Planning a "family reunion" cruise on Royal Caribbean

[CruzieSue]

Have you planned or been included in a family reunion or cousins group type of cruise on any Royal Caribbean ship?  I see that they offer "cruise credits" for "every 8 staterooms (minimum of 16 guests)".  What are the cruise credits, how much $$, etc.?  Any other perks for booking a group like that?  What are some of the fun or most enjoyed things you did together as a group, on the ship or on excursions, etc.?  Thanks for any information or suggestions.  😊

Edited July 18, 2019 by CruzieSue

[Clarea]

The credit is the is one guest's stateroom cost, using an average of stateroom costs of all your guests.

 

I would strongly advise you to use a reputable travel agent and have the guests deal directly with the agent.

[neverbeenhere]

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2502

[CruzieSue]

Thanks for the replies so far!!  Question:  It's been awhile since I was on CC, how do you reply to or comment on someone's post other than the little icon replies?  

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, CruzieSue said:

Thanks for the replies so far!!  Question:  It's been awhile since I was on CC, how do you reply to or comment on someone's post other than the little icon replies?  

 

Click on the "Quote" link.

[1992cruiser]

51 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I would strongly advise you to use a reputable travel agent and have the guests deal directly with the agent.

This is very true.  Do not use a TA just for perks for a large group. You will need a lot of help with dining, any group events you want to do and keeping track of payments. 

 

[crusinthrough]

You have to make sure the TA will give you the GAP points and tour credit (see post #2) for the sailing.  I know some TA's keep these for themselves.

 

I suggest dealing directly with RC group department vs a TA especially if you are very hands on.   

[PhoenixCruiser]

Our extended family has gone on several cruises.  We always get together for dinner and just move around nightly so we are not seated next to the same people the entire cruise.  We usually end up with two tables in the main dining room, one for 6 and another for 14.  Last year due to a pregnancy and another medical issue we only had 10 so we had an oval for 10.  Next cruise we will probably need 2 tables - two 14 tops.  I know people say that moving around makes it harder for the staff but they were great so we gave additional cash tips throughout the week.  Most of us ordered the same drinks every evening so that helped with bar service.

 

We didn't have a lot of daily plans but we all get along great and ended up meeting during the day as well as and taking some excursions together.

 

Use a reliable TA

Edited July 19, 2019 by PhoenixCruiser
typo

[njkruzer]

We celebrated an aunt and uncle's 70th anniversary several years ago. Had a really good travel agent. Got us obc, worked on the dining issues,  etc.  We were 36 and had several tables in one area and drove our waiters crazy as we changed tables each night. The aunt and uncle stayed put and we changed so we could all sit take turns sitting with them.  We had a great time. 

[drewdrewcruiser]

We had a group of 65 people in 23 cabins on the Allure in 2017.  I highly recommend a travel agent to handle the bookings.  I also recommend booking as soon as the schedules come out which in our case was 1 1/2 years in advance.  By doing so, we were able to get cabins next to each other and even had the balcony partitions opened up.  We got the equivalent of a free cabin which we split amongst all cabins in OBC.   It was a great vacation.   Cruising is great for large groups because there are so many options available onboard with respect to activities, food, etc.  

[momofmab]

Going on one in December!  My very generous FIL is treating us all.  He used a big box TA and was able to get quite a few perks.  I think the plan is to do our own thing during the day and get together for dinners.  We're really looking forward to it!

[CruzieSue]

15 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Click on the "Quote" link.

Thanks!!  😊

[zooma]

When searching for an outside TA to use for your cruise, I'd suggest interviewing them up front and asking if they've got experience with such reunion group reservations and, as others have said, nailing down what they can do for you. We recently went on a family reunion cruise, and the TA that many in the group used was entirely unhelpful with regard to group dining, etc. I handled that myself through phone calls directly with RC beforehand and then a couple of logistics conversations with very helpful MDR manager and Specialty Dining restaurants immediately upon boarding. 

 

Also, one of the most fun group activities we did was the Escape Room. That and an adult dinner at Wonderland. Oh and Silent Disco 🙂 (Not sure which ship you're thinking of going on, but these were on Anthem.)

[ddmcruiser]

7 hours ago, momofmab said:

Going on one in December!  My very generous FIL is treating us all.  He used a big box TA and was able to get quite a few perks.  I think the plan is to do our own thing during the day and get together for dinners.  We're really looking forward to it!

We went on one a couple of years ago.  Mostly we did our own thing although several of us might pick the same excursion. My husband likes to see sunrise and I don't so he enjoyed being able to get up early and meet up with brothers/sisters for breakfast.  And then have another breakfast with me later!  I never had to worry about keeping the kids busy either - although they were young adults at the time, they could do their own thing as well.  Dinner was when we all got together and shared our day's activities and planned for the next day.  We moved around a lot as well but the wait staff handled it wonderfully!

 

I'm looking forward to our next one coming up.  Hope you enjoy yours!

[awestover89]

We did one last August, just 8 rooms but were able to get the GAP points and TCC credit (average cost of one person). Our group was split between two tables but we were able to get the two tables right next to each other, and all our cabins next to each other

[legaljen1969]

On ‎7‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 5:57 AM, momofmab said:

Going on one in December!  My very generous FIL is treating us all.  He used a big box TA and was able to get quite a few perks.  I think the plan is to do our own thing during the day and get together for dinners.  We're really looking forward to it!

That's what we do too.  Do our own thing during the day and then dinner is the time to sit and talk about what we did and enjoy each other. We do a few things together during the day too.