Large group question

[shorton]

Is there any easy way to check to see if a large group is on a particular cruise?

Thanks. :)

[dakrewser]

Not really. You could google the ship name and sailing date - but everyone formats dates differently, so it's hit or miss. Then there's the question of what constitutes "large"...

[Jackjenson]

I have no idea, but what a great question.


We had the Weekly Standard group on our cruise and a lot of guys from Fox News. They were fun, and didn't bother anybody.

I will be interested in hearing the responses from those who know all.

[ekerr19]

We ask our TA and she cehcks with HAL - we have never had them refuse to give her the info. We also like her to check how many kids are booked - usually she can get a good number within 60 - 45 days of sailing.

[sail7seas]

We had a conversation about this about 2 weeks ago.


I think it very wrong that HAL will not honestly answer that question when asked.

If you have been aboard a ship when there is a group that is 30 -35% or more of the pax, it has a horribly negative effect on the rest of the cruisers who are not a part of the group.

I think it stinks that they will not truthfully alert someone who is booking that cruise and asks the question.

I don't think they need to offer the info but I think it disingenuous of them to say 'we don't give out that info' or......'don't know'.

They know and if the rep on the phone doesn't know; they should find out for the caller.

JMHO......

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we booked the Zuiderdam for May 7 in December, we were surprised to find so many of the suites were already taken. Our TA asked if anything special was going on and was told "no".

Then today on another thread I read that 570 Watson Realty Corp members and family will be on our cruise.

And I feel that HAL knew that when we booked the cruise.

[peaches from georgia]

[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]...Our TA asked if anything special was going on and was told "no". Then today on another thread I read that 570 Watson Realty Corp members and family will be on our cruise.... And I feel that HAL knew that when we booked the cruise.
Of course they knew. That many people in such a large group could not have booked so many suites after you booked in Dec, because as you say, most of the suite were already gone. So the realtors had to have already reserved that many rooms with HAL.

Since you asked the question and were not told the truth, you could say HAL presented your cruise to you under false pretenses. :(

[fdlacey]

I just discovered taht there is going to be a large group for a convention on the ship we have booked. Does anyone know anything about conventions at sea? I know that in college I happened upon a convention for what I think was Dungeons and Dragons at a hotel. Everyone was dressed up and play acting their parts. It was pretty interesting, but not exactly what I considered to be a great time. I was really looking forward to a relaxed, low key, fun vacation. This is my first cruise, so I have no way of knowing what this will be like. I am considering switching to Princess in order to avoid this, but would really prefer to stay with what I have booked :( . Any opinions?

[sail7seas]

It would depend upon the size of the group.


If I heard there was a group of 500 going to be aboard a ship that carried 1,250 pax, I would cancel. Of course, you must consider if you will have to pay a cancellation fee to your TA and consequences if you have booked air.

If the group was less than 30 -35% of the total number of pax, I would have no hesitation going on the cruise.

When the numbers get above that range, the negative effect on anyone not a part of the group becomes substantial.

IMO

[dakrewser]

What sort of convention? How large??

Almost every cruise has groups aboard. Some you never even notice, some you notice only because certain people have the nametags on and some you notice because their making obnoxious noises (um, singing, they call it) at odd hours of the day and night. Groups are no more a sign of trouble than are children or oldsters. No less, either.

[sail7seas]

It absolutely depends upon the size of the group.

We have been aboard when there was a group comprised of about 720 pax. The total number of pax was about 1,250.

I T WAS AWFUL!!!!!

We were thrown out of aft pool at 1:00 on sea day. They had a private party. We were forced to leave the aft pool on a bright, sunny, Caribbean day....We were furious. We paid for use of the whole ship. Not just a small portion of it.

We were only allowed to the Crowsnest after dinner two nights out of ten. The private group took it over eight nights for their private parties.


Most pax who were not a part of the group did not get the dinner seating they wanted. All priorities went to the group.

These are only a VERY FEW of the major inconveniences we encountered during that most unpleasant experience.

To flatly say, it's no better or worse than kids, seniors or whatever else does not begin to cover how negatively non-group members have their cruise impacted when there is a LARGE group aboard.

A group of 300 or less would not bother me.
A group of 600 and I cancel and rebook a different cruise if I am lucky enough to learn about it.

[ekerr19]

We had a group of about 500 or so on an escorted cruise (the final Noordam) and at least they did not take over the ship - it was just a TA escorted tour, but most pax complained endlessly about HAL (the demographics apparently included a huge Carnival customer base) and they were unfamiliar with HAL and thought the cruise had been mis-represented.

I felt sorry for the crew and staff - these people were endless complainers, (and I'm not saying that because of the Carnival reference, so hold your flames!) they expected HAL to be "luxury" and anyone who cruised on the old Noordam knows this isn't exactly the case... ;)

[fdlacey]

What sort of convention? How large??

Almost every cruise has groups aboard. Some you never even notice, some you notice only because certain people have the nametags on and some you notice because their making obnoxious noises (um, singing, they call it) at odd hours of the day and night. Groups are no more a sign of trouble than are children or oldsters. No less, either.

Okay, you asked so I'm going to answer (at least the part I know). It is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer convention. I was apprehensive to say what kind it was because I don't want people getting upset with me before I even leave for my cruise. But, that is why I was concerned about it. If it was just a group of people who worked together, I wouldn't be as concerned. However, given the reason that these people are cruising together I am more apprehensive. It definitely suggests a certain type of demographic and while age-wise I may fit in with the demographic, I'm sure that is where the similarities would end. Also, from reading the web site about this get together I know that they will be having private parties by the pool and exclusive activities. However, I must admit that I do not know exactly how many people will be coming from this group. I have a message in with my travel agent and tried calling HAL after reading the posts here and they were already closed. By the way, in case anybody is curious about how I discovered this large group was cruising at the same time as us, I did an internet search after seeing the suggestion posted earlier. I have since also found a thread on the roll call section of this board. Thanks for all of your opinions. I truly am not trying to make anyone upset, I would just rather know in advance so that I can cancel without penalties and before I get on a cruise that I will regret having taken.

[smoosh21]

I personally think a Buffy theme cruise could be fun. I bet you are going to find that the attendees are older and more affluent than you think. I am mid-30s and a fan of the show, as are many of my friends in 30s and 40s.

Of course I just found out that I too have a group on my cruise. I was helping my parents book their first cruise the other day (Westerdam in Nov) and I noticed that on my cruise that all suites and balcony rooms were sold out. Considering that the weeks before are not, I thought something was up. Doing a search on Yahoo of the departure date and ship name I discovered that CUNA (Credit Union Assn) has booked the ship for a convention.

Yea Bankers!! (please don't flame me bankers, it just doesn't have an exciting image). Anyway, I went out the the website to see what the info said on the cruise. On the pricing sheet they only listed J, DD, D and VC cabins. Since they were so specific with the categories, I am hoping that they only are a small presense on the ship. The schedule lists only two hosted cocktail parties, so hopefully that will just be off in a room somewhere. It also looks like they are actually having seminars on board, so I guess that will keep them in the conference room.

[dakrewser]

I'd be more worried about the bankers than the Buffy fans who'll probably have their own activities organized (Queen's Lounge during the day, etc.). The bankers will be all over the bars and lounges! :rolleyes: