Just a thought

[Bridge Maven]

If Celebrity is going to have large groups sailing on the same ship with regular passengers maybe they should have a special room on their ships, that these groups rent, like hotels and restaurants do.

[GregNVNY]

Bad idea finish below:

 

It sounds like a good idea but if you think about it the cruise line would first have to find space for this new rentable special room. This could mean eliminating space or a venue that others enjoy. And there is no guarantee this special room would be adequate for the group or the size of the group. The group would still want to reserve featured areas of the ship for their private functions (such as the Sky Lounge or the entire pool deck. And then there is the question of what to do with this empty special room when there are no groups. It just sits there with no one choosing to use it.

 

I like the idea in theory, but it doesn't sound practical.

[Bridge Maven]

Bad idea finish below:

 

It sounds like a good idea but if you think about it the cruise line would first have to find space for this new rentable special room. This could mean eliminating space or a venue that others enjoy. And there is no guarantee this special room would be adequate for the group or the size of the group. The group would still want to reserve featured areas of the ship for their private functions (such as the Sky Lounge or the entire pool deck. And then there is the question of what to do with this empty special room when there are no groups. It just sits there with no one choosing to use it.

 

I like the idea in theory, but it doesn't sound practical.

 

Greg, in the M class ships the cinema and arboretum are areas that were underutilized and could have provided a perfect opportunity to create rooms that groups could rent out. However, it is my understanding that Celebrity plans to convert or has converted these spaces into revenue producing venues, such as additional pay restaurants. In my opinion, the creation of additional pay restaurants has already affected the amount of free usable public space that is available on a Celebrity ship. I was very happy when there was only one specialty restaurant, but it appears that most Celebrity cruisers don't mind paying for dinner every night and like the idea of having multiple pay restaurants.

[dkjretired]

Not practical, there is just so much room on cruise ships and it has to be utilized in the most economic way. The groups would not utilize the room all the time while on the cruise and what do you do with the room when there are no groups on the cruise. Also, define a group, number, etc.

[Bridge Maven]

Not practical, there is just so much room on cruise ships and it has to be utilized in the most economic way. The groups would not utilize the room all the time while on the cruise and what do you do with the room when there are no groups on the cruise. Also, define a group, number, etc.

 

dkjretired, when I use the term group I am thinking of a corporation or association that books a large block of rooms for its members, that is very comparable to land based conventions or meetings that are usually held at a hotel.

 

I personally think it is more appropriate for Celebrity to either charter the entire ship to a group, which they sometimes do, or the group should find a ship that is small enough for them to book the whole ship. My husband and I have had numerous opportunities to take group cruises from Yale alumni association (my husband's alma mater), NYU (my alma mater), as well as from various professional organizations, but they were always on small ships where the group in question booked the entire ship. Unfortunately, they always seem to be at a time that won't work for us, but we definitely want to do it one day.

 

BTW - I am not referring to small groups, such as when a corporation rewards its top twenty employees by taking them on a cruise.

[kelmac]

Not practical, there is just so much room on cruise ships and it has to be utilized in the most economic way. The groups would not utilize the room all the time while on the cruise and what do you do with the room when there are no groups on the cruise. Also, define a group, number, etc.

 

 

Don,

 

I agree 100%

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[PS90]

I have to agree with Don, I don't think a dedicated area of the ship is practical.

 

I do think the MOST important thing a cruiseline can do to avoid unhappy customers is make sure everyone who is booked on that cruise is informed as early as possible that a large group is going to be on-board, and then let the pax decide if they want to risk a "different" experience than a regular cruise.

 

The biggest complainers we seem to hear about after a group cruise are the ones who had no idea what they were getting into.

[Cruzaholic41]

Didn't vote. Ships already have dedicated conference rooms that could be used for these purposes. However, even if they used them, it's only temporary. The people are still all over the ship and if it's a controversial group, like the Bears, it doesn't matter where they meet. The entire cruise will still be effected.

[Bridge Maven]

 

I do think the MOST important thing a cruiseline can do to avoid unhappy customers is make sure everyone who is booked on that cruise is informed as early as possible that a large group is going to be on-board, and then let the pax decide if they want to risk a "different" experience than a regular cruise.

 

The biggest complainers we seem to hear about after a group cruise are the ones who had no idea what they were getting into.

 

PS90, I agree with your sentiment but the cruise lines will probably never do it. The only way to know ahead of time is if someone has inside information.

 

For example, if I want to book a bridge cruise I know which ships are having one and on which date.

[Denny01]

Didn't vote. Ships already have dedicated conference rooms that could be used for these purposes. However, even if they used them, it's only temporary. The people are still all over the ship and if it's a controversial group, like the Bears, it doesn't matter where they meet. The entire cruise will still be effected.

You mean like little girls with dolls??

