Groups on your cruise - Should Princess tell you ahead of time?

[Pam in CA]

I was going to book the April 12,2015 Panama Canal and most of the rooms are already booked. I went on the roll call and people that booked several months ago were stating that most of the rooms were booked. I am thinking maybe a large group?

Not unusual. I've taken a number of cruises where I booked a couple of years in advance yet there were few, if any, cabins available. Last year, I booked the Island Princess Vancouver-to-FLL cruise about 7-8 months in advance and the only cabins available when I booked were a few obstructed view and inside cabins.

[DShock]

YES...absolutely YES! People have the right to know and go or not go depending.

[FireFighter115]

Obviously to be politically correct and kind to all groups and all kinds of people this is a touchy subject. I was booked with my wife on a cruise with a large group of people who with cruising with would have changed our experience completely. Everyone is entitled to their "due", I just don't need to have mine with theirs especially when I am paying for a relaxing vacation.

 

I have two thoughts....

 

1. On the CC board for that cruise a member of the group very early on the thread mentioned that this group was going to be on the cruise. Very thoughtful for sure. I appreciate both the forum for the group to announce their presence and the forthrightness of the individual to share. If you are a part of a large group and want both your group and others on the cruise to enjoy themselves make mention of your plans. Only good for everyone!

 

2. Princess wants our $$$$$ and they get it when we are :) :). They should offer a group coordinator the authority to share when someone calls and asks if there is a large group on a cruise. The idea is that if I am about to spend my hard earned money on a cruise I should have information available to make me comfortable that a group that would alter my experience may or may not be on a specific cruise.

 

FF115

[Pamster]

It is a violation of US privacy laws to announce that a large group is on a particular sailing, plain and simple. Period. This applies to all cruise lines and ships.

 

Hmmm - doesn't really sound likely. Whose PRIVACY is being violated to say that a group of anonymous people will be on board a ship. We're not saying that they would say what group it is - just that a group of X number of people has booked the cruise.

[Pamster]

We were on a cruise that had a group of employees of a carpet cleaner company. Every evening they would hold some activity in the Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar - sometimes trivia, sometimes other "team building" activities that were always pretty rowdy. So there was no sitting and having a quiet conversation and watching the sports channel. Sometimes the entire sitting area would be blocked off for them. Then they would all leave and go to dinner together, with others from their group who had been involved in other activities. I don't think this was an especially large group, but the group of them taking over portions of a cruise, meaning that those who paid for the cruise and can't take advantage of the amenities doesn't seem right to me. It's one thing if you get to the lounge at 7 PM and it's full of other cruisers. It's different, to me, when you get there at 5:30 PM, hoping to miss that group, and it's blocked off because a group has the entire thing reserved for 7... especially if it happens every single evening.

 

So there's hardly anything politically incorrect about not wanting to be on a cruise with carpet cleaners... it's the group dynamic that can be the problem, not necessarily what group it is. (Although different groups do have different dynamics.)

[CI66774]

I was shocked at witnessing public displays of "passion/affection" in pool area an even in the Wheehouse bar. Nobody should behave in public like this, I would not

 

These "bears" have a cruise once a year. I don't mind "discreet" displays of affection but public bumping and grinding would cause some issues.

[traveling psych nurse]

Not unusual. I've taken a number of cruises where I booked a couple of years in advance yet there were few, if any, cabins available. Last year, I booked the Island Princess Vancouver-to-FLL cruise about 7-8 months in advance and the only cabins available when I booked were a few obstructed view and inside cabins.

Thank you Pam. That makes me feel better.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

I think groups can vary. We sailed on the Liberty of the Seas a few years ago and there was a Bunco group onboard. I had no idea the group was as large as it was until the 2nd to last day when I saw them in the convention/meeting space. I talked to one of the ladies and she told me there were a few hundred people in the group. They did not overwhelm the other passengers. and like I said... I had no clue there was a group that large until the final day!

[cdrcrash]

Saw the same thing at the adult pool from deck 17, poor behavior from anyone.

 

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[TFM70]

I guess I must be weird . I did a Christmas 7 day cruise and the large groups on it of extended families (great grandparents, grandparents,parents, children,grandchildren, etc) seemed to take over everything. That was my first and last Christmas cruise, unless it is 14 days or longer. I have heard longer cruises act as a filter.

[RickEk]

Obviously to be politically correct and kind to all groups and all kinds of people this is a touchy subject. I was booked with my wife on a cruise with a large group of people who with cruising with would have changed our experience completely. Everyone is entitled to their "due", I just don't need to have mine with theirs especially when I am paying for a relaxing vacation.

 

I have two thoughts....

 

1. On the CC board for that cruise a member of the group very early on the thread mentioned that this group was going to be on the cruise. Very thoughtful for sure. I appreciate both the forum for the group to announce their presence and the forthrightness of the individual to share. If you are a part of a large group and want both your group and others on the cruise to enjoy themselves make mention of your plans. Only good for everyone!

