CC Group Cruises on NCL?

[Crissy699]

Why arent there any NCL CC Group cruises? (I did search for a previous thread on this, no luck) What are the benefits of doing a CC group cruise? What is the process? Is it a lot of work for those involved? Is it just that other lines tend to have bigger ships and/or more options for itineraries/shorter/longer/etc cruises?

 

I am really interested in finding other cruisers in my area-none of our friends are travelers and I find myself wishing we had friends to cruise or travel with, A LOT. I try to get involved in the M&G/Roll Calls for our cruises, so that maybe we can meet some new people to do things with on the cruise. But I havent had much luck yet, I feel that a group cruise may be better for getting to know my fellow cruisers and have more of a chance for meeting local cruisers.

 

Any other recommendations for finding local cruisers-please feel free! Maybe I'm missing something? :o

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

Why arent there any NCL CC Group cruises? (I did search for a previous thread on this, no luck) What are the benefits of doing a CC group cruise? What is the process? Is it a lot of work for those involved? Is it just that other lines tend to have bigger ships and/or more options for itineraries/shorter/longer/etc cruises?

 

I am really interested in finding other cruisers in my area-none of our friends are travelers and I find myself wishing we had friends to cruise or travel with, A LOT. I try to get involved in the M&G/Roll Calls for our cruises, so that maybe we can meet some new people to do things with on the cruise. But I havent had much luck yet, I feel that a group cruise may be better for getting to know my fellow cruisers and have more of a chance for meeting local cruisers.

 

Any other recommendations for finding local cruisers-please feel free! Maybe I'm missing something? :o

 

GREAT QUESTION!

 

I've seen that asked once or twice before over the years, but nobody ever really offers a solid answer - just lots of theories and opinions - which is OK, but doesn't really help! HAHA! :)

 

Most of the group cruises seem to be on Carnival. :confused:

 

Hopefully, somebody will be able to let us all know why there seem to be no CC Group Cruises on NCL! I am curious to know if it because of price, the cruise line's relationship with the Cruise Critic hierarchy, or just the choice of those who put them together?

[biker@sea]

That is a good question Crissy . We have seen a couple of NCL CC cruises that we wanted to do. Unfortunately they never came to fruition for some unknown reason. Even after months of participation and no explanations. :confused:

[AuntieBarb]

Why arent there any NCL CC Group cruises? (I did search for a previous thread on this, no luck) What are the benefits of doing a CC group cruise? What is the process? Is it a lot of work for those involved? Is it just that other lines tend to have bigger ships and/or more options for itineraries/shorter/longer/etc cruises?

 

I am really interested in finding other cruisers in my area-none of our friends are travelers and I find myself wishing we had friends to cruise or travel with, A LOT. I try to get involved in the M&G/Roll Calls for our cruises, so that maybe we can meet some new people to do things with on the cruise. But I havent had much luck yet, I feel that a group cruise may be better for getting to know my fellow cruisers and have more of a chance for meeting local cruisers.

 

Any other recommendations for finding local cruisers-please feel free! Maybe I'm missing something? :o

 

A "group cruise" does not necessarily indicate size of the group or that they've chartered a ship for that matter. It simply means there is a discount for a group booking. CC's roll calls for their group cruises aren't any different from other roll calls, except that they all share in a group booking and have CC cheerleading the event more heavily. :D

 

We've been in roll calls that barely panned out, as well as no real connections made with people other than a friendly hello throughout the cruise. But there have been others from which we walked away with lifetime friendships and have cruise together again. :)

 

May I ask what you mean by "local cruisers"? Are you referring to others who live near a specific port?

[Crissy699]

A "group cruise" does not necessarily indicate size of the group or that they've chartered a ship for that matter. It simply means there is a discount for a group booking. CC's roll calls for their group cruises aren't any different from other roll calls, except that they all share in a group booking and have CC cheerleading the event more heavily. :D

 

We've been in roll calls that barely panned out, as well as no real connections made with people other than a friendly hello throughout the cruise. But there have been others from which we walked away with lifetime friendships and have cruise together again. :)

 

May I ask what you mean by "local cruisers"? Are you referring to others who live near a specific port?

