Questions about a group cruise

[pkay414]

I am doing research on organizing a cruise for our class reunion. I posted a poll to get ideas of when people want to get et cetera. Here are the highlights (so you can maybe steer me in the right direction).

 

We want to leave out of Houston or Galveston for a cruise lasting between five and seven days. The most votes was for summer and the next highest was spring. The most also wanted to keep the cost between 500 and 1,000 per person.

 

So here are my questions: When is the best summer month to go on a Caribbean cruise (to avoid hurricanes -- and I know hurricane season is between June and November, but I'm hoping someone might have an idea of what months are least likely to be impacted by hurricanes -- realizing of course there's no guarantees!!). Summer, though it is the most popular choice, also seems to be the most expensive. What months has everyone found to be the cheapest time to cruise -- more bang for the buck, so to speak.

 

I appreciate everyone's input and any other suggestions you can offer.

[cruisead]

The number one piece of advice: GET A TRAVEL AGENT. You do not want to plan something as complicated as a class reunion cruise. There are too many variables, too many chances of people getting angry at you and too many problems.

 

June would probably be the best time to cruise for the least weather problems.

[LHT28]

They are not anymore expensive in the summer than other times of the year

 

In the summer you are limited by the number of ships in the area most leave for other areas

 

You do not hear of too many hurricanes in July maybe that is a good time to plan one

 

I agree get a TA that specializes in GROUPS or deal with the cruise lines group booking dept

You can get in over your head really fast

Edited April 18, 2014 by LHT28

[klfrodo]

Do what Cruisead said.

My sweet wife did what you are doing,,, and lawdy, lawdy, lawdy,, did we find out we have some a-hole friends and family. Not until she spent hundreds of hours researching, money spent on developing a web site, etc,etc,,, did everyone else either think she was cheating them out of money or when it came time to pay money,,, they bailed.

 

Do your basic research, Sounds like Galveston is the choice,,,, don't worry about hurricane season,,, nobody can predict that, just pick a date,,,

Maybe research a couple of TA's,,, find out who's going to take the best care of your group,,,,

Then tell everyone,, Here's the TA's phone number, make your reservations now.

 

When you start seeing lots of bookings,,, the TA should help you in setting up activities.

[OCruisers]

The number one piece of advice: GET A TRAVEL AGENT. You do not want to plan something as complicated as a class reunion cruise. There are too many variables, too many chances of people getting angry at you and too many problems.

.

 

Absolutely, get a Travel Agent to help you out and make the arrangements and to deal with others.

LuLu

~~~

[SadieN]

The number one piece of advice: GET A TRAVEL AGENT. You do not want to plan something as complicated as a class reunion cruise. There are too many variables, too many chances of people getting angry at you and too many problems.

 

June would probably be the best time to cruise for the least weather problems.

 

 

The second bt of advice is "DON'T HERD CATS!!!!"

 

Let everyone make their own arrangements with the travel agent. Allow everyone to do what they want. We've traveled in a group for 7 years now. We have two requirements--We eat dinner together and a picture on Formal night.

We also do an ice cream social where we bring toppings to put over the ship's ice cream. I've been trying cancel it but everyone else likes doing this.

Edited April 18, 2014 by SadieN

[pkay414]

The number one piece of advice: GET A TRAVEL AGENT. You do not want to plan something as complicated as a class reunion cruise. There are too many variables, too many chances of people getting angry at you and too many problems.

 

June would probably be the best time to cruise for the least weather problems.

 

Absolutely -- should have mentioned I already have one and she's very experienced with group cruises ;-) I'm just trying to do some research since we're about four years out from the cruise.

[klfrodo]

I'll recommend you look at the July timeframe. Not for cost reasons though. Mostly just because of availability.

Since this is a class reunion, I would imagine that your class is now spread out across the country. I would also assume that your classmates now have families. Some parts of the country don't end their school year until late June, while other areas begin the school year in early to mid August.

[cruisead]

Absolutely -- should have mentioned I already have one and she's very experienced with group cruises ;-) I'm just trying to do some research since we're about four years out from the cruise.

 

You're a ways out from knowing much about the cruise to take. The ships and itineraries that are out now may not be what you want four years from now. Doing research is fantastic, but don't set anything in stone.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Absolutely -- should have mentioned I already have one and she's very experienced with group cruises ;-) I'm just trying to do some research since we're about four years out from the cruise.

 

So glad to hear this. That way, once your group decides on a cruise/date, you can give everyone the TA's contact info, give them a final date that they need to book and pay for the cabin (through the TA, of course).

 

The big question is the cruise itself. As others have said, you won't actually know which ships will be doing this itinerary this early. Is everyone "on board" with a Caribbean cruise? Not all cruise lines go to the Caribbean during the summer due to the Caribbean so there may be fewer choices. But if that's the decision, make sure everyone is aware that if weather conditions pop up right before or during the cruise, the captain has every right to change the itinerary. Which is one reason why there aren't too many ships that go there between June and October (we did our Western Caribbean cruise in November and a tropical storm that was chasing up from Jamaica on became a hurricane right after we got out of Miami).

 

So wherever the discussion is going on (my high school class has a Facebook page on which we discussed our reunion weekend a couple of years ago, and now we're talking about a followup weekend this summer -- I think seeing the ever-growing list of additions to the memorial list hit all of us:(...at first a few suggested a cruise for 2017, but a couple of people demanded that we don't:(:(), some alternatives such as Alaska, New England/Canada can be suggested.

 

Definitely do not come up with a whole "this is what we're going to do" list. IMO, I wouldn't want to be joined at the hip the whole cruise with some of my classmates (and I can't imagine my hubby, who didn't even come to any of my reunions, would want to feel stuck with a group). Maybe there can be a meet and greet just as there's with Cruise Critic roll calls and other groups. If people want to link their bookings so they can get the same assigned table, they should be able to do this without feeling they will be required to eat with the boy that creeped her out in 11th grade or the girl that talked his ear off in 12th.

 

Better yet, let people know the usual activities that are on that ship (if someone posts the ship's newsletters online, you can check them out) and give them links to shore excursions so they can book what they want or do their own thing in port (I like to google ports before a cruise and can often find lots of tourism sites).

[Host Anne]

Happy to hear you have a TA. Sounds like a wonderful cruise. With your date being four years out, it's tough to know which or if there will be ships sailing out of Galveston during the summer. My husband and I were just discussing hurricane season tonight. While weather is totally unpredictable, June and July are safer bets than August historically. I agree to pick a date and go for it. Just have your TA encourage everyone to purchase insurance! :)

 

Have a great time and happy planning!