How can you tell if a theme cruise is booked on your cruise

[pogieone]

This maybe a dumb question, but how do you know if you're booked on a theme cruise? Since most themes don't take up the entire ship, you could be on a cruise with 500 Trekkies or scrapbookers.

[cherylandtk]

Its difficult. You can try to call the cruiseline directly and ask if any such groups are booked, but they don't have to tell you. You can also google the ship and date and see what comes up. One thing NOT to use is the activity level, or lack of, on the Roll Call board. Last statistics I heard were only about 1% of cruisers were CC members...so you may have no action on the Roll Call, but it does not mean you have an affinity group booked.

[Spikesgirl]

Some of my best friends, including my DH is one. In fact, we met at a Star Trek club. Okay, that being said, I wouldn't necessarily want to be on a ship full of them either. You could go over to the Theme Cruise thread and check that out. I know that VulCon and SlayerCon have web sites that lists a bunch of cruises, but most of them are in the Caribbean area. Your TA might be able to find out better than you.

 

Your best choices is to find a crusie line that doesn't particularly cater to groups, like Princess. We've been on several of those cruises and never had to share space with large groups of a similarly minded peoples. Go on the longer, more exotic cruises beacuse those wouldn't be the first chioce for a themed event either.

 

Good luck!

 

Charlie

[packercruising]

If you go to http://www.cruiseclues.com, click on your ship and go to the bottom of the page, they often list theme cruises there.

[kitty9]

Cruise lines will never tell you if there's a special group on board. BTW, they are not referred to as theme cruises, but special charters or group cruises. They won't tell you if a large group is on board because they don't want mass cancellations if people discover there's a group on board that they aren't interested in mixing with.

[Fergus]

Oh, how horrifying - to be on a cruise ship with scrapbookers! :rolleyes:

 

Sorry, I don't see how that could interfere with your enjoyment of your cruise?!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Oh, how horrifying - to be on a cruise ship with scrapbookers! :rolleyes:

 

Sorry, I don't see how that could interfere with your enjoyment of your cruise?!

 

 

Oooooo, that would INCREASE my enjoyment! :-) LOL

[Fergus]

ITA, MidiMarv! Two of my good friends just returned from a Mexican Riviera cruise with a large group of consultants who had earned their cruise thru Close To My Heart. I'm sure they all had a blast and I cannot imagine that they, as a group, would have been offensive to other passengers.

 

Every cruise I've been on, there have been large groups, mostly family reunions or quinceaneros (sp?). I enjoy seeing the groups because they have so much fun sharing their vacations.

 

Cruising is just like the rest of life........there are going to be groups of people who get on your last nerve, but in order to do that you have to allow them to !!!

[kitty9]

Try being on a cruise with 900 Amway salespersons. Or how about 700 Elvis impersonators. There was even once a large group of cross dressers on a cruise. Or how about a ship filled with high school kids? There might be a number of groups that many might not be particularly fond of cruising with, so that's why cruise lines refuse to release that information.

[masterbaker]

It's true that a very small percentage of those on a particular cruise are posters here at Cruise Critic, but that small percentage is usually very well informed. ;) It's highly unlikely that a large group booked on a particular sailing would be onboard without it coming to someones attention well before your saildate and a heads up will be given. Recently we were booked for a cruise and someone came to our roll call and linked us to a website of a group that was going to be on our sailing. We were all very appreciative because it was a very large group (hundreds of gay porn stars and their fans) that would be using public areas of the ship for their own private parties, which would limit public area use for the rest of the passengers. We had plenty of time to change to a different cruise if we wanted, and most of us did. Whenever there is a large group onboard and it doesn't matter what the group is, it changes the type of cruise experience for everyone onboard so I can see why you would want to know. Most large groups plan their cruises well in advance so internet searches of your cruise ship and date should reveal any groups, or you will see them mentioned on your roll call or cruiseline specific board here at Cruise Critic.

