10 Cabins - Group Booking or Individual Booking?

[ForSharonB]

My family is planning a cruise for March 2017. We will be celebrating my Mom's 80th, as well as a few other milestone birthdays. We expect to have about 10 CABINS. Is it better to book INDIVIDUALLY or AS A GROUP?

 

What has been your experience? Thanks!

[loubetti]

Group!

 

I'll let the other 145 posts that follow mine expand upon this.

Edited September 22, 2016 by loubetti

[Kamloops50]

My family is planning a cruise for March 2017. We will be celebrating my Mom's 80th, as well as a few other milestone birthdays. We expect to have about 10 CABINS. Is it better to book INDIVIDUALLY or AS A GROUP?

 

What has been your experience? Thanks!

 

Book as group. The individuals in the group will have their own individual bookings. Basically everyone books individually and the TA will link then as a group for possible perks. Groups also usually can get reduced fares as well.

[gramgoingcruising]

Did ours as a group thru a TA for our June2017 cruise to celebrate a graduation and 65th birthdays. All 7 of our rooms are next to each other with 2 across the hall. She handled it all and now each have their own booking number to handle it from here. Happy sailing>>

[klfrodo]

Group will most likely be more expensive. Those freebies ain't free.

 

Which ever way you go,,, please use a TA. The TA can be the middle person.

I can guarantee that this wonderful nice great idea will be spoiled by someone in the family who could have got a better rate, better cabins, better ship, better meals, etc. Don't let that person get involved.

Let the TA handle all of that.

 

Hey family and friends. We're doing a family reunion cruise and celebrating moms birthday.

Everyone welcome. Here are the dates. Here's the contact info for the TA

Edited September 22, 2016 by klfrodo

[firemanbobswife]

That's a ways out and a lot of things can change. I have never done a group booking, but if it were me, I would do individual bookings and make sure they are all linked together for dining. What happens if people need to cancel for various reasons? Do the prices adjust if you no longer qualify for the group rate?

 

I would give everyone my PVPs name and number and if they wanted I would suggest cabins for them. Other than that, let them handle it on an individual basis. It can be overwhelming for one person to coordinate and getting everyone on the same page. I know - I do it every year.

 

That's why I love my PVP - I call him, tell him what's going on, and he handles the rest. Makes it easier for everyone.

Edited September 22, 2016 by firemanbobswife

[SadieN]

Group will most likely be more expensive. Those freebies ain't free.

 

 

 

..........

 

 

Not necessarily.

You'll get a group fare BUT other fares (not all fares) are eligible to be used within a group booking. We travel with a group for the past 10 years. At least once we've been able to re-fare to a lower published fare after booking (before final payment). The other years the fares never went lower.

[ekajun1957]

Complaining about one person handling everything if you do a group booking? We have done group bookings several times and the TA handles each one as an individual. They get tied together and the bigger the group the more perks. If you go on line and do a dummy booking for what you want and even use your past guest rate or whatever, if you have a good TA they can take same information and get that same rate for you. You should NEVER pay more for a group booking, if you do find another TA. What ours does is gets us best rate available for each depending on that individual and then OBC for the amount of people booking. For our group in December it started as two couples through the TA and now we have 20 people and a group booking plus some OBC. When someone wanted to be added to our group just had them contact the TA. Wanted specialty dining for everyone one night, call the TA. And I am sure a good PVP can help a lot also, I just have a TA I have been using, and also I don't always use same cruise line.

[WLHyatt]

The other thing is good fares can lock in todays price up to the final payment due date. So if a cruise fare goes up most of the time a TA can lock that price in and offer it up front for a given number of state rooms in certain categories.

 

Early saver can also be booked into groups most of the time.

[crazyfrazee]

I have a group booked. The minimum is 8 cabins. I think they all need to be booked and paid for at the same time. You can add more cabins later and link them all. I could have had an OBC applied to each room for the discount but chose not to. Instead, we are getting a free cocktail party with an open bar and two Carnival totebags per room. Our son was killed in a car accident a few months ago and I figured having a private meeting place setup for all of us to have at least one get together would be great. He normally cruised with us. We are all booked under early saver so when the price goes down, we get the onboard credit. I have $300 OBC so far but I think part of it may have been for booking so many cabins.

[crazyfrazee]

The only drawback so far has been when I call to add or make changes, I have to call a special number for group bookings and they are slower to answer. Great people when they answer though.