Do you know how CC "group cruises" begin? I've seen some threads about "possible NCL group cruises" does there need to be a set number of people to become an official CC group cruise? Do they "apply" and get "chosen" by someone at CC or something?

 

Yes, by local cruisers, I mean people from my area-southern new england. Is there a section for people in specific areas that I am missing? or other ways to connect with these people?

[CC Help Michell]

There was a CC Member cruise on the Dawn in June this summer, but it's pretty rare on NCL. It's a lot of work to organize one of those things -- kind of like herding cats!

[Luckyroot]

Do you know how CC "group cruises" begin? I've seen some threads about "possible NCL group cruises" does there need to be a set number of people to become an official CC group cruise? Do they "apply" and get "chosen" by someone at CC or something?

 

Yes, by local cruisers, I mean people from my area-southern new england. Is there a section for people in specific areas that I am missing? or other ways to connect with these people?

 

From the Cruise Critic "Guidlines" page:

Member Cruises

Cruise Critic recognizes that our Community Members like to meet each other on board their cruises by planning a Group Cruise. We encourage our members to do so. To assist you in planning your cruise, please avail yourself of Cruise Critic's Member Cruise Program.

 

Decision-making discussions regarding the 'who, what, where, & when' of your group cruise are welcomed on all forums. After booking through our Program, you may continue answering questions about your group cruise on any forum here at Cruise Critic. All members booked on a Cruise Critic groups may include links and pictures to the group cruise information in their signatures. However, those booked should frequent the special forum set up just for your cruise to have "fun" until you sail!

 

We respectfully request that forums set up for our Member Cruises be frequently only by those who have booked the sailing.

 

Only official Cruise Critic Group Cruises may be promoted anywhere on our cruise forums. This includes graphics, links, banners and references to any non-Cruise Critic Group Cruise. Any promotional material posted on the forums about non-Cruise Critic Group Cruises will be removed without notice.

 

Here is the "how to" page if you'd like to plan your own CC Member Cruise: http://www.cruisecritic.com/interests/groupcruise.cfm

[Crissy699]

From the Cruise Critic "Guidlines" page:

Member Cruises

Cruise Critic recognizes that our Community Members like to meet each other on board their cruises by planning a Group Cruise. We encourage our members to do so. To assist you in planning your cruise, please avail yourself of Cruise Critic's Member Cruise Program.

 

Decision-making discussions regarding the 'who, what, where, & when' of your group cruise are welcomed on all forums. After booking through our Program, you may continue answering questions about your group cruise on any forum here at Cruise Critic. All members booked on a Cruise Critic groups may include links and pictures to the group cruise information in their signatures. However, those booked should frequent the special forum set up just for your cruise to have "fun" until you sail!

 

We respectfully request that forums set up for our Member Cruises be frequently only by those who have booked the sailing.

 

Only official Cruise Critic Group Cruises may be promoted anywhere on our cruise forums. This includes graphics, links, banners and references to any non-Cruise Critic Group Cruise. Any promotional material posted on the forums about non-Cruise Critic Group Cruises will be removed without notice.

 

I appreciate your effort in posting that...but it doesnt really help..I already know what the cruises are..that note doesnt answer any of my questions..;)

 

HOW do they get "approved" as CC group cruises?

WHAT is the actual process for "applying"?

 

I think I need further detail of the "Program" and how it works...I'll see what I can find, but I dont think that will help us figure out why there arent any NCL cruises chosen..or they are few and far between...is it just that NCL cruisers dont want to put in the effort? Are we too Free-style? ;)

[Luckyroot]

Sorry I actually updated the info after you posted that........including the link.

 

Once we chose a cruise because it had an active roll call. We were flexible with the date, so I looked on the roll calls for a ship and itinerary that were were considering and chose the date based on the roll call! One way to ensure you meet others onboard. Also, sailing out of your homeport (in our case, NYC) also increases the chance of meeting others who live in our general area.

[Crissy699]

Sorry I actually updated the info after you posted that........including the link.

 

Once we chose a cruise because it had an active roll call. We were flexible with the date, so I looked on the roll calls for a ship and itinerary that were were considering and chose the date based on the roll call! One way to ensure you meet others onboard. Also, sailing out of your homeport (in our case, NYC) also increases the chance of meeting others who live in our general area.

