Tour Conductors? Amenities?

[4merlurker]

:confused: I've been putting together a cruise for some family and friends and my TA mentioned that because I am booking 21 cabins that there MAY POSSIBLY be some benefits. When I asked him what he was talking about he told me not to worry (tossed in words like tour conductors and ameneties) and that we would discuss it closer to the trip (over a year away). :confused:

 

Is this something i should be concerned about now and not a year from now? Does this affect our rate or cabins in any way?

 

I'd appreciate any help or info.

 

 

thanks

 

4mer

[BaumD]

With every 8 cabins (16 people) they will give you one "free" ticket (one person - 1/2 cabin), so with 21 cabins, you shopuld get one cabin free. You can either take it yourself or split the savings with everyone. Also they may throw in a free cocktail party for your group.

[jcanino]

The free berth from a TC is only the price of the cruise and does not include taxes, port charges, transfers, air, etc. Find out now what amenities are being offered for your sailing as they can get reduced. Once you have your amenities picked out, they are yours whether or not the amount available is reduced.

[4merlurker]

Thank you for the quick responses.

 

I understand about the free berths but are confused about the amenites. I've read a few posts that mention fruit baskets, champagne, room credits - are those the amenities you all are talking about? Is it all or one? Could someone explain further..........sometimes I'm a little slow.:o

 

I want to make sure we all get what we are entitled to.

 

thanks again and again!

 

4mer

[jcanino]

I understand about the free berths but are confused about the amenites. I've read a few posts that mention fruit baskets, champagne, room credits - are those the amenities you all are talking about? Is it all or one? Could someone explain further..........sometimes I'm a little slow.

Fruit baskets, champagne and chocolates, on board credits are all amenities offered by the cruise line when making a group booking. For the most part, the cruise lines assign a number of points to each sailing. If they know that a particular cruise will have no problem being sold out, they may not offer any points. Each amenity is a certain number of points. The TA then picks (or offers you the choice) the amenities based on the number of points.

 

If I'm not being clear or if you have more questions, just ask.

[4merlurker]

Thanks Joe!

 

 

OK it's starting to sink in. If the cruiseline determines the "points" based on how well the ship sells than I guess it would be best for me to inquire about them now while it's still early. right? How do i guarantee them?

 

4mer

[jcanino]

OK it's starting to sink in. If the cruiseline determines the "points" based on how well the ship sells than I guess it would be best for me to inquire about them now while it's still early. right? How do i guarantee them?

Find out from your TA if your particular cruise has any amenity points. In fact, don't ask if it does, ask them how many it has. Then find out from them how you can use them. Get them established now because if they lower the points for your cruise, you will get the lower amount but will alread have yours locked in.

[justacruisin]

Amenity points vary from ship to ship and sailing to sailing. They are determined by the cruise line and vary among cruise lines -- some cruise lines have better amenities than others. They do not belong to the group leader; they belong to the travel agent who determines how they will be used. Most travel agents will offer some type of amenity to group passengers with a minimum being fruit baskets, bottle of wine for example. What can change is the number of free berths which is based on the number of passengers. It is unlikely that an agent is going to give away a free berth or discounts (which can be dollars off on a stateroom or onboard credits) until a final passenger head count is determined. And that is probably why an agent will not commit to exact amenities initially. A group can start with 100 passengers and end up with 20 -- unlikely, but that is a worst case scenario. If an agent offers a free -- not including taxes and port charges, and the group ends up with a lot of cancellations the agent could lose money because there aren't enough passengers to cover the free berth or it cuts into the the agent's profits. The ideal scenario is that the group leader, the passengers, and the agent all come away pleased with the results. Most agents want the group leader and passengers to be happy; so they will offer as much as possible -- but it will depend upon what they have to work with. Look at it this way, the agent is not your enemy. He or she wants you to have a wonderful cruise and wants you as a repeat client -- and he or she will work with you to make sure you have nice amenities. He or she is also a convenience for you, and as much as her or she wants you to be happy, they still have to make a decent profit on the booking. Hours and hours, days and days, weeks and weeks of work is involved in putting together a group cruise: lots of bookkeeping, reading and deciphering cruise financial statements, making sure payments are collected and in on time, dealing with changes which alter the entire financial aspect of the cruise and payment due dates, ensuring passengers have correct documentation, ensuring the cruise line has passenger profile information, working with passengers who need airfare and some who just need transfers, making sure passenger stateroom assignments work for them, taking care of dining assignments, and working with passengers who have special needs. There is a lot involved and takes more time than most persons have available due to work, family, etc. Work with your agent and be reasonable in your expectations and the cruise will be a win/win for everyone.