Really large group on board. Would you cancel your booked cruise?
Sep 11, 2015, 4:41 am
#1
Original Poster
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Really large group on board. Would you cancel your booked cruise?
I'm unsure what to do. My wife and I are booked on a Caribbean cruise. Through Cruise Critic I just found out a really large group will be on board (the ship has a capacity for 2,000 pax, the group is about 1,100).
I don't really have a problem with the group per se, I'm sure the crew will be able to keep things under control. My main concern is that bars will be really crowded and service slow in the evenings.
Any experiences with that? Is this really something I should be concerned about?
thanks
FR
I don't really have a problem with the group per se, I'm sure the crew will be able to keep things under control. My main concern is that bars will be really crowded and service slow in the evenings.
Any experiences with that? Is this really something I should be concerned about?
thanks
FR
Sep 11, 2015, 5:24 am
#2
Join Date: May 2011
Location: San Antonio, TX
Programs: AA EXP, DL Silver, Global Entry
Posts: 1,863
I'm unsure what to do. My wife and I are booked on a Caribbean cruise. Through Cruise Critic I just found out a really large group will be on board (the ship has a capacity for 2,000 pax, the group is about 1,100).
I don't really have a problem with the group per se, I'm sure the crew will be able to keep things under control. My main concern is that bars will be really crowded and service slow in the evenings.
Any experiences with that? Is this really something I should be concerned about?
thanks
FR
I don't really have a problem with the group per se, I'm sure the crew will be able to keep things under control. My main concern is that bars will be really crowded and service slow in the evenings.
Any experiences with that? Is this really something I should be concerned about?
thanks
FR
Sep 11, 2015, 10:53 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,154
I'd personally look at getting off that cruise. It's very likely that a number of venues are going to end up being group-only (at least part of the time), and there's definitely no question that the character of the cruise will be dominated by whatever group it is that's on there. If it was a smaller group, like 300 or so, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to avoid it, but you'd probably still notice it. With over 50% of the ship? No way.
Cruise lines don't disclose this type of thing for a reason - they know people won't want to be on the ship with the group. (Although I think it ultimately works against them, because they just end up with disgruntled passengers.)
Cruise lines don't disclose this type of thing for a reason - they know people won't want to be on the ship with the group. (Although I think it ultimately works against them, because they just end up with disgruntled passengers.)
Sep 11, 2015, 11:08 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
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Randy, piper, wrp: thank you for your insights, they pretty much match my feelings. I guess I wanted to hear other people to be sure I wasn't overreacting to it. I'll probably skip it.
greg0ire: on the CC forum you have a section called Roll Calls, where people going on a specific cruise share details about cabins, land excursions, restaurants and general info about the cruise. I learned it there.
greg0ire: on the CC forum you have a section called Roll Calls, where people going on a specific cruise share details about cabins, land excursions, restaurants and general info about the cruise. I learned it there.
Sep 11, 2015, 11:26 am
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Note for the roll call section of the Cruise Critic boards, you must be a registered poster. They are divided by cruiseline, ship, and date of sailing
Some roll calls are very active, some not so much. And you don't have to post to read them, you just have to be a Cruise Critic member.
Some roll calls are very active, some not so much. And you don't have to post to read them, you just have to be a Cruise Critic member.
Sep 12, 2015, 5:58 pm
#9
Join Date: May 2005
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You may also have luck by googling the name of the ship and date of cruise. If there is a large charter group booked, you may see the organization name listed.
+1 for absolutely canceling your booking if there is a group booked that is 50% or more of the total PAX.
+1 for absolutely canceling your booking if there is a group booked that is 50% or more of the total PAX.
Sep 12, 2015, 7:14 pm
#10
Suspended
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Posts: 50,262
Abandon Ship !
It's not the 1,100 people. If not those 1,100, it's another 1,100. The problem is that whole nature of the cruise will be different and the crew will be catering to the needs of the group's organizers (anybody tossing that much business is an Super-VIP). You can be in the Captain's suite and tip massive amounts and you won't get service.
Same thing with hotels, when there's a large group. Venues closed, your selections neglected and so on.
Get off and do others a favor, post it on the cruise line's FB page.
It's not the 1,100 people. If not those 1,100, it's another 1,100. The problem is that whole nature of the cruise will be different and the crew will be catering to the needs of the group's organizers (anybody tossing that much business is an Super-VIP). You can be in the Captain's suite and tip massive amounts and you won't get service.
Same thing with hotels, when there's a large group. Venues closed, your selections neglected and so on.
Get off and do others a favor, post it on the cruise line's FB page.
Sep 16, 2015, 7:22 pm
#15
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Juneau, Ak
Programs: Alaska Airlines
Posts: 112
I would change- that happened to us a couple of years ago- there were many venues at night that were available only to the group- I tried to find out ahead of time and was told that there would be no difference- there was- noticed especially with the theater groups-
change your dates if you can- we wished once we were on the ship that we had.
change your dates if you can- we wished once we were on the ship that we had.