When should Celebrity or any cruise company disclose ...

[Fouremco]

I think that it's rather ironic that most people want affiliations/groups/clubs etc revealed to them but I'm guessing many wouldn't feel comfortable at all revealing their own. As the customer relations guy at Princess said, you really can't do it without violating the privacy of the passengers in the group.

You seem somewhat stuck on this notion that people want groups to reveal their identities or the cruise lines to violate privacy by doing so. I think what most posters are saying is that all we want to know is the impact of the presence of any large group; we really don't care who they are.

[mspamela]

I think if a large group is going to be onboard, it's fair to notify the rest of the passengers. We have never had a real problem, but a couple of times we had HUGE groups of Quincenera girls, and one large group in particular was NEVER supervised by their supposed leaders. They were loud, played on the elevators, were rude (pushing through crowded areas, etc.), took over one area after another...Guest Services was made aware that there was an issue and I think they tried to address it. It would be awful to pay all that money for your cruise, perhaps your only vacation for the year, and to have it ruined by a group taking over the ship. I don't have a problem with it as a whole--but if I were refused entry to certain areas all week and especially if I were unable to attend shows, I would throw a fit.

 

 

 

 

When should Celebrity or any cruise company disclose large groups who have made arrangements with a Travel Agency for a specific cruise?

 

Should it be when the group is 20% of the cruise, 30% of the passengers, etc.

 

Should they only disclose certain groups or all large groups?

 

Personally I would want to know if a third of the ship is filled with accountants, doll collectors, swingers, Packers fans, or ministers.

 

Any thoughts ?

Edited January 5, 2014 by mspamela

[luvs2fly]

Yeah, I went on a cruise one time and after boarding we found out it was a Richard Simmons "Cruise to Lose" cruise. They shut areas off a lot so those overweight people could do their exercises. I was furious especially when all the glass items in the gift shop started shaking on the shelves and we were in smooth water. Very scarey, they were shaking that end of the ship.

 

Please post a video link!

[EnsignPulver]

Absolutly! I was on a cruise once where a large group was also booked and they completely closed one of the main dining rooms for the entire cruise. Very inconvenient for the other passengers resulting in extra long waits to dine at the only other MDR.

[bowbiter]

I don't care who or how many but I do care if certain parts of the ship are going to be consistently closed to the charter/private group. I think notifications w closures are appropriate.

 

(Just did two sailings w a group onboard each time. No closures for the first but the second we basically couldn't use Spinnaker lounge the entire time. The alternate lounge was much smaller and really did not work for the various game shows/entertainment because of the size. Karaoke and some other normally scheduled entertainment things were also not available "at normal times" because of it.)

 

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[OhioGirl]

We sailed on NCL Sun back in 2011, and wasn't told it was an rock and roll oldies cruise..

They closed one of the bars to the other passengers and one night they took over the theater, and the pool area one day at sea for a beach music party! We just happened to have booked above the bar they closed for them, and the music went on every night until 2 or 3 in the morning...we asked to be moved, didn't happen....we then asked if since we had to listen to it thru the floor if we could go dance one night...of course we were turned away...

 

Now before I book any cruise, I ask if there are any big group or theme event!

[Kitty Mama]

A Mexican Riveria cruise on the Oosterdam we booked at the last minute gave us a very large group of Gospel Music Week fans. Like others have commeted, many of the public venues were taken over by their workshops, talks, meetings, etc. Their programs filled the theater and doors were closed and guarded. Only once did we come upon a practice session when the doors were open but guarded. It was hectic at lunch time especially no matter where you tried to eat. The people were quite chatty and we had nice visits with many of them. I'd say 40% or better of the ship was this group.

 

That being said, I'm going on a quilting cruise in March but our group is 50 people and we have 3 windowless In retrospect I wish our travel agent had alerted us to that and we would have chosen the following week. I will remember to inquire next we're bookng.

[Tinslinger]

I've never had a problem with people, but I would think the cruise line would be obliged to tell me if ANY area of the ship would be made unavailable at ANY time during my cruise. That would give me the opportunity to book a different cruise.

[elycelynne]

I'm new to this thread, but I would certainly like to know if there was going to be a large group that was going to significantly impact the cruise experience of the rest of the passengers.

 

I'll take it one step further to say that I wouldn't even expect the cruise line to post anything on their website or send out notices to booked passengers letting them know of the situation. But I think the least they could do is give an honest answer to anyone who called and said "I'm thinking of booking a cruise on [ship name] on [sailing date] -- Are there going to be any large groups that might impact the cruise or cause significant restrictions to certain areas"?

 

No need to disclose the identity of the group -- Just a "yes" or "no" answer, and if "yes", the approximate size of the group.