 

2. Princess wants our $$$$$ and they get it when we are :) :). They should offer a group coordinator the authority to share when someone calls and asks if there is a large group on a cruise. The idea is that if I am about to spend my hard earned money on a cruise I should have information available to make me comfortable that a group that would alter my experience may or may not be on a specific cruise.

 

FF115

 

Google is your friend in this case... put in the date of sailing and see what happens...

[Crzn-Life]

We were on a cruise a few years ago that had a large group of Santa's! Never saw so many white beards. They were all from Florida and there were a lot of them along with Mrs. Santa's. The most surprising thing was how many skinny Santa's there were. Also didn't realize that were actually professional Santa organizations. They all seemed well behaved, as Santa's should be.:D

[Wehwalt]

These "bears" have a cruise once a year. I don't mind "discreet" displays of affection but public bumping and grinding would cause some issues.

 

I was raised gently, I hope, so that sort of thing in public can be a bit much. That being said, I would not dream of commenting on something that does not directly concern me. A number of cruisers act in ways I find annoying, but they paid their money too, or at least their parents did.

 

I think that if major rooms are going to be off-limits, there should be disclosure pre-final-payment.

[Wehwalt]

We were on a cruise a few years ago that had a large group of Santa's! Never saw so many white beards. They were all from Florida and there were a lot of them along with Mrs. Santa's. The most surprising thing was how many skinny Santa's there were. Also didn't realize that were actually professional Santa organizations. They all seemed well behaved, as Santa's should be.:D

 

I would pay good money to see them misbehave as long as I wasn't stuck on a TA with them!

[RNGALNG]

I just googled my upcoming cruise! I couldn't change things as our flights are written in stone but now that I see who just might be on our cruise, I would change a thing!

 

First 'group' to pop up was a group who will be meeting with a minister and his wife who are from a church in Vero Beach. Not bad. I can deal with that.

 

Second 'group' I found was that there will be a group of polka dancers onboard. Okay, I forget how to polka so that might be interesting. . .(Learned as past of my PE in college)

 

Third 'group' is a country western gay group. I don't have a problem there either, I have many gay friends.

 

But put all three groups on the ship. . .and can you see it??? It's going to be awesome!

 

I better go out and buy more memory for my camera! I am sure there will be sure interesting things onboard if there are lots of each group there!

 

Oh, boy!!

[CI66774]

I just googled my upcoming cruise! I couldn't change things as our flights are written in stone but now that I see who just might be on our cruise, I would change a thing!

 

First 'group' to pop up was a group who will be meeting with a minister and his wife who are from a church in Vero Beach. Not bad. I can deal with that.

 

Second 'group' I found was that there will be a group of polka dancers onboard. Okay, I forget how to polka so that might be interesting. . .(Learned as past of my PE in college)

 

Third 'group' is a country western gay group. I don't have a problem there either, I have many gay friends.

 

But put all three groups on the ship. . .and can you see it??? It's going to be awesome!

 

I better go out and buy more memory for my camera! I am sure there will be sure interesting things onboard if there are lots of each group there!

 

Oh, boy!!

 

I think the polka dancers and the gay country western group will be a blast!!!

[Thrak]

It is a violation of US privacy laws to announce that a large group is on a particular sailing, plain and simple. Period. This applies to all cruise lines and ships.

 

This is one more example of where the "progressive" people seem to have more pull than all the other people put together.

 

If I take my grandchildren on a cruise where NMBLA has a huge contingency I would not only have an issue with it I would take it all the way to the supreme court. I am so very tired of having the "rights" of small groups of people outweigh the rights of the vast majority of other people. How about a KKK cruise? Is this OK with you?

 

You may think I'm a terrible person. Oh, well. I firmly believe there are things that are not OK.

[rdsqrl]

This is one more example of where the "progressive" people seem to have more pull than all the other people put together.

 

If I take my grandchildren on a cruise where NMBLA has a huge contingency I would not only have an issue with it I would take it all the way to the supreme court. I am so very tired of having the "rights" of small groups of people outweigh the rights of the vast majority of other people. How about a KKK cruise? Is this OK with you?

 

You may think I'm a terrible person. Oh, well. I firmly believe there are things that are not OK.

Simmer down here. You quote one poster, who may have made up that "privacy" law for all you know, and now you're off to the races with the most egregiously revolting examples you can think of, complete with a swipe against what I assume is a political outlook with which you vehemently disagree. Nobody's "rights" are being curtailed by permitting groups to sail on Princess or by not disclosing those groups. We don't have a right to be free of sailing with offensive fellow passengers; if we did, I can think of a whole lotta people who'd be walking the gangway long before we got to the outliers like pedophiles and white sheet wearers.

