Cruise totally booked 1 year out

[Island Cruiser]

TC2, on both of my posts I stipulated which company was managing the PG. Group bookings are part of the cruise business regardless of the line. The size of the group relative to the size of the ship can matter a great deal. Also relevant, the composition of the group. In the case of the Regent (Radisson) cruise we were on, the large group was promised the exclusive use of the main dining room on sail away night as a condition for booking the cruise. Amazing!!! And also the exclusive use of the direct transfer bus to the airport at the end of the cruise. And yes, it was a corporate rewards cruise: chain restaurant managers (and their wives) who had exceeded their sales goals. All nice people. All on their best behavior. But networking among themselves. Being around them was therefore like walking into the wrong wedding. There was no place for us on the pool deck. Maybe we would have found it more palatable if we had been cruising on the corporate dime.

[Travelcat2]

TC2, on both of my posts I stipulated which company was managing the PG. Group bookings are part of the cruise business regardless of the line. The size of the group relative to the size of the ship can matter a great deal. Also relevant, the composition of the group. In the case of the Regent (Radisson) cruise we were on, the large group was promised the exclusive use of the main dining room on sail away night as a condition for booking the cruise. Amazing!!! And also the exclusive use of the direct transfer bus to the airport at the end of the cruise. And yes, it was a corporate rewards cruise: chain restaurant managers (and their wives) who had exceeded their sales goals. All nice people. All on their best behavior. But networking among themselves. Being around them was therefore like walking into the wrong wedding. There was no place for us on the pool deck. Maybe we would have found it more palatable if we had been cruising on the corporate dime.

 

Actually, I was responding to Wendy's post and had not read your post(s). In any case, I agree that this must have been a very uncomfortable cruise and, hopefully, this is not something that would be done on Regent today. Having said that, the cruise that may still be going on with a lot of TA's onboard would also be uncomfortable for paying guests. It is good to know that the group(s) on board can be researched and sometimes can be figured out!

[Island Cruiser]

Let me add special groups can also contribute immensely to the quality of a cruise. We boarded Voyager for a cruise from Rio to Ft. Lauderdale and learned two groups were on board. One was a fairly large group of PBS contributors. Sailing with them was the late Gwen Ifle and a couple of her colleagues at PBS who made interesting presentations open to all passengers and also Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report who held forth at noon in the Observation Lounge on multiple days. His presentations were also open to all and there was standing room only. Marvelous!!! And, to my great delight, a Mable Mercer fan club was also sailing. Sailing with them was a pianist and a vocalist who sang Mable Mercer style. They performed twice in the Horizon Lounge for all who wished to attend. My guess, and I DO mean guess, is they were given the Horizon Lounge on the condition that all passengers be welcomed. I arrived early to grab a front row seat for both performances. Bravo!

[Mudhen]

This really depends on the luck of the draw. Some groups can add to a cruise experience and some can REALLY detract. We unfortunately were on a cruise that had a huge group from a stock investment company. Took over the dining room completely on one seating, took over MANY of the smaller bars and made anyone who was not in their group feel like pariahs....rude, snobby and just generally miserable to be around. It was not fun. So, it just depends on what group has chartered the ship. If I could know ahead of time there was a big group or charter involved in the sailing I was interested in, I would not do it. It isn't worth the gamble on my vacation. Could be wonderful, more than likely a disaster.

[Island Cruiser]

I agree, Mudhen. If I knew in advance that a large group would be on board, I'd have to know much much more before booking that cruise. Too much money and time involved. Particularly since there are so many wonderful options out there.

[UUNetBill]

Our first ever cruise (Navigator in 2009) was hosting a corporate group of about 100-150 people. The biggest issue we had was one evening they decided to keep a party going late on the pool deck, and unfortunately we were in a Navigator suite directly below them. It took numerous calls to finally get someone to clear them out. They did tend to stick together, but my wife and I made friends with one of the wives in attendance and we had a great time with her. In fact, she and my wife still correspond regularly.

 

So there can be good and bad with large groups, I guess.