[gilmcl27]

Our first ever cruise was during hogs of the high seas on freedom in 2009. We had no clue until we were at the pier. The whole week was built around them and their entertainment. They even walked into the cinema in the middle of the film and kicked us out. We had to eat in a small extended area of the dining room and didn't hear the waiters sing or anything. They had a motor bike on the pool devk and tatoos and flesh were visable 24/7. We expressed our disappointment and were upgraded for the following cruise (back to back). These bookings should definitely be communicated to all passangers - it completely changed the vacation!

 

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[gilmcl27]

Ps... hogs of the high seas is a charity of harley davidsons enthusiasts from around the world. Very rowdy bunch and had 2600 guests...this was a majority.

 

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[toodycat]

I am new to this thread, but I think you should be warned if certain facilities won't be available due to a group. I don.'t care who the group is as long as they don't try to get me involved in whatever they are into. I've never had a problem at sea---the only shipboard group I've ever encountered was composed of quilters who were no problem. However, I've travelled to hotels where the pool and dining rooms were closed for weddings. I don't want to be in a situation where I can't use the pool or have to eat in the bar.

[arsailman]

I would want to know if there was a group of 30% on my ship. At least I'd have the choice to go or not to go...

[CelebrityChuck]

We were on the November 30th sailing of Celebrity Reflection, and more than 1,000 passengers were part of a GLBT group.

 

I was on board with nine friends and family members, most of whom were first-time Celebrity Cruises' passengers. I'm at Elite level, but, as someone who is disinterested in exclusivity and rewards, I don't pay attention to loyalty programs and their offerings. In my humble opinion, it's usually a bunch of nonsense. All I want is a lounger by the pool.

 

My only complaints about the impact caused by the big group is that I didn't get my usual table in the MDR and the lounge cocktail service was absolutely terrible.

 

My OCD makes me always want/get the table dead-center in the MDR, directly beneath the big chandelier. This is serious business for me (as those of you with OCD will understand), and I have been known to heftily grease a palm, or two, in securing that table. I have managed to get it on every Solstice-class vessel...with the exception of the November 30th cruise on Reflection. The big group had the lower level of the MDR to themselves. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't the end of the world for me (lol).

 

The lounge cocktail service, however, was a complete abortion (please pardon my choice of words...no other word seemed to capture the essence of the situation properly).

 

From what I gathered from those crew members serving cocktails in the lounges, staffing levels were impacted because servers were being pulled from lounges all over the ship to work private events for the big group. My first thought was, "Wow! That is so unfair to both the individually-booked passengers, as well as to the group passengers." Clearly, both experiences couldn't have been any good. If 2,000 of us were receiving lousy service with short-staffed lounges, then the 1,000 people in the big group surely must be experiencing feeble service in their private events. After speaking with passengers in the big group, my supposition was confirmed. The cocktail service at their private events was very poor, indeed.

 

What bothered me the most was the fact that my favorite cruise line made a fool out of me in front of friends and family members I influenced and convinced to book Celebrity for the first time. In the months prior, I waxed poetic about Celebrity Cruises; how amazing the food is (which it was) and how incredible the service is (which it absolutely wasn't). The bottom line is that I felt very embarrassed throughout the entire sailing. It was as if the poor cocktail lounge service was a...ahem...reflection of my sensibilities as a cruise aficionado.

 

My only saving grace was that members of our little party were constantly hearing from our fellow passengers that this was not a typical Celebrity cruise. Many of them are joining me on Silhouette in a few months. They are trusting my judgement, once again. Hopefully, I will not be made a fool, once again.

 

My advice to those who might be worried about having their cruises impacted by large groups and partial ship charters...look to Google. In choosing my next sailing, I entered into Google the word "Silhouette," the word "group" and the date (in every conceivable format a date can be entered) and I found many, MANY group cruises...more than I ever imagined I would. Once I found a sailing that had no mention of groups in the first three Google result pages, I booked that date. I will continue to monitor the sailing, right up until final payment.

 

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

 

I hope this insight and advice will help my fellow cruise enthusiasts.

Edited January 6, 2014 by CelebrityChuck

[VinHank]

Good question, perhaps the cruise ships ought to use the same criteria as a professional ball park or stadium for posting the names of groups. On a personal note, I don't feel any group should have exclusive of any common areas of a cruise ship

[Medic5emt]

I enjoy the people and interaction with international Cruisers. However I would be upset if area were blocked off, service impacted, and I felt others were more important than my $$.:confused:

A few of stories above would be enough to drive me away from a Cruise Line.

[cruisescouter]

My first cruise was with a group that took over maybe 75% of the ship. We got into all the private events and so it worked out really awesome for us because we got a lot of their amenities for nothing. Granted this is not the case always, but some groups welcome outsiders.

