Activity Shock

[Nashna]

We are looking to reserve an Allure Cruise for our family of 15. I just viewed a Cruise Compass on this board which has left my head spinning. We have recently been sailing on Celebrity, Princess and Seabourn. Our last family trip on RCCL was Sovereign of The Seas over 15 years ago. My, have things changed on RCCL. The number of activities along with the restaurant options are overwhelming. I have never had to reserve a show or check restaurant availability online or worry about returning towels. I'm beginning to question how we can do all of this with 15 people on such a large ship.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

It is going to be a nightmare!:eek:

[countess5]

We are looking to reserve an Allure Cruise for our family of 15. I just viewed a Cruise Compass on this board which has left my head spinning. We have recently been sailing on Celebrity, Princess and Seabourn. Our last family trip on RCCL was Sovereign of The Seas over 15 years ago. My, have things changed on RCCL. The number of activities along with the restaurant options are overwhelming. I have never had to reserve a show or check restaurant availability online or worry about returning towels. I'm beginning to question how we can do all of this with 15 people on such a large ship.

 

We have sailed on Oasis and Allure 2X each and next weekend leave for a B2B on Harmony. The reason I share this is because it says how much we enjoy the Oasis class. As you can see in my signature we too sail with Celebrity.

 

Two different sailings, you have to be organized on the Oasis class. We buy Ultimate dinning every trip and yes you have to reserve shows only because you have 5,000+ passengers. Once we are onboard we go and set our dinning up around the show reservations we have made. The rewards for the planning is worth it for all the ship offers. Not sure the ages of the family members going but there is something for everyone.

 

Not sure of the $$$$, But maybe booking one of the Aqua suites would give you a Genie that could help in your planning and assist you while onboard.

 

Take the time to plan and you won’t be disappointed!

Happy to answer any specific questions you may have.

 

Enjoy where ever you go.

[cbelc]

We have sailed Allure with a group of 20. Coordinate your show times. If you can get a designated dinner time and 2-3 tables reserved, great. If you all have My Time Dining, all is not lost. Show up at the MTD dining room entrance as soon as you get on the ship and reserve a regular time and place for the whole group. The head waiter will take your picture in the dining room on the stairs with your camera or you can ask at any photo spot for a group pic. Corralling the group is the hard part. Try to get some rooms with shared balconies and have the dividers removed. Don’t be intimidated by the size of the ship. With a group that large, you’ll be running into each other all the time. I would use a travel agent. You might get a group discount.

 

 

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[Nashna]

Thank you. We are going to book our room in a Grand Suite and are hoping to have everyone else in ocean balcony rooms with the kids across the hall. We have 8 grandkids ranging in age from 9 to 18. If we do anytime dining can we make reservations prior to boarding? This will be my 39th cruise. It looks like advance planning is a must on a mega ship which is why I rely on CC.

 

 

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[cb at sea]

You don't have to do EVERYTHING! I'm sure there are things on smaller ships that you skipped. If you don't book a show, then decide you want to go, they have vacancies....show up before and at about 10 mins before the show, they allow those waiting to take a seat.

[brillohead]

You don't have to do ALL the activities!

 

Figure out what everyone wants to do and doesn't want to do, and go from there.

 

Maybe some people want to see the Broadway show, but others don't. Some want to do Quest, some don't. Some want to dance all night, some don't. Some want to get up and walk at 6am, some don't. Some want to eat sushi, while others want burgers and milkshakes. Some want to surf, some want to rock-climb, and some want to sit in the hot tub.

 

Just because it's a family vacation with 15 people doesn't mean all 15 people have to every single activity together at the same exact time.

[champagne123]

In my humble opinion..trying to keep 15 family members together is a recipe for disaster and resentment. When our whole family cruises together, the only time we ALL spend together is dinner. Everyone just does their own thing at their own pace. We always have a blast.

