Large Group on Sky Princess

[kathy49]

If you are flexible and want to change I would call back and speak to someone higher up...or do you have an agent that can help you with this? That is almost 25% of the passengers for this one group.

[deultgen]

First, I think there are groups (some larger than others) on every single cruise.  

 

When a group is large enough to have their own events on a ship, like closing a bar, I have never seen it as a bad thing, since it opens up space at the other venues.  

 

I ALWAYS do an internet search before booking a cruise for groups.  They are pretty easy to find.

 

 

[startedwithamouse]

3 hours ago, chrysalis said:

perhaps.....

 

Princess Cruises to host inaugural PCA National At Sea in December 2023: Reservations open March 8 | The Porsche Club of America

Proud Taycan owner here, she's my daily driver. Would love to be on this cruise! 

We've been to rallies and done a couple track experiences, you could do much worse with another group takeover. Porsche people are a good bunch. 

[Host CJSKIDS]

1 minute ago, startedwithamouse said:

Proud Taycan owner here, she's my daily driver. Would love to be on this cruise! 

We've been to rallies and done a couple track experiences, you could do much worse with another group takeover. Porsche people are a good bunch. 

 

Know people that have them and they are.  It's not the group that's on there, it's the amount of people.  

 

On one sailing I was one, there was a large group.  Without warning to us, they closed the entire area by the pool one night which included us not being able to have pizza or anything from the grill.  (Of course that's the night we were doing that for dinner with our friends). On various evenings, certain venues were closed off to us to enjoy, including the nightclub one night.  

[pootsien2]

I booked the Princess Sky for a 2 wk E/W Caribbean cruise January 27-February 10. Without thinking of researching if there might be any private large groups. The first week has Concerts at Sea group booked. It sounds like a fun group of 50's-60's performers. Looking at the roll call before I booked would have clued me to that. Last year I was on Discovery Princess 5 day Cabo,with a large travel agency "conference". The one evening I went to the Elite & Platinum cocktails, just before it was to be ended, I was asked to leave as they were getting ready for a private event! All the bars and specialty restaurants were crowded. The poor staff was going crazy with all the room service and delivery(if you can find me)drinks. I assume Princess was doing their best to get the bookings from this group. I just wish I had known. I would have chosen a different date.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

Know people that have them and they are.  It's not the group that's on there, it's the amount of people.  

 

On one sailing I was one, there was a large group.  Without warning to us, they closed the entire area by the pool one night which included us not being able to have pizza or anything from the grill.  (Of course that's the night we were doing that for dinner with our friends). On various evenings, certain venues were closed off to us to enjoy, including the nightclub one night.  

I completely agree. It is not the group - it is more that venues are closed and it is not a normal cruising experience. We have had pools closed for the group or Skywalker's closed when I would normally go up there for a quiet experience.

[chris.cruise]

I have been on last year's Porsche PCA cruise on Regal Princess as part of the group. From my experience, this is probably the least intrusive "large group" I have seen so far. Over the past 20 years, I have involuntarily been on cruises that hosted other large groups.

 

Last year, the PCA cruise had the following events (I assume somewhat similar this year):

- Two group dinners at 5.30pm in Allegro Dining Room

- One evening reception at Retreat pool/bar (that area closed)

- One or two events in the Piazza (open to all guests)

- A few seminars in the theater (e.g. 9am on a sea day, open to all guests)

- Farewell party on the pool deck (open to all guests)

 

Other than that, the PCA group blends right in from a demographics perspective. Including many Elite/Platinum cruisers who know how things work. I would not be concerned about this group and/or venue closings.

[mmpgoodtogo]

Perhaps you are already aware, but there is also a group on the December 2-9 portion your dates.  It is for Fuji BJJ/Judo/GTMA adventure cruise, which is also via a partnership with Princess Though we are booked on it, I have no idea of the group’s size. At this point we have not seen a schedule of workshops or events, but based on reviews from an earlier group cruise, I assume they will be closing some areas at times due to workshops, training sessions, group dinners, etc. It also sounds like they will have some activities in PC on the beach and so some areas could be roped off there at times.  If I receive any sort of itinerary of events, I can certainly share it with you. 

