTA placement after hero, reassurance section and destination modules.
- Compact savings cards versus full explanatory copy.
- Featured departures higher on page versus bottom “related cruises”.
- FAQ/accordion impact on itinerary click-through and enquiry starts.
What I would validate
- Scroll depth and drop-off points on the current page.
- Click-through to low solo supplement and no solo supplement pages.
- Use of the solo traveller toggle on itinerary pages.
- Search terms and SEO opportunities around solo expedition travel.
- Commercial priorities, live offer rules, inventory constraints and brand guidelines.