 

Den

[Bridge Maven]

Didn't vote. Ships already have dedicated conference rooms that could be used for these purposes. However, even if they used them, it's only temporary. The people are still all over the ship and if it's a controversial group, like the Bears, it doesn't matter where they meet. The entire cruise will still be effected.

 

Cruzaholic - Are you referring to the Chicago Bears? I just googled Chicago Bears and cruise, but the only cruise I got was a verb instead of a noun :)

[Karynanne]

We've been on cruises where there were "group" passengers, and it didn't impact our cruise whatsoever. We noticed that they did have private events and meetings, but usually in the smaller conference room venues.

 

Personally, I don't mind if a group is present. I can see why the American Girl large group did impact some passengers, just due to the young age of the passengers, but usually most passengers rarely know who's onboard, and what their organization is.

[Wolfie469]

Some of y'all are beginning to sound like real whiners and elitists--maybe even a sourpuss or two thrown into the mix. Geez. Get over it already. How many American Girl posts can one site accommodate?

 

Edit: speaking of letting people know what they're getting into, a thread titled "Just a thought" suckered me in. Had I known, I would've passed on by.

[CaroleLee]

If Celebrity is going to have large groups sailing on the same ship with regular passengers maybe they should have a special room on their ships, that these groups rent, like hotels and restaurants do.

 

I've done 2 conferences @ sea. Both were 300+ pax so fairly large groups. In both cases the group took over a venue ( the disco on one cruise) during the day for conferences. They used conference/meeting rooms. For meals we were in a secton of the MDR. Again for receptions they took over a bar. There really is no perfect world answer. It would be polite of the cruiseline if they posted (ie in the make a reservation area) if a large group would be on board.

 

Carole

[cruisestitch]

Hotels never tell you if they have a convention booked. You can find yourself amidst cheerleaders, high school choir competitions, knitters, college alumni associations, tap dancers, whatever. That's just the way it is. They are in the business of filling rooms.

[Cruzaholic41]

Cruzaholic - Are you referring to the Chicago Bears? I just googled Chicago Bears and cruise, but the only cruise I got was a verb instead of a noun :)

 

Oh, no. Not the Chicago Bears. I mean these Bears:

 

http://www.bearcruises.com/

 

Some of the reports of people who unknowingly wound up on these cruises have been horrifying, like porn videos being shot on balconies, entire pool decks being reserved, and other bad experiences.

 

(sorry, my intent is not to offend - just making a point)

[Bxc53]

I've been on three 'group' cruises. The first was with my DW when she was an active TA. The TA group had dedicated meetings, etc. in existing conference rooms and other venues but I doubt that any non involved pax even knew the group was there. The other two were wine theme cruises on X which were also pretty unobtrusive.

 

 

As practical matter I don't see a cruise company advising prospective customers of any non full ship cruise groups- just not good business. As always, it's up to the customer to do their research..

 

Many of the theme/group cruises can be found by Googling 'Theme Cruise Finder'.

[gyanhumara]

Hotels never tell you if they have a convention booked. ...

 

No, but if you're trying to find a hotel room in a major U.S. city (NYC, LA, Chicago, etc.), you can lay pretty good odds that you're going to run into some group or another throughout the year. Plus, more than likely, those hotels will have boards in the main lobby posting the group's activities, which are visible to anyone walking in the front door. I think as cruise passengers our mindset is such that we expect to find other vacationing folks aboard, not one or more special-interest groups.

 

I seem to recall that the Constellation had a Conference Center when it was first built; I believe it was on deck 3, near the cinema. I distinctly remember thinking that I would love to be employed by any company that would book a cruise for its meetings! (In fact I incorporated the idea into a book I finished writing recently, though I did have the company chartering the entire ship! :D)

[PS90]

Hotels never tell you if they have a convention booked. You can find yourself amidst cheerleaders, high school choir competitions, knitters, college alumni associations, tap dancers, whatever. That's just the way it is. They are in the business of filling rooms.

 

I agree with you that it is simply a business model that encourages these large bookings, but I have to disagree that a very large group on-board a cruiseship is the same as a hotel convention, they aren't really comparable.

 

Cruise pax are a captive audience for a set number of days, while a hotel patron is free to leave at any time - either to do other things during the day, or simply change to another hotel.

 

In other words, if you are stuck as one of the "odd men out" on a large theme cruise, you have absolutely no recourse except to put up with it until it's over.

 

Having said that, I think the VAST majority of cruises in which a large group is present are mostly unobtrusive to the general population of cruise passengers. I was on a Food Network cruise once, and would have never known that the group was there, except for people casually talking about the group on-board.

[Bridge Maven]

Hotels never tell you if they have a convention booked. You can find yourself amidst cheerleaders, high school choir competitions, knitters, college alumni associations, tap dancers, whatever. That's just the way it is. They are in the business of filling rooms.

