Charter groups on HAL cruises

[lgotsch]

I just discovered that a large charter group (500+ of 1900 passengers), who's bringing their own entertainers, is booked on our upcoming cruise. Should this have much effect on the quality or number of activity and/or entertainment choices offered by HAL to the other passengers on the ship? Thanks!

[RuthC]

It's not a charter then, but 500 out of 1900 passengers is a very large group. If they have their own entertainment, then they will tie up some venues for private presentations. That may or may not interfere with non-group passengers. I have been on cruises with those types of groups, and they weren't in the way at all. Our usual nightly entertainment went on as if no groups were there.

However, depending on the group, they could take over places like the Crows Nest, Lido or aft pool, or other such public areas for private parties. That could easily bother me if they took over the place I wanted to be.

Good luck.

[IRL_Joanie]

I just discovered that a large charter group (500+ of 1900 passengers), who's bringing their own entertainers, is booked on our upcoming cruise. Should this have much effect on the quality or number of activity and/or entertainment choices offered by HAL to the other passengers on the ship? Thanks!

 

What cruise ship and date?? I have a list of charter groups and can tell you if they will be much of an impact. One of our other CC members also maintains a list and between us we can help ease your mind, I hope:)

 

Joanie

[Kabana]

Which cruise and group? There is a group on my upcoming cruise also but I was actually able to google the group website and find their entertainment and activity schedule. Turns out that most of their performances are very late or afternoon and will not have any impact on the regular activities or venues.

 

Many of their meetings will be informal and will not impact the use public areas.

 

If you are on the 2/19 Westerdam sailing here is the group schedule.

[fatcat04]

Which cruise and group? There is a group on my upcoming cruise also but I was actually able to google the group website and find their entertainment and activity schedule. Turns out that most of their performances are very late or afternoon and will not have any impact on the regular activities or venues.

 

Many of their meetings will be informal and will not impact the use public areas.

 

If you are on the 2/19 Westerdam sailing here is the group schedule.

 

I have to admit... that group cruise looks very fun. The dance parties with John Flansburgh alone I think would be worth the price. Too bad the other John won't be along for the ride :p I will have to bookmark them. Not many places that combine formal wear with fake mustaches and fezzes. (Yes I am a chic and yes I have both... I am an incurable geek.):D

[Kabana]

I have to admit... that group cruise looks very fun. The dance parties with John Flansburgh alone I think would be worth the price. Too bad the other John won't be along for the ride :p I will have to bookmark them. Not many places that combine formal wear with fake mustaches and fezzes. (Yes I am a chic and yes I have both... I am an incurable geek.):D

 

I agree, unfortunately you can only buy the package to see the performances if you booked the cruise through the group.

[fatcat04]

I agree, unfortunately you can only buy the package to see the performances if you booked the cruise through the group.

 

Yep I figured but thanks for sharing the link. The prices seemed really reasonable too. I had never even heard of it and am glad you posted it. Apparently they are sold out this year so I bet there will be more availability next year. Definitely something me and my equally geeky husband would enjoy. :D

[djhsolara]

We sailed on Eurodam with a large group once. They had their own events scheduled a few times in the evening that perhaps had the Lido Pool closed, however it didn't affect us because the only reason we were at the Lido Pool was to walk through, so we just took another route. They did have some special shows in the showroom, however they were scheduled around the normal events held there. Overall, although it was a very large group, they really had absolutely no impact on our sailing.

 

:) :)

[kazu]

In the 'old' days, the company I worked for would charter cruises for their top performers. That's how I discovered cruising :)

 

We took 2/3 of the ship. People would ask when we had the next one - they wanted to join in on the fun. Charters can be a good thing. Just look at Boytie's thread. Sounds like a blast.

[sail7seas]

I've been told the largest group HAL will permit is 50% of the total guests. When it gets to be more than half, those guests who are not part of the group are apt to feel 'left out'. If the group gets to be bigger than 50%, they have to charter the ship.