 

I have a group planned for January-February 2015 for cat lovers called meow meow cruise. Who am I kidding, it is for crazy cat lover people. I do not see us as an issue for other cruisers, and do not think it would be bad if people knew about us. The more the merrier!

[Bloom9]

I dont mind groups, BUT i do not feelt aht they should get special treatment. I paid just like they did. If they want special treatment and areas they need to book the whole cruise for themselves. It would piss me off to see areas blcoked off for special groups.

 

It is my experience that most sailings have private events for upper tier loyalty members, and they block a venue for this party, even on the charters i've sailed they have private events.

[AvalonLady]

We are cruising on RCI's Independence of the Seas on January 18th. Using the website themecruisefinder.com I found out that there will be a singles group on board. The website does not give sizes of the groups, but you can search by ship and sailing or by various themes.

Has anyone sailed with a singles group ? I'm hoping they are not too rowdy !

 

I agree with the majority here, if a group will impact public areas being available to everyone and/or seating options, then the cruise line should let potential passengers know this.

[MadMax2]

When should Celebrity or any cruise company disclose large groups who have made arrangements with a Travel Agency for a specific cruise?

 

Totally agree with kartgv: "I wouldn't care about large groups on board UNLESS the ship allows significant portions of public spaces to be blocked off and inaccessible to anyone not in that group. When this happens, I believe the cruise line should be obligated to tell their customers well before final payment cutoff date to allow them to make an informed decision about whether the group activity will affect their enjoyment of the cruise....The criteria for disclosure should be closure of public spaces, not the number of people in the group or the nature of the group."

 

However, I have also read posts about bike-riding "gangs" (oh, sorry, they call themselves "clubs"), that wreaked havoc by their constant disregard for other passengers with their loud and foul language, threatening behaviour to other pax and 'taking over' vast proportions of public space and discouraging other pax to be in the same area. Any group that does not allow others to have fair enjoyment of the cruise should be removed from the ship and banned from future travel.

 

I think cruise lines need to be aware of providing all passengers with a holiday free from intimidation from other groups, and must take action when complaints against such intimidation are made.

 

Hopefully by now cruise lines have enforceable policies and make careful decisions when it comes to group bookings.

Edited January 6, 2014 by MadMax2
spelling

[MadMax2]

Someone on the HAL board keeps up a list for people to check which I think is a great idea:D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=38671750&postcount=1

 

I usually Google the ship and date and that will usually turn up a charter if there is one.

 

Christine, thanks for the tip-off! I just did it, and found that there is a CRAFT GROUP on my cruise! :eek: They seem to have arranged all their own excursions.

 

VERY valuable information!

 

Cheers,

Max in Mandurah

Edited January 6, 2014 by MadMax2
new info

[Habenero]

If public areas are going to become closed off for a group function, regardless of the size or identity of the group, the other passengers should be notified in advance as this affects everybody. As long as the group doesn't get any waivers from the standard sailing agreement other than financial, there shouldn't be any problems.

[Keith Esposito]

I think if a large group is going to be onboard, it's fair to notify the rest of the passengers. We have never had a real problem, but a couple of times we had HUGE groups of Quincenera girls, and one large group in particular was NEVER supervised by their supposed leaders. They were loud, played on the elevators, were rude (pushing through crowded areas, etc.), took over one area after another...Guest Services was made aware that there was an issue and I think they tried to address it. It would be awful to pay all that money for your cruise, perhaps your only vacation for the year, and to have it ruined by a group taking over the ship. I don't have a problem with it as a whole--but if I were refused entry to certain areas all week and especially if I were unable to attend shows, I would throw a fit.

 

I would definitely be the squeaky wheel. I would set up a tent near the guest relations desk. I'm sure there are some rules of conduct.

[neverbeenhere]

Fair warning: On all future cruises there may be groups that use one or more venues for private events. They may use what you personally consider a significant amount of the venues, but other may not consider a significant number of venues. Warning given. Enjoy your cruise!!!

[SheSailsFL]

When the group is a nudist group.

 

The hard part would be deciding whether I should have my glasses cleaned or frosted over if a group like that was on my cruise.

 

LOLOL...that would be an interesting cruise !

 

I had an experience once on a short Carnival cruise with half the ship being franchise owners of Sonic restaurants. Some nice people but there was definitely a lot of hooting and hollering going on...and Sonic logos everywhere...although no one offered any diet cherry limeade! :o

If a bar or area was full, it was FULL. Not a seat to be found. If the Sonic folks were not in attendance, the venue was wide open...so you just had to watch where they were and go elsewhere. Noticed more deck chair saving than normal too...most obviously didn't read the signs.