Should Cunard allow large 'Private Group' bookings

[Solent Richard]

I'm picking up some interesting vibes circulating on social media regarding the Trans Atlantic Queen Mary 2 sailing on 29 April this year.

 

As a shareholder I'm always delighted to see business coming onboard however on this particular voyage the group, some 270 in number,

did have 'exclusive' use to a number of the ship's facilities, including early evening dance sessions in The Queens Room...

 

 

There is no doubting the quality and style of the group. I'm a little surprised the subject as yet hasn't been raised on Cruise Critic.

 

Are there any views on the subject?

 

[bluemarble]

@Solent Richard, we have discussed those "vintage" cruises here to some extent. But that discussion is hard to find since it is buried within the lengthy "I'm pretty sure the dress code has changed" thread.

 

For reference, here's a link to the post where I first commented about those voyages this past September.

 

 

Well worth further discussion here on its own thread.

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

Booking a large group won’t trouble us until facilities are closed for their benefit and to the detriment of pax not part of the group. That would send us elsewhere.

[Solent Richard]

6 minutes ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

Booking a large group won’t trouble us until facilities are closed for their benefit and to the detriment of pax not part of the group. That would send us elsewhere.

And that was exactly what I was hearing: hence the post.

 

As a keen dancer I'd have been a little boot. On the other side of the coin I'd have loved to get amongst that group with that band (sorry Orchestra) 😁

Edited May 10, 2022 by Solent Richard

[Tonopah]

We take the early seating so we can get to the Queen’s Room, find a table near the floor, and take a spin or two on a less-crowded floor. I’d be frustrated (and envious) if we showed up and the floor/room was closed. I UNDERSTAND it, but it would still be disappointing. 

[Bell Boy]

Don't get me started on this Solent Richard !  I was originally booked for this crossing some 20 months ago until I found out that I'd not be able to participate in dancing to the Alex Mendham Orchestra   ( who I'm already familiar with from the Savoy Hotel)  or attend any of the private events unless I'd booked with a  certain US TA .

Apparently the Queens Room was closed each evening from 6pm to 8.30pm for private dancing and  also closed to hold a private cocktail party  ( for well over 200 + ) whilst the rest of us seasoned customers have been unable to enjoy Captain receptions or loyalty level receptions for the past two years ........Other venues were close ( eg the Carinthia  Lounge was closed late night for this group to enjoy a 'Vintage Pyjama Party 🤔 ( photos all to see on their fb site )   

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Bell Boy

[Tonopah]

1 minute ago, Bell Boy said:

 

Apparently the Queens Room was closed each evening from 6pm to 8.30pm for private dancing 

 

This ^^^ would be very irritating. 200+ people getting the choice tables early while “regular” passengers get to sit in the spectator seats. We’ll be careful not to book when this group is scheduled, but how does one know?

 

[mcloaked]

For any passengers whose primary interest on Cunard voyages was ballroom dancing, and discovering that a group had been able to lock out the only relevant facilities for most evenings this would ruin the holiday completely and recourse to a substantial refund would be justifiable.

[bluemarble]

3 minutes ago, Tonopah said:

This ^^^ would be very irritating. 200+ people getting the choice tables early while “regular” passengers get to sit in the spectator seats. We’ll be careful not to book when this group is scheduled, but how does one know?

 

For this particular vintage group we know when the next two scheduled crossings are going to be from the travel agent's website.

October 18, 2022 - Dandy Wellington & His Band

April 23, 2023 - Glenn Miller Orchestra

 

But in general I don't know any way to find out about this kind of group booking from Cunard.

[mcloaked]

I don't know if the group can be named here - but I did a search and it was not too difficult to find their own site with a list of upcoming dance crossings - the two you mention in the previous post are certainly listed and are referred to as Dandy Wellington Crossing and Glenn Miller Orchestra Crossing and searching for those names would likely get you to their website. Cunard may not provide any information about those for obvious reasons.

Edited May 10, 2022 by mcloaked
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[D&N]

If we travelled regularly on ships we would be very disappointed if some of the main advertised facilities were restricted to a private group. I believe a lounge being closed for an hour or two once in the trip for a private event is reasonably common and accepted, but the impact in this case is much worse. My opinion is that they should only accept such arrangements if the whole ship is block booked as they sometimes do with major sporting events and therefore those dates are not offered to the general public.

[bluemarble]

To carry forward some of the details discussed on that earlier dress code thread, here are a couple quotes from the FAQ for this vintage group's crossings which raised some concerns at the time.

 

"Our vintage group will be an intimate private party of approximately 300 people so that everyone can fit comfortably in the Queen’s Room to enjoy the private events."

 

"Throughout the voyage, there will be five private performances plus a cocktail party along with the option of additional daytime meetups. Our main events will usually take place in the Queen’s Room between 6pm and 8pm."

[jimdee3636]

There's a person on the Holland America board who, every two months or so, posts an exhaustive list of upcoming full and partial charters on HAL ships, including the names of the groups. I'm assuming she gets her information directly from HAL, but I don't know if Cunard would be as forthcoming. 

