Considering a cruise for an office retreat

[RB Bonzo]

I run a small business with about 6 FT employees. I am considering closing the office for a week this coming fall and taking everyone and their spouse on a cruise - probably out of the NYC or Boston areas in order to avoid need to pay for airfare. I would schedule 2-3 hours of meeting time each day (or most days, or at least the sea days!) with the balance being "free play."

 

No, I'm not accepting job applcations at the moment :p. I would be interested in getting some thoughts and feedback.

 

The first question is what types of cabins to book. We (my wife and I) usually get a balcony cabin when we crusie by ourselves. If I do that for 7 cabins, though, the cost may push this beyond what I can manage. If I do this, I would be inclined to just boom not sure how affordable it will be. Would I be in trouble if I booked somek inside cabins. Or, does that send a message that I'm being too cheap? Would it be a serious mistake to book something different for myself? Would it be tacky to to offer to let folks pay the difference for an upgrade? Most of them have never been on a cruise, so these aren't folks that have lived the veranda life and could never go back. Or is that naive to think that non-cruisers won't see much of a difference?

 

Also, what is reasonable for me to expect others to pay. My thought is that everyone should be responsible for their own on-line accounts, including bar tabs, but perhaps since the tipping is basically mandatory, I should cover that. I can certainly pick up a few bottles of wine and bar tabs along the way, but I don't think that they would expect me to cover all of their drinks all week.

 

Also, because these folks aren't frequent cruisers, I'm concerned that some of them may view this as a compelled 7-day, 24-hour work period rather than an extra week of vacation w/ a few hours of work thrown in? Or, am I nuts to think that their reaction might be anything other than extreme appreciation? My purpose is, of course, to promote team building, provide some professional training, and reward everyone for their contributions to our success.

 

I am also concerned that some folks may resent too much togetherness. Although everyone gets along, most of us are not great friends outside of the office, and I know that at least a few people are going to want to do very different things than others. For example, a couple of folks have religious objections to drinking or gambling. Others, however, like to do a little of both when vacationing. Sometimes, more than a little. I also expect that everyone (myself included) is going to want some "alone time". For that reason, I'm thinking that we may want a larger ship. I also think that I don't want to get everyone together at one big table. Maybe NCL would be ideal for this? We can plan to be together a few nights but let other people do what they want the other nights. What other cruise lines would you suggest for something like this? One requirement will be the availability of meeting rooms.

 

I'm grateful for any insights anybody can provide. Thanks!

[Cotton]

My, what a generous boss you are!

 

I would have all the info at hand when you have your meeting to shock and thrill all the employees. I'd have a brochure to give to each employee. After all the ooohs and ahhhhs die down:

 

Let them know that you will be paying for an inside cabin for employee and spouse, and have all the prices available so they don't have to figure out the difference if they want a different category cabin. I think they would be very agreeable to your paying the automatic tips!

 

You might want to advise them that you'll furnish a bottle of wine for each cabin (?), and will provide wine at the dining table on the first evening - their bon voyage dinner - and after that, anything they choose to drink/purchase/etc. is to be put on their own S&S accounts.

 

Seems MORE than fair to me. Are you SURE you aren't hiring?:)

[Cotton]

Ooops, I just thought of something that might make it easy on you.

 

If you go ahead and pre-pay all the tips when you pay for the cruises, it would be less confusing. That way, when they set up their own separate S&S accounts, they start off with a blank slate, thus less confusion for those who haven't cruised. Would be much less frustration for you - so that you don't have to go to the purser and pay each one's auto tips. Hope that makes sense?;)

[RB Bonzo]

Great suggestions - thanks!

[SheilaInAL]

I'm with Cotton...are you SURE you're not hiring? :D

[kitty9]

Here's another suggestion. You could tell them that you would book everyone in an inside cabin, but if they wanted to upgrade their own cabin at their own expense, that would be something they can do. We take family members on cruises quite often, and we pay their tips, but we tell them from the beginning that any expenses they incur on the ship is at their own expense.

