Advice please - Impact of a large group booking on a ship?

[Geoff&Louise]

A few weeks ago we booked a West Caribbean cruise on Celebrity for March 2019. At that time virtually all cabins were available to book. This cruise, amongst others around the same date has now disappeared from Celebrity's and other TA web-sites. I have enquired if the ship had been chartered, and was told that it had not been, but on pushing a little further, I was told that the ship was now fully booked and that there had been a large group booking.

 

So that I can consider if I should change my booking to another Celebrity cruise at around that time, please could anyone kindly let me know if they have experienced any negative impact from being on a ship that has a very large group on-board (i.e. the ship being used for a large corporate conference event etc.).

 

Many thanks for any advice - greatly appreciated.

[GUT2407]

I’ve been both a part of a part charter and on a cruise where there was a large charter I wasn’t part of.

 

To be honest I noticed very little difference.

 

Some rooms may be closed to general pax at certain times, but as long as the ship is large enough (and I THINK all Celebrity ships would be) I don’t 5hink there’d be much impact.

 

But then I’m pretty easy going when at sea.

[Geoff&Louise]

I’ve been both a part of a part charter and on a cruise where there was a large charter I wasn’t part of.

 

To be honest I noticed very little difference.

 

Some rooms may be closed to general pax at certain times, but as long as the ship is large enough (and I THINK all Celebrity ships would be) I don’t 5hink there’d be much impact.

 

But then I’m pretty easy going when at sea.

 

Many thanks for your quick response

[AnOnymously]

We had 800 out of 2000 from one group. There were special excursions for them and perhaps that was why ours had only part filled coaches. Which was good.

 

Some rooms were used, including the theatre, but it impacted little on us. We were invited to join one room when we wandered around the ship, but no problem. I think Celebrity are quite hard on groups that try and evangelise. We were also often asked if we belonged and were treated to inhouse conversations, but nothing we noticed.

 

I wondered as you have done before going, but it being the only cruise with Celebrity, nothing to compare with. But I have been quite vocal about the issues we did have and you can believe that I would have been vocal about this if we had felt this impacted on us at all.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Geoff&Louise]

We had 800 out of 2000 from one group. There were special excursions for them and perhaps that was why ours had only part filled coaches. Which was good.

 

Some rooms were used, including the theatre, but it impacted little on us. We were invited to join one room when we wandered around the ship, but no problem. I think Celebrity are quite hard on groups that try and evangelise. We were also often asked if we belonged and were treated to inhouse conversations, but nothing we noticed.

 

I wondered as you have done before going, but it being the only cruise with Celebrity, nothing to compare with. But I have been quite vocal about the issues we did have and you can believe that I would have been vocal about this if we had felt this impacted on us at all.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Many thanks

[hcat]

All depends on the group...some are no issue, others take over venues...and take up dining times,

[DaKa2002]

We cruised on an the Azamara Journey where over half of the ship was one group. Group members typically had special IDs hanging from a lanyard. Other then seeing their own chartered busses at each port, they pretty much kept to themselves and their own activities planned on the ship. The group also established their own dining schedules so they did not impact the other cruisers. In fact, we were able to enjoy multiple chef's tables (fantastic dining, wines, and private tours of the kitchen facilities) during our cruise because the group was so busy with their own activities.

I would say the group had very little impact on our enjoyment of the entire cruise.

[JMG]

I have to agree that it all depends on the group. Some groups have so many activities planned that they are not a problem. Others, can be a problem. I read a thread recently that a large group booked the entire dining room for early seating and the other passengers had no choice but to do late seating.

 

We did cruise with a small group one time. They had a few special shows in the theater after the cruise shows. One night we took our time leaving the theater and someone came up to us and politely told us we had to leave the theater if we were not part of the group. It was not a problem for us.

[PelicanLvr]

I don't see how the "large group" will make your experience better......can only make it worse.

 

Why risk it......I would not!

 

Good luck.

[chemmo]

We experienced this once on RC and it did improve our cruise!

 

As regular as clockwork the group (Medical In some way or other...never found out!) dined in one specific area of the MDR breakfast, (lunch on sea days) and late dinner leaving the buffet much quieter.....They disappeared on their own tours (no issue) and on sea days went to lectures/meetings 10 - 12 and 2 - 4 leaving much more space around the pools!

 

However, in the evenings sat in the concierge lounge we heard about it from the perspective of others...guests who had been totally unable to get in the gym pre breakfast, guests whose specialty dining had been spoilt by being surrounded by large (and quite loud) tables...