Edited September 19, 2023 by mmpgoodtogo

[SCX22]

Wonder if Princess is mulling over putting race tracks on their new builds or retrofitting their older ships with race tracks.  It would be fitting since they are the travel partner of PCA.😆

 

On a more serious note, these groups bring in lots of money.  I’m sure Princess is happy to have them onboard.

 

I was on the Regal Princess when they were shooting The Real Love Boat.  It was super annoying to have some venues closed during the day.

[Coral]

4 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

I was on the Regal Princess when they were shooting The Real Love Boat.  It was super annoying to have some venues closed during the day.

I was on when they filmed "The Biggest Loser"......

[Guest ldtr]

What I have seen with groups of that size are mostly

 

1. Theater used during the day for meetings/events

 

2. Vista lounge potentially reserved for events on some evenings  Group too large for most other areas for events with bar service.

 

3. one of the dining rooms might be used for the group at specific meal times. This might show up in one of the dining rooms not being available for reservations 

 

4. May have some of their own excursions

 

Other than that I would expect the biggest impact to be larger than normal groups gathering informally in some bars or lounges when they are not in meetings or scheduled events.

 

Would not expect impact on Sanctuary or Specialty dining.

Edited September 20, 2023 by ldtr

[BRDLY99]

15 hours ago, Tiggipaws said:

 

Good morning I have a carribean cruise booked in December from the 2nd to the 16th  on the Sky Princess. I have just found out that is a very large group booked on from the 9th December, which I know will close venues etc for them. I have made full payment. Is there anything I can do?   Thanks

As a note there is also a martial arts group scheduled for Dec 2-9th - https://fujisports.com/products/fuji-princess-adventure-2

 

 

[Tiggipaws]

3 hours ago, BRDLY99 said:

As a note there is also a martial arts group scheduled for Dec 2-9th - https://fujisports.com/products/fuji-princess-adventure-2

 

 

Fabulous. Was really looking forward to this cruise. not so much now

[2 cruises a year]

17 hours ago, wineforhealth said:

Good luck with that,  Hope you can find a quiet spot.

 

Hmmm, love your Profile picture. By any chance is that the Star Princess on her Homecoming into San Francisco after the Covid pause.

Here is my picture that day.  We were probably within eyesight of each other.

[Coral]

11 hours ago, ldtr said:

 

 

Would not expect impact on Sanctuary or Specialty dining.

They can book the entire speciality dining room for one or two nights.

[antmaril]

I discovered a couple of months ago that the cruise we are on in January on the Sky is a polka cruise.   My travel companion was kind of freaking out, but the folks on my Roll Call seem pretty chill about it.  The group will probably use the Vista Lounge most of the time.  Hopefully, it will be fine.  We haven’t made final payment yet, but we really don’t want to cancel or change the dates.  So, we will take a chance.  If it wasn’t this 500 people, it would be another 500.  Maybe some areas of the ship will feel less crowded when the group is gathered in another area.  We shall see.  

[Abercrombie2019]

38 minutes ago, antmaril said:

I discovered a couple of months ago that the cruise we are on in January on the Sky is a polka cruise.   My travel companion was kind of freaking out, but the folks on my Roll Call seem pretty chill about it.  The group will probably use the Vista Lounge most of the time.  Hopefully, it will be fine.  We haven’t made final payment yet, but we really don’t want to cancel or change the dates.  So, we will take a chance.  If it wasn’t this 500 people, it would be another 500.  Maybe some areas of the ship will feel less crowded when the group is gathered in another area.  We shall see.  

So you’re a “pool half full” kind of person.  😆

 

It seems like going into a cruise with a positive attitude is the best option, especially for those that are past final payment.  However, I understand their concerns.

[kathy49]

Curious Princess has had no end of promos in the last few years...including the Porsche affiliation and a few others that I recall.  Of course that will come with cruise perks for them as a group.  I have to wonder if sailing on smaller ships or even Celebrity if they cater to so many groups?

