When should Celebrity or any cruise company disclose ...

[aquaclass]

When should Celebrity or any cruise company disclose large groups who have made arrangements with a Travel Agency for a specific cruise?

 

Should it be when the group is 20% of the cruise, 30% of the passengers, etc.

 

Should they only disclose certain groups or all large groups?

 

Personally I would want to know if a third of the ship is filled with accountants, doll collectors, swingers, Packers fans, or ministers.

 

Any thoughts ?

[The Rowdys]

interested to see the results of this.... we have never had this issue, but curious about what the "rules" are...

[USVI-4-me]

When should Celebrity or any cruise company disclose large groups who have made arrangements with a Travel Agency for a specific cruise?

 

Should it be when the group is 20% of the cruise, 30% of the passengers, etc.

 

Should they only disclose certain groups or all large groups?

 

Personally I would want to know if a third of the ship is filled with accountants, doll collectors, swingers, Packers fans, or ministers.

 

Any thoughts ?

 

Some groups are a pleasant surprise if the management of the group is done well. We've encountered: carpet sales, disasters at sea historic groups, ethnic societies, Spanish auto sales groups, hairstylist, plumbers, large family reunions, and more.

 

-Marisa

[Christine Frances]

Someone on the HAL board keeps up a list for people to check which I think is a great idea:D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=38671750&postcount=1

 

I usually Google the ship and date and that will usually turn up a charter if there is one.

[Jem 12]

When should Celebrity or any cruise company disclose large groups who have made arrangements with a Travel Agency for a specific cruise?

 

Should it be when the group is 20% of the cruise, 30% of the passengers, etc.

 

Should they only disclose certain groups or all large groups?

 

Personally I would want to know if a third of the ship is filled with accountants, doll collectors, swingers, Packers fans, or ministers.

 

Any thoughts ?

 

 

Hi, I don't think any group on any ship, unless they have chartered the whole ship, should be able to impact the other passengers, by having whole areas closed off for their private use and I would be unhappy if this happened on any cruise that I was on.

 

I also think that all passengers should have to act in an appropriate manner regardless of how many are in their group.

 

Jean

[DDBINK1]

I have encountered a large Saudi family that was over 300 members and they had special areas for sun bathing blocked off by security guards for whatever reasons. And I believe they had no one outside their group at their dinner tables either. It made for great people watching.

I don't really care what the groups are on board. Some people get all upset over certain ethnic groups, or gay groups or transgender groups or rock and roll groups or others because they feel they might catch something from them or some other religious reason or some nonsense.

I say if you don't want to be around people that are different from you then don't get on a cruise ship. It is pretty hard to get off when you are out at sea. You could stay in your own back yard for a vacation and don't worry about encounters with other people?? No offense is meant to anyone on here but cruising on a ship is a choice. You have to know you will encounter people different than you.

[jackdiamond]

Jean, your comments are very aproppriate.

[20pluscruises]

When should Celebrity or any cruise company disclose large groups who have made arrangements with a Travel Agency for a specific cruise?

 

Should it be when the group is 20% of the cruise, 30% of the passengers, etc.

 

Should they only disclose certain groups or all large groups?

 

Personally I would want to know if a third of the ship is filled with accountants, doll collectors, swingers, Packers fans, or ministers.

 

Any thoughts ?

 

I feel guests have a right to know if the cruise line will be blocking certain areas. We were on one cruise where the best entertainment was only available for us one night out of the 10 nights. Many bar areas were not available in the evening. I paid for the cruise and entertainment, too. Not to mention before dinner martini bar was impossible to enjoy due to seat saving for this said group.

[wpgcycler]

I usually Google the ship and date and that will usually turn up a charter if there is one.

 

Just did this for our upcoming Reflection cruise and the results are interesting. Apparently there there is both a "church group" and a "knitting group"! I'm hopeful this may result in shorter waits at the bar ;). However, I am concerned that the knitters (knit wits?) may have their needles confiscated upon boarding (according to reports posted in a recent thread about disallowed items). Was also pleased to hear I will not be part of the Oak Ridge Boys "Rally at Sea II Cruise" which is on the ship the week prior.

[Kartgv]

I wouldn't care about large groups onboard UNLESS the ship allows significant portions of public spaces to be blocked off and inaccessible to anyone not in that group. When this happens, I believe the cruise line should be obligated to tell their customers well before final payment cutoff date to allow them to make an informed decision about whether the group activity will affect their enjoyment of the cruise. I've seen hotels post notices on their reservation sites that certain areas will be restricted for various reasons (usually construction, but occasionally a 'private party' or convention), so why not cruise ships?