 

Cruisestitch, there is one major difference, though. Unless someone is staying at a boutique hotel or a budget type of motel, people know that whenever they stay at a hotel there is a very good chance that at least one convention or business meeting will taking place while they are there. If it is a weekend, there is also a good chance that the same type hotel will be used for a wedding or Bar Mitzvah. In addition, hotels are set up for that which was the point of my original post. On the other hand, when people book a cruise they have the expectation that they will have access to all the public venues of that ship that they usually do.

[Bridge Maven]

 

Many of the theme/group cruises can be found by Googling 'Theme Cruise Finder'.

 

bxc - thank you so much for informing me of this website, which I just bookmarked for future reference :)

[SusieV]

I think it's a great idea in theory but not so much in practice, for a lot of the reasons that others have stated. Also, not all of the functions onboard are "work" functions and I'm sure they want to party too, which wouldn't be as enjoyable in a conference room of some type.

 

Hotel conventions don't bother me unless they are noisy when I'm trying to sleep (and the hotel usually takes care of issues like that much more promptly than a cruise does). I don't spend my day at the hotel trying to use all the venues; I can choose to go elsewhere.

[Bridge Maven]

I think it's a great idea in theory but not so much in practice, for a lot of the reasons that others have stated. Also, not all of the functions onboard are "work" functions and I'm sure they want to party too, which wouldn't be as enjoyable in a conference room of some type.

 

Hotel conventions don't bother me unless they are noisy when I'm trying to sleep (and the hotel usually takes care of issues like that much more promptly than a cruise does). I don't spend my day at the hotel trying to use all the venues; I can choose to go elsewhere.

 

SusieV, my husband and I go to a few conventions a year that are held at upscale hotels for various professional organizations. The rooms that are used for business meetings and lectures during the day, are usually used for parties for the group at night. So even though the main purpose of the meeting is professionally oriented, much of the weeks is also spent partying, too. Based on my experience, the people in the group have so much fun together they prefer to hang out with other members and spouses of the organization.

[lemons]

I've been on three 'group' cruises. The first was with my DW when she was an active TA. The TA group had dedicated meetings, etc. in existing conference rooms and other venues but I doubt that any non involved pax even knew the group was there. The other two were wine theme cruises on X which were also pretty unobtrusive.

 

 

As practical matter I don't see a cruise company advising prospective customers of any non full ship cruise groups- just not good business. As always, it's up to the customer to do their research..

 

Many of the theme/group cruises can be found by Googling 'Theme Cruise Finder'.

 

This site(theme cruise finder) is cool. I never new about it. A quick "search" found this cruise in 8 days on the Millennium. Sounds like fun.

 

MSL

 

Category

 

TV/Film/Media

 

 

 

Owner

 

rockboat

 

Days left until departure

 

8

 

Title

 

TCM Classic Cruise

 

Description

 

Turner Classic Movies is pleased to invite you to the first ever TCM Classic Cruise. Sailing December 8-12, 2011, you’ll travel from Miami to Key West and Cozumel aboard the Celebrity Millennium. The world of classic film comes alive for four days, as we partner with Sixthman (the industry leader in theme cruises) to bring together the TCM community for an interactive vacation experience, including a wide variety of movie-themed events, from screenings and panel discussions to trivia contests and parties. Around every corner, you will find like-minded guests who are there to celebrate the classics.

 

TCM host Robert Osborne, weekend-daytime host Ben Mankiewicz, and Hollywood legends who will appear in numerous exclusive events. Immerse yourself in all things classic film through a series of special discussions, educational opportunities, Q&As, and screenings.

 

McHale's Navy star Ernest Borgnine to join cruise

The Academy Award-winning Borgnine is no stranger to the high seas, having served for 10 years in the U.S. Navy before moving on to acting. In addition to McHale's Navy (1962-1966), Borgnine appeared in dozens of other TV shows and movies including From Here to Eternity (1953), Marty (1955), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and The Wild Bunch (1969).

 

Sponsored by:

Private

 

Sail Date:

 

12/8/2011

 

Length:

 

04

 

Itinerary:

 

Caribbean

 

 

Cruise Line:

 

Celebrity Cruises

 

Ship:

 

Celebrity Millenium

[A Sixth?]

Not practical, there is just so much room on cruise ships and it has to be utilized in the most economic way. The groups would not utilize the room all the time while on the cruise and what do you do with the room when there are no groups on the cruise. Also, define a group, number, etc.

 

Didn't pick in the poll, and I agree with you.... where is a "new 800 person" room on any ship? :p Behind door number three?

 

WAIT!!!! :eek::D:rolleyes:

 

Maybe they could "hitch-up" and tow an extra meeting area. :D