Anyone unknowingly board a themed cruise or even big group cruise?? Do tell! LOL

[DDLUVS2CRUISE]

While researching cruises to make sure my family doesn't book a themed cruise the thought crossed my mind....:')

I have been twice on a themed cruise that if I would have know would not have booked the ship. Royal Caribbean will not advise you that they have a large group of any sort onboard and they knew because the compass had LGBT meeting times. I don't have anything against certain demographic groups but I would have preferred to not have my daughter witness guy on guy make out session all over the place. It seems to be getting worse on some of Royals ships leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

[MrsPete]

Once with a quincineara group and once with a steampunk group. SP group was small and aside from the costumes, no problem.

We once cruised with a Quince-group. We didn't realize it at first ... but in the terminal we saw a girl carrying her dress, and we said to each other, "Look, a bride! Someone's getting married on this cruise." Then we saw another, and another, and another ... and we realized that we were seeing an unlikely number of brides. Plus they were all very young. This group wasn't a problem in any way, and we enjoyed seeing their lovely dresses on formal night (and we saw them waiting in line for pictures on formal night).

 

 

However, I wouldn't like to cruise with a big group of any type, and I've heard of a number of groups with whom I wouldn't like to sail. As soon as I book a cruise, I always do some googling to see if any groups are cruising with us; I google things like "____ of the Seas March 1 20__ party cruise" ... or group cruise ... or gathering. I did once change a date because of a big group that was going to share our cruise.

 

American Girl Doll cruise & quincineara cruise. NOT a fun experience. The dolls were actually chair hogging at the pool.

Those dolls cost more than $100. What idiot brings them to the pool? What idiot brings them to the pool and leaves them unattended, especially on cruise where everyone else has the same dolls?

 

I have been twice on a themed cruise that if I would have know would not have booked the ship. Royal Caribbean will not advise you that they have a large group of any sort onboard and they knew because the compass had LGBT meeting times. I don't have anything against certain demographic groups but I would have preferred to not have my daughter witness guy on guy make out session all over the place. It seems to be getting worse on some of Royals ships leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

Not only that, but these groups book lounges /have events at the pool, and it cuts into other people's use of the public areas. No, I prefer to avoid large groups.

[chape19714]

I have been twice on a themed cruise that if I would have know would not have booked the ship. Royal Caribbean will not advise you that they have a large group of any sort onboard and they knew because the compass had LGBT meeting times. I don't have anything against certain demographic groups but I would have preferred to not have my daughter witness guy on guy make out session all over the place. It seems to be getting worse on some of Royals ships leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

 

Couple of things here:

 

1st and Foremost-LGBTQ Daily Get-togethers are now included (and usually self-led) on every FL based Royal Caribbean Cruise. Sometimes it is published, sometimes It's on the group board near Guest Services, other times you have to ask.

 

2nd-Royal Caribbean cannot and will not tell you of certain groups sailing. Especially minority (or as they have been called "lifestyle" groups) It could lead them to a discrimination lawsuit. This happened at Walt Disney World when they warned incoming guests of the "gay days" event. The Group sued Disney, and won. It's discrimination, plain and simple.

[nursewurmy]

We were on a cruise a few years ago that had a very large group from Brazil and it was awful. They tied up all the casino tables, every where you went they had all the chairs saved. They took over the ship...never again.

[TC1957]

Couple of things here:

 

2nd-Royal Caribbean cannot and will not tell you of certain groups sailing. Especially minority (or as they have been called "lifestyle" groups) It could lead them to a discrimination lawsuit. This happened at Walt Disney World when they warned incoming guests of the "gay days" event. The Group sued Disney, and won. It's discrimination, plain and simple.

 

 

Seems to me that could easily be avoided if they provided a link on their site that listed EVERY group...be it a large family, civic group, political group, etc...consisting of more than say 50 passengers.

 

Can't be discrimination if every group is treated the same. I know there are some groups I would not want to be confined with for several days.

 

That said...given the level of expertise of the RCI IT team the link would probably never work.

[QTBabyNurse]

Is there a website that lists themed cruises so we can check prior to booking a cruise?

 

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[Singer4Him]

My honeymoon was on a "cruise to lose" with Richard Simmons....nothing wrong with the group in general but obviously while trying to be romantic it did damper the feel a bit when 50 people speed walk by with Richard at the head screaming "come on ladies shake what god gave ya" etc lol....

 

After we booked the Carnival Triumph in 2010, we found out that it was a "Cruise to Lose" with Richard Simmons. I was a little disappointed but, honestly, we never saw him or the group that we thought was with him. Whatever they did, they must have been in a totally different part of the ship from where we were at the time.

