Group Booking Questions...

[Bo1953]

Hello all, thinking of making a group booking (8 cabins) and have a few questions if anyone has experienced this. The booking will be for either 2019 or 2020 so there is some time:

 

1) If booking is for eight (8) cabins, what is the usual (not guaranteed) cabin pricing for verandahs?

2) Is this a fixed discount % or is there a formula applied?

3) Can the cabins be mixed, i.e. 1A, 2A, A2, B2, C3, C2 etc.??

4) If initially booked with X, can the reservations be transferred to a TA without issue or is it better to just book through a TA?

5) Is it possible to not apply the discount up-front, in case we lose a cabin or two along the way and apply it at just before sailing (this may be an X or TA question only, to be sure).

6) Any thing else I have not thought of before taking on this task....

 

TIA - bon voyage

[killsport]

Hello all, thinking of making a group booking (8 cabins) and have a few questions if anyone has experienced this. The booking will be for either 2019 or 2020 so there is some time:

 

1) If booking is for eight (8) cabins, what is the usual (not guaranteed) cabin pricing for verandahs?

2) Is this a fixed discount % or is there a formula applied?

3) Can the cabins be mixed, i.e. 1A, 2A, A2, B2, C3, C2 etc.??

4) If initially booked with X, can the reservations be transferred to a TA without issue or is it better to just book through a TA?

5) Is it possible to not apply the discount up-front, in case we lose a cabin or two along the way and apply it at just before sailing (this may be an X or TA question only, to be sure).

6) Any thing else I have not thought of before taking on this task....

 

TIA - bon voyage

 

The best I can provide is my recent experience (for a cruise on the Silhouette). I inquired with multiple TA's to find out their rates and what they'd do for a group. The two levels were >8 and >16 cabins, of various veranda types. I selected the lowest-priced, and locked in the price/perks with $500 deposits (like a normal cruise). Then, after final payment, we got $100 OBC/cabin since we were >8.

Although I got a great rate (and perks) and a nice $100 OBC additional, I would not use this agent again. The personality, responsiveness, and reaction to repricing questions were not what I have come to expect from professional agents.

[Bo1953]

The best I can provide is my recent experience (for a cruise on the Silhouette). I inquired with multiple TA's to find out their rates and what they'd do for a group. The two levels were >8 and >16 cabins, of various veranda types. I selected the lowest-priced, and locked in the price/perks with $500 deposits (like a normal cruise). Then, after final payment, we got $100 OBC/cabin since we were >8.

Although I got a great rate (and perks) and a nice $100 OBC additional, I would not use this agent again. The personality, responsiveness, and reaction to repricing questions were not what I have come to expect from professional agents.

 

I know what you mean about agents... and professionalism to a minimum.

 

On my third (3rd) one and most likely for individual booking will go back to my original big box.

 

My thoughts are, so far, the grass is green on the other side, but not as green as I Am accustomed to! LOL

 

 

I will gladly give up some OBC for service, I now understand.. Oh My!

 

Thank you for the input and bon voyage.

[Pean]

Hello all, thinking of making a group booking (8 cabins) and have a few questions if anyone has experienced this. The booking will be for either 2019 or 2020 so there is some time:

 

1) If booking is for eight (8) cabins, what is the usual (not guaranteed) cabin pricing for verandahs?

2) Is this a fixed discount % or is there a formula applied?

3) Can the cabins be mixed, i.e. 1A, 2A, A2, B2, C3, C2 etc.??

4) If initially booked with X, can the reservations be transferred to a TA without issue or is it better to just book through a TA?

5) Is it possible to not apply the discount up-front, in case we lose a cabin or two along the way and apply it at just before sailing (this may be an X or TA question only, to be sure).

6) Any thing else I have not thought of before taking on this task....

 

TIA - bon voyage

 

I am glad you have asked this as I was going to ask the same questions soon. The only thing I was also wondering about is if anyone knows if there is any advantage to making a group booking onboard.

Thanks for any help out there

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I have booked groups before. You definitely want to use a TA, it's a lot of work. There will be people in your group who will be very high maintenance. Yes, you can mix up the cabins. Your TA should have a list of the group discounts available. I use an independent TA, not a big box outfit. She provides excellent service. Not as much OBC as the larger shops, but I'll take the excellent service over more OBC any time. If you don't get enough bookings to achieve group status, your people will have to pay the regular fare.

[sippican]

I would check for perks through a TA. The cruiseline offers additional incentives to TAs that you may not be eligible for if you were to book directly.

Also, you are usually able to keep the group pricing (which is not a standard fixed discount) even if someone drops out.

For eight cabins you are eligible for a Tour Conductor credit (one free berth - not one cabin) - which will be figured on the the average price paid by the group as well as GAP, group amenity points (this may be where the additional $100 OBC is applied). Make sure your TA gives you these credits, some keep them! The organizer can keep this Tour Conductor credit but we usually just divide it up among those cruising.

And yes, you can mix cabin types, but not all categories may be available for group discounts at the time of booking, depending on how the sailing is selling. When a TA uses the booking portal, they will see group pricing for each cabin category.