[Jane110]

Try being on a cruise with 900 Amway salespersons. Or how about 700 Elvis impersonators. There was even once a large group of cross dressers on a cruise. Or how about a ship filled with high school kids? There might be a number of groups that many might not be particularly fond of cruising with, so that's why cruise lines refuse to release that information.

 

I SOOO agree with you!

 

We were once on a cruise with a group of 400 "................ "(I'm not saying. Can't stand the "Gee, what's wrong with ...........?" query)

On a ship of 1200, they stood out too much. One-on-one they were nice enough folks, but a group of 400 extremely unsophisticated people on their first cruise had the other 800 passengers annoyed at many times.

 

Nothing wrong with the people on an individual basis. But when a large percentage of the ship is taken up by a special interest group, it can be a real drag for the other passengers.

 

They're louder, tend to hang out in groups - so go to a bar or lounge, or nightly entertainment and you're likely to hit a subgroup of 20 - 30 saving rows of seats in the show room. (yeah, I know it's against the rules, but I'm not the ship police and not one to create an argument) They "invite" their friends (all 10 of them) to cut in a buffet line, they fill-up 12 self service ice-tea's at a time slowing down service for everyone else waiting to pour one. Everything's a private joke. They move tables and chairs around and in general, our little "group" of 6 felt like we walked into someone elses reunion.

 

To the OP - Good luck! I hope your research results in an answer. Since that experience, we haven't been on Celebrity, only on Princess. I don't know if Princess doesn't accomodate such large groups or if we were just lucky. We did ask Princess before our cruise and the rep we spoke to just said that they're booking system doesn't give that info.

[K&RCurt]

We were on a cruise along with around 700 fans of a particular baseball team. They had one of the main lounges reserved for their use throughout much of the cruise. Took over the "adult" pool for an entire sea day. When their private meetings and parties let out you could not move if you were trying to "swim upstream" of the masses of folks exiting the mid-ship area they were using. The worst thing was that most of them assumed it was "their" cruise and baseball jerseys, ball caps and jeans were perfectly acceptable "Formal Wear".

 

Any large group that you are not a part of can be disruptive to your cruise experience. Especially when they have certain areas of the ship set aside for their exclusive use.

[Bill-Squared]

Thanks so much for asking this question. I'm on the "other end" of the issue. In November, I am part of a G/L group going on the Radiance. There's more than 500 of "us" booked with the group.

 

I did read on another post that a woman learned about a similar G/L group scheduled for her cruise and promptly changed her reservations...which is what made me curious. I've been fairly active on our Roll Call thread, and asked if anyone would be uncomfortable, but no one has said it was an issue.

 

Good luck on your search.

[Jeanie821]

After flying three and a half hours from Dallas to Sacramento on an American Airlines MD80 filled with Mary Kay ladies (no offense to any on this board), nothing scares me.

 

I wouldn't mind cruising with scrapbookers - my mom is one. Most other groups wouldn't bother me either. Trekkies? Now, I don't know...

 

BTW - my first cruise and next cruise are both theme cruises. Christian singles, mind you. And being grown-ups, we take our faith pretty seriously, so anyone cruising on the same ship has nothing to be afraid of with us.

[Jane110]

Thanks so much for asking this question. I'm on the "other end" of the issue. In November, I am part of a G/L group going on the Radiance. There's more than 500 of "us" booked with the group.

 

Just curious.....What is G/L?

 

I've been fairly active on our Roll Call thread, and asked if anyone would be uncomfortable, but no one has said it was an issue.

 

 

Not sure if I understand you. On your Roll Call, it's your group. The people who are bothered by big groups on ships are the people not in the group - hence, they wouldn't go to your roll call.

[Jeanie821]

Just curious.....What is G/L?

 

Gay and lesbian. And if they're all as sweet and nice as my aunt and her partner, I wouldn't mind cruising with a large group of them either. As a matter of fact, I saw All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise recently... let anyone against that kind of lifestyle watch that. It will change their way of thinking pretty quick.