Edited January 28, 2018 by champagne123
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[cbelc]

I’d assign an adult in each kid room or split the kids into the adult rooms. I had the bad luck to be assigned a room across a door and really thin wall from 3 teens. The parents were down the hall somewhere. Those kids, on the first night, screeched and sang and laughed and talked until after midnight. I got up and bammed on the adjoining door, which made them scream and then get really quiet. I saw them in the hall the next day and gave them the granny lecture. So please don’t put the kids in a room alone for a big week long slumber party.

 

 

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[drdestructo]

I agree with some those that have posted already. We did a cruise in 2015 with 15 family members on the Freedom. We only asked everyone meet together in the MDR for dinner. We made prior arrangements to get two tables together every night. It worked out great as folks swapped out at the different tables each night but we still has the same server and assistant server.

 

We would let everyone know what our plans were for each day, and those that wished to join us were invited to do so. When in port, they deferred to us and we made some tour arrangements in advance and just asked who was interested for the tour operators' head count. In one instance, everyone wanted to go and the tour operator gave our group it's own vehicle.

 

Don't get me wrong, 15 family members can be like herding cats, but this worked for us.

[dplusd]

I would never attempt to coordinate and pre-plan activities for such a large group. But, if you want to sail with a large group consider sailing a non-Oasis class ship where pre-reserving shows and dining is not so important. Freedom or Voyager class ships allow you to be much more flexible and spontaneous.

 

We have cancelled two Oasis class cruises we had booked simply because I did not like the level of pre-planning necessary and we are just a couple of two!

[NotTheBatesMotel]

In my humble opinion..trying to keep 15 family members together is a recipe for disaster and resentment. When our whole family cruises together, the only time we ALL spend together is dinner. Everyone just does their own thing at their own pace. We always have a blast.

 

This, exactly. We’ve done 2 family cruises. We meet up for dinner nightly (even then with kids sometimes someone needs to skip a night) and if there’s something several of us want to do then we work it out and make sure to meet up. Trying to coordinate everything together would be a nightmare.

[Nashna]

We typically vacation together as a family at least once a year. Usually, everyone pays their own way. However, this is our 50th anniversary and we wanted to treat our family. We will have dinner and some shore excursions together. I am really surprised that we are looking at a year and one half out and having problems getting rooms close together. We have a great travel agent who is working this all out. We are booking a Grand Suite to provide a headquarters for the fam. All of your suggestions are really appreciated. The grands and our children are over the top excited to go on this voyage with us. I truly value your expert advice as you have been there done that! We are seasoned cruisers...just not with our family. Please keep the suggestions coming!

[constable145]

We are looking to reserve an Allure Cruise for our family of 15. I just viewed a Cruise Compass on this board which has left my head spinning. We have recently been sailing on Celebrity, Princess and Seabourn. Our last family trip on RCCL was Sovereign of The Seas over 15 years ago. My, have things changed on RCCL. The number of activities along with the restaurant options are overwhelming. I have never had to reserve a show or check restaurant availability online or worry about returning towels. I'm beginning to question how we can do all of this with 15 people on such a large ship.

I sailed with a group of 13 last summer on the Harmony. We didn't do everything. Everything we did do wasn't always together... With the exception of the pre-dinner cocktails in the Schooner bar. We didn't always eat together. We didn't see every show together.

 

Make an effort to see the aqua and ice shows and plan around those.

 

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[dwayneb236]

I would never attempt to coordinate and pre-plan activities for such a large group. But, if you want to sail with a large group consider sailing a non-Oasis class ship where pre-reserving shows and dining is not so important. Freedom or Voyager class ships allow you to be much more flexible and spontaneous.

 

We have cancelled two Oasis class cruises we had booked simply because I did not like the level of pre-planning necessary and we are just a couple of two!

 

This is kinda shocking to me. You cancelled a couple of cruise because you didn't want to make reservations for your shows? I was on the Harmony and while I did make reservations, which took all of 3 minutes, I didn't have to. All the shows at one point or another had seats available for non reservation makers. Same for dining. But oh well, I am the type that actually enjoys planning so to me it was no issue. Was actually part of the fun.

It still looked like to me no planning was absolutely necessary, but hey, we're all different.

