Large groups

[QueensChick]

Can someone help with this?

I remember reading somewhere on these boards that if a group is booking a particular sailing and the number of people in the group exceeds a certain percentage of ship's total capacity, the group is then required to charter the ship.

Does anyone know anything about this? If so, what is the percentage?

I've read a few frightening threads about large groups taking over the ship and monopolizing dinner seating and choice lounges. :( I would hate that.

[kitty9]

I don't know of any such rule about chartering and large groups. We were "stuck" with a huge group from Taiwan on the Norway a few years ago, a group so large they took up the entire dining room at first seating. No one other than their group could eat early. They ate so much that by second seating, many of the entrees weren't available for us at the late seating. It was a huge pain in the behind.

 

Also, calling the cruise line doesn't help if you want to find out whether any groups are on your cruise. They don't want people canceling if they find out the ship will be taken over by Amway salesmen.

[QueensChick]

Darcie,

 

These boards are peppered with horroe stories about large groups taking over certain sailings and making individual passengers feel like second class citizens. How awful! There should be a way to avoid these large groups.

[Luckyroot]

How does one find out if there is a large group on your sailing? My Celebrity Century for 4/23/05 ALL the suites are booked, not a single one is available.

 

If this is a group that has scooped up all the high end cabins, I'd sure like to know now, so I can change sailings before it's too late.

[kitty9]

Luckyroot, as I wrote in my first post on this thread, there's no way to find out if groups have booked a specific cruise. The cruise lines won't tell you or a travel agent if any groups are booked because they don't want to lose individual bookings. The only way to find out if a specific group has booked a cruise is to know the group, and see if they booked a cruise. For instance, there's a large group of older gay men who booked 400 people on a Celebrity cruise, but the only way to know about this is if you know about that group or know the travel agent who actually booked that group.

[gizmo]

I think it is lousy that the cruise lines will not give out this information. There are so many horror stories of these groups taking over lounges, pools etc.

 

As far as charters go, the organization charters the entire ship. Anyone previously booked will get bumped. This does happen occasionally.

 

I rather get bumped than end up on a cruise with a large group that over takes the ship.

[QueensChick]

I'd rather get bumped than end up on a cruise with a large group that over takes the ship.

 

My thoughts exactly! I'd rather be bumped and have the opportunity to re-book when the ship isn't overtaken by a large group.