Large group on our cruise.

[antsnanny]

My wife was getting annoyed by the end because we kept running into them everywhere we went. We went walking thru town at one of the ports and we turn the corner and there they were doing Bikini poses on the street. We went to the Night Club to dance and there they were on the Dance Floor. We are out by the Pool and here they come again playing Pool Games and there were a few Wardrobe malfunctions. They also had a film crew that followed them wherever they went documenting everything for some TV show. Needless to say my wife was keeping tabs on me most of the time.

 

 

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I suppose the medical professionals on the Quantum will be better behaved than the Hooters group! Your poor wife must have been exhausted keeping her eye on you! ; )

[jackie101]

I would only worry about Quincera tour groups (not family groups where they travel with their own families, that's like what you'd find on any cruise, but the groups where 300-500 girls travel with a half dozen male chaperones)

 

we were on a cruise in Feb with this group :mad:

[Nemomof3]

I would only worry about Quincera tour groups (not family groups where they travel with their own families, that's like what you'd find on any cruise, but the groups where 300-500 girls travel with a half dozen male chaperones)

 

we were on a cruise in Feb with this group :mad:

 

We were on the week before you. We had Women who wine you wouldn't have known they were there is you didn't see their shirts. We did go to Universal Studios after and ran into the quinceanera group there and yes you knew who they were even at the big park. I can only imagine that group on the ship.

[juiceman]

A group like that will NOT be a problem! If you were sailing with a group of strippers or pimps or whatever.

 

When is this cruise & on what ship? :D

[DandDM]

Hello. Were traveling on the Quantum of the Seas April 24, 2015 and understand there will be a large group on that trip from University at Sea. Anyone have any experience sailing with large groups? How large of a group would you be comfortable sailing with? Also. Any on how we could find out the size of the group? Our TA asked Royal but they couldn't tell him...

 

I haven't read all the posts, but we had a group of students on our Mariner TA a couple years ago. I think it was university of the seas, but not sure. Anyway, they were great! Gave some life to the ship. A couple times they congregated on one of the decks or in a lounge, but generally they were very polite and non-obtrusive.

 

They really got into the Qwest. . .good times! I wouldn't hesitate to cruise with them again.

[antsnanny]

I haven't read all the posts, but we had a group of students on our Mariner TA a couple years ago. I think it was university of the seas, but not sure. Anyway, they were great! Gave some life to the ship. A couple times they congregated on one of the decks or in a lounge, but generally they were very polite and non-obtrusive.

 

They really got into the Qwest. . .good times! I wouldn't hesitate to cruise with them again.

 

This group on our cruise is doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners etc, Im guessing some continuing education for them… Sometimes when a group is too big they take over lounges and bars for private functions. Again, this only becomes an issue for me if the group is very large. So far no one knows how big the group will be but cabins are hard to come by for this cruise so I can only guess they have held a lot of cabins for them…

Edited June 4, 2014 by antsnanny

[cecelia0613]

On our Allure cruise in February there was a group of 1500 from some pump company and while I don't have a problem with such large groups I did not appreciate that the first night of the cruise and the last night they shut the boardwalk area down for them to have a private party for most of the evening. Since the other cruisers paid to use all of the ship it was a pretty selfish act on RCCL's part. Another night they shut down one of the large club venues for a private party.

 

 

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[dadroy]

We had a wedding on one of our cruises. About 75 people, and they shut down part of one the forward ares of the ship for the ceremony. We paid for that area for the whole cruise and they should not have allowed it! For that hour, we were greatly inconvenience!!!:eek:

 

So, where do you draw the line? Every cruise they have the welcome back party for those returning customers and they shut down a showroom! Does this mean I am inconvenienced? If I am not a participant, of course it does.

 

Deal with it. All these activities will mean some part of the ship is shut down, but you should simply accept it and move on.

[Desert Cruizers]

Roll Calls are or can be large groups and will take a lounge for a day and when you think of it, the entire ship full of people is a group. You probably won't be able to distinguish a selective group of people from the general passengers. Granted they will schedule things for their group much like Roll Calls do.

[antsnanny]

On our Allure cruise in February there was a group of 1500 from some pump company and while I don't have a problem with such large groups I did not appreciate that the first night of the cruise and the last night they shut the boardwalk area down for them to have a private party for most of the evening. Since the other cruisers paid to use all of the ship it was a pretty selfish act on RCCL's part. Another night they shut down one of the large club venues for a private party.

