Group rate? minimum? deposit? deals?

[mistyinca]

Has anyone ever booked a family cruise as a group? How many did you need and did you get a better deal (better than the early saver price)? What is the deposit?

 

Thanks! :)

[VASOXFANN]

All I remember is there is an 8 cabin minimum, and perks include OBC and possibly a cocktail party. The perks get better the more cabins that book

 

We didn't end up doing it because we were unsure if we had 8 cabins for our wedding cruise

 

Your best bet is to call the group bookings dept for details.

[RW20]

Our TA said at 5 cabins she can start getting group rates and extra perks.

[SadieN]

Depending on time of year and itin groups can be 5 or 8 cabins.

[WLHyatt]

Depends on the sailing, and the amenities can be anything from gifts to onboard credit to cocktail parties to snacks in the room.

 

The Amenities don't really get better with more rooms, but there is a minimum number of rooms that have to book to get amenities. The Agent can also buy additional amenities if desired.

 

The pricing is usually better because agents will request room type blocks as soon as they are available and hold them as prices go up and keep the same rate.

[Justwant2cruise]

They have changed the perks since the last time i booked a group , when I looked into it recently our small group of 6 rooms pretty much received nothing worth booking as a group , in fact it was cheaper for each to book solo

 

 

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[grandmacani]

We did group booking with 32 family members. Each cabin did get $50 onboard credit with a beach bag. But some of the family members that didn't book in the group got a better price going separately. In the end it would've been easier for everyone to book on their own in the cabins they liked. We did link all of our cabins to have dinner at three tables in the same area. Would we do it again as a group, my daughter who was in charge says no way. But it just takes some digging to see what's right for your group. In the end we connected with family from Florida, Texas, Michigan and California so no matter what it was worth it. Enjoy

[mistyinca]

Thanks for the replies. I will look into this route if I can get family on board with the idea!

[texhockey]

Thanks for the replies. I will look into this route if I can get family on board with the idea!

 

You should call a travel agent and if you are going to have at least 5 cabins have them set up a group for you.

 

The amenities you get has more to do with the sailing you choose. If a certain date or itinerary is popular the less goodies you get if any at all.

 

You can also book most fare specials into a group such as early saver and most of Carnival's sales can be booked into a group. With a good travel agent you will lose nothing by setting up a group but could miss out on some benefits.

[Herbaltees]

You should call a travel agent and if you are going to have at least 5 cabins have them set up a group for you.

 

 

 

The amenities you get has more to do with the sailing you choose. If a certain date or itinerary is popular the less goodies you get if any at all.

 

 

 

You can also book most fare specials into a group such as early saver and most of Carnival's sales can be booked into a group. With a good travel agent you will lose nothing by setting up a group but could miss out on some benefits.

 

 

The ES/reduced deposit sakes are not available with a group.

 

 

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[texhockey]

The ES/reduced deposit sakes are not available with a group.

 

 

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Yes they are. I have booked them into a group. They support comps and amenities.

[WLHyatt]

The ES/reduced deposit sakes are not available with a group.

 

It depends on the sale, but most reduced deposit sales are eligible for group comps/amenities as they are just a modification of the Early Saver rate. Early Saver is almost always bookable into a group and with that comes the price protection. The agent does have to submit the price protection, but the good ones will check rates for you and submit it either by price reductions or onboard credit once paid in full.

[riclop]

There are NO deals with Carnival.

[LitchfieldParkCruisers]

I always book my groups with ES rate and monitor for any price reductions and submit them up until their cruise date. You can book a group during a reduced deposit sale and pay the reduced deposit to book into group. TA's will offer amenities for groups, but Carnival will not. A group is normally 8 cabins. Although as long as 5 end up sailing in the end you still get to keep the amenities. There is a list of amenities to choose from onboard credit, bottles of wine, bath robes, cocktail parties, beach bags, and more. You can choose what you want. You can even split your amenity points and get more than one. For example my last group got $75obc, but they could have taken $50 obc and a beach bag. The group leader can decide. Just let me know if you have anymore questions I can help you with....)

[mistyinca]

The ES/reduced deposit sakes are not available with a group.

 

 

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That's good to know because the reduced deposit is what would make it possible...

[Herbaltees]

It depends on the sale, but most reduced deposit sales are eligible for group comps/amenities as they are just a modification of the Early Saver rate. Early Saver is almost always bookable into a group and with that comes the price protection. The agent does have to submit the price protection, but the good ones will check rates for you and submit it either by price reductions or onboard credit once paid in full.

 

 

Perhaps ES is available for groups, but the ES with reduced deposit namely the $50 deposit is NOT available with group bookings.

 

https://www.carnival.com/cruise-deals/early-saver/terms.aspx

 

To get around this When I booked my group, some ppl booked individually under the ES $50 deposit sale & then transferred the booking to a TA who included us in a group.

 

 

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[WLHyatt]

Again, it depends on the individual sales. Just to try I quoted a new room in a group that I have created. The Early Saver $50 deposit rate is available and the deposit shows $100 (for two people).

 

The group sails next June and is on the Magic. Perhaps some of the previous reduced deposit sales didn't work in groups but this one definitely does.

With that said the current rate for that sailing for the same class of room is quite a bit less per person.

[WLHyatt]

I just read the link you posted. That statement about it not applying to group rates is the interesting bit. It means you can use early saver in the group, but the people who get the discounted group rates can not go back in later to try and match a lower price.

 

If you book early saver into a group you can match prices later. If you book the group rates you can not match prices later without rebooking.

Edited September 26, 2016 by WLHyatt

[mistyinca]

Thanks again for the replies. We tried to book as a group. We had 16 in 6 cabins, and I guess Carnival requires 8 cabins for the group. So we booked regular with our PVP.