How do you set up a group cruise?

Group cruises seem to be fairly common. From time to time I have thought about trying to set one up among friends and/or co-workers. I have no clue how one does this!

Could someone who knows about this perhaps give the rest of us a brief education on how to set up and organize a group cruise?

I assume that you would get with a TA and select the sailing. Does the TA give you prices for various cabin categories that are valid for a certain period of time? Do the potential cruise participants work directly with the TA for deposits, payments, etc?

What level of commitment is there to set one up? Can you set one up and then start promoting/recruiting? Or do you have to have a few people lined up first?

Can anybody provide a step-by-step what generally happens, and when?

Thanks!

Theron

Have set up my first one for this Sept. and am having a ball doing it. Started by having a friend who wanted to cruise, knew I did a lot of cruises. We talked about where & when. Then I called my TA to find out what was available at that time with that itinerary.

By that time some other couples I'm friendly with were interested and they talked it up to their other friends & family & it grew.

Wrote a newsletter to each couple to share the info re: When, where, ship and costs for different types of cabins. Also told them about other costsother than personal ones.

Had them contact the TA re: deposit and types of room. Since then have sent out a couple of newsletters with bits or cruise info they should have (ID) and other thingss to get them excited about cruising. Most people have never cruised before.

Recently sent a newsletter about getting to the port a day early and gaave them my suggestion re: hotel. We are sailing out of NYC so I gave them info about the 3 airports available and arranging transfers to the city. Also told them to start looking at shore excursions and send me preferences so we can coordinate some. Told them where & how to do on line forms.

Next newsletter will have general packing list & what to expect on embarkation day.

Have really had a good time doing this. Let me know if you have specific questions.

Norma

When I ran my group cruise for my mom's birthday in 2004, I generally took care of all of the depositing for my group- I had them funnel checks and cc charges through me. Although, i certainly did provide everyone with the name of the TA, our group name and the agency's phone number if they ever wanted to call with a question or check things out for themselves.

It is just easier to keep track of whats going on, who's paying, who's not because if you only have 8 rooms and 1 room drops off, you loose your group status. You certainly dont want to find out about that a week before the payment deadline. Most people appreciated because it was just one less thing they had to do. Everyone does not like planning.

One thing I did learn from my last group is that you at some point should verbally contact at least one person from each room booking to verify that they know the final prices, due dates, insurance info, whats included etc. I actually had a couple people that I had set up in promenade rooms to tell me they thought they were getting an oceanview. How in the hell they thought that, I will never know since it was on their confirmation, their cruise docs and I had sent them pics of the room from the brochure.

Normaxs, thanks for the info about your newsletter. Since our group trip on Freedom is not until Oct 06, I expect to send out about 5 newsletters so that will be about one every3-4 months. This will be my first time doing this so I hope it will be helpful. I plan on getting some desktop publishing software next month. If anyone can recommend a good one, I would appreciate it. I was in the computer store a few weeks ago and there are many choices. I was also thinking of setting up an information web page.

Group cruises seem to be fairly common. From time to time I have thought about trying to set one up among friends and/or co-workers. I have no clue how one does this!

Could someone who knows about this perhaps give the rest of us a brief education on how to set up and organize a group cruise?

We do speculative group bookings for friends and familes all the time. Let me see if I can answer your questions one at a time.

I assume that you would get with a TA and select the sailing. Does the TA give you prices for various cabin categories that are valid for a certain period of time? Do the potential cruise participants work directly with the TA for deposits, payments, etc?

Find a TA that has experience with group cruise bookings. It is not as the same or as simple as doing individual bookings. Tell the TA what you want to do cruise wise and that you will be planning on a minimum of XX cabins. You can also let the TA know if you want all inside, oceanview, balcony, suites or a mix of them. They will check to see if group space is availalbe for the ship and sailing you want. If you are flexible, tell them so and that you want the sailing with the best prices.

Make sure you find out upfront that the TA will indeed give you whatever free berths you have earned since you are bringing in the people. Also find out how many amenity points are attached to that particular sailing. Once the space is held, there are certain dates that deposits are due to keep holding your space.

We prefer having contact with all the clients for payments. It takes all burden off of you and you don't have to go crazy with followups for money. That's what we get paid the big bucks for :) .

What level of commitment is there to set one up? Can you set one up and then start promoting/recruiting? Or do you have to have a few people lined up first?

You can get it set up and then promote away with nothing more that knowing that you are going to go. Your TA can also arrange to have a flyer made for you to copy and hand out to your friends or co-workers. It will tell them that it is your group cruise and to call the TA for more details or deposits.

I hope this helps you get started!

Thank you! These are great answers and very helpful in making a decision on whether or not to do something like this..

Another question:

Generally how far in advance do you recommend setting up a group cruise? Both of the cruises I've taken were within 2 months of booking, which of course means you have to make full payment almost immediately. If you are trying to make a cruise available to a more general population, some folks will need time to prepare and budget. Of course the longer you have to wait... the harder it is TO wait!! :)

What is generally a good amount of lead time?

Thanks again, very helpful!

Theron

i have done mine each about a year ahead of time... our group cruise for the 15th of May .. was booked in April last year.....