 

[lgotsch]

Thanks for the helpful feedback everyone! Ours is the 2/19 Westerdam sailing and I'd agree, looking at the big group's event schedule, there's some crazy good fun planned for them. Now I'm worried that the cruise entertainment for the rest of us won't measure up :o Maybe we can get ourselves adopted for the week by the group!

[IRL_Joanie]

Thanks for the helpful feedback everyone! Ours is the 2/19 Westerdam sailing and I'd agree, looking at the big group's event schedule, there's some crazy good fun planned for them. Now I'm worried that the cruise entertainment for the rest of us won't measure up :o Maybe we can get ourselves adopted for the week by the group!

 

 

Westerdam – February 19 – 26, 2012—7-day Jonathan Coulton (JoCoCrazy) group

 

http://jococruisecrazy.com/

 

JoCo Cruise Crazy II

 

JoCo Cruise Crazy II is a 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise in 2012 on Holland America’s ms Westerdam, with music, comedy and performances from Jonathan Coulton and friends. It departs from Ft. Lauderdale, FL on February 19th and returns February 26th, with ports of call at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; Oranjestad, Aruba; and Willemstad (Curacao), Antilles.

 

 

UPDATE: JoCo Cruise Crazy II is Sold Out!

[edited on January 23]

We are both pleased to announce (from a business standpoint) and sorry to announce (for anyone who hadn’t booked yet) that JoCo Cruise Crazy II is officially sold out of cabins. Thanks to everyone who is coming back, coming for the first time, and/or convinced new friends to come this time around. We couldn’t be more pleased with how this event has grown, without any advertising. Thank you all, involuntary buzz marketers! Go internets!

The Entertainment: http://jococruisecrazy.com/the-entertainment/

 

 

Under their FAQ's I found This:

Are you taking over the whole ship?

 

Ha ha! Not this year, and there will be plenty of other folks on board who aren’t there for us. So let’s take it easy on the zombie costumes and the “very drunk Arrrrr’s.”

Hope this helps:)

Joanie

[Watson's aunt]

remembering my last cruise. HAl Amsterdam 14 day Alaska. there was a large group. I remember them lining up to get on ship and then seeing them in downstairs of the mdr at lunch when I went to Mariners lunch before sailing. I never noticed them again.

[FunLuv'n]

How do you know if there is a large group that maybe chartered on the same cruise as you? Is there a web site somewhere that tells you about that?

[RuthC]

How do you know if there is a large group that maybe chartered on the same cruise as you? Is there a web site somewhere that tells you about that?

There can either be a large group' date=' or there can be a charter. A charter takes over the entire ship. No one who is not with the chartering group can be on the ship with them. [/color']

 

If you are asking how can you know if there will be a large group on a non-chartered cruise that you are taking, then try this. Google the name of the ship and the date. See if there are any groups that come up in the results. Then, take a look at the purpose of the group. They may have no impact on the other passengers.

[IRL_Joanie]

How do you know if there is a large group that maybe chartered on the same cruise as you? Is there a web site somewhere that tells you about that?

Let's see' date=' how can we tell.....

 

1. We find that the cruise date is literally sold out of staterooms in almost every category months or more before the cruise date.

2. Fellow CC members are members of the group(s) that have booked large blocks of rooms for the cruise.

3. Tying in the date of the cruise and ship name in Google search. I generally type in something like:

 

Cruise Charter March 5 2012 Noordam

 

There is a sticky above the main HAL threads called: Sticky: Is There a Way To Determine If a Group Is Booked On Your Cruise (1 2 3 ... Last Page) Host Walt that many also post the info we find about Groups and Charters

 

Joanie

[Cruiser from MS]

Thanks for the helpful feedback everyone! Ours is the 2/19 Westerdam sailing and I'd agree, looking at the big group's event schedule, there's some crazy good fun planned for them. Now I'm worried that the cruise entertainment for the rest of us won't measure up :o Maybe we can get ourselves adopted for the week by the group!

 

Now I'm also worried about the same thing. Surely, Holland won't the cruise lack anything for the rest of us....

[FunLuv'n]

RuthC and IRL Joanie,

 

Thanks for the info...very helpful. Also Joanie, glad things turned out for you. Our prayers were with you.