 

would hate to do this for a group though. I hate travelling with groups.

[Rewind]

We typically vacation together as a family at least once a year. Usually, everyone pays their own way. However, this is our 50th anniversary and we wanted to treat our family. We will have dinner and some shore excursions together. I am really surprised that we are looking at a year and one half out and having problems getting rooms close together. We have a great travel agent who is working this all out. We are booking a Grand Suite to provide a headquarters for the fam. All of your suggestions are really appreciated. The grands and our children are over the top excited to go on this voyage with us. I truly value your expert advice as you have been there done that! We are seasoned cruisers...just not with our family. Please keep the suggestions coming!

 

Stateroom voicemail! Trying to coordinate 15 people might not be the easiest thing but leaving messages on each stateroom's voicemail is a good way for people to know what is going on.

 

Magnetic whiteboard on your stateroom door. If your grand suite is going to be the base of operations, leave notes on it as to where you are / what event you are attending.

 

I'd also try to meet up for breakfast and dinner each day (if possible) and compare notes with the rest of the group on upcoming activities. Windjammer for 15 might be almost impossible (it's hard to find a seat for two sometimes) so if you do want to meet for a meal, I'd suggest the main dining room.

 

If you want everyone together for shows, I'd send at least 1/3 of your party to the venue as they open to grab seats (and even then you might expect to site on the sides).

 

 

Beyond the logistics, you should have a great time. Allure is truly a large ship (three times the gross tonnage of Sovereign) but is completely what you make of it. It can be peaceful in Central Park or a party on the Promenade.

 

Just don't miss the diving show, it's amazing.

[AF-1]

With some planning it can be done. Coordination is the key. Don't set high expectations. Like you all can't be at all places at the same time; because you have kids of different ages who will be doing different things. I would say shows and dinner would be the main time to have everyone together; the rest of the time; let each family do what they want. We did this cruise with 15 and it worked. We went to shows and dinner. Rest of the time we did our own things. We had an owners suite and that was the hang out for family. Everyone else had inside and balconies; but we were all on same floor so it worked well

[tullers]

We are looking to reserve an Allure Cruise for our family of 15. I just viewed a Cruise Compass on this board which has left my head spinning. We have recently been sailing on Celebrity, Princess and Seabourn. Our last family trip on RCCL was Sovereign of The Seas over 15 years ago. My, have things changed on RCCL. The number of activities along with the restaurant options are overwhelming. I have never had to reserve a show or check restaurant availability online or worry about returning towels. I'm beginning to question how we can do all of this with 15 people on such a large ship.

Based on the fact that you recently sailed on Celebrity, Princess & Seabourn I would say that RCCL will be a step down for you in terms of quality and overall experience. You may want to stick with Celebrity or Princess for your group.

[BNBR]

This needs to be put to rest. You do not HAVE to book shows on Oasis class. In my experience, there are plenty of seats still available for most shows for standby passengers. If you don't want to book, then show up a tad early in and get a decent spot in the standby line. Reservations are essentially a fast-pass. You get to go in when it's not busy and get prime seating without having to wait in any lines. It's a great thing. You can also book for everyone from a single cruise planner, FYI. Just pick the shows you are likely to want to see at the times you are likely to want to go. If you miss it, no big deal.

[Nashna]

Based on the fact that you recently sailed on Celebrity, Princess & Seabourn I would say that RCCL will be a step down for you in terms of quality and overall experience. You may want to stick with Celebrity or Princess for your group.

 

We just got off Seabourn last week. We don't expect the same level of service we receive when it is just the two of us on a luxury ship. The fun for us is going to be watching the grands have a ball with their parents and each other. One big plus to following CC is that when we board the ship, we will have a pretty good feeling for the ship's ambiance and how things work. We will be planning out as much as we can prior to the cruise to minimize the time we need to spend planning on board. Most likely, we will have dinners together and a few shows planned in advance. The kids are already checking out utube videos and are way beyond excited.