 

Thanks, I will take a look for how the process works. It is curious why there are so few NCL cruises though...

 

I try to be very active in the roll calls, but I like your thinking of choosing the cruise based on the roll call :D I'll have to consider that before choosing our next trip, as we are very flexible with dates...

 

Also, we pretty much only sail out of Boston now, our home-port, but we havent had much luck connecting with other cruisers close to our area or age bracket...I know on other forum websites, there is usually a regional section, where you can connect with people in your local area..I've seen some threads regarding "if you have a port within driving distance" etc, but not a real section to connect with people, right?

[AuntieBarb]

There's nothing to stop you from posting in the Eastern Departure ports to see if there's any interest in working on a CC Group Cruise out of Boston. One of the key points to a successful group cruise - besides an appealing deal - is finding enough people to make it worth your while.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=415

 

There have been CC Group Cruises with NCL. Not seeing a lot of them compared to other lines may boil down to preference by the organizer or the group themselves. It could also mean booking through other agencies that cannot be promoted here.

 

Good luck with your arrangements! :)

[halos]

Why arent there any NCL CC Group cruises? (I did search for a previous thread on this, no luck) What are the benefits of doing a CC group cruise? What is the process? Is it a lot of work for those involved? Is it just that other lines tend to have bigger ships and/or more options for itineraries/shorter/longer/etc cruises?

 

I am really interested in finding other cruisers in my area-none of our friends are travelers and I find myself wishing we had friends to cruise or travel with, A LOT. I try to get involved in the M&G/Roll Calls for our cruises, so that maybe we can meet some new people to do things with on the cruise. But I havent had much luck yet, I feel that a group cruise may be better for getting to know my fellow cruisers and have more of a chance for meeting local cruisers.

 

Any other recommendations for finding local cruisers-please feel free! Maybe I'm missing something? :o

http://www.cruisecritic.com/interests/groupleader.cfm

[sunedaze]

I was working on getting a CC group cruise together for Valentine's Day 2011. I had alot of people interested in joining on the group cruise. I contacted the CC Group cordinator. Everything was a go. What happened is this......( I believe this is the down fall to almost all NCL CC group cruises)

 

With NCL no matter how far out the cruise is booked you still have to place the full amount of deposit down to book. ( Even though our group cruise was more than two years away) This is not the case with Carnival CC Group cruises. They allow for discounted deposits if the cruise if far enough booked in advance. That allows people to book with the reduced deposit, get it paid over time and allows more people to take advantage of the group booking. Since NCL does not allow this, there are hardly any NCL CC Group bookings. I contacted NCL headquarters, CEO Kevin Sheehan, and the NCL group cordinator. But it did no good. Still no reduced deposit. So with the economy the way it is, no one would book a cruise two years out with a full deposit now. Everyone should write NCL and complai. I know I would like to see more NCL CC Group cruises.

[AuntieBarb]

I was working on getting a CC group cruise together for Valentine's Day 2011. I had alot of people interested in joining on the group cruise. I contacted the CC Group cordinator. Everything was a go. What happened is this......( I believe this is the down fall to almost all NCL CC group cruises)

 

With NCL no matter how far out the cruise is booked you still have to place the full amount of deposit down to book. ( Even though our group cruise was more than two years away) This is not the case with Carnival CC Group cruises. They allow for discounted deposits if the cruise if far enough booked in advance. That allows people to book with the reduced deposit, get it paid over time and allows more people to take advantage of the group booking. Since NCL does not allow this, there are hardly any NCL CC Group bookings. I contacted NCL headquarters, CEO Kevin Sheehan, and the NCL group cordinator. But it did no good. Still no reduced deposit. So with the economy the way it is, no one would book a cruise two years out with a full deposit now. Everyone should write NCL and complai. I know I would like to see more NCL CC Group cruises.

 

I'm confused by your post after reading this at the above link:

 

6. Remind Group Members to Send in Deposits

Once you have decided to reserve a new group, the Preferred Cruise Agency will make the initial deposit required to hold the allotted cabins. Full deposits for each cabin booked need to be made no later than five months prior to sailing.