[Bo1953]

I have booked groups before. You definitely want to use a TA, it's a lot of work. There will be people in your group who will be very high maintenance. Yes, you can mix up the cabins. Your TA should have a list of the group discounts available. I use an independent TA, not a big box outfit. She provides excellent service. Not as much OBC as the larger shops, but I'll take the excellent service over more OBC any time. If you don't get enough bookings to achieve group status, your people will have to pay the regular fare.

 

h - thank you for the info! How did you know that I Am high maintenance?

 

 

Yes, I Am a believer in less OBC vs less service!

 

Thank you again... bon voyage

[Bo1953]

I would check for perks through a TA. The cruiseline offers additional incentives to TAs that you may not be eligible for if you were to book directly.

Also, you are usually able to keep the group pricing (which is not a standard fixed discount) even if someone drops out.

For eight cabins you are eligible for a Tour Conductor credit (one free berth - not one cabin) - which will be figured on the the average price paid by the group as well as GAP, group amenity points (this may be where the additional $100 OBC is applied). Make sure your TA gives you these credits, some keep them! The organizer can keep this Tour Conductor credit but we usually just divide it up among those cruising.

And yes, you can mix cabin types, but not all categories may be available for group discounts at the time of booking, depending on how the sailing is selling. When a TA uses the booking portal, they will see group pricing for each cabin category.

 

s - thank you for the info... Our plans are to spread out the credit, yet if a reduced fare is offered for each cabin up-front, that might be sufficient. I will make a few calls over the next month to figure out what the rates are for the sailing we want to take.

 

I take it that I need not provide too much info to any TA before deciding so as not to be caught up in a situation where one (1) TA will claim they have the booking vs another?Just like in Real Estate agents, as who showed the house first, etc.???

 

Thank you again and bon voyage

[sippican]

s - thank you for the info... Our plans are to spread out the credit, yet if a reduced fare is offered for each cabin up-front, that might be sufficient. I will make a few calls over the next month to figure out what the rates are for the sailing we want to take.

 

You should get both a reduced group rate AND a tour conductor credit as well as some sort of amenity, so don't settle for less.

A travel agent should be able to give you a quote if you provide the number of cabins (and category desired), ship and sail date. Feel free to tell them you are shopping around.

As mentioned, service should be a priority over just the lowest rate. Be sure to ask if there are cancellation penalties. Some of the big, well-known cruise agencies charge this. Good luck!

[YYC F/A]

You should get both a reduced group rate AND a tour conductor credit as well as some sort of amenity, so don't settle for less.

A travel agent should be able to give you a quote if you provide the number of cabins (and category desired), ship and sail date. Feel free to tell them you are shopping around.

As mentioned, service should be a priority over just the lowest rate. Be sure to ask if there are cancellation penalties. Some of the big, well-known cruise agencies charge this. Good luck!

 

A heads up that Celebrity can sometimes have 0 group amenity points available through the group program. This happens on the most popular voyages, as well as for instance every single voyage of Edge. This means that any amenity offered on such voyages would be 100% funded by the agency out of their compensation.

 

The key to getting the best deal is to book early early early and if you are a little flexible, try and get a voyage that has what are called GroupX rates. These can be significantly lower than the regular non-group rates.

 

Another thing to remember is that you will lock in your pricing early, and you'll keep that pricing for quite a while. If rates come down, your TA can update the pricing in the group to the new lower rate - though frequently you'll find your early booking rates will be significantly lower as prices tend to go up down the way.

 

Remember though that the additional promotion you receive is dependent on when you book individual guests and assign a stateroom and pay a deposit, and not when you first set up / book the group. So when there are GoBetter promos running that have two perks for free (like happening right now) - if you book the individual guests and select cabins and pay the deposit during this time frame, you'll get both your lower group rate plus the better promotional offer. So timing as to when you get all your guests to commit and book a room and pay a deposit can be important.

 

Group pricing can vary significantly based on category so try to be flexible on your location on the ship to get the best price. Sometimes though, desirable rooms like Cat. 1A are not that much more than Cat. 2B or 2A, and you can snag some great 1A midship extra large balcony staterooms, so always worth asking about those higher category rates as well.

 

Groups can be a lot of work for agencies. Celebrity's group system is far from perfect and there are frequently many, many long calls that need to be made to achieve things that one would think would be relatively simple. As such, many agencies - even those that don't normally charge cancellation fees - may have a small cancel fee, especially if your whole group was to back out (this happens more than you think) as that could mean an agent has spent 15+ hours of work on your overall group without any compensation.

 

You can work directly with Celebrity Groups as well and they'll assign you a dedicated contact, but I think a TA can really earn their keep here when dealing with a group booking. All the information above is also applicable to direct bookings made with Celebrity and thus is not any confidential info, but hope it gives some additional insight.

 

Be sure to vet your potential TA to ensure you have a good comfort level. Good luck with your group and enjoy your voyage!

Edited December 29, 2017 by YYC F/A