 

 

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Thank you for your input, this is the type of thing that worries me! Did you know that you would be sailing with a large group in advance?

[antsnanny]

We had a wedding on one of our cruises. About 75 people, and they shut down part of one the forward ares of the ship for the ceremony. We paid for that area for the whole cruise and they should not have allowed it! For that hour, we were greatly inconvenience!!!:eek:

 

So, where do you draw the line? Every cruise they have the welcome back party for those returning customers and they shut down a showroom! Does this mean I am inconvenienced? If I am not a participant, of course it does.

 

Deal with it. All these activities will mean some part of the ship is shut down, but you should simply accept it and move on.

 

Well, I still do have the choice to accept it or not! I don't mind an hour here or there but it seems this group is going to be very large. Groups of 75 are on almost every cruise your or I go on.

[antsnanny]

Roll Calls are or can be large groups and will take a lounge for a day and when you think of it, the entire ship full of people is a group. You probably won't be able to distinguish a selective group of people from the general passengers. Granted they will schedule things for their group much like Roll Calls do.

 

I have never seen a cruise line shut down an entire area of the ship because of a roll call. Have you? Normally the Meet and Mingle is in a restaurant that wouldn't be open anyhow or a part of a bar and it lasts about 45 minutes. What Im talking about is a very large group that will no doubt shut down large areas of the ship for their large private functions.

[cecelia0613]

We had a wedding on one of our cruises. About 75 people, and they shut down part of one the forward ares of the ship for the ceremony. We paid for that area for the whole cruise and they should not have allowed it! For that hour, we were greatly inconvenience!!!:eek:

 

So, where do you draw the line? Every cruise they have the welcome back party for those returning customers and they shut down a showroom! Does this mean I am inconvenienced? If I am not a participant, of course it does.

 

Deal with it. All these activities will mean some part of the ship is shut down, but you should simply accept it and move on.

 

Hmmm, comparing a wedding of 75 to a red tote bag carrying group of 1500 is like comparing apples to oranges. To close off the front forward part of the ship is not even anywhere near the same as closing the entire boardwalk area on a ship and an hour is not the same as the entire evening. As for dealing with it, WE did. However, to have 1500 group members carrying their red bags for a week was very noticeable and it was highly evident that these folks were hogging chairs at the pool. I clearly said it was selfish on the part of RCCL but probably should have said it became very clear that it has become "all about the money" for them.

 

As for your sarcastic attitude, this is one of the reasons I don't use these boards for much anymore. Too many folks on here who think they "know it all" and are the only ones with opinions.

 

Get over yourself!

[cecelia0613]

Thank you for your input, this is the type of thing that worries me! Did you know that you would be sailing with a large group in advance?

 

Nope we were not informed prior to the cruise. My husband and I did a B2B on Allure and the first week was wonderful. For the second week we had made all of our show reservations and a month prior to the cruise we received an email back indicating that our reservation for the water show had been moved to another day so that they could use the big screens at the Aqua Theater as the venue for showing the Super Bowl. We were excited about watching the Super Bowl outdoors on the ship but had that bubble burst when they posted a sign at the entrance to the Boardwalk indicating that it was closed for a private function that evening.

 

While this didn't hamper out having a good time on the cruise, it would have been nice to know upfront that we were traveling with such a large group so we would have been prepared for things to be shutdown. It's a common courtesy thing...

[antsnanny]

Nope we were not informed prior to the cruise. My husband and I did a B2B on Allure and the first week was wonderful. For the second week we had made all of our show reservations and a month prior to the cruise we received an email back indicating that our reservation for the water show had been moved to another day so that they could use the big screens at the Aqua Theater as the venue for showing the Super Bowl. We were excited about watching the Super Bowl outdoors on the ship but had that bubble burst when they posted a sign at the entrance to the Boardwalk indicating that it was closed for a private function that evening.

 

While this didn't hamper out having a good time on the cruise, it would have been nice to know upfront that we were traveling with such a large group so we would have been prepared for things to be shutdown. It's a common courtesy thing...

 

 

Thank you again, i agree the sarcasm was not necessary. I love the boards because Im getting answers from people like yourself who actually experienced a large group on their sailing. You bring up some very good points and are arming us with the information we need to make our decision. Would you travel with a large group again if you knew there would be one your sailing? Or would you choose another date?