[tullers]

We just got off Seabourn last week. We don't expect the same level of service we receive when it is just the two of us on a luxury ship. The fun for us is going to be watching the grands have a ball with their parents and each other. One big plus to following CC is that when we board the ship, we will have a pretty good feeling for the ship's ambiance and how things work. We will be planning out as much as we can prior to the cruise to minimize the time we need to spend planning on board. Most likely, we will have dinners together and a few shows planned in advance. The kids are already checking out utube videos and are way beyond excited.

 

Sounds like a good plan, did the same for my in-laws 50th last year. The grandkids will have an absolute blast!

[Desert Cruizers]

Even though your cruising as a family, you all won't want to do the same thing as early mentioned. you will need what I call your Down Time do do something for yourselves. Our daughter and husband sister joined us 3 yrs ago for 3 cruises starting in Sydney Australia and we told them both, once on board you do your own thing. We dined and did several tours together rest of time they did what they wanted. Best thing is to discuss what you each wish to do and plan accordingly.

[Bellalago Breeze]

We typically vacation together as a family at least once a year. Usually, everyone pays their own way. However, this is our 50th anniversary and we wanted to treat our family. We will have dinner and some shore excursions together. I am really surprised that we are looking at a year and one half out and having problems getting rooms close together. We have a great travel agent who is working this all out. We are booking a Grand Suite to provide a headquarters for the fam. All of your suggestions are really appreciated. The grands and our children are over the top excited to go on this voyage with us. I truly value your expert advice as you have been there done that! We are seasoned cruisers...just not with our family. Please keep the suggestions coming!

 

We celebrated our 50th anniversary on Allure 2 years ago with our family group of 18 and it all worked out wonderfully. We only asked the group to do a few things which we picked up the tab for - a family dinner in Giovanni's on our actual anniversary, a private tour in St. Maarten for the entire group, and a party in our grand suite with trays of cheese and fruit that we ordered through the suite concierge. Everyone brought a bottle of wine to that party and our kids decorated the whole room with streamers and balloons. We also had tables in the DR booked for early seating and everyone had the choice to eat there or go to a specialty restaurant or the Windjammer instead. Shows were all booked in advance and everyone took care of that themselves.

I know it sounds overwhelming, but it really isn't. An added bonus is that you run into family all over the ship. It's especially fun to meet up later in the evening outside the pub for drinks and a slice of pizza from across the way!

We're getting ready to do another cruise on Allure for our anniversary in less than 5 weeks, but this time we will be doing it alone!

[kalaniiwow]

I book my shows in advance, just because I like to... but it's definitely not mandatory. We sailed on Allure this past July (peak season) and it seemed like everyone in the standby line was able to get in to shows without issue.

 

My husband and I are sailing on Allure again in April and I pre-booked our shows and 2 of our excursions (got them during the black friday sales!). I'm a planner though, so I enjoy the process of picking out activities and planning our trips.

 

If I was in your position, I would want traditional dining for all 15 so that we all could at least eat dinner together every evening at the same tables and with the same wait staff. I would also pre-book the big shows so that you don't have 15 people waiting in standby lines. You can always book for all 15. It doesn't matter if not everyone shows up! I would also talk to the family and see who wants to go on which excursions and pre-book those so that you can guarantee you all get to get. Some excursions sell out, so I wouldn't wait until I was on board.

 

Everything else you can wing it. I wouldn't worry about specialty dining restaurants or the daily activities. You guys can pick and choose that stuff easily on the ship.

[Big_G]

I would never attempt to coordinate and pre-plan activities for such a large group. But, if you want to sail with a large group consider sailing a non-Oasis class ship where pre-reserving shows and dining is not so important. Freedom or Voyager class ships allow you to be much more flexible and spontaneous.

 

We have cancelled two Oasis class cruises we had booked simply because I did not like the level of pre-planning necessary and we are just a couple of two!

 

We have sailed Oasis Class multiple times and the only thing we've ever reserved is the comedy show. It's not all that bad. That said, we're taking our children and grandchildren in 2 years and we'll let the families do their own planning.