Do Cruise Lines Offer Significant Savings On Cabins If You Book A Large Group (30-40)

[RAIDERMOM]

I am in the early stages of arranging our next cruise (June 2006) and so far we have about 35 people interested in going.

 

I have seen a lot of info regarding cruising as a group and there are certain incentives, does anyone out there know if we will recieve a significant savings on our cabins, extra perks, etc..

 

I would appreciate any information on this.

 

Thank You

[caviargal]

As one who does this for a living, I can tell you that the discounts are minimal and some lines do not discount at all.

 

The benefits differ from line to line but are not at all "significant".

[mdmourges]

I can tell you from someone who just did this (26 people on 8/14/05 Mariner). Same room prices, however for every 8 rooms (16 people), you get rebated an amount equal to the lowest persons rate. So if you book 32 people with 30 in suites and 2 people in a inside room, you will get a rebate equal to the amount the two people paid for the inside room. The rebate is sent to whatever credit card you designate. They might send you a check, I'm not sure. Once you designate yourself a group, you then HAVE to deal with the group people. They are a bit tougher to deal with, because of the magnitude of their jobs, etc. Also, each cruise has a limited amount of group space, so if you want the group/rebate program, you can't wait till the last minute. It seems to me, who is handling our group of 26, everything else seems similar. You still can get lower room rates if they go down in price (which I did), etc. I have been dealing with the same group person through out and have been doing everything by e-mail. So far, so good.

 

Mark

[dcdiva]

This is one of those situations where "it depends" is the only answer. It can differ depending on the cruise line, the ship, the itinerary, the date, etc. We sailed with 58 people on the Jewel of the Seas and were unable to book as a group. We recieved no cabin discount, and no perks or extras. But I am told that we might have gotten some of those things if we sailed at another time or on another ship. At the very least, you should ask.

 

If you don't end up as a group, I do have some advice. Designate one person as the group leader and hHave each reservation "linked" to that persons booking ID. It will make issues with seating and boarding a bit easier to deal with -- when you get around to that.

[tribefan]

We have a group of 29 going on the Explorer in March (our college spring break week). I had called serveral TA's checking on who had the best price. This was in Jan when they could compete for lower prices. I got a great deal from a previous TA, but due to bad service we weren't thrilled about using her again. I went to a local TA and she was able to match those prices. After booking 8 cabins we are getting rebated the cost of 1 person's cabin price. When we made this group booking, we were also able to put only $25 pp down to hold a cabin catagory till Nov 1. I had to call her a few weeks ago to get the current prices due to another couple wishing to join us. There really wasn't any type of discount now, but if we get 2 more couples we will get the 2nd person rebate. The one nice thing is that our reservations are all linked into a group booking and they are "suppose" to put us all together for dinner. I just emaile her last night with how we wanted to sit at the tables and that we wish to all be together in tables of 10. That will be my biggest pet peeve if we don't get this. This was a big problem last cruise with 24, we were spread out all over the dinning room. She said that since we are putting in for these tables 7 months in advance, they should be able to do it for us. We will see!! Also, she told me that RCCL changed the rules, all bookings had to have full deposit in by Aug 1 instead of Nov 1, which was no problem, only had 1 couple who was going to do it now anyways.

[lul113]

I have just booked a group cruise (yesterday), and we get 1 cabin free for every 8 cabins booked (but in the UK we pay tips/tax - which still have to be paid).

 

If you can, I look into booking in groups of 8, with all of the expensive cabins in one group, and all of the cheaper cabins in another, thereby saving the most possible from the expensive cabins. We have 4 JS, 3 D1's and a K, if we had an additional person in a D1, we would have booked the JS/D1's as a group and the K seperately, thereby increasing the free cabin rebate.

[kenandlaura06]

So would you need a minimum of 16 people (8 couples) to qualify? We have a group of 23 people who go white water rafting every year (we are going in 2 1/2 weeks) and I think that some of them might like to go on a group cruise.

[TEXASMUNK]

Try to negotiate....

 

a cocktail reception for the group (included)

 

if you have any flexibility, look at moving the group to a week before or after if they offer a lower per person price

 

Work with a TA, one experienced in group travel, otherwise, the cruise line will not offer much and you may not be experienced enough to know what might be available.

 

if not per person price decreases, work on upgrades....

 

But, as the organizer, don't lose sight of the reason for cruising with a group...fun.....don't let the negotiations bog you down!