[cecelia0613]

Thank you again, i agree the sarcasm was not necessary. I love the boards because Im getting answers from people like yourself who actually experienced a large group on their sailing. You bring up some very good points and are arming us with the information we need to make our decision. Would you travel with a large group again if you knew there would be one your sailing? Or would you choose another date?

 

I still read the boards looking for tips and ideas, but don't often post.

 

In reply to your question about would we travel again with such a large group, I'd say I wouldn't let them stop me if it was the itinerary and ship I wanted. Big problem is that it's hard to find out if you will have a group onboard. We had a great time but it was a struggle on sea days getting seats on deck both in the sun and shade and it was obvious who was holding chairs since the red bags were very noticeable.

 

Hope this helps.

[saltyswife]

There used to be a website that listed conventions and such on cruise ships but I can't remember what it was. If I find it, I'll post it.

[dadroy]

Hmmm, comparing a wedding of 75 to a red tote bag carrying group of 1500 is like comparing apples to oranges. To close off the front forward part of the ship is not even anywhere near the same as closing the entire boardwalk area on a ship and an hour is not the same as the entire evening. As for dealing with it, WE did. However, to have 1500 group members carrying their red bags for a week was very noticeable and it was highly evident that these folks were hogging chairs at the pool. I clearly said it was selfish on the part of RCCL but probably should have said it became very clear that it has become "all about the money" for them.

 

As for your sarcastic attitude, this is one of the reasons I don't use these boards for much anymore. Too many folks on here who think they "know it all" and are the only ones with opinions.

 

Get over yourself!

 

So sorry you did not understand my point, which was dealing with the issue of "large group" which will be defined differently. You mention 1,500 passengers with red totes. On a a ship carry 1,800 passengers, that would be a large group to almost all readers. On a 5,000 passenger ship it might not. One ship I am still hoping to sail on one day has a capacity of 793 passengers, so 75 people would be 10%. Large group on that ship. Where would you draw the line of when the cruise line should tell you about this large group? A wedding with 1,500 people? We can discuss this.

 

My second point was they are constantly shutting down portions of ships for this group or that group. No problem, I have never heard of them shutting down the entire ship for a group. When they shut down an area, I just go elsewhere.

 

I was also responding to the OP original post and I don't see where they mentioned 1,500 red tote carrying people. In fact, other than your post, I don't see it mentioned anywhere. There are constantly groups, one I know of is the red hat ladies. You guessed it, they wear red hats everywhere they go. They are actually lots of fun. Not sure how many are in their group, but I guess their red hats could become annoying.

 

Perhaps I need to make my points a little clearer and dial back the examples to make my intended points. But in the end, it still boils down to what percentage of passengers have to be in the group to make the cruise line "warn" other passengers and then the discussion would have to held about what information to provide about the group. Just listing Bobs fresh produce group with 1,500 people might not tell you that they are going to walk around the ship dressed as peas and carrots, which could get annoying.:D

[antsnanny]

There used to be a website that listed conventions and such on cruise ships but I can't remember what it was. If I find it, I'll post it.

 

Thanks. That would be very helpful… I have read over the years that very large groups can take over the ship!

[antsnanny]

I still read the boards looking for tips and ideas, but don't often post.

 

In reply to your question about would we travel again with such a large group, I'd say I wouldn't let them stop me if it was the itinerary and ship I wanted. Big problem is that it's hard to find out if you will have a group onboard. We had a great time but it was a struggle on sea days getting seats on deck both in the sun and shade and it was obvious who was holding chairs since the red bags were very noticeable.

 

Hope this helps.

Yes, you have been very helpful… On this cruise we have to book dinners online or by phone in advance, even the free restaurants. I have had trouble getting the restaurant of choice for a few evenings and Im wondering if the group booked the entire restaurant. Should prove interesting…

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions...

[antsnanny]

So sorry you did not understand my point, which was dealing with the issue of "large group" which will be defined differently. You mention 1,500 passengers with red totes. On a a ship carry 1,800 passengers, that would be a large group to almost all readers. On a 5,000 passenger ship it might not. One ship I am still hoping to sail on one day has a capacity of 793 passengers, so 75 people would be 10%. Large group on that ship. Where would you draw the line of when the cruise line should tell you about this large group? A wedding with 1,500 people? We can discuss this.