[TheCalicoCat]

i just discovered that a large charter group (500+ of 1900 passengers), who's bringing their own entertainers, is booked on our upcoming cruise. Should this have much effect on the quality or number of activity and/or entertainment choices offered by hal to the other passengers on the ship? Thanks!

 

yep!

[GeriatricNurse]

I just discovered that a large charter group (500+ of 1900 passengers), who's bringing their own entertainers, is booked on our upcoming cruise. Should this have much effect on the quality or number of activity and/or entertainment choices offered by HAL to the other passengers on the ship? Thanks!

 

You betcha! ;)

[aichambaye]

Hi everyone,

 

I am not speaking as a representative of the group, but just as a person who is booked in with them. We are all worried very much about not making the other people on the cruise feel bad. Generally speaking we are a courteous and respectful group of people. Those of us who have been cruising before have been talking to others, and I hope very much that your enjoyment is not impacted by us!

 

Almost all of our events are late afternoon, and I think we have taken over the entire 8pm seating in the MDR, which I know is why the size has been limited and we are "sold out".

 

I wouldn't count on getting yourselves adopted by the group - we will have badges and you can't get into events without them. We had to pay $400 extra per person for the badges, so......

 

There's one meeting room that will be closed to the other guests for the duration of the cruise, but my guess is that any activities in that room have been relocated for other guests' enjoyment. We'll be gaming in there - not poker, but Dungeons and Dragons and Magic, the Gathering and stuff like that.

 

Please don't hestitate to talk to us about what we're doing and who we are! Most of us are geeks, we are all Jonathan Coulton fans, but we are all over the map in terms of who we are, what we do for a living, ages, etc. My guess is that the overall average age of this cruise might be a little less than HAL's normal cruise! I hope to meet some of you and convince you to come on JoCo Cruise Crazy 3 with us... assuming we can get Jonathan to agree to do it again.

[IRL_Joanie]

Hi everyone,

 

I am not speaking as a representative of the group, but just as a person who is booked in with them. We are all worried very much about not making the other people on the cruise feel bad. Generally speaking we are a courteous and respectful group of people. Those of us who have been cruising before have been talking to others, and I hope very much that your enjoyment is not impacted by us!

 

Almost all of our events are late afternoon, and I think we have taken over the entire 8pm seating in the MDR, which I know is why the size has been limited and we are "sold out".

 

I wouldn't count on getting yourselves adopted by the group - we will have badges and you can't get into events without them. We had to pay $400 extra per person for the badges, so......

 

There's one meeting room that will be closed to the other guests for the duration of the cruise, but my guess is that any activities in that room have been relocated for other guests' enjoyment. We'll be gaming in there - not poker, but Dungeons and Dragons and Magic, the Gathering and stuff like that.

 

Please don't hestitate to talk to us about what we're doing and who we are! Most of us are geeks, we are all Jonathan Coulton fans, but we are all over the map in terms of who we are, what we do for a living, ages, etc. My guess is that the overall average age of this cruise might be a little less than HAL's normal cruise! I hope to meet some of you and convince you to come on JoCo Cruise Crazy 3 with us... assuming we can get Jonathan to agree to do it again.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!!

 

Let me say thank you for reassuring all those on the cruise with you about the group:) I am sure everyone will be happy that You have posted this reassurance.

 

Heck, I'm a Dungeons and Dragons, Warcraft and other RPG games person my self so even we older folk are geeks:)

 

Have a DAMmed Blast!!

 

Joanie

[Watson's aunt]

I know they were a group because they all met in the trasportation building.

I watched them gather. More kept coming along and joing the group, Then they all boarded the ship before the first numbers were called to board.

[aichambaye]

Hi Joanie,

 

Thanks, and also, thanks for posting a great site with room photos of the ships! It really helped me decide what to book.

[IRL_Joanie]

Hi Joanie,

 

Thanks, and also, thanks for posting a great site with room photos of the ships! It really helped me decide what to book.

 

I thank you and just want to extend the thanks to all the Cruise Critic members and others who have supplied me with the pictures and descriptions that help us all:)

 

Joanie