 

How very generous of you !!!

[suezyq50]

My husband was rewarded a 5 day business working trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas. There was one meeting a day, some in the morning, a few dinners together, afternoons free. Spouses were invited to some, with others designed for the employee. It was wonderful.

I agree with current posts.

 

Additional thoughts, any "retreat" I have gone to, the "chief" always had a better room. I wouldn't worry about that.

 

I would tell them how you are viewing the trip so they don't see it as a 24/7 work week. I always appreciate it when my boss gives his approach to an idea, so I don't have to second guess. Some may know you well enough to know how you think, others may not. Have an agenda available so they will know when their free times are, so they can plan a private dinner if they want.

 

You might want to tell them about this site or ways to get info about cruising. I found this sight after my first cruise, but wished I had known about it.

 

Do any of them have children? Are you providing child care? I would be prepared to answer if asked if family can come.

 

Will they need passports? Tell them what is invloved in that process.

 

It sounds like a wonderful idea. Hope it all works out.

[SimRob]

very generous of you first of all

 

however, are you going to pay these employees wages for the time spent in meetings? there are only 6 employees so you know them much better than any of us but some may see this as a week of lost wages even though you are paying for the cruise which would probably be more than a weeks wages for these people.

 

a week without pay is a week without pay wether you are on a cruise or not. this could inadvertantly cause hardship for some people ( having to pay for child care or just regular bills )

 

not to put a damper on this because it is a very nice thing you are doing

[RB Bonzo]

These are all good thoughts. Regarding childcare, I don't think it will be an issue. They would all be getting their regular compensation for the whole week and not charged for vacation time, so no one should have any financial problems with this (so long as they keep their account tabs under control!)

[jrlaurie]

My former boss took the whole dental office (like 20 total) to Cozumel for 5 nights for vacation/work about 2 years ago. Best time ever. I was so grateful, for giving me the opportunity to get out of California and see and explore something new. We did work a couple of hours during the trip, I'd say maybe 8 hours, broken up into different days. I don't really remember if he and his family had a better room, but to be honest I would never have thought twice about it. Our spouse's were not invited, so we paired up with someone in the office for our hotel rooms. They paid for one main dinner, two excursion/tours and airfare and taxi/shuttles to and from airport. We paid for the rest of our food, any taxi's while on island, any alcohol, and shopping.

 

I will say it did boost work moral, when we got back it was like a breath of fresh air.

 

The way they told us was: they scheduled a meeting for whole office. Then they started a video of points of interest (i.e. dolphins, island, hotels, caves,) we were like what does this have to do with dental? Then at the end of the video, they say we are paying for you all to go to Cozumel. Ok, Ok, after about 10 mins of screaming (we are mostly girls in the office) they break down the trip, what is involved and expected of us, what will be paid for and things we should expect to pay for ourselves.

 

I think it is a great thing you are thinking of doing, I would not hesitate to book the room you and your spouse want, then do insides for everyone else (with the option to upgrade) I think paying the tips is an extra nice thing to do. Anything else you do is wonderful, but should not be expected. I've only cruised on RCCL, so that is the only dining experience I know. I guess it might be nice to have alternative dining area's in case everyone doesn't want to eat together. There was about 10 of us that did everything together, but the rest did what they wanted.

 

And I agree with cotton I would have brochere's for everyone to have and let them know about CC for additional info, maybe get an estimated cost for upgrades and give everyone like a week to decide what catagory they chose.

 

Hope this helps, I hope they apprieciate how wonderful an opportunity this is for them and that you must really appriecate them for doing it. Good Luck.

[Cotton]

Me again. I had another thought. If you all want to dine together, have your reservations "linked" (which I'm sure you will do if you're paying for all the cruises).

 

However - my main thought is that I'd let them know right off the bat that y'all aren't going to be joined at the hip. Everybody should be able to do their own thing (thus eliminating the too close for comfort from working together)... Everybody should have their own space to do whatever they wish - with the exception of whatever time you set for your daily meetings.

