Large Charter Groups Onboard ?

[hammo]

Is it possible to find out if a large Charter Group may have "Hijacked" your cruise? Our RollCall is particularly slow and it was suggested that this may be because a large group have taken a large number of cabins and have no need to use CC as all their itinerary etc is in-house and no need to participate here.:confused:

[goodycruising]

Have you tried googling the ship and date? Might bring up a result.

[dwhe]

I done a quick Google and found the ANF were organising something on your cruise :eek:

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's the Australian Naturist Federation by the way

Edited March 28, 2014 by dwhe

[cherylroslyn]

I done a quick Google and found the ANF were organising something on your cruise :eek:

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's the Australian Naturist Federation by the way

When I looked really quickly I thought it said Australian NUDIST Federation........I almost spit my coffee all over my keyboard............lol

[cle-guy]

When I looked really quickly I thought it said Australian NUDIST Federation........I almost spit my coffee all over my keyboard............lol

 

It may as well say that:

 

http://www.ausnatural.org.au/cms/

 

They are nudists. I assume its a joke they have a block on these ship, as the OP didn't list their itinerary for us to know....and the nudists charter FULL ships, not just blocks of rooms.

[wpgcycler]

It may as well say that:

 

http://www.ausnatural.org.au/cms/

 

They are nudists. I assume its a joke they have a block on these ship, as the OP didn't list their itinerary for us to know....and the nudists charter FULL ships, not just blocks of rooms.

 

Makes life easier for the sommeliers anyway - they know right away who has a premium package.

[cherylroslyn]

It may as well say that:

 

http://www.ausnatural.org.au/cms/

 

They are nudists. I assume its a joke they have a block on these ship, as the OP didn't list their itinerary for us to know....and the nudists charter FULL ships, not just blocks of rooms.

Yeah, I can't imagine a mixed nude cruise....I have no problem with any partial charter, and have sailed while a Bear partial charter was on my ship twice...... the second time I signed up fully aware of their charter, having done the same itinerary the year before.....great group of people.

 

 

 

But a Nude partial charter is where I would draw the line......

[dwhe]

makes life easier for the sommeliers anyway - they know right away who has a premium package.

 

rotfl :d

[dwhe]

It may as well say that:

 

http://www.ausnatural.org.au/cms/

 

They are nudists. I assume its a joke they have a block on these ship, as the OP didn't list their itinerary for us to know....and the nudists charter FULL ships, not just blocks of rooms.

 

Yes it was a joke.

[dwhe]

^^^^^^ Does anyone know why there's so much blank space above? ^^^^^^

 

Try going to your User CP an deleting any extra lines in your signature settings.

[cle-guy]

Try going to your User CP an deleting any extra lines in your signature settings.

 

thanks for the idea...this one's been tried already. sigh..... keep the ideas coming though...

[hcat]

Is it possible to find out if a large Charter Group may have "Hijacked" your cruise? Our RollCall is particularly slow and it was suggested that this may be because a large group have taken a large number of cabins and have no need to use CC as all their itinerary etc is in-house and no need to participate here.:confused:

 

we had the opposite issue... we discerned that a travel group was forming to be on board, and it became clear the roll call and cruise would be more about them...esp. filiming in some public spaces, wanting alot of attention at events..etc. We decided to make the hard choice and cancelled, but have already replaced it with something else!:)

 

I do not think you can speculate just by roll call numbers that a large group has booked for your cruise. It may be too early, sometimes alot of bookings are done closer to the sail date and then folks sign up for roll calls .

 

Some roll calls are quieter than others...it depends on the itin, time of year or perhaps folks from areas that are not that much involved with cruise critic. You can google as suggested or ask someone on your roll call if they know. The cruise line doe not divulge.

[LetsGetWet!]

thanks for the idea...this one's been tried already. sigh..... keep the ideas coming though...

I might try just completely deleting the signature, and then starting over with a completely blank one. If there's some kind of hidden formatting you can't see, that might get rid of it.

[cruisegirl1]

We had just a handful pf postings for a recent RCCL short cruise and I was worried about some large group. Turns out, there was no large group at all, just a ship fill of folks who don’t use CC. ( remember just a very small portion of most sailings have any significant number of CC’ers.

 

don't worry and enjoy

M

[dkjretired]

thanks for the idea...this one's been tried already. sigh..... keep the ideas coming though...

 

CC has a tech adviser, I spoke to her awhile back, maybe she can help you. I'm sure one of the hosts would get you in touch with her. If you can't get it fixed, just fill it up with more cruises...

Edited March 28, 2014 by dkjretired

[hammo]

To my original point - it does seem that our cruise now does have a large group booked onboard - Silhouette on September 12. A CC contributor on our forum mentioned that their TA told them the group have booked all inside cabins and when I looked at the Celebrity site , all oceanview cabins are sold and the balcony price starts now at $3500 plus.

Our own TA says they cannot find out if indeed any large group has booked as Celebrity will not divulge that information ( not sure how the other CC contributors TA did find this out ?).

