Need some tips for a larger sailing group

[ticketsunlimited]

I am a big planner and could really use some help from some of you cruisers who have sailed with a larger party in the past.  We started at 6 and now we are at a large number of 17.  14 Adults, 13yo, 9 yo, and 5 yo.  5 adults with RCCL cruises under their belt. 3 never cruised and 9 never cruised RCCL.  I am more excited to introduce the newbies to Royal.

We sail 3/9/25 out of Miami on Symphony.  Coco Cay, Nassau, Jamaica, and Labadee (if  available)

 

We all have cabins on deck seven.  Most of us have balconies (some have insides) near the aft elevators. There are 7 cabins total.  I have most reservations linked to my account but have to add 2 more.  We all have the 3 night dining packages.  This is where I could use some advice from those that have had larger groups in the past. 

First off, what is the largest group they will allow together in the dining room?  We all have MY Time 

Second, will I be able to book all the entertainment for all of us when it gets released for the shows under my linked reservations?

3rd, I know its tough enough when getting on board to get decent times for specialty restaurants for just a table of four.  Has anybody booked a group this large in the specialty restaurants with any luck in the past?

Boarding, departure, night before stays, flights...we will figure out on our own.  We will obviously use some of our D+ knowledge to help in the process. 

 

Thanks so much in advance and I am up for any and all suggestions for anything that will make the cruise more enjoyable.  Dan 

 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, ticketsunlimited said:

First off, what is the largest group they will allow together in the dining room?

  We all have MY Time 

Second, will I be able to book all the entertainment for all of us when it gets released for the shows under my linked reservations?

Typically the biggest table holds about 10, so your party may fit at two tables. 
Yes, you should be able book entertainment for all. 

Edited June 17 by Biker19

[Cherful59]

@ticketsunlimited I am sure you know about adventure ocean which is free during the day and evening hours (until 10pm I think) Sign the kids up the 1st day during the time it shows registration is open.  The 5 year olds spent a couple of hours on 2 occasions and enjoyed it.  
 

I just sailed with (2) 5 yrs olds, almost 6 and (1) 12 year old.  Be flexible and  don’t expect to dine or do everything together all of the time.  The kids get hungry/sleepy when they get hungry/sleepy (5year olds), which I am sure you know.  Out of a 4 night cruise they hit the dining room 2nights, otherwise it was the windjammer or pizza when they were hungry, or found something they liked.  Of course they also want to do different things.  
 

Have the ones that are unfamiliar with the ship go on utube and review the ship and things to do. 
 

We were on Freedom and all had a great time.  Enjoy your cruise!

[PTC DAWG]

I wouldn’t expect everyone to want to do the same thing all the time myself..

[taglovestocruise]

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

I wouldn’t expect everyone to want to do the same thing all the time myself..

7 night group of 10 with my mother in law in charge. She was very confident everyone would eat together every night, get on and off the ship for excursions at the same time. She was positive everyone would like early dining. She thought 2 or three hours a day at the pool would make everyone happy. She knew we would all like our cabins together in the same area of the deck. We had a table for 10 and she was telling everyone where to sit each night. I have never seen anyone so disappointed on a daily basis and so upset that we did not all fall in line. A year later we did another family cruise with 12 from the other side of the family, only demand from the in laws was to make sure we were not late to LAX,,, that was a great cruise. 

[vegascruiser1]

Many years ago we were on cruises with17, 31, & 26. This was before buffets and it was late seating. Everyone did the excursions they wanted to do, we did what we wanted to do during the day. Some met for drinks before dinner. We all had dinner at the same time, but at different tables next to each other. 
 

This past February there were 10 of us, 4 ate at early seating 6 had MTD. We always ran into each other for breakfast and lunch. They were worried about not eating dinner together. I told them it is their vacation and do what they want to do. Needless to say we are going again together next February and doing the same. 
 

The important thing is to remember it is also their vacation and try not to plan everything for them. 
 

 

[neverbeenhere]

I will reiterate what others have written. Even if you paid the entire freight, don’t over plan everyone’s vacation. 

[Toddcan]

We did a group of 14 last summer, and our only "rule" was that we would eat together in the MDR.  We had 2 tables right beside each other.  What ppl did was totally up to them, yet we all met up for dinner to catch up on our days.  No one likes to have their day planned for them by someone else. 

[BopRN]

WE will also be in a family group of 15 celebrating our 50th anniversary. Has anyone booked CHOPS for a family dinner and was there a separate area for a private celebration?