 

Ok, I'm done now.:)

[RB Bonzo]

 

However - my main thought is that I'd let them know right off the bat that y'all aren't going to be joined at the hip. Everybody should be able to do their own thing (thus eliminating the too close for comfort from working together)... Everybody should have their own space to do whatever they wish - with the exception of whatever time you set for your daily meetings.

 

Ok, I'm done now.:)

yeah - that's why I was thinking NCL might be a good way to go so that we can all eat together some times but not force people into optional dining if they want to get away from everybody.

 

BTW - I hadn't mentioned this idea to my wife yet, but she saw me reading responses and asked me what it was about. She thinks I'm nuts!:p

[montgomeryfamily]

RBBonzo, I think it is great that you are considering holding such a nice retreat for your office. I have some suggestions.

 

As I understand it, you are planning to book 7 cabins. Do you realize that with eight cabins, you can have a group on any cruise line? There may be a possibility of getting a group with fewer but most cruiselines require 8 cabins. In addition to getting group rates, you would get one free berth and also some points for group amenities. The points could be used for shipboard credit for everyone or other things. So I encourage you to consider whether there is one more cabin you can book, say for some of your other family members or some one else--they wouldn't have to participate in any of your company functions--they could just go for the cruise . How about for a helpful consultant? :)

 

I also suggest some additional considerations for choosing the cruise line. I understand that you want to be able to eat together at least once or perhaps more, but you could have an office lunch in the dining room on sea days and all of you eat together. You could also have an office breakfast on days when the ship might be getting into port later on in the day. If you eat breakfast or lunch, you don't have to worry about people thinking about the shows or other evening activities. Plus, if you eat dinner together, not only do you have the issue of when (late eaters vs early eaters) but you also might feel compelled to buy wine for the dinner. While this would be nice for some, you indicated that some in your office don't drink alcohol. So this could create more division rather than encourage the office cohesiveness that you apparently are seeking. Also, we don't drink alcohol and I can tell you that, although I don't object to others drinking wine, I have resented the fact that at office/business dinners and retreats wine and alcohol are furnished for the drinkers and no extras are given to the nondrinkers. This wasn't anything I felt that I could raise as an issue and I know that other nondrinkers felt that way but also didn't feel they could raise it.

 

So you don't really have to limit your cruise line choice to NCL in order for your group to eat a meal or two together. And if you really want to eat dinner together, you could pay the fee for everyone to eat dinner together at one of the speciality restaurants that all of the cruise lines/ships seem to have.

 

I suggst when choosing a cruise line to see which cruise lines would give you the best group rates and amenities (assuming you could get a group). Also, this will be a business trip, so in essence you need to see which cruise lines/ships can best support that and most affordably. For example, which ones will charge you for the meeting rooms and what will be the meeting room fees. Since you are going to have some business meetings, will you have slides or other meeting aids? If so and you aren't going to bring your own audio/visual set up, then you will need to use the ship's equipment/facilities. So you would need to know the availability and cost for this.

 

I suggest that you also consider other factors in choosing the cruise line and ship, such as the type of dress for the ship and the various costs of extras. For example, NCL is casual dress code all the time. There is no dressing up for formal night or other occasions. Other ships have more of a dress code. So do you want the employees to dress a certain way for the business meetings or office meals? Also, some people think of cruising as an opportunity to dress up--would this be a plus for your office staff or more of an expense/imposition? Another example is the cost of the extras--how much does that cruise line charge for soda cards, alcoholic drinks, bingo? Some ships/cruise lines are cheaper than others.

 

You should also consider transportation cost to/from the ship and/or parking and who will pay for that. Your staff would need to know if this is a cost they would have to bear and how much that would be.