We were limited to a certain date. Spring Break! We had enough to get a group rate and I did all the planning, but RCI was not offering groups on that cruise. My TA called several times but they didn't budge. Make sure group rates are being offered for the date you choose.

I set up the group for a Sept. sailing in January. That way people had some time to make a decision. They could make the minimum deposit and if they changes their mind early enough, no loss.

Bev-I think it was you

I do the newsletters using the word program on my computer.

Norma

You need a good TA for that. They keep track of everything. Mine is terrific. You don't have to worry about a thing. They take care of everything and it doesn't cost anything.

Crusin 05

Ann25

Some TA's will combine "groups" to get to the min number of cabins, usually 8 from what I've been told.

You need a good TA for that. They keep track of everything. Mine is terrific. You don't have to worry about a thing. They take care of everything and it doesn't cost anything.

Crusin 05

Ann25

Ann25,

I agree that a good TA is invaluable. I didn't want to be handling the money end of it so I had each couple send it in to her & she keeps me posted. She has also helped me know what kind of info to send out to the cruisers. Some of my group are friends/relatives of my friends so I don't know them. In fact, many of them don't even live in the same state I do.

I'm enjoying the experience and hooe to do this again.

Norma

Our group started out as just 4 couples wanting to sail together again. Once word was out to differnt friends and co-workers, they quickly wanted to join. I did the research on prices and since we were limited to spring break week and wanting to sail from Miami, it was limited to which ship. Infact only 1 since we did the western last year and wanted to do eastern. I contacted a local TA and gave her the information aobut the date, ship and such. Also told her to get us prices on different catagories, balcony, promenade, inside and outside. This gives everyone a choice on what they would like to book. She was able to hold the prices for 1 month and all we had to do was put a $25 per cabin deposit down. Now, if you wanted a certain cabin then you had to put the full deposit down. Since most of us wanted to be near each other, we put full deposits down. We told everyone they are resposible for the deposit. I'm not going to put down deposits for others then have to chase them down for the money.

Our sailing date is March 5, 2006 and on March 5 of this year we had our 1 year count down party. It was the first time for everyone to meet up (we have 25 in our group going so far). It was nice to put faces to names that we had. I saw on the boards here that someone put out a newsletter and decided to do one for our group. I just emailed out our first issue this week and the response has been great! I alreayd have our April issue done. Some of the things we are including is how our cruise group got started, then each month I am including a bio on each couple, article about each port, everyone's cabin assignment, cruise concoctions, helpful tips and much more. We are planning our next potluck for July and I'm sure there will be a few more before we sail.

I am having a blast with this and it seems to help make the year go faster.

I have been setting up group cruises for my family and friends for the last few years. We have been cruising for about 20 years and just keep adding to our group of people that want to cruise, so now I organize the whole thing. A few years ago I had 52 people that went on the Explorer of the Seas...all family, friends and co-workers. Here are some of the things that I do when I set up that cruise:

1. I contact my TA with the cruise that we were interested in....date/ship. The TA will then reserve multiple cabins for Inside/Outside/Balcony and will provide me with the price for each category.

2. We get some of the cruiseline's stationary (from out TA) that we use to print out a 2/3 page letter that lists the cruise along with all of the necessary information...such as Date, Ship, Itinerary, Price (incl category/price), Deposit, Price Includes, Not Included, Cruise Agent name/tele, 3&4 Passengers, Contact for Reservation, and Documents Needed. We also include a Reservation Form that they can fill out and mail to the TA along with their deposit. The reservation form also asked for information such as dining request and insurance.

3. If I will have more than 10 people going along, then I will contact our airline and request the group rate (you need a minimum of 10 people to qualify as a group). For this trip, I only got 27 seats but could have used more. For our last cruise (15 Hawaii) I have reserved 15 seats and only needed 13 (smaller group this year).

4. I also called around to the various hotels in Miami and got a group rate for our day early stay. We needed 15 rooms in order to get a group rate....not sure if this is the same for all hotels, but it was the same for our hotel we got this year.

5. I contacted SuperShuttle in Miami and set up vans to pick us up from the airport and take us to the hotel, from the hotel to the pier, and again from the pier to the airport. I had a spreadsheet for the pier to airport part of the trip since some were on various airlines...tried to get all for NWA on one van, etc.

6. Did some research for tours. We were able to get a great rate...and had the whole boat to ourselves...with Captain Marvin. I had a couple tours set up and had a spreadsheet that showed who was taking each tour. We had a much better tour than what we would have done with the cruiseline.

7. Sent out periodic emails with information regarding the cruise. I also did a "Tip Sheet" that gave all sorts of information that a new cruiser may need to know....about the ship, packing, what to bring, etc. I sent this out via email also.

I think that this is most of the steps that I went through. I love setting up groups...it is a lot of work, but I do enjoy it. My friends love it also. They just sign up for the cruise and I have everything else taken care of for them.

If you have any questions about any of this, please let me know. You can also reach me at BFB922@aol.com.

Hope this helps you! Enjoy setting up your group! Betty

What are the benefits of setting up a formal "group cruise" rather than just having folks book rooms and linking them to your ressie (for dining room seating purposes)? Cheaper rates?

The group cruise that I did for the 52 people was a real cost saver. My neice (family of 4) was originaly going to purchase the air and pre-night package through the cruiseline. However, by going with the air and hotel that I had put together, she saved a total of around $1,100. The tours that we did were also cheaper than what you would have paid through the cruiseline. The discount we received for multiple cabins was shared with all of the group.

The other benefit for my group is that everything is taken care of...they do not have to find a hotel/air/etc.

I'm already working on our 2006 cruise...Mediterranean. I'm currently doing reseach on which cruise (looks like it will be RCCL) and gathering information on the various ports and tours.

Thanks everyone for all your replies! This has been a very helpful thread!

Theron

This is my first group and I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere so I am asking. The group I have live in many states (friends of friends, etc.) so I have no way of doing a get together before or after our cruise other than we are meeting the night before our cruise at a hotel.

Have any of you done anything after the cruise? I have bought small photo albums I will decorate with cruising stickers and plan to take lots of photos. Will mail this out after the cruise and am thinking about a post-cruise survey. Did you enjoy, anything I could do different, better?. Where else would you like to go?

Wondering what you think.

Really appreciate everyone sharing their expertise.

Norma

Norma,

We are doing our group cruise next March and since many of us do not know each other (friends of friends here too!), I saw that one poster suggested a newsletter. I just sent out our first issue this month. I asked everyone to do a bio on them so that we could "feature" one couple each month. I also included the cabin numbers of everyone sailing, along with how the group even got started. I am finished with next month's issue and it will include our first port with different info on that. There are a couple "newbies" to sailing, so hopefully this info will be useful to them.

Last time when we were back a month, everyone got together to share photos. Since you will have everyone living in different states, maybe you could suggest that when they get photos developed to have them put on a CD, that way they can be sent to everyone and if someone wants a photo, they can just have them printed off. Make a deadline for sending them out, then suggest that the person keep them 1 week then send them one to the next, making a list with addresses included with the CD. Or if someone can burn the CD's, then send them to everyone.

What are the benefits of setting up a formal "group cruise" rather than just having folks book rooms and linking them to your ressie (for dining room seating purposes)? Cheaper rates?

There are several benefits

• Most cases you are able to get a lower price
  
• You can get amenity points which can be used for cabin credits, free phots etc
  
• Depending on the cruise line you get a free cabin rebated to you with a min# of cabins/passengers
  

How do I set up a group cruise

1. Determine if there is any interest among friends and family
   
2. Figure out where everyones interests are to travel
   
3. Determine dates/ports you want to travel
   
4. Call or email travel agents for price quotes. (2 online, 2 traditional TA). My preference is to use a traditional TA.
   1. 
      
   2. Lucky for me the lowest quote came from the Travel agency downstairs at my job so I don't have far to go
      
   3. I prefer to deal face to face than via online for large groups easier handling of payments questions asked. I don't have to have large sums of charges hitting my credit card
      
   4. A really good TA is a godsend. My TA made sure that I had brochures and sent out receipts etc. She also keeps me updated with spreadsheets of everyones payments and makes calls if necessary
      
   5. I had extra cabins left that would have been unused so she did a flyer and had it displayed on the specials board at the agency. Interested cruisers were placed under my group and received the same amenites and ensured that my cabin block was filled
      

[*]Once I get the quotes back I inquire as to how many GAP/Amenity points are available for the cruise I select (You use the points to choose amenities for your group i.e. lower cruise price, free photo, cocktail receiption etc)

[*]Then I send out a email with all of the information regarding the cruise (my TA did a flyer for me which I attached to the email and printed out) Hard copies were mailed/given to interested parties

[*]I do a website which contains information regarding the cruise with a FAQ section photos of the ship sample menus etc

[*]Begin collecting deposits

[*]Buy a large binder and fill with the following contents

1. names of partipants, amount paid, rooming list, cabin names dining pref, any special events (i.e. honeymoon, birthday)
   
2. Confirmation of room reservation on board ship for get to know you meeting
   
3. copies of postcards/newsletters sent
   
4. list and photos of items in the goodie bag and budget
   

[*]A month before the second deposit is due I send out a reminder emai (most particpants have credit cards on file with the TA which are automatically charged)

[*]After the second deposit is in I work on the newsletter and send out to all attendees

[*]4 months before I start working on the goodie bags (painting the picture frames, ordering the bags)

[*]Arrange for airline discounts for attendees (10+)

[*]If a large number of us are going the night before I set up a block of rooms and the TA arranges transportation

[*]1 month before the cruise i send out a countdown postcard

[*]2 weeks before the cruise I box up the goodie bags and have them shipped to the cruiseline

[*]Load all the photos I have taken onto a photo sharing site ofoto, snapfish etc so people can order the photos they like

After we sail I start working on our next land or ship based trip :)

When planning group cruises I try and begin at least 8 months prior. For the cruise I am giving in August I started planning in November

1. Low intial deposits - usually $25 so people can secure their deposits (If they are traveling or solo or a triple the full deposit of $250 is due)\
   

Sorry this is so long. Hope this answers your questions:D