 

I have mixed feelings about whether the group should be identified. Yes, I'd be curious and like to know, but I can imagine that some groups (such as the large family group mentioned by one poster) might not want to publicly announce where and when they will be congregating for privacy and security issues. The criteria for disclosure should be closure of public spaces, not the number of people in the group or the nature of the group.

[20pluscruises]

I wouldn't care about large groups onboard UNLESS the ship allows significant portions of public spaces to be blocked off and inaccessible to anyone not in that group. When this happens, I believe the cruise line should be obligated to tell their customers well before final payment cutoff date to allow them to make an informed decision about whether the group activity will affect their enjoyment of the cruise. I've seen hotels post notices on their reservation sites that certain areas will be restricted for various reasons (usually construction, but occasionally a 'private party' or convention), so why not cruise ships?

 

I have mixed feelings about whether the group should be identified. Yes, I'd be curious and like to know, but I can imagine that some groups (such as the large family group mentioned by one poster) might not want to publicly announce where and when they will be congregating for privacy and security issues. The criteria for disclosure should be closure of public spaces, not the number of people in the group or the nature of the group.

 

ITA!!! The one said group also took up many hours a day on several days in the computer room. Frustrating as it was work related when DH had to use the area.

[luvs2fly]

I wouldn't care about large groups onboard UNLESS the ship allows significant portions of public spaces to be blocked off and inaccessible to anyone not in that group. When this happens, I believe the cruise line should be obligated to tell their customers well before final payment cutoff date to allow them to make an informed decision about whether the group activity will affect their enjoyment of the cruise. I've seen hotels post notices on their reservation sites that certain areas will be restricted for various reasons (usually construction, but occasionally a 'private party' or convention), so why not cruise ships?

 

I have mixed feelings about whether the group should be identified. Yes, I'd be curious and like to know, but I can imagine that some groups (such as the large family group mentioned by one poster) might not want to publicly announce where and when they will be congregating for privacy and security issues. The criteria for disclosure should be closure of public spaces, not the number of people in the group or the nature of the group.

 

Very well said!

[scdreamer]

I say if you don't want to be around people that are different from you then don't get on a cruise ship. It is pretty hard to get off when you are out at sea. You could stay in your own back yard for a vacation and don't worry about encounters with other people?? No offense is meant to anyone on here but cruising on a ship is a choice. You have to know you will encounter people different than you.

 

I don't think most people would object to a group because they are "different." The problem comes when the group has private access to public areas of the ship, impacting other passengers. We were on a cruise a few years ago with a very large ballroom dance group. There were many areas of the ship closed off to passengers, so the dancers could have lessons, such as bars and lounges. This included the crow's nest area (it was a HAL cruise) in the afternoons and evenings. Even when the areas were open to all, the dancers took over with ongoing "lessons" and it was quite intrusive.

[Crazy Cruzer]

When should Celebrity or any cruise company disclose large groups who have made arrangements with a Travel Agency for a specific cruise?

 

When the group is a nudist group.

 

The hard part would be deciding whether I should have my glasses cleaned or frosted over if a group like that was on my cruise.

[turning46]

We've encountered: carpet sales, disasters at sea historic groups, ethnic societies, Spanish auto sales groups, hairstylist, plumbers, large family reunions, and more.

 

-Marisa

:eek:

 

Interesting choice for a cruiseship!

 

There was a group on our first cruise, and while it was obvious they were part of a "group tour," there was nothing intrusive or obnoxious about them. Quite the opposite, in fact: they were very friendly and delightful.

 

OTOH, I made the mistake of letting a woman "chat me up" at the gym. She was from another, less obvious group, and as we talked, it became obvious that she and her group were salespeople from some pyramid-scheme health supplement company. I am probably a terrible person for this, but I ended up giving her a fake phone number when she pressed me for a number she could reach me at after the cruise.

 

It would have been nice to know before hand that these folks were on board!

[shoreham01]

We love meeting people from all walks of life, but I really don't want to be barred from certain areas of the ship having paid a considerable amount for my luxury cruise experience.

[Denny01]

:eek:

 

Interesting choice for a cruiseship!

