Is 205 people considered a large group?

[mafig]

I just discovered there's a group on my sailing.  205 people.  Doesn't seem like a lot, but I'm going on a small ship (Serenade).

 

Is this large enough to have an impact (like closing certain venues, etc.)?

[Fouremco]

That's less than 10% of passenger capacity, so you won't be overrun, but it could result in some venues being closed and dining room issues. The extent of the disruption would vary with the nature of the group and their planned activities.

 

Faced with a similar situation a few years ago, I wrote to the organization and asked if they could give me some idea of their plans. I received a very nice response that indicated there should be no disruption for our cruise, and truthfully, if I hadn't known in advance that they'd be onboard, I would never would have known.

[reallyitsmema]

17 minutes ago, mafig said:

I just discovered there's a group on my sailing.  205 people.  Doesn't seem like a lot, but I'm going on a small ship (Serenade).

 

Is this large enough to have an impact (like closing certain venues, etc.)?

 

It can depend on the group.  We have been on many cruises that has had an Autism on the Seas group on it.  There group will have a section of the WJ just to themselves.  Not sure if the private dining area is still there in the back of the WJ, if it is, that is where they were.  On Oasis, there was a large area roped off for them and there was actually a loud argument one morning when someone wanted the ropes down so they could sit in that area.😱  They also have a reserved area in the theater but it is just to keep their group together.  I have never thought it was a big deal, that whole program is wonderful!  We have also had cruises were a small lounge will be taken each night for a private function.  

[mafig]

Thanks Fouremco.   I don't think I feel comfortable writing them.  

Do you recall how many were in that group?

 

Same question for reallyitsmema, Do you recall how large that group was?

Edited March 31, 2023 by mafig

[orville99]

Depending on the cohesiveness of the group, you may find the Solarium filled by the group on most days. We had a group of similar size on our February Serenade Panama Canal cruise, and they had every one of the loungers in the Solarium tied up by 7:00-7:30 each day. Other than that inconvenience, they were relatively invisible elsewhere on the ship.

[Joseph2017China]

I would not care.

[reallyitsmema]

49 minutes ago, mafig said:

Thanks Fouremco.   I don't think I feel comfortable writing them.  

Do you recall how many were in that group?

 

Same question for reallyitsmema, Do you recall how large that group was?

 

The group on the Oasis was 100ish, I think.  The group on Jewel was smaller but more visible as it was young adults that were around the ship more or we just saw them more because of the size of the ship.  They tended to use the elevator lobby as a meeting place and all wore the same color tshirt, so we knew what group they were with.  Every time we saw them, they were having a blast!

[Cigar King]

We had a group of 300 or so on the Serenade recently.  Other than their name tags, I don't think I would have noticed them.  I wouldn't worry.

[Tree_skier]

We had a group of 500+ on Liberty once.  You definitely noticed them but besides a few venues, like studio B, and the main theatre that were used for private events there was hardly any difference from any other cruise.  Venues like that might have been closed to us at that time anyway.  

 

I would think that the nature of the group could make a big difference... Could you disclose what type of group it is?

Edited March 31, 2023 by Tree_skier

[Fouremco]

5 hours ago, mafig said:

Thanks Fouremco.   I don't think I feel comfortable writing them.  

Do you recall how many were in that group?

 

Same question for reallyitsmema, Do you recall how large that group was?

IIRC, there were 120 (140?) in the group. 

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, mafig said:

I just discovered there's a group on my sailing.  205 people.  Doesn't seem like a lot, but I'm going on a small ship (Serenade). Is this large enough to have an impact (like closing certain venues, etc.)?

 

Even a 205 person group will close venues for private events. Probably nothing that you would notice, but there are not many venues that will hold that many people. And depending on where and how the group dines, it may be noticeable. We had a group of travel agents onboard last October and they closed some of the facilities (slides, entertainment) for their group. And even when they were not at a group activity and just eating in the Buffet or MDR, they tended to be very loud and obnoxious. 