 

Despite us not being negatively impacted on our cruise I would avoid if possible large group bookings...The snag is you really don't know how much they will effect you until you are on board....By the nature of you starting this post the thought of issues has obviously taken a little of the 'shine' off your booking.

 

If you can change with relative ease to an equally agreeable booking then why not and just remove a 'worry'?

[dkjretired]

All depends on the group...some are no issue, others take over venues...and take up dining times,

 

Absolutely, here's an example of some really bad ones. Large religious group boards ship and demands that the Casino and all bars be closed for the duration of the cruise. Celebrity tells them where to go.

 

Then there is the infamous American Girl Cruise on Celebrity several years ago. People were going to various venues only to find out they couldn't get seats in the buffet and theater because the girls were taking up seats with their dolls. Blame this on the parents for being so stupid.

 

You never know what you're going to get.

[mimi312]

Your week may very well be chartered - in that the whole boat is booked. There is a Smooth Jazz cruise that ends on 3/2. I'm not sure when the other Jazz cruises are booked, but between Feb - March Good luck.

[wendychloecruiser]

I’ve been on cruises that you’d never know that a large group was on board and another was just awful. Every time we sat down somewhere there would be people accosting us to buy vitamins and the like.

[Geoff&Louise]

Many thanks to everyone that has kindly replied with their thoughts and suggestions - all very much taken on board, and just shows what a great resource Cruise Critic is.

[Tiggertastic]

We've had a mixture of experiences. We had a very large university group onboard that took use of the conference rooms and quasar for private events, never had an issue.

 

We had a very large Mexican group onboard, they were so big they amended the timing of the mdr so they could eat around 9.30-10pm start so opened initially later. Then a big group, over 100 would come to the martini bar and it was a swarm that pushed others out. Many kids trying to use parents cards for alcohol. Got tiring after a few days so we switched our routine

 

Big Brazilian work group, so big they had signage up for them everywhere but never had a single issue. Yes they had private events in sky bar but they all finished in time for elite drinks.

 

Jewish group with rabi boarded and were given one of the restaurants and brought their own chefs etc so nobody else could use the dining room (wasn't celebrity). Again never had an issue.

 

 

 

 

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[HS2BS]

Find out how large the group is and what type. It does make a big difference. Venues are closed to the public, activities are cancelled and even dining experiences are impacted. Very large groups take over the ship without consideration of the rest of the passengers.

Try googling to see if you can find this group, or there is a web site that does track group bookings. If you are using a TA have them find out the information for you.

Large group, change cruise!

 

Hal

[cruiserchuck]

On our first Celebrity cruise, there was a large group on board of about 1,000 people. There were in general pretty annoying, and often areas of the ship were off limits due to the group holding events. I would not knowingly book a future cruise with such a large group on board.

[cb at sea]

There are "groups" on EVERY sailing. Most of the time, you never know who's part of a "group"...it's really not a huge deal. But, it depends on what groups! We've been on sailings with large corporate groups....they do their own things (meetings and such) in the private conference rooms...and there was NO effect on our good time at all!

Some cruises have "music" groups....with bands and dancing and such. "Non-group" members can't attend their functions, even if you like their music! Sometimes, they will do a "free" show for the entire ship....but not always.

 

Just know that every single sailing will have groups aboard. And, the cruise line will NOT inform you of them.

[keesar]

We have been on cruises where there have been large groups. 800 or so. Alot depends on the particular group. There have been groups who felt the ship was theirs as they would take over areas of the ship such as the Martini Bar and some lounges. Check out which group(s) will be on the ship.

[Redtravel]

On big ships, groups are not usually a problem. They may have meetings and group excursions. On small ships, the group can be ok or overwhelming. Try to find out in advance if there are any large groups onboard. We did a small ship in April. 200 guests. 80 were on a group tour. That was too big for that ship. Good luck.

[Zoedokey]

In the future after the nonrefundable deposits come out, you would not be able to change a booking for this reason without forfeiting the deposit, is that correct?

 

 

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[hcat]

If you book with the non refundable price...we wont do that unless it is a last minute situation or the dep is small...like $100

[awhfy]

Bad. American Girl Doll cruise, quincinera cruise. Good, first responders, medical & motorcycle group

 

 

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[RotaryMike]

People booked on the Eclipse 1/02/18 sailing ALL got bumped off the cruise when the "Moody Blues cruise" was allowed to charter the entire ship. I've read that those who got bumped were offered $100 obc to book another cruise.

[NLH Arizona]

I've been on two cruises with large groups. One was medical (lots of doctors) and the other was CPA's. Never had any issue with either and only found out, because someone at dinner mentioned them.