RCL - Group reservations perks?

[steele]

Hello everyone!

 

We are looking to book at least 8 -10 cabins on either RCL or Princess for next May (for our cruise wedding! :) ) and was wondering if anyone knew about group reservation on RCL and how they work?? I tried to call the group dept today but I think they're out of office for the weekend.

 

I spoke with Princess, who told me that for every 16th person who books within your group, one person is essentially free. Does RCL do this as well?

 

Any other information about group reservations on RCL would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you!!

[bob278]

RCL does provide a free berth for each 8 cabins (not sure if 16 people would qualify if they were in less than 8 cabins). But the free berth is based on the cruise-only cost (not the total you pay that includes taxes and port charges).

 

The time we were involved with this, everybody paid full price and I got a check from the TA after we got home. What the Group Leader does with that refund is up to him/her. You can spread it out to everyone or give it to one person. Friends of ours do that with their church group and the pastor ends up going for free.

 

There is also something called Group Amenity Points (GAP). The points vary from one cruise to the next. Those points can be used to "purchase" amenities such as casino credit, wine, specialty restaurants, etc. I'm not sure about on-board credits.

 

You can do this directly with RCL or get a TA involved. The same things that are pluses and minuses for using a TA on individual reservations apply to groups. You may get some additional OBC or perks from the TA but you lose the ability to deal directly with RCL. If you decide to use a TA, get things in writing about what they will do about changes/additions/cancellations/etc. Do NOT use one that will charge you fees for anything like that.

 

Once you are on board, there is a Group Coordinator that can help with things like receptions, parties, group meals, etc. They may even be able to help with wedding plans if you want to get married on board.

 

Congratulations and have a wonderful wedding/honeymoon.

[montgomeryfamily]

When I was booking a RCI group cruise for a family/friends group, I contacted RCI group department and was told that they do not offer any special amenities/GAP etc to private individuals booking directly with RCI. So in order to get these, we had to use a travel agent.

[Icruzthere4Iam]

The cruise I am going on in September was booked thru the Group Res. Dept at RCCL. Basically my buddy who put it together called and set it up and got a group booking number for everyone else to reference when we called to make our reservation. For every 8 cabins that book using that reference number my buddy and his bride to be (getting married in Key West on the cruise) get $150 off their cruise. Every cabin also gets a $50 OBC. The group sales dept is only available Mon- Fri, 8-6 or 9-5 eastern time. Congrats on your impending nuptials and have a great time with your group! Take care, Jim

[BlueSkySailing]

Best way is to call RCCL. I was told by RCCL that it was 8 cabins with 16 people for a group rate for the group lead. Not sure what that meant because I had 10 people and only 4 cabins. I didn't ask any more questions after that. Best of Luck and have fun on the cruise and WEDDING :o

[mortypro]

i know that as a travel agent we can get more "perks" for groups

it is 16 paid full fare people 8 cabins and then one person is essentially free

[Maybaybie10]

We are sailing on Freedom of the Seas as a group next May 2011. Our TA is giving us $100 OBC per stateroom and one free "person" (minus tax and port charges) if we get 8 rooms booked. So far I'm up to 6. I need more family members!

[travelteach326]

We have been doing group cruisers for a few years now. Our latest cruise will be in July with 15 cabins booked. Since we only have 15 cabins booked, we are getting one free berth. We assigned the free berth to the group leader and he in turn will take that money and purchase on board credits for the group. we like to give back to our group. I would like to mention that the group price we received from RCL is better that the price offered on the RCL site.

 

As for the points, our particular cruise offers 8. The points range from zero on up. It depends on the sailing. You would find this out from your travel agent or RCL. There is a menu of amenities to choose from: on board credits, wine for staterooms, goodies delivered to stateroom to name a few.

 

Take all the information you have learned from all the posts and go to your TA. It might be easier for you to have them handle all the details. One less thing to worry about - especially the time it will take to organize all the different cabins, etc. Remember, it does not cost anything extra to use your TA.

[ruup4nik]

The cruise I am going on in September was booked thru the Group Res. Dept at RCCL. Basically my buddy who put it together called and set it up and got a group booking number for everyone else to reference when we called to make our reservation. For every 8 cabins that book using that reference number my buddy and his bride to be (getting married in Key West on the cruise) get $150 off their cruise. Every cabin also gets a $50 OBC. The group sales dept is only available Mon- Fri, 8-6 or 9-5 eastern time. Congrats on your impending nuptials and have a great time with your group! Take care, Jim

 

I called this morning and was told they need to know everything about the group (how many people, how many rooms, what kind of rooms everyone wants) before they can do anything for me. Do you happen to have a contact at RCCL that provided the arrangement you mention here?