:( Having sailed previously with a large group onboard ,who took over public areas and lounges , and made access to some bars etc difficult I believe we should be advised when this occurs as it does affect your expectation and for us the enjoyment of cruising. Not saying large groups shouldnt be able to book large blocks of cabins , just that the rest of us should be able to decide whether that cruise is right for them given that.:mad:

[ghstudio]

To my original point - it does seem that our cruise now does have a large group booked onboard - Silhouette on September 12. A CC contributor on our forum mentioned that their TA told them the group have booked all inside cabins and when I looked at the Celebrity site , all oceanview cabins are sold and the balcony price starts now at $3500 plus.

Our own TA says they cannot find out if indeed any large group has booked as Celebrity will not divulge that information ( not sure how the other CC contributors TA did find this out ?).

:( Having sailed previously with a large group onboard ,who took over public areas and lounges , and made access to some bars etc difficult I believe we should be advised when this occurs as it does affect your expectation and for us the enjoyment of cruising. Not saying large groups shouldnt be able to book large blocks of cabins , just that the rest of us should be able to decide whether that cruise is right for them given that.:mad:

 

If celebrity told us which ships had large groups on board...they would have a difficult job selling cabins on those ships....depending of course on the group.

 

It is clearly in their best interest to refuse to give out that information.

[Lois R]

thanks for the idea...this one's been tried already. sigh..... keep the ideas coming though...

 

It looks like your profile and all the problems on your postings

are fixed:D:):D....much easier to read now!

[cle-guy]

I look at it like the ship hold 3000 people, does it really matter how they get there?

 

So some of the cruisers will be at the pool, well the same number of people would have used the pool if there were no "group". So they fill sky lounge, well, they just happened to the first 300 there to fill it....

 

I was on a group charter in November, we had 900 of us on Reflection. If you visit our roll call, (November 30, 2013 Reflection) you will see how many people came back from the cruise to post even though they were not in the group, how it wasn't really an issue, and what a fun cruise it was.

 

Yes our group took the entire late dining seating, making others go select or early, but its always a chance the ding room slots are full and people can't get first choice.

[hammo]

I look at it like the ship hold 3000 people, does it really matter how they get there?

 

So some of the cruisers will be at the pool, well the same number of people would have used the pool if there were no "group". So they fill sky lounge, well, they just happened to the first 300 there to fill it....

 

I was on a group charter in November, we had 900 of us on Reflection. If you visit our roll call, (November 30, 2013 Reflection) you will see how many people came back from the cruise to post even though they were not in the group, how it wasn't really an issue, and what a fun cruise it was.

 

Yes our group took the entire late dining seating, making others go select or early, but its always a chance the ding room slots are full and people can't get first choice.

 

Yes , I think it does matter -

 

" So they fill sky lounge, well, they just happened to the first 300 there to fill it...." really ?? What if I would like to go to the Sky Lounge - and your other comment - "Yes our group took the entire late dining seating, making others go select or early, but its always a chance the ding room slots are full and people can't get first choice."

 

Thats exactly what I am saying ---

[kevinyork]

I look at it like the ship hold 3000 people, does it really matter how they get there?

 

 

 

So some of the cruisers will be at the pool, well the same number of people would have used the pool if there were no "group". So they fill sky lounge, well, they just happened to the first 300 there to fill it....

 

 

 

I was on a group charter in November, we had 900 of us on Reflection. If you visit our roll call, (November 30, 2013 Reflection) you will see how many people came back from the cruise to post even though they were not in the group, how it wasn't really an issue, and what a fun cruise it was.

 

 

 

Yes our group took the entire late dining seating, making others go select or early, but its always a chance the ding room slots are full and people can't get first choice.

 

 

I dont entirely agree. The 400 Brazilians on our Eclipse cruise last year didnt 'get to the Sky Lounge first'. They brought their own band and the Sky Lounge was out of bounds for other passengers i.e. closed off.

 

Yes its not certain you will get your dining preference but an entire group filling late sitting rules out anyone else having access to that option so doesnt just affect the odds of getting late sitting, it removes the possibility completely.

 

Also, the group seemed to move en masse. Taking over the 'normally' tranquille solarium filling it with loud talking/laughter/shouting, the dance floor, the martini bar, the buffet, the pool. I think large groups upset the balance.

 

There were many reviews of our cruise that were negative about this group.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[hammo]

If celebrity told us which ships had large groups on board...they would have a difficult job selling cabins on those ships....depending of course on the group.

 

It is clearly in their best interest to refuse to give out that information.

 

I can see that , but what about my best interest - or my families best interest , maybe that should also be important , if not paramount , in my selection of a cruise I feel maximizes the substantial $ outlay .I'm saying the choice should be an informed one and if a group such as described in the earlier post -( a group of 900 on Reflection! :eek:) takes over the Sky Lounge or pool area :mad:and monopolises the late dinner seating to the extent that I must eat early or Select:mad:, then we should be able to understand that this is possible and will probably occur with Celebrities blessing. Its freedom of information so we avoid a potential problem.