[sunedaze]

That is how I read it also but in order to book a cabin you have to pay the full deposit at the time of booking. With Carnival the reduce the deposit to $25. So when you book your cabin you only pay $25 to reserve your cabin. It is not like that with NCL. That is why I went no futher with the Hawaii cruise. No one wanted to put $500 deposit down on a cruise in 2009 for a cruise in 2011. I tried everything to get them to let us do the reduced deposit. I already had about 30 cabins ready to book. But NCL would not do it.

[*Luv2Cruz*]

There was a CC Member cruise on the Dawn in June this summer, but it's pretty rare on NCL. It's a lot of work to organize one of those things -- kind of like herding cats!

I was the group leader for the June cruise and it was great!:D Yes it's a lot of work and we did have to pay full deposits but our rates and amenities were excellent and so was our group!:cool:

 

Generally the CC board traffic is slower on NCL then Carnival and as mentioned, Carnival does have the reduced deposits and generally better amenities. With that said I'm leading up my next group on Carnival in May 2010 and for those who may be interested, see the links below!;) I'm also considering another group in 2011 and I'm not sure yet which cruiseline or itinerary? If you haven't cruised with a CC Group, make sure you check them out!:cool:

[lhall85917]

I was working on getting a CC group cruise together for Valentine's Day 2011. I had alot of people interested in joining on the group cruise. I contacted the CC Group cordinator. Everything was a go. What happened is this......( I believe this is the down fall to almost all NCL CC group cruises)

 

With NCL no matter how far out the cruise is booked you still have to place the full amount of deposit down to book. ( Even though our group cruise was more than two years away) This is not the case with Carnival CC Group cruises. They allow for discounted deposits if the cruise if far enough booked in advance. That allows people to book with the reduced deposit, get it paid over time and allows more people to take advantage of the group booking. Since NCL does not allow this, there are hardly any NCL CC Group bookings. I contacted NCL headquarters, CEO Kevin Sheehan, and the NCL group cordinator. But it did no good. Still no reduced deposit. So with the economy the way it is, no one would book a cruise two years out with a full deposit now. Everyone should write NCL and complai. I know I would like to see more NCL CC Group cruises.

I led an NCL group cruise a few years ago and what you say is true. In addition, others on our roll all were able to get much better pricing than what we got for our group - it just didn't make sense for them to book through the group. I would love to see NCL offer reduced deposits PLUS some great pricing!!

[Crissy699]

I led an NCL group cruise a few years ago and what you say is true. In addition, others on our roll all were able to get much better pricing than what we got for our group - it just didn't make sense for them to book through the group. I would love to see NCL offer reduced deposits PLUS some great pricing!!

That is really a bummer to hear, but I do beleive it. :( I hope they realize that they are missing out on great CC group cruises by not offering what you suggest!

[peg013]

I led an NCL group cruise a few years ago and what you say is true. In addition, others on our roll all were able to get much better pricing than what we got for our group - it just didn't make sense for them to book through the group. I would love to see NCL offer reduced deposits PLUS some great pricing!!

 

This is exactly why we didn't book with the June 2009 NCL CC group. I got better prices and amenities booking on my own than I would have with the group. We opted to go the week before to save even more money but even the same week would have cost more to be part of the group.

[*Wink*]

I'm curious. What amenities or benefits differ from an official CC cruise from an unofficial CC cruise? I lead the M&G for our last cruise which was not an official CC group cruise. The ship provided for the M&G, but that was about it.

[lhall85917]

I'm curious. What amenities or benefits differ from an official CC cruise from an unofficial CC cruise? I lead the M&G for our last cruise which was not an official CC group cruise. The ship provided for the M&G, but that was about it.

Amenities depend on the group set up. Ours offered a bottle of wine and a couple of other little things. Other groups will have an onboard credit, private party, etc. Most amenities depend on the group set-up - in my mind, the biggest amenity should be a good, discounted price - that isn't always the case. The group leader will generally get a free berth with each 8 cabins booked - they can keep that for themselves or spread that savings among the group.

[*Wink*]

Amenities depend on the group set up. Ours offered a bottle of wine and a couple of other little things. Other groups will have an onboard credit, private party, etc. Most amenities depend on the group set-up - in my mind, the biggest amenity should be a good, discounted price - that isn't always the case. The group leader will generally get a free berth with each 8 cabins booked - they can keep that for themselves or spread that savings among the group.

Thanks. I agree with you.