[crazyank]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

And even when they were not at a group activity and just eating in the Buffet or MDR, they tended to be very loud and obnoxious. 

Had a similar experience with a large group from a company called Kyani.  Rudest, most obnoxious bunch of people we've ever seen on a ship

[brillohead]

I was on Explorer with a group of 500+ who were ALL ABOUT THE PARTYING.  

There were times that they had venues closed for their own event, but that didn't really impact my experience.  For example, they had an event in Studio B one night, but it was a night that nothing was planned for Studio B for the general public anyway -- we still had all our regular ice skating shows, etc. 

The only real impact was when a bunch of them would descend upon a particular pool or hot tub.  Because of the EXTREME PARTYING aspect of the group, they were loud and obnoxious and drunk and high (literally the only RC cruise I've ever smelled pot on, and I'm D+!), so they did affect my enjoyment when they were in that mode.  

I've been on other sailings where there was a quilting group, or a group of massage therapists, and they all did their thing in the conference rooms on sea days and otherwise they just seemed like regular cruisers.  

So if it's a benign group like quilters or massage therapists, I wouldn't worry about it.  But if they're a group out of New York whose sole purpose for cruising is partying their behinds off, I'd be more concerned.

 

 

[mafig]

Thanks everyone.

Too late to do anything, so we'll just hope for the best.

 

[BND]

We've sailed with Autism on the Seas and they are a great organization.  They provide a quiet room for them in the conference rooms so they can go decompress.  It's an all volunteer organization and gives the families a break as the volunteers do activities (swimming in particular) with the autistic person (they work with all ages) so the families can relax and do something they couldn't easily do with their family member.  We've been on with them and honestly, we really didn't notice anything different. Unlike other groups that just take over public spaces, they tend to do small group events and one on ones.  

 

[Ourusualbeach]

@John&LaLaWe may be able to comment on this with first hand experience after Bella 2

[ReneeFLL]

8 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

@John&LaLaWe may be able to comment on this with first hand experience after Bella 2

What group? Should I google?

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by ReneeFLL

[Ourusualbeach]

11 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

What group? Should I google?

 

It was all of us sailing on Bella 2 as being the group that's about 200 people.

[PompeySailor]

I recently sailed on a cruise with a BIG rowdy group from Cruise Critic.

if you didn’t  drink or go to adult orientated facilities 

You would have never even known we were on the ship 

 

[Kiki and The Noush]

We were on a sailing with a large group of Autism on the seas and they were lovely.  No problem whatsoever and the staff with them appeared to be incredibly caring.  The only thing that even gave it away that they were there was their matching T-shirts and they had an area in the theater sectioned off for them.  They hung large drapes at the sides of their section to give them a bit more privacy.  Other than that, you would never even know they were on the ship.  It seems to be a fabulous group!

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

What group? Should I google?

 

 

That would be an interesting search

[Jasukkie]

I would happily sail again with the quilter/sewer group I sailed with on Jewel. My kind of people. They used the conference rooms which had zero effect on anybody. No fights that I'm aware of.

 

 

[Charles4515]

20 hours ago, mafig said:

I just discovered there's a group on my sailing.  205 people.  Doesn't seem like a lot, but I'm going on a small ship (Serenade).

 

Is this large enough to have an impact (like closing certain venues, etc.)?

Depends on the group. Probably every RC cruise I have been on of 7 days or less has had groups. Some quite large. RC is perfect for groups. Many times we didn't even notice the group like when a company gave their employees a cruise until a fellow passenger mentioned they were with a group. Some groups were noticeable. Rarely did we know about the group in advance. Sometimes on our roll call someone mentioned they were with a group.

[lakelorain]

We've been on many cruises with groups up to 500 people.  Most were friendly and polite.   Only group that was a problem was a certain sports fans group on Celebrity(105 people) who were loud, roudy and took over everything(trivia, game shows etc.).  The drink package was included in their booking, so that may account for some of their behavior.

 

[Cigar King]

I may have been lucky, but, the only group I worry about is kids.