[ghstudio]

I can see that , but what about my best interest - or my families best interest , maybe that should also be important , if not paramount , in my selection of a cruise I feel maximizes the substantial $ outlay .I'm saying the choice should be an informed one and if a group such as described in the earlier post -( a group of 900 on Reflection! :eek:) takes over the Sky Lounge or pool area :mad:and monopolises the late dinner seating to the extent that I must eat early or Select:mad:, then we should be able to understand that this is possible and will probably occur with Celebrities blessing. Its freedom of information so we avoid a potential problem.

 

In this case, Celebrity cares about its bottom line...they don't care about you, presuming that the ship staff will somehow adjust things.

[cle-guy]

I can see that , but what about my best interest - or my families best interest , maybe that should also be important , if not paramount , in my selection of a cruise I feel maximizes the substantial $ outlay .I'm saying the choice should be an informed one and if a group such as described in the earlier post -( a group of 900 on Reflection! :eek:) takes over the Sky Lounge or pool area :mad:and monopolises the late dinner seating to the extent that I must eat early or Select:mad:, then we should be able to understand that this is possible and will probably occur with Celebrities blessing. Its freedom of information so we avoid a potential problem.

 

Should Celebrity also alert me when a cruise has a large portion of over 60's aboard? When I spend a 'substantial $ outlay' to use your words, I want my vacation to be perfect, and I frankly don't to want to stare across the pool at a bunch of grandparents. And the older people are always asking for the volume to be turned down and requesting more strings and acapella but I want DJ music. If X would have told me he cruise was half full of over 60's I'd choose another cruise. [true story from last year TA, the 'older demographic' actually got so vocal, that the CD actually shut the music completely off around the pool for a period of time every day - yet I still was able to enjoy my cruise]

 

Right, my idea makes little sense....

 

Every cruise is unique, filled with unique people, people traveling together, people with families, people without, people from many countries and cultures and age range and of varied interests. That's cruising.

 

If anyone want it perfect to their suiting every time, its time to charter a captain or take up camping.

 

Groups are part of cruising and will always be there, and Celebrity has no responsibility to notify people of groups any more than they need to publish a passenger manifest so that I could scour it to be sure none of my old bosses or x's are aboard. Both are privacy violations as far as I'm concerned.

 

One needs to go onto a cruise booking ASSUMING there are groups on the ship that may add an element to the cruise one may not have been expecting (sometimes positive as those on my November cruise felt, sometimes negative like you felt). Cruises WITHOUT groups can be great or awful too.

 

And if we do want alerted about groups, exactly what constitutes a group? 10, 100, 1000 people in the group?

 

Why can't we all just learn to live with each other, and let other's enjoy their experience, and look to alternate ways to enjoy our own? When you book a cruise you are not guaranteed anything other than a cabin to sleep in and food in your belly. The rest comes at you as it coms at you. I mean is it really the end of the world that SKY is closed for a private event, when there's so many other venues available for a beverage, that will presumably have far superior service since 900 of your passengers were up in the lounge leaving everyone else to experience true speedy service?

 

It seems like many cruisers get an entitled feeling that since they made a 'substantial $ outlay' the entire ship should be open and available to them 24/7 without interruption. This then leads to well, what about those who paid MORE for the cruise, don't they deserve MORE entitlements.... not a situation we really want to embrace....

 

Fortunately in today's internet age, we are able to seek out these things our selves in most instances with a simple google search (or Facebook actually may be better as groups tend to set up facebook pages nowadays) if avoiding groups is an issue. We have the internet as a tool to research, we can use it and not rely on X to tell us.

 

Bottom line it, the cruise lines have determined over time that the guests they lose over groups being on board are not worth the loss of the consistent group revenue or making a policy to pre-alert others. Which as an RCI shareholder, I approve.

 

Those that feel strong about X alerting passengers about groups, leave X and sail on a line that does announce groups in advance or a line that does not accept groups. Vote with your 'substantial $ outlay' on another line. Kindly let us know what line(s) those are if you would.

 

The lines will never make everyone happy, so they need to focus on the decisions that increase profits, and they must have determined that if they lose 10 passengers for life who are upset about a group, the group of 900 made up for that. That occupancy (according to annual 10k SEC filings) is over 100%, that cruise fares have risen, and that RCI profits have steadily increased means their revenue management scheme is working.

Edited April 8, 2014 by cle-guy

[wvufan]

Cle-guy stated:

 

Why can't we all just learn to live with each other, and let other's enjoy their experience, and look to alternate ways to enjoy our own? When you book a cruise you are not guaranteed anything other than a cabin to sleep in and food in your belly. The rest comes at you as it coms at you. I mean is it really the end of the world that SKY is closed for a private event, when there's so many other venues available for a beverage, that will presumably have far superior service since 900 of your passengers were up in the lounge leaving everyone else to experience true speedy service?

 

So, would it be the end of the world if your large group attempted to gather in the Sky only to find that it was already full with other passengers? Perhaps you should look to alternate ways to enjoy your own.

 

At the point where a group takes over late seating etc., it seriously impacts the cruise for others. Such a group should "take up camping."

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl