Theme Cruises

[Cruising Lynne]

5 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

Why do you think this is only NCL?  I was on the Oasis OTS and they shutdown two venues for the whole cruise for a wedding party.  On top of that, they would set aside room for the party at other venues which made it hard to get a spot.

You are right that it is not just an NCL thing. This catering to groups really stinks for the rest of us. Definitely not right. Usually I like the Schooner Bar on Royal and we never got to enjoy it because a large group took it over. Not so bad on a large ship like Oasis that has plenty of other venues, but Pearl is much smaller with not so many other places to go. I guess with Spinnaker closed you could go to The Bliss Lounge.

[Turtles06]

13 minutes ago, Cruising Lynne said:

I guess with Spinnaker closed you could go to The Bliss Lounge.

Not even remotely comparable.  The Bliss Lounge is a dark, interior, sterile space. 

[Liljo22]

2 hours ago, pete_coach said:

Lets put this in context. I said "It has not happened on any other cruise we have been on. Only NCL".   to us.

 

No, I did kinda did not.not. Please read again.

I said " It has not happened on any other cruises were have been on. Only NCL." Speaking about us and our experience.

 

This post is about an entire venue being closed for the entire cruise and what can be done about it and why NCL does not inform the customers.

Other posters have had this happen to them on NCL as well.

 

NCL apologists need not reply 🙂

Ok. Sure.  Because you were wrong we are NCL apologists?  Maybe saying Only NCL and not meaning got lost in translation from Canadian to English?

[Cruising Lynne]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

Not even remotely comparable.  The Bliss Lounge is a dark, interior, sterile space. 

May be a better idea to put the group in Bliss then. Spinnaker is definitely nicer.

[Turtles06]

5 minutes ago, Cruising Lynne said:

May be a better idea to put the group in Bliss then. Spinnaker is definitely nicer.

I had the same thought. 😊

[cruiseny4life]

Aside from the semantics/bickering/whatever...can't we all agree that if NCL is going to shut down a venue for an entire cruise, they ought to warn those cruising? 

Does it happen on other lines? Yes. I recall the kind of interesting/but also somewhat annoying vlogger/podcaster Cruise Tips TV recently went on Wonder of the Seas. The Solarium was closed for their entire cruise. I haven't sailed on Royal Caribbean, but this seems like it's probably almost as popular an area as the Observation Lounge.

 

There wasn't any warning by Royal Caribbean either. Until customers demand, by not booking trips, cruise lines will continue doing this. Doesn't make it right. It's not ethical. But, they'll do it. Regardless of line, your personal experience, or challenging semantics, I'd hope everyone here can agree with this. 

 

I do want to be somewhat clear - if there is maintenance, or something unexpected, then I can understand a line closing an area. But not when it's for an entire cruise, so some special group can use it. I don't care how much they paid for the privilege. It should still be available to all guests, unless all guests are warned pre-cruise and provided with some sort of discount, credit, etc.

[pete_coach]

On 7/18/2023 at 9:24 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Aside from the semantics/bickering/whatever...can't we all agree that if NCL is going to shut down a venue for an entire cruise, they ought to warn those cruising? 

Does it happen on other lines? Yes. I recall the kind of interesting/but also somewhat annoying vlogger/podcaster Cruise Tips TV recently went on Wonder of the Seas. The Solarium was closed for their entire cruise. I haven't sailed on Royal Caribbean, but this seems like it's probably almost as popular an area as the Observation Lounge.

 

There wasn't any warning by Royal Caribbean either. Until customers demand, by not booking trips, cruise lines will continue doing this. Doesn't make it right. It's not ethical. But, they'll do it. Regardless of line, your personal experience, or challenging semantics, I'd hope everyone here can agree with this. 

 

I do want to be somewhat clear - if there is maintenance, or something unexpected, then I can understand a line closing an area. But not when it's for an entire cruise, so some special group can use it. I don't care how much they paid for the privilege. It should still be available to all guests, unless all guests are warned pre-cruise and provided with some sort of discount, credit, etc.

My intent was to relay that we were disappointed and this has only happened to us on NCL. I am sure it happens on other lines as well but not to us.... so far.

I agree that the line should warn upon booking that there is a large group and some venues may be closed. We would have chosen a different line had we known.

[DCGuy64]

I haven't seen a venue closed for the duration of the cruise, best as I can recall. If I had my heart set on something and then it wasn't available, then yeah, I'd probably be as ticked off as @pete_coach is. But having said that, I see it from the other group's standpoint, as well. If I had a large group and was able to negotiate the use of that space from the cruise line (presumably for some kind of fee), I'd be happy. Same with theme cruises: if I were part of the theme, I'd be thrilled. If I weren't, I'd be p***ed off. I wonder if there's some website resource that matches up cruise dates with planned themes so people aren't caught off guard.

[pete_coach]

19 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I haven't seen a venue closed for the duration of the cruise, best as I can recall. If I had my heart set on something and then it wasn't available, then yeah, I'd probably be as ticked off as @pete_coach is. But having said that, I see it from the other group's standpoint, as well. If I had a large group and was able to negotiate the use of that space from the cruise line (presumably for some kind of fee), I'd be happy. Same with theme cruises: if I were part of the theme, I'd be thrilled. If I weren't, I'd be p***ed off. I wonder if there's some website resource that matches up cruise dates with planned themes so people aren't caught off guard.

Oh for sure, a large group can and does book a ship. There are may "theme" cruises that you can choose.

My point was that a large venue was closed for the entire cruise and we did not know until we got on board. Had we known, we would have booked another cruise or even a another line.

I believe it should be the cruise line responsibility to tell clients of any special events or groups that are on board and may affect the cruise.

[DCGuy64]

16 hours ago, pete_coach said:

I believe it should be the cruise line responsibility to tell clients of any special events or groups that are on board and may affect the cruise.

Absolutely!

[brendajax1]

On 7/17/2023 at 9:13 AM, pete_coach said:

We were on a cruise that had the observation lounge closed for the entire cruise. It turned out that it was for private events for those on a "theme" cruise. There were other restrictions during the sailing.

We booked the cruise well in advance and kept informed about it through Cruise Critic Roll call and other information sites. Nowhere was there any indication of any sort of restrictions or themes onboard.

We and other we spoke to were rather upset we could not use the observation lounge and on one night, the main dining room was closed except for those part of the theme.

When we got back I called NCL and could not get any information about that situation at all. Was shuffled from one agent to supervisors etc and no one knew or could tell me about theme cruises even on upcoming cruises.

Has anyone encountered this before? Were you informed about a theme onboard prior to sailing or at time of booking?

last year the same thing happened on a RC cruise. our favorit piano bar was used for singles to meet up and another popular room that had dancing was reserved for the LGBTQ. Needles to say our nine day cruise was boring most nights. the only choice we had was a latino bar which we didnt bother to dance because we dont know the latino dances. we never knew any of this until the ship was sailing. 

 

[brendajax1]

On 7/17/2023 at 5:51 PM, RB9643 said:

 

 

Yeah, you kinda did.

 

 

I believe he had said only on the cruises he went on. Shouldnt be a problem here. 

 

[RocketMan275]

On 7/17/2023 at 10:34 AM, pete_coach said:

It has not happened on any other cruises were have been on. Only NCL.

There may have been groups on other cruises but no venues were ever closed.

Actually, happens on other lines as well.

There was an instance reported on the Holland forum.

The ship in question had a viewing area not  unlike the observation lounge on NCL ships.  It's called the crows nest.

The nest wasn't closed for the entire cruise but it was closed/reserved for a particular group at the most important time-glacier bay.

Essentially, any group can book/reserve just about any facility they are willing to pay for.

There  have been instances where specific groups booked the entire MDR for late seatings.  

Some have reported groups booking one of the mdrs for dining at a time corresponding to late seatings on other lines.

[pete_coach]

15 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Actually, happens on other lines as well.

There was an instance reported on the Holland forum.

The ship in question had a viewing area not  unlike the observation lounge on NCL ships.  It's called the crows nest.

The nest wasn't closed for the entire cruise but it was closed/reserved for a particular group at the most important time-glacier bay.

Essentially, any group can book/reserve just about any facility they are willing to pay for.

There  have been instances where specific groups booked the entire MDR for late seatings.  

Some have reported groups booking one of the mdrs for dining at a time corresponding to late seatings on other lines.

I said  "on any other cruises we have been on." And, the venue was closed the entire cruise.

I further said "Oh for sure, a large group can and does book a ship." and "for sure, a large group can and does book a ship. There are may "theme" cruises that you can choose. "

Key was that this had not happened on any cruise we had been on and we have been on many cruises.

Edited July 30, 2023 by pete_coach

[Travelling2Some]

Celebrity repeatedly closed different venues for a theme/charter group on a cruise we were on.  By coincidence, this group's main speaker/leader turned out to be an old friend of ours.  We were astonished to learn what folks in the group were paying.  The same cruise was costing them nearly 3 times what we paid!

[GORDONCHICK]

9 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Celebrity repeatedly closed different venues for a theme/charter group on a cruise we were on.  By coincidence, this group's main speaker/leader turned out to be an old friend of ours.  We were astonished to learn what folks in the group were paying.  The same cruise was costing them nearly 3 times what we paid!

That's because the price they are paying includes their cabin, the cost fo the spaces they've rented out and the cost of cabins for any of the speakers and leaders.  That happens on a charter, too, but this wasn't that.  A charter charters the entire ship.  If you don't book though/with the group, you can't go.  But large groups that don't have enough people to cover the cost of a charter just book as a large group.  They don't have the run of the ship but it can certainly feel like it!

[RocketMan275]

14 hours ago, GORDONCHICK said:

That's because the price they are paying includes their cabin, the cost fo the spaces they've rented out and the cost of cabins for any of the speakers and leaders.  That happens on a charter, too, but this wasn't that.  A charter charters the entire ship.  If you don't book though/with the group, you can't go.  But large groups that don't have enough people to cover the cost of a charter just book as a large group.  They don't have the run of the ship but it can certainly feel like it!

Large groups doing partial charters can have exclusive use of any area at any time they're willing to pay for.  These costs are negotiable with the cruise line.  For example, if a group wants the exclusive use of a specific dining area, specialty or mdr, that can be negotiated and the cost included in their fare.  Same for entertainment areas.  Or observation areas.  This usage may be limited to certain times or days or include the entire cruise.  If they want it and they're willing to pay, they can get it.

[GORDONCHICK]

20 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Large groups doing partial charters can have exclusive use of any area at any time they're willing to pay for.  These costs are negotiable with the cruise line.  For example, if a group wants the exclusive use of a specific dining area, specialty or mdr, that can be negotiated and the cost included in their fare.  Same for entertainment areas.  Or observation areas.  This usage may be limited to certain times or days or include the entire cruise.  If they want it and they're willing to pay, they can get it.

AND those costs are passed on to those cruising...

[brendajax1]

On 7/17/2023 at 10:36 AM, BirdTravels said:

Were you on the Prima? And were you compensated?

We could big public stink about it and ask for a refund after counting how many public rooms there are and deduct the price of the one we are exempt from.  Seriously it’s inexcusable. My last cruise we planned on spending every night, as our usual, at a piano bar. Well it was reserved for singles. We go upstairs to the only bar that had contemporary music and that was closed to lgbq group. So the two and only bars we wanted to spend time in was closed to us. As my husband said “ worst vacation ever “