Sailfish Posted May 4, 2005 #1 Share Posted May 4, 2005 If you've always wanted to go scuba diving in Belize, Roatan, Cozumel and Grand Cayman, here is your opportunity! I'll be hosting a cruise for divers in December 2006 - non divers are welcome, but our focus will be scuba diving in all four ports of call. For more information, please check out our web page and visit our message board/forum (links for both are contained in my signature) for more information. For a short time, it's only $25pp to deposit a double occupancy cabin. You can also tap into 2005 pricing on this 2006 cruise and get a shipboard credit of $100 per cabin. Singles are only $799pp; inside cabins start at $599pp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonCruiser Posted May 5, 2005 #2 Share Posted May 5, 2005 If you've always wanted to go scuba diving in Belize, Roatan, Cozumel and Grand Cayman, here is your opportunity! I'll be hosting a cruise for divers in December 2006 - non divers are welcome, but our focus will be scuba diving in all four ports of call. For more information, please check out our web page and visit our message board/forum (links for both are contained in my signature) for more information. For a short time, it's only $25pp to deposit a double occupancy cabin. You can also tap into 2005 pricing on this 2006 cruise and get a shipboard credit of $100 per cabin. Singles are only $799pp; inside cabins start at $599pp! The $100 is nice, but the Single rate is $805 on the carnival site. I always thought group bookings got better prices as well as the shipboard credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailfish Posted May 5, 2005 Author #3 Share Posted May 5, 2005 The $100 is nice, but the Single rate is $805 on the carnival site. I always thought group bookings got better prices as well as the shipboard credit. No, group rates are not always cheaper; in our case, you get the early booking discount whether you book a group or individual reservation. Group perks always depend on the number of amenity points a sailing generates. Ours has 6. That's enough to give each cabin $100 shipboard credit, some champagne and chocolates at embarkation, and a free cocktail party. It also allows us to offer a $25pp reduced deposit on double occupancy cabins. The single rate requires the full $250pp deposit. It's been my experience that people who join a group do so for a reason. In our case, this is a group for scuba divers. Non-divers are welcome to join the group, but our focus will be to go scuba diving in our four ports of call. A reasonably priced optional dive package is available to our members. For more specific information about this cruise, the dive package and the make up of the group, please go to our group forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=245 We have some single divers in group already, so this is a good opportunity (considering the single rate is so reasonable) to come diving with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailfish Posted May 5, 2005 Author #4 Share Posted May 5, 2005 The cruise line deals differently with groups than it does with individual reservations; they have rules that only apply to groups, and some policies are very inflexible. Groups definitely have a few advantages over individual bookings, but pricing is not necessarily one of them. I'm going to take this opportunity go over our group's rules and compare your group booking to an individual reservation. If in the end you still have questions, feel free to send me an email at suzi95628@yahoo.com. First of all, our cruise is being administered by travel agency selected by Cruise Critic. This group booking was put together at the request of Laura Sterling, Cruise Critic Community Manager and I was selected to lead and coordinate the group. Our agent is the only person, besides Laura, who will have acess to our booking and to the people at Carnival Cruise Lines. I have been assigned to answer any group questions you might have related to the cruise, but anything specific to your reservation, you will need to speak to our TA. As with any cruise booking made by a travel agency, you and I will NOT have direct access to any agent who has been assigned to our group at Carnival, therefore, calling Carnival directly for information concerning your booking will be in vain. Our group booking was set up to lock in 2005 rates on a 2006 sailing. This price is comparable to what you can find on your own. All perks Canival extends to groups are based on the number of group points that are tied to the sail date. Some sailings generate up to 8 points, while others none. Group points are determined by a number of factors, but the most important is the sail date. Popular sailings, like those over the summer or holiday periods generate no points, while those in the fall and off season have a larger number of points. We got 6 amenity points for our sailing; A couple of sail dates in the fall have 7 or 8 (at the height of hurricane season), but our sailing's 6 points is excellent. These points allowed us to get $100 per cabin shipboard credit, a shared cocktail party and some cheap champagne at embarkation. One perk extended to groups is a reduced deposit on double occupancy cabins that is NOT available to individual bookings. When you hold a room with this reduced deposit, you are NOT booking a guarantee, even though most agents refer to the booking as a guarantee. What you are essentially doing is paying a deposit to hold a room in a particular category until your second deposit posts. Once your reservation posts the full $250pp deposit, you can then opt to get a cabin assignment or have your booking become a guarantee. The purpose of the $25 deposit is really to buy you some time. Many people, who desire a certain cabin or prefer to know they have a cabin reserved usually make their second deposit well before its due date. Once your second deposit posts to your reservation (meaning you have a total of $250pp on your booking), in the eyes of the cruise line, your booking is treated very much like any other individual reservation. All triples, quads and singles require a full $250pp deposit at the time you make your reservation, as do two adjoining rooms (the kind with inside doors). The reason the cruise line insists you plunk down the full deposit is because there are not many of these cabins on the ship to begin with. It's simply a supply & demand issue. Remember, our group was set up to accommodate divers, their non- diving family and friends as well as snorkeling enthusiasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip2cruise Posted May 16, 2005 #5 Share Posted May 16, 2005 Sounds interesting. I might have to make a call. Im a non-diver but have considered taking a scuba diving certification class at the local community college. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailfish Posted May 16, 2005 Author #6 Share Posted May 16, 2005 Sounds interesting. I might have to make a call. Im a non-diver but have considered taking a scuba diving certification class at the local community college. Make sure you visit our group forum - there's a lot of good information there to help you decide: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=245 Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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