 

That's probably why I'm the only Pentecostal I know who's seen it... :D

[Nebr.cruiser]

We once were on a Nile Riverboat cruise that had a G/L group making up about half the passengers. As someone else said, individually they were very nice and interesting people. But they did tend to take over the ship, as a group, rearranging the deck chairs, filling up the lounges, etc. And I won't even go into the passenger talent night, which got pretty out of hand as far as taste goes. (At least from a straight viewpoint).

 

Of course, this was only a 3-4 day cruise with maybe 150 people total aboard. Did it ruin our cruise? No way. Was it a little inconvenient? Yep, it was a little annoying at times to feel like outsiders--and I'm sure any other large group would have 'taken over' in the same way, probably without meaning too.

 

I'd hesitate about sailing on any cruise that I knew had a large contingent of folks from any particular group, just because the sheer numbers of a large group can intrude on the space/time of others.

[Bill-Squared]

Just curious.....What is G/L?

 

 

 

Not sure if I understand you. On your Roll Call, it's your group. The people who are bothered by big groups on ships are the people not in the group - hence, they wouldn't go to your roll call.

 

No, the Roll Call is for the entire cruise, we are just a group on the cruise...albeit a BIG group. I've asked folks on the Roll Call for the cruise if anyone has an issue.

[Jane110]

No, the Roll Call is for the entire cruise, we are just a group on the cruise...albeit a BIG group. I've asked folks on the Roll Call for the cruise if anyone has an issue.

 

Ah, now I understand what you mean. Thanks.

 

But to be perfectly honest anyone who has an issue - whether it's with Gays or with big groups - isn't going to state that on a roll call. Why would they? The only possible solution that could be offered would be to rebook to another cruise. (and sadly we know how unkindly that suggestion might be made by some here) But I do commend you for taking the trouble to ask folks on your roll call and so many people are now informed that their cruise will have (probably hundred's) of "insiders" filling their glasses of ice tea 12 at a time! (joking.....just joking!)

 

For me, G/L is a non-issue. I've got G/L friends and family members and am a big supporter of GMHC and have drinks at the old Stonewall. But a *BIG group* of anyone??? Oy, get me off that ship! :D

[Bill-Squared]

For me, G/L is a non-issue. I've got G/L friends and family members and am a big supporter of GMHC and have drinks at the old Stonewall. But a *BIG group* of anyone??? Oy, get me off that ship! :D

 

Thanks, Jane. Actually, I agree. Not sure how comfortable I'd be with a huge group of anything...even though I'll be with one. How's that for a paradox??? :confused:

 

And, I love the Stonewall bar. (Today is the day that celebrates Stonewall, by the way) I proposed to my DH/partner in there back in 1998. Got caught up in the nostalgic history of the place. :D

[Jane110]

Thanks, Jane. Actually, I agree. Not sure how comfortable I'd be with a huge group of anything...even though I'll be with one. How's that for a paradox??? :confused:

 

I hear ya'. I was once on a cruise (Delta Queen) as part of a corporate perk. We had a great time, but felt sorry for the rest of the passengers who were "outsiders".

 

And, I love the Stonewall bar. (Today is the day that celebrates Stonewall, by the way) I proposed to my DH/partner in there back in 1998. Got caught up in the nostalgic history of the place. :D

 

I knew that this is the anniversary month of the StoneWall riots, but didn't realize that this was the exact day. I bet that place will be just hopping tonight! An excellent place to propose to your partner!

 

Next time you're in the area, go and have a drink (and a song) at Marie's Crisis Bar down the block on Bleeker. Fun place.

[momofmeg]

This maybe a dumb question, but how do you know if you're booked on a theme cruise? Since most themes don't take up the entire ship, you could be on a cruise with 500 Trekkies or scrapbookers.

 

 

I guess you know when you board ship. I had no idea I was cruising with Red Hat ladies or Little People last year. No big deal-both groups were very nice.

[Bill-Squared]

Next time you're in the area, go and have a drink (and a song) at Marie's Crisis Bar down the block on Bleeker. Fun place.

 

We love Marie's too! :) We try to get to NYC at least once a year. I have to have my NYC fix. See a show, meet up with friends...and EAT!! (Love John's on Bleeker!)