 

Once you decide on a cruise line and ship, it would be helpful to give your staff information about the dress code for the ship and for your meetings, the expected cost of extras that the staff might want to purchase themselves (so they will be able to budget accordingly) and shore excursion information. I agree that paying for the inside is enough and as long as you give the staff the option to "upgrade" with the associated costs, then no one should have any reason to complain about the type of room you book. Frankly, you may want to get a balcony so you can relax and have some alone-time without worrying about bumping into some of the staff. Since the cruise is in the fall, this should give all of the staff time to start saving any additional money they will receive.

 

You also should either purchase insurance for everyone or explain to everyone about the insurance and provide information to the staff as to the costs/benefits. I believe you can obtain excellent insurance coverage much cheaper than through the cruise line.

 

I think that pre-paying the gratituties is great, but you should also explain to the staff that this covers only the basic gratuties and that the staff is responsible for other gratituties. You should also explain that there is a 15% gratituty added to bar purchases and that it is customary to give a tip for room service and to the porters.

 

I also suggest that instead of buying wine for each room and/or for dinner, you purchase shipboard credit for each cabin so they can buy whatever they want. You already indicated that some in your office don't drink alcohol, so they won't appreciate a gift of wine. Also, we have received gifts of wine before on cruise ships and find that it is often very difficult to "trade" the wine for anything else and the ship usually won't give a credit for it. Also, if you have a group, you could use the amenity points for shipboard credit for the cabin.

 

You also indicated that you wanted to have some meetings and do team building. You could certainly do some of the traditional team building exercises. I suggest that you do some cruise related team building activities. For example, you could buy a horse for the horse race. Your office could decorate it. There is a prize for "best dressed" horse. Your office staff that doesn't believe in the gambling would not have to participate in the racing aspects or betting aspects. You could have a scavenger hunt and divide your office into teams. Some ships have an official scavenger hunt contest with prizes, but you could just have your own scavenger hunt if the ship doesn't or you don't want to use that.

 

I know it will be a lot of work to plan the retreat, but I'm sure your office staff will greatly appreciate it.

[RevSmith]

Wow, the fact that you are offering to take your office on a cruise, in and of itself is very generous...here is what I would do...I would reserve an ocean view guaranty...that way everyone is guaranteed at least an ocean view but they could be upgraded depending on how heavely booked the cruise is...I would explain that and tell everyone if they wanted to secure a cabin they could switch to an assigned cabin at any time...you just wanted to give them the opportunity to be upgraded...if they switch right away they will not have to pay extra...and you look like the good guy (which you are) because you booked with their interest in mind....works out well for everyone.

[kingclick]

Wow! I think you are a great boss! I also think that MontgomeryFamily gave some GREAT advice. One thing I think calls for repeating is.....

 

Take care of your together dining by using the reservations required restaurants.

 

I also can agree with the wine comments. I enjoy wine now...but when I was younger I didn't drink at all so the wine would have been a waste on me. Maybe you can still give wine to the drinkers but find an alternative for the non-drinkers? I'm sure the cruise line you eventually choose could help you with this one.

 

Another idea that popped into me head was.....if the cruiseline you eventually choose charges for meeting rooms, MAYBE you can get a large enough suite to have your business meetings in your room. I don't know how that would work for tax purposes...but it could be a cheaper way to go. Of course there would be the inconvenience of having your employees in your space....but with the right kind of concierge service...it could be just the ticket!

[dyslexic pirate]

What a great tax write off and a fun vacation with friends/coworkers!

 

I've known office groups that have done this and they had a great time.

 

Is it necessary to have scheduled "meetings" while on the cruise? Why not just plan a few dinners or an excursion or two together? Or is it necessary in order to get the tax benefits to be able to show actual meetings?

 

Brace yourself too, because sometimes the folks you think are the most conservative are the one's who get drunk and go wild on some of these things!:eek:

[RB Bonzo]

Another idea that popped into me head was.....if the cruiseline you eventually choose charges for meeting rooms, MAYBE you can get a large enough suite to have your business meetings in your room. I don't know how that would work for tax purposes...but it could be a cheaper way to go. Of course there would be the inconvenience of having your employees in your space....but with the right kind of concierge service...it could be just the ticket!