 

My second point was they are constantly shutting down portions of ships for this group or that group. No problem, I have never heard of them shutting down the entire ship for a group. When they shut down an area, I just go elsewhere.

 

I was also responding to the OP original post and I don't see where they mentioned 1,500 red tote carrying people. In fact, other than your post, I don't see it mentioned anywhere. There are constantly groups, one I know of is the red hat ladies. You guessed it, they wear red hats everywhere they go. They are actually lots of fun. Not sure how many are in their group, but I guess their red hats could become annoying.

 

Perhaps I need to make my points a little clearer and dial back the examples to make my intended points. But in the end, it still boils down to what percentage of passengers have to be in the group to make the cruise line "warn" other passengers and then the discussion would have to held about what information to provide about the group. Just listing Bobs fresh produce group with 1,500 people might not tell you that they are going to walk around the ship dressed as peas and carrots, which could get annoying.:D

 

 

The cruise line is under no obligation to tell us when they have a group onboard.

In my case this cruise has been impossible to book since April 2014 and the sailing is not until April 2015. I know its a popular ship because its new but the other sailings are wide open. That tells me that this will be a large group, that perhaps they bought lots of cabins or the cruise line is letting them hold large blocks of cabins.

No one is saying that they will close down the whole ship but as the OP pointed out she was looking forward to watching a game on the outside TV ( we love that too) and when she got there it was closed for a private function and she couldn't do that. This is the type of thing Im talking about!

[Host Anne]

We had a situation with a large group on board a ship last year. I learned about it well in advance. While any large group (50% of the ship) concerns me, we decided to stick with the cruise. I can't recall any of the ship's public rooms being closed because of the group but what was really impacted was the bar and lounges. They were slammed. So much so that bartenders couldn't possibly keep up; they were running out of items very early in the cruise; the only way to get a drink anywhere on the ship was to wait in long lines - there was no regular service where bar staff had time to take drink orders and serve people.

 

To everyone's credit, no one got upset. I was concerned for the crew that passengers would start complaining about the long waits for drinks and things that ran out. But everyone was pretty kind.

 

Cruise lines do close venues for large groups. I'd want to know in advance if there was one on our cruise so I could decide ahead of time if I wanted to stick with the cruise or rebook.

 

I'm guessing the University at Sea group on your cruise would be fine. Wishing you a great cruise!

[bighairtexan]

haha I was just going to post almost verbatim what Host Anne said (I was also on that cruise with her). The bars on any cruise seem to often be understaffed. That being said it WAS a very upbeat and fun cruise. I'd cruise with them again in a heartbeat!

 

(~ ~ ~ Waving at Host Anne)

There are some groups I'd be concerned about such as the American Girl Doll cruise of a few years back. i guess we all have our own tolerance levels, but the group mentioned by the OP shouldn't be an issue and probably if you didn't know ahead of time, you'd never know.

Edited June 8, 2014 by bighairtexan

[reney313]

OP: The specific group you quote has groups on about 50% of the ships I travel. I have never noticed them at all...they might have a conference room booked that I would not be aware, but I have never seen any public rooms closed for them.

 

If your ship is that full, it could be A) they are that full B) There are a lot of TA's holding cabins or C) A different group. I highly doubt it is from this group. That's just my opinion, but it is based off my googling for groups on every cruise I've been on or thought of going on for the last several years.

 

My perspective, this group won't cause any angst onboard. If so, most of us would have noticed it in the past.

[Host Anne]

haha I was just going to post almost verbatim what Host Anne said (I was also on that cruise with her). The bars on any cruise seem to often be understaffed. That being said it WAS a very upbeat and fun cruise. I'd cruise with them again in a heartbeat!

 

(~ ~ ~ Waving at Host Anne)

There are some groups I'd be concerned about such as the American Girl Doll cruise of a few years back. i guess we all have our own tolerance levels, but the group mentioned by the OP shouldn't be an issue and probably if you didn't know ahead of time, you'd never know.

 

Hey Big Hair ~ too funny that you were thinking like me! That should scare you. I totally agree that we had a blast and we were lucky that the large group was so much fun. The only people I felt sorry for was the crew. But I'm also guessing that there could be large groups on ships that aren't quite as much fun! Hope to see you again on another ship!