 

There was a group on our first cruise, and while it was obvious they were part of a "group tour," there was nothing intrusive or obnoxious about them. Quite the opposite, in fact: they were very friendly and delightful.

 

OTOH, I made the mistake of letting a woman "chat me up" at the gym. She was from another, less obvious group, and as we talked, it became obvious that she and her group were salespeople from some pyramid-scheme health supplement company. I am probably a terrible person for this, but I ended up giving her a fake phone number when she pressed me for a number she could reach me at after the cruise.

 

It would have been nice to know before hand that these folks were on board!

 

Trust me, this occurs without a group traveling together.....some people just have extremely bad manners and can never stop hustling, whether it is business, religion or anything else they think everyone else just has to have, or what they want off you (your money?).

 

As to informing when large groups are on....good question. But when I did a search on a few sites, turns out there are groups on a lot of cruises. Just take a look at the cycle groups on cruises, week after week of them.

 

And no idea how large a group should somehow be made public since it seems the impact has a lot to do with how the group is handled and so on. If it's 400 geezer cyclists just cruising together,, or is it 50 Hells Angles celebrating their release from prison........it all depends. So I don't see any Line making that call.

 

Den

[ghstudio]

Some, but very few, groups can be invasive creating problems on a cruise. Certainly the infamous "american girl" cruise stands out as an example of what can happen. There have also been cruises (at least one) where a group takes over either early or late seating and even if you've booked it, you get moved to the other, non group, seating in the MDR. Some groups reserve the sky lounge for a group get together..generally just one night, but then you can't go there.

 

However, most groups....the vast majority of groups...pretty much are non events and for the most part, you don't even know they are groups.

[keithm]

:eek:

 

Interesting choice for a cruiseship!

 

There was a group on our first cruise, and while it was obvious they were part of a "group tour," there was nothing intrusive or obnoxious about them. Quite the opposite, in fact: they were very friendly and delightful.

 

OTOH, I made the mistake of letting a woman "chat me up" at the gym. She was from another, less obvious group, and as we talked, it became obvious that she and her group were salespeople from some pyramid-scheme health supplement company. I am probably a terrible person for this, but I ended up giving her a fake phone number when she pressed me for a number she could reach me at after the cruise.

 

It would have been nice to know before hand that these folks were on board!

I would have just refused to give her my #. Now somewhere down the line some poor sucker is getting calls for the fake # you gave out. LOL!

[4cats4me]

I think the cruise line should disclose if 20% of the ship will be comprised of one group.

 

We were impacted by a group on one cruise, 150 out of 2,800 passengers, but due to their poor behavior they made quite a name for themselves. They were a member of some hat club or something and were quite obnoxious:eek:

[turning46]

I would have just refused to give her my #. Now somewhere down the line some poor sucker is getting calls for the fake # you gave out. LOL!

 

I know! That's the worst part! I do feel bad about it, and I should have done as you suggest. I panicked! So, to the people who own a phone number consisting of the prefix from my work and the suffix from my home number: I apologize!

[4cats4me]

Well, I just checked groups ahoy and found out that our Equinox cruise is a "motorcycle cruise." :D

 

Sounds like fun!

[kitty9]

We were on Equinox with 650 from a religious group. They were lovely, unobtrusive and never took over the public rooms---they met in the regular meeting rooms. We also did a cruise on RCI where there was a group of cross dressers. They were a riot, lots of fun and very polite.

 

But there have been some not so great groups that totally impacted the cruise in a negative way.

 

I would say the cruise line should disclose the group if their numbers are 30% of the passengers. But we all know that will never happen. No way does the cruise line disclose group information so as to lose bookings from non-group passengers.

[boogs]

When the group is a nudist group.

 

The hard part would be deciding whether I should have my glasses cleaned or frosted over if a group like that was on my cruise.

 

On NCL or Carnival, I would get them cleaned - so much to see! ;)

On Celebrity or HAL, I would get them frosted - too much to see! :eek:

Edited January 2, 2014 by boogs

[spookwife]

When should Celebrity or any cruise company disclose large groups who have made arrangements with a Travel Agency for a specific cruise?

 

Should it be when the group is 20% of the cruise, 30% of the passengers, etc.

 

Should they only disclose certain groups or all large groups?

 

Personally I would want to know if a third of the ship is filled with accountants, doll collectors, swingers, Packers fans, or ministers.

 

Any thoughts ?

 

 

never.