[MissP22]

On 9/19/2023 at 10:00 AM, tobyt said:

The WORST was a multi level pyramid company that had about 1/2 the ship. They routinely had closed venue meetings and rah rah sessions all over the ship. The part that was super strange and annoying was they would approach anyone not in the group as fresh blood to bring onto their selling team. It was like dining, playing and talking to someone who might be a telemarketer all day and night. You would start off with a casual conversation and it quickly turned into how you could improve your life, lifestyle and finances by joining the team. I was nicer then and would have a harder time disengaging from the conversation so frequently was trapped!
The current older, wiser me would not tolerate but it was a less than relaxing cruise!

I think in that case you were just to easy going. You should have been more direct with a "nasty" comment right from the start as soon as you realized they were part of the group.

I know they wouldn't forget me after the first encounter. 

[georgetheblue]

That is exactly what happened on my last Princess cruise.  Sky Princess B2B late January 2020.  There were different large groups on each leg.  To begin with Princess gave them the 5pm assigned dining room forcing the assigned time passengers into the anytime DR.  Everyone outside of these groups were forced to wait.  Only found this out when on our first night we waited 1 1/2 hours to get in.  PIMA. Princess closed various venues both weeks for these groups and everyone else was out of luck.   The groups took over most of the pool areas and bars. Trying to get seats in the theater was near impossible.  Ruined the brand new Sky experience for me.  I made many visits to guest services. Believe me getting an assigned dining time and chocolate covered strawberries didn’t take the bad taste out of my mouth. I travel solo and have elite status and I still hold a grudge. So much so I’m booked on Celebrity in November.   

[wineforhealth]

16 hours ago, 2 cruises a year said:

Hmmm, love your Profile picture. By any chance is that the Star Princess on her Homecoming into San Francisco after the Covid pause.

Here is my picture that day.  We were probably within eyesight of each other.

I think it was the Golden in 2007 a friend took the picture as we headed to Vancouver 

[strobellayjam]

How do you find out if there’s a large group on your sailing?  We sail over Christmas and NYE so I am assuming that’s likely not a popular time for these group bookings but you know what they say about making assumptions…

[mmpgoodtogo]

18 hours ago, Tiggipaws said:

Fabulous. Was really looking forward to this cruise. not so much now

On the bright side, I don’t think it will be 500 people or anything, I’d be surprised if it was…. And if we get attacked by pirates, then we have a bunch of people who can go all Liam Neeson in Taken as they all have is “a very particular set of skills…”

 

Jokes aside, most people that my husband has interacted with over the years of training, and many in the sport aren’t people who will be disruptive from a personality perspective or be obnoxious. At least for BJJ, it is a really disciplined sport, and many people train for years and years with no greater desire then to maybe do amateur competitions and just learn the skills to achieve black belt, which for BJJ can take 10-12 years of consistent training.  Heck, my husband is 41 and didn’t starting training until he was an adult.  He is considered “old” in the sport but he keeps training and working towards that black belt!

Edited September 21, 2023 by mmpgoodtogo

[mmpgoodtogo]

12 hours ago, antmaril said:

I discovered a couple of months ago that the cruise we are on in January on the Sky is a polka cruise.   My travel companion was kind of freaking out, but the folks on my Roll Call seem pretty chill about it.  The group will probably use the Vista Lounge most of the time.  Hopefully, it will be fine.  We haven’t made final payment yet, but we really don’t want to cancel or change the dates.  So, we will take a chance.  If it wasn’t this 500 people, it would be another 500.  Maybe some areas of the ship will feel less crowded when the group is gathered in another area.  We shall see.  

I actually kind of love the idea of a Polka cruise.  I grew up in an area where every weekend Germantown would host dances and people would go and listen to polka music, dance and socialize. It was kind of neat and it seems like it is a dying genre anymore. I bet you will be able to strike up some interesting conversations as well as see some extra entertainment. Maybe make a drinking game where whenever you see or hear an accordion you do get a drink? That might go south quickly though.  🙂

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, strobellayjam said:

How do you find out if there’s a large group on your sailing?  We sail over Christmas and NYE so I am assuming that’s likely not a popular time for these group bookings but you know what they say about making assumptions…

 

One good place to check is HERE