 

Lots of great thoughts and suggestions - - please keep them coming! I also thought of the idea of getting a suite and doing the meetings there. That's got some real potential.

 

I think that it is necessary that there be a business component to the trip in order to treat it all as a business expense. At some point, I'll look into the rules to see how extensive and lengthy those things be. If it is a lot, then some of the suggestions for cruise-related team building could help us meet the necessary threshold!

[DesrtDrmr]

I also would suggest looking into booking on Princess, as they have dining choices as well. If you all book Personal Choice Dining, you could meet for lunch on Sea Days..............perhaps having had a morning meeting, and maybe one evening, in mid cruise. That way, everyone has plenty of free time. I have seen groups meeting on Princess...........sometimes in a lounge, which they close to everyone else, and sometimes in a corner somewhere.

I also like the idea of an oceanview guarantee. Often these cost less than the highest inside cabins. Some may have obstructed views, but they are eligible for free upgrades, and they all let light into the cabin. Breakfast is available in the dining room or in Horizon Court, which is the buffet area. You could also plan meetings for this time.................in a corner of the dining room for a working breakfast, or after the busy breakfast hours in the Horizon Court. Instead of throwing in a bottle of wine, since some of your employees dont drink alcohol, you could send them all a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries (dressed in their little chocolate tuxedos) on the evening of your dinner.........this costs about $10 on Princess, or have a floral arrangement in each cabin, from the company (this has always gone over big at every "retreat" we have ever attended), which will cost around $25.

I like everyone else's idea, too, of spelling out what is included, what is NOT included, and your business agenda for the week provided at the time you tell them of this event.

You sound like a great employer, and I'd guess that your wonderful and grand gesture would please your loyal employees. I really like the idea that you are paying base gratuities up front, too, so the employees don't have to spend ANY money to go on the cruise, and can do so, only if they wish.

[Lois R]

Hi, I also want to add my thoughts to how nice you are for doing

this:) and are you POSITIVE you are not hiring at this time?:D ;).

 

I agree with Darcie....tell them you are booking insides and if they

want to pay the difference for a window then that is fine with you.

 

And I 2nd the sentiment...you sound like a wonderful employer.

Hope everything works out and ya'll have a great cruise:)

[montgomeryfamily]

Booking a suite in order to provide a place for meetings is potentially feasible, but you would have to look carefully at the type of suite that you book and also whether you would need to have any audio/visual equipment for your meeting.

We have had suites on Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and HAL, and most of the suites are just one big room, with no separate bedroom. The top level suites usually have two rooms (so bedroom is in separate room) and also some of the higher level suites. If you don't have two rooms, not only will all of your personal items be in view, but you may have to use the bed for seating. The larger upper level suites also usually have a dining room type table, which can be helpful to put things on, such as handouts, your equipment, etc. Also, if you will need audio/visual type equipment from the ship, you would have to find out if it would be provided/set-up in your room (and, of course, what the rental fee would be).

 

The postive aspect about the suites, even the lower level suites, is that usually the balcony is large enough to where you could potentially have the meetings out there. Extra seating could be brought out, if necesssary, and there has always been a table on the balcony of any suite we have had.

 

One negative point about using your room is that it is possible that some of the staff may need to use your bathroom during the meeting (Unless you book one of the top level suites that have two bathrooms). So you might want to consider whether this would be an issue for you. I don't think you would want to have a meeting in your room and tell people they can't use the bathroom if they need to do so. :eek:

 

I noticed that you have previously sailed on Princess. Something else to consider in terms of pricing. If you booked on Princess, as Desert Drmr suggests, you could give each person in your office who hasn't previously booked on Princess a $25 referral credit. This would reduce their final payment price by $25 and also reduce yours up to the max number of referrals you can receive (which I understand is 4 per cruise). Since you are a past passenger, you can do this. Also, the referral credit is combinable with group rates.