On a side note, a friend of mine did get a picture with him while she was in port in Cozumel, I believe.

[famof4togo]

Is there a website that lists themed cruises so we can check prior to booking a cruise?

 

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NO there is not

[prince319]

Is there a website that lists themed cruises so we can check prior to booking a cruise?

 

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Type in THEME CRUISE FINDER in google and you will find it. I believe this is the only site that accepts submissions (since it has to be submitted it may not show every possible themed cruise out there).

 

The only issue with the site is that you have to search either by ship or by theme, there is no main calendar that just shows all of the themed cruises in one area.

 

 

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[prince319]

I had a similar incident as BRUIN STEVE, we ended up on a Green Bay Packers fans/players cruise. Apparently they sail Freedom of the Seas (or at least used to, not sure if they still do) every year after football season. Not a big issue but we are HUGE Chicago Bears fans. It was even worse that year since they had won the Super Bowl. On the plus side I did get to see a Super Bowl ring up close which was pretty cool.

 

 

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[shellster1]

I have been twice on a themed cruise that if I would have know would not have booked the ship. Royal Caribbean will not advise you that they have a large group of any sort onboard and they knew because the compass had LGBT meeting times. I don't have anything against certain demographic groups but I would have preferred to not have my daughter witness guy on guy make out session all over the place. It seems to be getting worse on some of Royals ships leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

 

IMO, I don't want to see ANYONE have a "make out session all over the place", regardless of "lifestyle", and regardless of whether or not I'm with my son. That stuff's for the cabin...or, as I read on another thread...for the Vintage Lounge? ;p

[dpcmh]

Generally, January and July are Brazil touring seasons. The impact of the Brazilians on the Disney touring crowd is legendary. Seriously, we see those neon shirts or tour guide flags? WE RUN THE OTHER WAY. :')

I am a first-hand witness to this experience, but it was September. The groups would congregate in the stateroom hallways and not let you through. We witnessed numerous arguments with and belittling crew including accusing them of stealing their valuables from dinner tables....saw this a number of times.

 

While not a large group, we have often met Make A Wish families. One family had a very bossy mother who would announce loudly and frequently they were with Make A Wish for her child. She would then force people to give up their prime seats in venues, pool chairs, and etc....and did this the entire trip. She made a big scene numerous times and shamed and embarrassed the people she would make move. Her family was clearly uncomfortable with her behavior, but that didn't stop her.

[RocketMan275]

My honeymoon was on a "cruise to lose" with Richard Simmons....nothing wrong with the group in general but obviously while trying to be romantic it did damper the feel a bit when 50 people speed walk by with Richard at the head screaming "come on ladies shake what god gave ya" etc lol....

 

How funny!

 

Never an official group, but it seem every cruise there is a 20-30 people family reunion cruise all wearing the same shirts throughout the cruise, usually themed to the port or sea day it happens to be.

We were docked next to Carnival ship in Cozumel. Large (~40) group of college girls came down the dock who had a very good time ashore. Each girl wore a T-shirt emblazoned with "Bitch #1", "Bitch #2", etc.

[voyager70]

How funny!

 

 

We were docked next to Carnival ship in Cozumel. Large (~40) group of college girls came down the dock who had a very good time ashore. Each girl wore a T-shirt emblazoned with "Bitch #1", "Bitch #2", etc.

 

That's too funny!

[Terre]

Last November we were on a cruise the week after Thanksgiving. Turned out to be a gay cruise, about 2/3 of the ship. Mostly men. Found out they do this every year the week after Thanksgiving. It's booked through Pied Piper Travel Agency. All the lounges had events for them and they took over all the bars. In ports the agency had planned events for the group so we didn't see them. Figured something was going on like this when I went to the roll call, but it was my last cruise before my knee replacement and didn't want to rebook, not that it would have mattered, I don't think.

 

This wasn't really a "themed" cruise, but we were on one out of San Juan and the ship was full of girls having their quinceanera and their entire families. They overtook the ship as well and you couldn't even get near the main lobby. The kids were everywhere, taking over the elevators, and were very rude. Parents were rude, too,letting five to eight people break in front of us in the buffet line...won't go out of San Juan again.

[CanobieFan]

YES! Last year my friend and I accidentally booked into an Elvis fan club tribute cruise on Vision out of Tampa.... It was pretty amusing seeing all these women with Elvis t-shirts on and a bunch of men actually dressed like Elvis as well as Elvis impersonators performing in the Centrum!!

We were so confused until we figured out what was going on.