 

Full charters, of course, aren't much of a problem (unless your previously-booked cruise is now unavailable); you simply can't go on one if you're not part of the particular group. But partial charters are often a nightmare, especially when the so-called luxury lines do them. Silversea, which like Seabourn and Regent has basically an open bar policy onboard, has sometimes chartered half or more of the ship to companies wanting to reward employees for meeting certain sales targets. According to people I once met on the Silver Spirit, one seven-night Caribbean sailing was overrun with drunken car salesmen and their spouses, all of them apparently determined to guzzle all the "free" alcohol they could. Not exactly the high-end experience the other poor souls expected.

[bluemarble]

Here's a listing of the events that were scheduled on QM2, taken from a posted program for the April 24th vintage crossing under discussion here.

 

Sunday, April 24th

Carinthia Lounge  7PM-8PM  (Formal)  Welcome Cocktail Party

 

Monday, April 25th

Queens Room  10AM-11AM  (Smart)  Name That Tune

Queens Room  5.45PM-7.45PM  (Formal or Masquerade)  "Black & White Ball"

 

Tuesday, April 26th

Carinthia Lounge  11PM-Late  "The Pyjama Party"

 

Wednesday, April 27th

Queens Room  10AM-11AM  (Smart)  Jam Session

Queens Room  5.45PM-7.45PM  (Formal)  "Rooftops Of New York"

 

Thursday, April 28th

Queens Room  5.45PM-7.45PM  (Formal)  "High Times At The Cocoanut Grove"

 

Friday, April 29th

Queens Room  10AM-11AM  (Smart)  Sing-A-Long

Queens Room  5.45PM-7.45PM  (Formal)  "Midnight In Mayfair"

Queens Room  9PM-Midnight  (Formal)  "Public Gala"  Open to all passengers

 

Saturday, April 30th

G32  10AM-11AM  (Smart)  Q&A With The Orchestra

Queens Room  12.30PM-2.30PM  (Smart)  "Tea Dance"

Queens Room  5.45PM-7.45PM  (Formal)  "Fiesta Ball"

[BklynBoy8]

4 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

whilst the rest of us seasoned customers have been unable to enjoy Captain receptions or loyalty level receptions for the past two years.

Due to the type of sailings we took which were short in natural and did not offer Senior Officers Gatherings and CWC Loyalty Receptions, we are looking forward to the return of these.

 

Meeting the Officers that glide Her toward the waters and other CWC Members and their experiences are a special part of sailing on the Mary 2 as Diamond Members.. 

Edited May 10, 2022 by BklynBoy8

[Lakesregion]

2 hours ago, bluemarble said:

Here's a listing of the events that were scheduled on QM2, taken from a posted program for the April 24th vintage crossing under discussion here.

 

Sunday, April 24th

Carinthia Lounge  7PM-8PM  (Formal)  Welcome Cocktail Party

 

Monday, April 25th

Queens Room  10AM-11AM  (Smart)  Name That Tune

Queens Room  5.45PM-7.45PM  (Formal or Masquerade)  "Black & White Ball"

 

Tuesday, April 26th

Carinthia Lounge  11PM-Late  "The Pyjama Party"

 

Wednesday, April 27th

Queens Room  10AM-11AM  (Smart)  Jam Session

Queens Room  5.45PM-7.45PM  (Formal)  "Rooftops Of New York"

 

Thursday, April 28th

Queens Room  5.45PM-7.45PM  (Formal)  "High Times At The Cocoanut Grove"

 

Friday, April 29th

Queens Room  10AM-11AM  (Smart)  Sing-A-Long

Queens Room  5.45PM-7.45PM  (Formal)  "Midnight In Mayfair"

Queens Room  9PM-Midnight  (Formal)  "Public Gala"  Open to all passengers

 

Saturday, April 30th

G32  10AM-11AM  (Smart)  Q&A With The Orchestra

Queens Room  12.30PM-2.30PM  (Smart)  "Tea Dance"

Queens Room  5.45PM-7.45PM  (Formal)  "Fiesta Ball"

At least they appear to know how to properly dress rather than the randy Casual crowd Cunard is attempting to attract with the shirts and slacks in the evening.

[3rdGenCunarder]

6 hours ago, jimdee3636 said:

There's a person on the Holland America board who, every two months or so, posts an exhaustive list of upcoming full and partial charters on HAL ships, including the names of the groups. I'm assuming she gets her information directly from HAL, but I don't know if Cunard would be as forthcoming. 

 

Full charters, of course, aren't much of a problem (unless your previously-booked cruise is now unavailable); you simply can't go on one if you're not part of the particular group. But partial charters are often a nightmare, especially when the so-called luxury lines do them. Silversea, which like Seabourn and Regent has basically an open bar policy onboard, has sometimes chartered half or more of the ship to companies wanting to reward employees for meeting certain sales targets. According to people I once met on the Silver Spirit, one seven-night Caribbean sailing was overrun with drunken car salesmen and their spouses, all of them apparently determined to guzzle all the "free" alcohol they could. Not exactly the high-end experience the other poor souls expected.

