Perks for a group cruise?

[Alaskalovr]

Its only 4 of us. No - its not a Royal cruise. While I am loyal to Royal being D+ in this case we have chosen to cruise another line. We have already booked several excursions and I have to pull my file and get those to you to see if we made good choices. Traveling with others we have all decided to each choose. As far as budget, there really isn't one, however, I guess there might be since its not on our list to spend hundreds per person to do helicopter excursions.

 

We have our first night in Anchorage at Captain Cooks and arrive approx. 7 PM - so we are doing a mid day big meal since we have a big layover in Chicago and plan on a light dinner at the hotel unless you can recommend elsewhere in Anchorage. Friend of ours lived in Alaska and says the bar/lounge/restaurant at the top of the hotel is good.

 

I haven't been to Captain Cooks personally, but have read good reports. Something you might want to check on, if you are booking a # of tours is the Great Alaskan Toursaver Book. It is similar to the Entertainment book with the 2 for 1 coupons. The book is not cheap, $100 I believe, but if you are interested in any of the pricey tours ( which is mostly every tour in Alaska) or alot of small tours, it could be beneficial. You can see all of the deals online before buying the book. Yu can also call the company and ask about availability etc before purchasing the book. We used a 2 for 1 for our flight to the summit of McKinley. That paid for the book and then some. Everything else was bonus and we used a lot. There is a whale tour in Juneau liste which is highly rated and if you have never been on a whale tour, I would highly recommend taking one. Let me know more info on what you have booked and maybe I can help.

[springaussie]

Would some of the giant travel agents be using gap points to offer free tips, free speciality restaurant meal and/or free spa service?

[Locobill49]

I have tried several times to call the RCL group phone number to no avail. Just put on hold forever. Is there another way to determine GAP points for our cruise on Independence next March 28? I would like to know before discussing it with our TA. We now have eight couples going together.

[Clarea]

I have tried several times to call the RCL group phone number to no avail. Just put on hold forever. Is there another way to determine GAP points for our cruise on Independence next March 28? I would like to know before discussing it with our TA. We now have eight couples going together.

Maybe talk with another TA? I know there are several here on the boards that might be able to look up GAP points.

[crazypriest]

I have tried several times to call the RCL group phone number to no avail. Just put on hold forever. Is there another way to determine GAP points for our cruise on Independence next March 28? I would like to know before discussing it with our TA. We now have eight couples going together.

 

Sorry for the delay..... you will not be able to know the GAP points until you book as a group..... what I do is ask the TA for the booking confirmation.... this is where the real GAP point number will be found.

 

E

[Alaskalovr]

Hi again! I am back because I am still confused. We have a very large group going on a cruise in October. We have 24 rooms booked. They are comprised of 9 balcony,9 oceanview and 6 inside ( 3 of these are promenade). I am stilll confused about how much credit we will get. The TA says we only get the commissionable fare. I don't understand why we don't get the complete base fare. When I ask RC what is the base fare they say when you look at a booking online and it shows the fare and then the taxes and port fees, that fare is the base fare. The TA says that is not the base fare. Nowhere is it just in plain English. I am not disputing the policy, whatever the policy is will be fine with me but I want to know WHAT IS THE POLICY? Does anyone know?

[harlekuin]

When I ask RC what is the base fare they say when you look at a booking online and it shows the fare and then the taxes and port fees, that fare is the base fare. The TA says that is not the base fare. Nowhere is it just in plain English. I am not disputing the policy, whatever the policy is will be fine with me but I want to know WHAT IS THE POLICY? Does anyone know?

 

The fare the traveler pays is the base fare, the port fees and the NCF, non-commisioned fees. The port fees are easy to figure out, they are shown. The NCF is not. It is buried in the remainder. The NCF is "usually" about 1/4. So if the fee, without the port fees is $400, you would get about $300.