 

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[Geldhart]

Ummm .... NO! I don't care how sweet the cheeks are. If they're in the dining room, the only buns I want to see should be in the center of the table with some butter next to them. :cool:

That could be arranged if you like

 

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[voyager70]

That could be arranged if you like

 

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Care to elaborate :eek:

[Cruzin-K]

A crocheting group called Crochet Crowd. They were so nice! I guess, if I crocheted, I would love to do so on a cruise.

 

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I recently started following their Facebook page. They go on several cruises a year and it looks like a lot of fun - not a HUGE group, but enough to have a good time with people with a common interest. I'd love to do one in three or four years, assuming they are still going on (my vacation plans are already set through 2019).

 

 

I have been on cruises with several different groups. The largest was a huge mystery until we boarded. I'd booked our cabin the day the cruise opened for booking so I could get one of the huge balconies on Jewel. Well a few weeks after that, every single balcony on the ship had been booked. Every. last. one, and it stayed that way until sailing. I Googled to no avail to figure out why. Turns out it was a large business group - top selling vendors for Carrier (the HVAC people) from the western part of the U.S. They had more than half the passengers on the ship. It wasn't a huge deal for us, as it was an incentive trip for the group and most of them didn't know each other and were in fact competitors in real life. The only time it was noticeable was a couple times in the theater when it was over half empty for shows. The group must have had something else going on at the exact same time.

 

My most recent cruise had around 200 Iowa Hawkeyes football fans - they were a fun bunch. The coach and his wife boarded part way through the cruise and they had some events that I only knew about because I saw the photos of the events in the photo gallery later.

 

I've also been on a cruise with a rather interesting bunch of gay men. They were mainly large white guys, with Asian boyfriends. I found it interesting that there was even an organized group that was so specific - but I guess if they have "bear" cruises, why not this? The folks I met from that group seemed nice. One night right before dinner, they must have had an event in the theater because they all came dancing from there to the Centrum at the same time, dressed to the nines - one guy in a dress made out of balloons. It was a hoot.

 

Then there was the large church group - probably the rudest bunch of pool hogs. They didn't just hog chairs, they hogged the entire pool. Their kids ran around screaming and jumping into the water (jumping not allowed) and nobody said or did anything about it. They pretty much drove the rest of the passengers away. Luckily, that was on a ship with two large pools on the pool deck (one of the Princess Grand class ships). The other pool was just a lot more crowded than normal.

[MSunshine]

We've had a few experiences with groups. One of our cruises had a huge group of transvestites. They seemed to be having a blast. At night they were the best dressed in their formal gowns. Another time there was a large group of deaf cruisers. All shows had someone signing for them. The best surprise was on Freedom of the Seas with a fifties group which included Bowzer from Sha na na. I found out about it after we booked. The group had their own special events nightly. They also held a show for all cruisers and a signing and photo op with Bowzer. Again, some great entertainment just to see how they all wore their fifties attire for the events.

[ldl05]

Hahaha my husband wears overalls everyday. I said to him there's no way you are bringing those on our cruise in October. He teased and said "not even if I wore a tie and jacket with my overalls? "

[emoji41]

 

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LOL!!! He was proud of his fancy colored overalls! I asked him how he was doing one night....he replied "Kickin' and scratchin'!" He was a true trip! And I'm from Georgia, so I know country folk!!

 

 

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[sabrinaswack]

LOL!!! He was proud of his fancy colored overalls! I asked him how he was doing one night....he replied "Kickin' and scratchin'!" He was a true trip! And I'm from Georgia, so I know country folk!!

 

 

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That's awesome! I bet every time you see someone in overalls, you'll think of him.

 

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[awhfy]

Sorry for the delay in responding to the querys on the American Girl Doll cruise, surgery interrupted. Girls, moms & dolls (over 200 of each) overran the ship (& it was a small one, Celebrity Galaxy). Dolls on loungers (in swimwear). Dolls in the buffet, taking many tables. Only place we didn't notice them was in the shows. Celebrity had so many complaints that the non-doll travelers received $500 OBC for a future cruise (& we didn't ask). Most of the girls (& many of the moms were dressed like the dolls). It was creepy to see adult women dressed like a doll

[slyster]

A few years ago, we cruised with a large group of "Austim of the Seas" cruisers. That was really cool to see how the kids light up. There were families, volunteers, and it was really awesome to see.

[Sancho_proudfoot]

Had a 35 person or so party on one cruise, all with their matching t shirts (different one every day too)

 

They would congregate at a bar and good grief were they LOUD.... forced guffaw laughter, screaming at each other for drinks, loudly screaming (nick)names whenever the next member of the group arrived......

 

Not fun, unless.you were part of the group.