 

I think the list on HAL is generated from member input. HAL books a lot of groups, or at least they did in the "before time," and people know to check those groups' websites.  CC members have reported that some were large enough to take over the dining room for an entire sitting, leaving those who wished a late time forced to eat early (or vice versa). They will also book a full charter, which means cancelling/moving a lot of reservations. My winter Caribbean cruise is usually HAL and I will not book a 7-night or a 14-night that is really two 7-nighters because I don't trust them to charter it out from under me.

 

A way to check to see if there's a group on your cruise is to google the date and ship name. 

 

In all my Cunard voyages, I've never seen a group have such a large impact on public spaces as the one described on this thread. That's unacceptable. 

 

 

[Solent Richard]

8 hours ago, Lakesregion said:

At least they appear to know how to properly dress rather than the randy Casual crowd Cunard is attempting to attract with the shirts and slacks in the evening.

Beat me to that one @Lakesregion. 😁

[majortom10]

No Cunard shouldnt allow large groups private bookings and the ship should be available to everyone on the cruise at all times. Having done a roundtrip TA where the Literary Festival was on the return trip to Southampton on QM2 it was the worst TAs we have done. Unfortunately we didnt know it was a Literary Festival when we booked as it wasnt announced until some time after. Parts of the ship were not available if you had not booked as part of the Festival and many normal availability i.e. Planetarium was cancelled for whole of TA so they could have talks in there. Those booked as part of the Literary Festival walked around with their printed bags and lanyards looking down on anyone that wasnt part of Festival. I was glad to get off in Southampton the whole atmosphere changed at the end of the first week to New York when it was excellent to an awful crossing home.

[navybankerteacher]

18 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

No Cunard shouldnt allow large groups private bookings and the ship should be available to everyone on the cruise at all times. Having done a roundtrip TA where the Literary Festival was on the return trip to Southampton on QM2 it was the worst TAs we have done. Unfortunately we didnt know it was a Literary Festival when we booked as it wasnt announced until some time after. Parts of the ship were not available if you had not booked as part of the Festival and many normal availability i.e. Planetarium was cancelled for whole of TA so they could have talks in there. Those booked as part of the Literary Festival walked around with their printed bags and lanyards looking down on anyone that wasnt part of Festival. I was glad to get off in Southampton the whole atmosphere changed at the end of the first week to New York when it was excellent to an awful crossing home.

I have experienced a couple of cruises which were heavily impacted by large “affinity groups”:  the loss of access to many of the ship’s venues  is frequently compounded by the negative atmosphere created by the “group attitude” which comes on board.  I believe any line should make it clear when any such group is booked because they are simply not offering their known product.

[Host Hattie]

5 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I have experienced a couple of cruises which were heavily impacted by large “affinity groups”:  the loss of access to many of the ship’s venues  is frequently compounded by the negative atmosphere created by the “group attitude” which comes on board.  I believe any line should make it clear when any such group is booked because they are simply not offering their known product.

Was this on Cunard ?

[siforest65]

We were on the April 24th cruise being discussed and to be honest we enjoyed having the group onboard. They added some good atmosphere and were very polite and friendly when we spoke to them.

 

In fact the vibe was better than the return leg when they weren’t onboard.

 

I wouldn’t be put off booking again if they were onboard.

[Host Hattie]

7 minutes ago, siforest65 said:

We were on the April 24th cruise being discussed and to be honest we enjoyed having the group onboard. They added some good atmosphere and were very polite and friendly when we spoke to them.

 

In fact the vibe was better than the return leg when they weren’t onboard.

 

I wouldn’t be put off booking again if they were onboard.

Thank you very much for your first hand report.

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

Was this on Cunard ?

No - once was on HAL and the other (I think I recall) was on Celebrity — I would hope that, among the other things which set Cunard apart, that they would not encourage  such hijackings of itineraries.

Edited May 11, 2022 by navybankerteacher

[jimdee3636]

Holland America does a lot of these partial charters. Usually you don't even notice them---a few dozen knitting enthusiasts who get together in some otherwise-unused meeting room---but occasionally there'll be a larger group that will take over popular venues at popular hours. One such group---a highly-regarded jazz tour company called Jazzdagen---had what I felt was a good way to defuse the inevitable resentment. Every morning from 9:00AM to 10:00AM on our ten-night cruise, they had an open-to-everyone jam session in a bar near the main dining room. Let me tell you: these were great musicians and singers! Every morning after breakfast my wife and I would be entertained for an hour; it became for us one of the highlights of the cruise. There was still some grumbling heard from those whose favorite late-night venue was unavailable, but in general people appreciated the goodwill gesture that Jazzdagen (and HAL) were making. Too bad this kind of thing isn't done more often.