 

Added: the base fee is what the TA gets commission on also. So when people think the TA gets 10-16% of the fare, it is off a considerably smaller amount than traveler pays.

Edited June 10, 2014 by harlekuin
TA info

[crazypriest]

Hi again! I am back because I am still confused. We have a very large group going on a cruise in October. We have 24 rooms booked. They are comprised of 9 balcony,9 oceanview and 6 inside ( 3 of these are promenade). I am stilll confused about how much credit we will get.

 

Hello.... When the TA booked the group... RC would have sent them a sheet titled something like "Group Booking Confirmation." This document will state exactly what all the benefits are for your group.

 

It is all based upon the numbers the TA gave RC... so you'll want to take that into account if they happen to be holding more cabins than the ones you have reserved.

 

On that sheet you should see the total about of the Tour Conductor Credit AND the number of GAP points assigned to the group.

 

Being allowed to see this sheet avoids any idea of hiding anything... I find it helpful to see it...

 

Because you have the same number of cabins in Balcony and Oceanview.. I don't know what category they will base the Credit to since it is based on the category that has the highest number.

 

Ernesto

[jakesnana]

I have tried several times to call the RCL group phone number to no avail. Just put on hold forever. Is there another way to determine GAP points for our cruise on Independence next March 28? I would like to know before discussing it with our TA. We now have eight couples going together.

 

There are currently 4 GAP points offered on this sailing. The amount could go down as the bookings increase on the sailing.

 

I just read this entire thread and most of it is factual, just a few corrections:

 

The Tour conductor is based on the CRUISE FARE. The price listed on the cruise lines website is the cruise fare plus the NCCF. The TC is not paid on the NCCF amount. The NCCF is usually a standard amount and based on the length of the cruise. Also, the TC is reduced by the level of the TA's commission. Example $100.00 cruise fare and the TA earns 15% commission. The true value of the TC is $85.00.

 

In order to qualify for a tour conductor, you must have 8 fully deposited cabins. However, you may still qualify for amenities. Different cruise lines have different policies as to how many cabins need to be booked, but you could qualify for amenities with as few as 5 cabins.

 

The value of the tour conductor cannot be determined until the final payment date, once the cruise line is sure how many people are DEFINITELY going on the sailing.

 

While RCCL determines the value of the tour conductor based on the majority of cabins booked, Carnival basis it on the average cost of the cabin.

 

The money for the tour conductor is paid to the TA with the regular commission for this sailing. While commission for individual reservations are usually paid to the TA once the booking is paid in full, most cruise lines do not pay commission on a group reservation until 4-6 weeks after sailing.

 

I have done groups with Carnival, NCL and RCCL. The easiest to work with, for me anyway, is Carnival and the worst is RCCL, but that is just my opinion.

 

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. I don't mind an informed client, I just hate one that expects me to give them part of my income to keep them as a client. Just like they work for a living, so do I.

[cruiseguy1016]

WOW! This just proves that there are good TAs and there are bad ones. I am fortunate to have found one of the good ones. We almost always cruise with friends/family. I am always the first to book and when I do, she will open a group for us in case we meet the minimum requirement. We have reached the minimum three times so far so we have qualified for three group rates and the amenities that come with them. Our TA keeps her commission, which she deserves but all of the perks come to us. We get the money from the free berth and the GAP points. Depending on the size of our group and her commission, she has also given us some OBC.

[crazypriest]

I don't mind an informed client, I just hate one that expects me to give them part of my income to keep them as a client. Just like they work for a living, so do I.

 

I would love to work with someone like you!!! Thank you.... you are so refreshing!!!

 

I agree that there should be no expectation of lowering the commission for the TA.... It also bothers me when a TA, in trying to get my business offers me some of their commission (strange as that may sound).

 

I apologize if I in any way of communicated something different.... it may be because I was burned by my TA my last go round... and was told "our problem with you is that you know much more than the average client."

 

Thanks again for the good information.

 

Ernesto