[mdmourges]

kenandlaura06,

 

I believe you will get 1/2 of one room credit for every 8 rooms you book. This is what we actually received for our group booking of 26. We basically got a $1,000 rebate. Thanks.

 

Mark

[BuyReallyLow]

So would you need a minimum of 16 people (8 couples) to qualify? We have a group of 23 people who go white water rafting every year (we are going in 2 1/2 weeks) and I think that some of them might like to go on a group cruise.

 

On RCCL, you would receive one individual rate for the least expensive room - once you reach 16 people or eight rooms. For example, if an inside room on the ship was $700 per person ($1400 double occupancy), you would receive $700.00. In the past, that $700 could be divided up at the discretion of the cruise leader - including giving everyone a shipboard credit, but on our last cruise this spring RCCL has determined that it must be discounted from the room charge of all couples. I am not sure if you can provide a different discount to different couples, as we divided it evenly between our 10 couples, but you may want to check.

 

Also, I agree that you will want to negotiate additional perks, such as cocktail receptions (called meet & mingles), gifts in room, etc. Also, don't forget that if any of your group owns 100 shares or more of RCCL common stock, they will receive an on-board ship credit (given that they complete the form).

 

Enjoy!

[mergle55]

We had a group of 24 on the Mariner this past April and we had no problem with the seating at dinner. We ended up with 3 tables all togather, however some of us did change exactly which tables, but no problem

[lrovnan]

I've been told by a friend that if you book a large group you can get an inclusive deal. Where they will charge you a set price (example extra $200 per person) for unlimited drinks. But the catch is the all inclusive has to apply to everyone.

[EagerToCruise]

Irovnan, I'd sure like to hear more about this all inclusive deal!

 

And don't forget, the "rebate" is the berth rate before taxes and port charges. So if you pay $500 per person, that would include around $135 of the extra charges, thereby giving your group a "rebate" of $365 for every 8 cabins in this category.

 

This may vary with your state of residence or other conditions, I don't know, but for our group, this is what we've been told.

[smrtypnts]

We only have 7 cabins on our upcoming cruise, but I was told that even if we got to 9 (as you need to book 8 and then you get the discount on the 9th cabin) that we wouldn't get the discount because we'd have to cancel everyone and then rebook everyone to be considered a group and that even if we did that, any new cabins after that would not be considered part of the group, so if we made it up to another 9 cabins, we wouldn't get that 9th cabin discount!:( The cruiselines have a racket and if we want to cruise we've got to pay, it's that simple.

[EagerToCruise]

smrtypnts, that's why it sometimes is a great benefit to go through a travel agent. We booked ours (group of 36) through an online cruise agency based in NC and have had the best customer service! If you want the name I'll be glad to send you the contact information.

[lrovnan]

Hey EagertoCruise....My next door neighbor went on RCCL last year. He coordinated the Western Carribean cruise through his work and it ended up being 30 or 40 people . He negotiated with RCCL for the all inclusive drinks. I believe he said it was 30 or 40 dollars a day extra per person but as I said before everyone had to take it. It worked out great for them because they are big partiers so RCCL probably lost money on the deal.

[EagerToCruise]

Thanks for the info Irovnan! If we keep adding more people to our group, I just may see if we can negotiate something like this. We are also pretty decent partiers but there are a handful that don't drink alcohol. Don't know how they put up with us :) Still, it may be worth it to split the cost for those non-drinkers among the rest of us. Something to think about......

[lovetocruiserccl]

I can tell you from someone who just did this (26 people on 8/14/05 Mariner). Same room prices, however for every 8 rooms (16 people), you get rebated an amount equal to the lowest persons rate. So if you book 32 people with 30 in suites and 2 people in a inside room, you will get a rebate equal to the amount the two people paid for the inside room. The rebate is sent to whatever credit card you designate. They might send you a check, I'm not sure. Once you designate yourself a group, you then HAVE to deal with the group people. They are a bit tougher to deal with, because of the magnitude of their jobs, etc. Also, each cruise has a limited amount of group space, so if you want the group/rebate program, you can't wait till the last minute. It seems to me, who is handling our group of 26, everything else seems similar. You still can get lower room rates if they go down in price (which I did), etc. I have been dealing with the same group person through out and have been doing everything by e-mail. So far, so good.

 

Mark

 

 

 

One free for every 10 or 8 cabins sold depending upon the ship and sailing. No matter what the type. 10 balconies one free spot. 20 balconies = 2 free spots or 1 free cabin. The freebie is = to whatever you sold the most of. I do group cruises every year.