[ekajun1957]

I have a group booked. The minimum is 8 cabins. I think they all need to be booked and paid for at the same time. You can add more cabins later and link them all. I could have had an OBC applied to each room for the discount but chose not to. Instead, we are getting a free cocktail party with an open bar and two Carnival totebags per room. Our son was killed in a car accident a few months ago and I figured having a private meeting place setup for all of us to have at least one get together would be great. He normally cruised with us. We are all booked under early saver so when the price goes down, we get the onboard credit. I have $300 OBC so far but I think part of it may have been for booking so many cabins.

 

That's a marvelous way to use the perks I think. You do not all have to book at same time. Heck we had our reservation a while before we got to 8 rooms and then the TA hooked them all together and got us OBC.

[ForSharonB]

Thanks for all your input.

A GROUP reservation is what I thought was best, but my new PVP tried to steer me away from it (PVP I've used for 6+ years just left). This new PVP was very vague about group benefits -- and when I pressed him saying, "if we have 10 cabins - say 8 balconies & 2 insides -- what type of OBC might our group get?" He insisted there was no way to tell ahead of time. :eek:

I must call him again and get better answers.

 

I'm sailing on 10/9/16 and was thinking of booking my March 2017 cabin onboard.

If we go with a group booking, can 2 cabins use the FUTURE CRUISE VOUCHER (100 OBC) that I'll get? Also, I have seniors, military and interline eligible guests. Can we get these discounts within our group booking?

[WLHyatt]

Your PVP may try and swing you away because the group will be handled by a different department and the PVP won't get any commission.

Make sure if you have a group of 10 cabins that you get any amenities that are offered (usually a fixed amount of things that can be done based on a points value), and if a certain number of people are booked you actually can get a discount.

If the groups department doesn't mention this go with a TA who can do all these things.

[firemanbobswife]

The issue I would have with doing a group booking is that if we had exactly the minimum amount of cabins needed, then what happens if one party cancels? Do you get re booked at the prevailing rates or what happens?

 

I could see if you have a ton of cabins well over the requirement, but I wouldn't want the stress of hoping no one canceled. While everyone is good to go now, things can and do change and stuff happens. Nothing is guaranteed until you're all on the ship.

[WLHyatt]

It won't cancel your individual bookings, it will just cancel any of the extra amenities that you need the minimum number of rooms for. Ask the group department to verify but it should not cancel your bookings.

[firemanbobswife]

It won't cancel your individual bookings, it will just cancel any of the extra amenities that you need the minimum number of rooms for. Ask the group department to verify but it should not cancel your bookings.

 

 

I wouldn't think that it would straight up cancel your bookings, but if you get a group rate, wouldn't it change the pricing? If so, to what? Are you repriced to whatever rate codes and/or pricing are available at that time?

[beshears]

This is a very good question that I just came across, and possibly one of you might be able to answer this.

 

For the first time, we will need 4 rooms booked for adults.

 

They are letting me pay it up front, and I am using a TA. Would I be better off going through Carnival "directly," instead of the TA?

 

How can I know if the price goes down, etc? Do I just check on this "same" itinerary and see if it has gone down since I paid?

 

Would I be better off, paying part of it, and when the final deadline came, I would pay the rest off? In other words, to get the OBC, etc., would I be better holding off on paying all at once.

 

What is this about early saver?

[firemanbobswife]

This is a very good question that I just came across, and possibly one of you might be able to answer this.

 

 

 

For the first time, we will need 4 rooms booked for adults.

 

 

 

They are letting me pay it up front, and I am using a TA. Would I be better off going through Carnival "directly," instead of the TA?

 

 

 

How can I know if the price goes down, etc? Do I just check on this "same" itinerary and see if it has gone down since I paid?

 

 

 

Would I be better off, paying part of it, and when the final deadline came, I would pay the rest off? In other words, to get the OBC, etc., would I be better holding off on paying all at once.

 

 

 

What is this about early saver?

 

 

I think you need 8 or 10 cabins (not passengers) for a group booking so they will be individual bookings. Just make sure they are all linked together for dining. I prefer to book direct with my PVP. He has been with Carnival a very long time and gets things handled quickly and right the first time.

 

I would pay the minimum now and then the rest at final payment. You might also want to make sure prepaid gratuities are included so your travel mates don't get an unexpected bill onboard. As far as price drops, I keep an eye on the rates by doing mock bookings, and call my PVP. He adjusts everyone's rates right then and there. If you want ES, make sure you are OK with all the restrictions.

Edited September 22, 2016 by firemanbobswife

[texhockey]

Thanks for all your input.