[capriccio]

Simmer down here. You quote one poster, who may have made up that "privacy" law for all you know, and now you're off to the races with the most egregiously revolting examples you can think of, complete with a swipe against what I assume is a political outlook with which you vehemently disagree. Nobody's "rights" are being curtailed by permitting groups to sail on Princess or by not disclosing those groups. We don't have a right to be free of sailing with offensive fellow passengers; if we did, I can think of a whole lotta people who'd be walking the gangway long before we got to the outliers like pedophiles and white sheet wearers.

 

Well said! Thank you.

[1025cruise]

I don't believe there is any privacy law that the lines must follow with regards to not stating if a group is on a ship. They don't do it for one simple reason, they don't want you to cancel. Odds are, on every cruise there will be a group on the ship, probably small enough that you'll never know they are there. While it would be nice if there were an easy way to find out if there are large groups on the ship, that could possibly disrupt a non-member's enjoyment of the cruise, unfortunately, it will never happen.

[Liz54]

Well said! Thank you.

 

 

I'm with you!

[JimmyVWine]

I don't believe there is any privacy law that the lines must follow with regards to not stating if a group is on a ship.

There is no such law. That was made up. Privacy "laws", (and what we are really talking about is civil liability, not criminal law), exist to protect individual rights. A "group" has no expectation of privacy that can be violated by the mere mention of its anticipated presence. If the town of Skokie announces that the KKK intends to march in the Memorial Day parade, the KKK has no cause of action resulting from that announcement. Likewise, the "Chumley Bears of America" cannot sue Princess if Princess emails its passengers to tell them that the Bears will be back on board in early November, nor can Princess be arrested for publishing that fact.

 

But what could happen is that the CBoA might take their business elsewhere out of a sense that Princess is embarrasing them by "warning" others that they will be on board; and passengers who are not in that group might cancel because they might fear that the group will overrun the ship, might display behavior of which they do not approve, or both. One thing is for certain. Princess would not increase its bookings by announcing that a particular group will be on board (with the possible exception of the Swedish Bikini Team or a Chippendale's convention.;))

 

And on the issue of groups overrunning the ship, (or certain parts of it), one has to be careful here. It was mentioned above that a group was large enough to fill the Retreat and the Sanctuary, as well as the Theater. That may be true mathematically, but unless those venues are pre-reserved and held back for the group's use only, the fact that there are 500 group members (and their "group photo" posted on line shows more like 200) does not alter your odds of getting seats or lounge chairs at any of these venues. You may indeed see a difference in the pools because certain groups tend to hang out in the pools and hot tubs more than the general passenger population. And if the ship allows a big group to book a traditional dining seating, the size of the group could put a large dent in the availability of that seating. And, as mentioned several times, groups can and do reserve certain venues for their exclusive use. All these things can be impactful. But overrunning first-come-first-served venues seems a bit overstated. Perhaps you have to be more vigilant in securing your spots around the pools, the Retreat, the Sanctuary or the Theater. But the group in and of itself cannot squeeze you out of any of those places unless they arrive en masse, and earlier than you. Remember that if a group of 500 were not occupying their cabins, 500 other people would have been, and you would have been in competition for first-come-first-served venues with those people same as the group. The only difference is that you wouldn't notice as much because the general population of 500 passengers may not have shared certain characteristics as the group of 500 which make them stand out. 300 Santas sitting around the Retreat would look different than 300 other folks sitting around the Retreat. But it is still 300 people no matter how you count it.

[Ethel5]

Just to show that either Princess or a higher power has a sense of humor.......on one of my cruises there were about 500 Bears and a Christian group of 300. Not to slam anyone, but the Bears were a lot easier to get along with while the Church group was rude and pushy.:) No flames please, just stating my experience.

[chamima]

Just to show that either Princess or a higher power has a sense of humor.......on one of my cruises there were about 500 Bears and a Christian group of 300. Not to slam anyone, but the Bears were a lot easier to get along with while the Church group was rude and pushy.:) No flames please, just stating my experience.

 

That would have been a different cruise! :D

Must have been some interesting encounters between the two groups! :D

[satxdiver]

Just to show that either Princess or a higher power has a sense of humor.......on one of my cruises there were about 500 Bears and a Christian group of 300. Not to slam anyone, but the Bears were a lot easier to get along with while the Church group was rude and pushy.:) No flames please, just stating my experience.

 

That would have been an interesting cruise. Having had the misfortune of being around so called christian groups, my experience has been similar to yours and I would have preferred the bear group hands down.

 

Many years ago when we first started cruising we encountered a good sized gay group. We did not realize they were aboard until one night we were walking by the lounge and their was a sign up for a private party. Being curious we were looking in the open door when a young man said they were having a performance and invited us to join them so we did. That is when we found out it was a gay/lesbian group and their performances were really funny. We enjoyed it so much so that they invited us to join them on future cruises. We never did but did think about it.

 

Our boys are grown now but when they were young we did not try to shield them from the real world. When they saw something that caused them alarm, we would talk about it. They needed to be made aware that not everyone is the same, did not live like we did, eat the same food or dress the same way.

 

Always travel with an open mind as you may actually learn something.

Edited November 12, 2013 by satxdiver