 

Glad we can help with suggestions. I had a former employer who had a couple of land based office retreats. I think a cruise would have been a much better and more enjoyable alternative--and cheaper for the company. :)

[RB Bonzo]

 

I noticed that you have previously sailed on Princess. Something else to consider in terms of pricing. If you booked on Princess, as Desert Drmr suggests, you could give each person in your office who hasn't previously booked on Princess a $25 referral credit. This would reduce their final payment price by $25 and also reduce yours up to the max number of referrals you can receive (which I understand is 4 per cruise). Since you are a past passenger, you can do this. Also, the referral credit is combinable with group rates.

 

Great idea!!

[megr1125]

Are you sure you aren't hiring??

 

I would gladly pay the difference to get a better cabin. And as you are the boss and are footing the bill, I wouldn't begrudge you a better cabin. Heck, you are essentially getting a free vacation, what's wrong with a couple hours of work or team building.

 

I also think that maybe wine at the first dinner is sufficient. If you wanted, you could probably have a bottle of wine for them in the cabins on arrival. Most people pay for their bar tabs on vacation so I wouldn't expect you to cover all the expenses.

 

Tips and the cruise fare would be good for me. If it has been an especially good year, then maybe a small credit on their account. Or maybe you could order some shirts or something to commemorate the event.

Also, I think many ships have private dining rooms that you could book for a special meal.

 

Whatever you decide, I am sure you will have fun...and I think your "permanent record" will get some points on the positive side for being such a considerate boss. Perhaps you could teach mine to at least speak to people nicely??

[breenw]

I am a travel agency manager and have booked these types of trips before for small companies. Most of them do the following:

 

If you're cruising, book inside cabins for everyone else - and let them know they can "upgrade" themselves by paying the additional amount. Book whatever type of cabin you want for yourself - no one will see this as selfish because you booked a different type of cabin.

 

You mentioned that you would be booking a cruise from a nearby port thus avoiding airfare. Just let your employees be responsible for their own transportation to and from the port.

 

Plan your "on-board" meetings for those days at sea so as not to conflict with port days. You will make everyone happy doing this, and you will still get your tax credits for the trip being a "meeting".

 

Just tell everyone - you are paying for the cruise - they are responsible for their onboard expenses.

 

Don't worry about trying to book NCL because they offer more casual dining - some of your employees might want to experience the "dressing up" part of the cruise experience. I would select a cruise based on itinerary and pricing. If one or more of your employees does not want to "dress up", almost all ships have alternative dining (buffet, etc.) available.

 

Just be upfront in what you are offering the employees and be specific about what you are paying for and what they need to pay for. You will find that most everyone is willing to pay their own expenses onboard if they are getting the cruise paid for. At least that is my experience in the group cruises I have booked for companies.

 

Hope this helps.

[CPT Trips]

What you are proposing is very generous. Here is a quote from a neighbor about a resort retreat by her husband's employer, "it was great, but it was the most expensive free vacation we ever went on." You know your employees and how they are likely to react, does that sound like any of them?

[MrsFlydude]

This sounds like a wonderful time for all of your staff. I agree with all the other posters about upgrades, dining, etc. I used to organize outings and "adventures" for employees at a previous job, and one thing we always stressed on these adventures was that it wasn't a "business only" trip. Some of your staff may feel that because you are paying, and they are going with all their co-workers, it will be a 24/7 meeting. (We ran into that a lot.) We always made sure that only during the official "meeting" times did we talk business. The rest of the time, business was strictly off-limits for conversation. If someone got started on any work issues, we promptly policed them! No, you don't have to get anal about it, but for some especially, it will ease their minds AND give everybody a real chance to get to know each other on a personal level, not just a work level. I came back from more than one "adventure" much closer - and patient, understanding and tolerant - of several co-workers. If all we had done is talk shop the whole time, it would have been like we never left the office, and therefore we never would have developed any closer relationships.

 

That's my 2-cents worth! Have a great time!