A GROUP reservation is what I thought was best, but my new PVP tried to steer me away from it (PVP I've used for 6+ years just left). This new PVP was very vague about group benefits -- and when I pressed him saying, "if we have 10 cabins - say 8 balconies & 2 insides -- what type of OBC might our group get?" He insisted there was no way to tell ahead of time. :eek:

I must call him again and get better answers.

 

I'm sailing on 10/9/16 and was thinking of booking my March 2017 cabin onboard.

If we go with a group booking, can 2 cabins use the FUTURE CRUISE VOUCHER (100 OBC) that I'll get? Also, I have seniors, military and interline eligible guests. Can we get these discounts within our group booking?

 

You really need to talk to a quality TA you can trust. The amenities you get don't really matter how many cabins you book it has to do with when you sail. If it is a popular cruise the amount of goodies you get go down and some cruises will not have any amenities. Most rates can be part of the group with full group credit but not all of them. There are so many variables it can make your head spin. A good agent can help you with everything but with that many cabins there is no reason not to setup a group since as someone said earlier you can book early saver and even add cabins into your group if a sale happens that makes others want to join you.

 

Just know that you will be missing out on possible benefits by booking individually with no risk by booking a group.

[sk84fungirl]

I currently have a "group" booking through my TA. We are close to a year out and don't know how many cabins we will ultimately have. There was a minimum deposit required to secure a certain number of cabins at a group rate. The group reservation will be held until a certain date. Can't remember how many days before departure it will be held. If I recall correctly, all cabins without at least $250 per person paid at that time, will be released. Future travelers can be added to the group reservation at any time up until sail date. Of course the amount they pay and deposit amount will vary depending on current fares and number of days before departure.

 

I have multiple fare alerts through different sites and also create mock bookings to check fares. To date, have found nothing lower than the price via my TA.

[ForSharonB]

I currently have a "group" booking through my TA. We are close to a year out and don't know how many cabins we will ultimately have. There was a minimum deposit required to secure a certain number of cabins at a group rate. The group reservation will be held until a certain date. Can't remember how many days before departure it will be held. If I recall correctly, all cabins without at least $250 per person paid at that time, will be released. Future travelers can be added to the group reservation at any time up until sail date. Of course the amount they pay and deposit amount will vary depending on current fares and number of days before departure.

 

I have multiple fare alerts through different sites and also create mock bookings to check fares. To date, have found nothing lower than the price via my TA.

 

Sound great! So booking as a group, got you a discounted fare?

I've heard mention of "points" for other perks, such a cocktail hour or OBC. Is your group eligible for those as well? If so, did your TA tell you how that is calculated? Thx!

[lele100]

Im not sure how this all works, but we are on a group booking through a TA, they initiated the group booking, so there a lots of people on it. Anyway it was much cheaper than online through carnival. Also there is a 100 dollar per cabin obc, but when we got the cabin number from him after doing the full deposit, I logged in to Carnival and the cruise detail page shows my cabin number however when I go to the Cruise Document page it says TBA for cabin number and on luggage tags too. So I asked the TA he said because after final payment some people on the group will end up getting upgrades. Not sure how that works. I could be wrong but I was thinking that the TA pays for deposits down for a certain amount of cabins and if not sold they upgrade people? Not sure just a guess

[firemanbobswife]

Im not sure how this all works, but we are on a group booking through a TA, they initiated the group booking, so there a lots of people on it. Anyway it was much cheaper than online through carnival. Also there is a 100 dollar per cabin obc, but when we got the cabin number from him after doing the full deposit, I logged in to Carnival and the cruise detail page shows my cabin number however when I go to the Cruise Document page it says TBA for cabin number and on luggage tags too. So I asked the TA he said because after final payment some people on the group will end up getting upgrades. Not sure how that works. I could be wrong but I was thinking that the TA pays for deposits down for a certain amount of cabins and if not sold they upgrade people? Not sure just a guess

 

 

Yikes! Sounds like they put you all in Guarantee cabins. That could be why it appears cheaper than what you see on Carnival (maybe you are checking rates where you pick your own cabin?).

 

I would never do a guarantee as I am way too picky about my cabin. Lots of people like them, but I'm not in that group. I'll stick to booking individually with my PVP and choosing my cabin. It's not worth the small savings and OBC for me to be stressing about my assignment and the potential for me to have a ruined cruise because I'm in a bad location. Others are fine with the gamble, but again, I'm not.

[cruznjan]

There are 16 of use cruising to celebrate my cousin's retirement. Her travel agent said he couldn't book us as a group because of the popularity of the particular cruise. But we're linked for dining in the MDR.