What have you all done about a group picture? Do you just show up on formal nite for a typical pre-dinner picture? I am interested in just one group picture taken....I didn't want an expensive private session. 

[knbcruisers]

We've done 2 cruises with group of 10 ( on Princess)and next month have 14 on the Freedom ages 6-60 and 5 kids 6-14.   Only rule is "we are not joined at the hip".  I did make main dining  dinner reservations for my core group of 7 but only as a placeholder for DH DD DSil and GKs.  Kids may or may not want to sit that long.  We are going to try for one dinner all together..someone else is planning that.   I did plan the excursions for my 7  and then told everyone else they could join us or not. We're all doing water park together as we got a good price. Let others take the lead if they want to plan something for the group, you shouldn't have to do it all. I booked the pre-cruise hotel for my 7 then let others know as was good rate. My philosophy is "here is what we're doing..do you want to join us?."  It's their $ and time to spend as they wish.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

We're doing a family trip next month. Party of 8, ages 18-53. Dinner & excursions together.  Other than that, everyone on their own.  Everyone voted on excursions with majority rules.

[Poplin]

I have organized several large groups of family and/or friends groups on cruises and FINALLY  learned to have them book their own cabins and link all reservations after everyone was booked. All the groups have agreed on early seating and they came to dinner if they wanted to or ate in the Windjammer or specialty restaurants. I would book all shows for the group around the early seating and they chose to attend if they wanted to. Excursions and crusing days everyone was on their own but we did suggest an area in the solarium but no saving seats - on your own. 

[cello56]

Having a general 'meeting area' is helpful. Friends we cruise with know they can usually find us in the Viking Crown Lounge type of thing. Or by the pool. Or in the Solarium. Just a rough idea to narrow down the search. You can also have a wipe off board on your cabin door. As far as dinner we did a cruise with 10 and they put us at a long rectangular table. This made it pretty much impossible to speak with anyone at the other end of the table. So if possible ask for round tables. Excursions are very expensive so I would never expect other people to feel obligated to go on the ones we choose or even a majority rules type of scenario. Don't forget that there are House Phones in each elevator bank area. You can dial in the cabin number and be connected to your friends cabin. Helpful if you think they might be in the cabin and save you a bunch of steps!

[RedSails1968]

The only tip I have from recent experience is that if you want to eat all together in a specialty restaurant, lobster night will probably be the best night to try. We went that night on the Jewel and we were the only ones in there besides a few officers and the cruise director. 

[WisconsinFan]

12 hours ago, Toddcan said:

We did a group of 14 last summer, and our only "rule" was that we would eat together in the MDR.  We had 2 tables right beside each other.  What ppl did was totally up to them, yet we all met up for dinner to catch up on our days.  No one likes to have their day planned for them by someone else. 

^^^^ This! We have cruised with 10- so we were able to have one table together. Dinner so we could hear what everyone did during the day (our trip was an Alaska cruise, 50th wedding anniversary). We did only one excursion together, one that Grandma/Grandpa, the adult kids and the grandchildren could all enjoy- the Deadliest Catch tour). We would let each other know where we were, what we were doing with open invites if anyone wanted to hang out with us. We had the best time.

My best friend will never cruise again because about the same time we went (13 years ago now) her mother-in-law planned an Alaska cruise for extended family. MIL expected everyone to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together. Expected them to be together all the time. This meant my friend felt "trapped" on the ship (her words) and she booked a zip line excursion because she knew this would be the only thing she could do without everyone!!!! We would love her and her husband to travel with us sometime, but it will not happen now.

[Mum2Mercury]

I'd start by sending out a "newsletter" to the whole group -- something in print that they would save along with their cruise stuff:

- For the benefit of the newbies, include some packing tips. 

- Discuss how /when to sign up for boarding and explain the getting-on-the-ship process -- especially since you're sailing out of Miami, which can be kinda coo-coo for coconuts. 

- Be sure they know from which terminal you will sail -- newbies may not realize that's important. 

- Mention shore excursions and tell the newbies how to make choices, but leave each family to make their own decisions.  It's unlikely that everyone would want the same things, and trying to push them all into the same experience is a recipe for disaster.  

 

You'll probably end up with two large tables in the MDR.  Two weeks before the cruise, email dining (put your sail date + ship in the subject line) and request two tables next to one another.  

 

Since this is a short cruise, and most of your people are new to Royal, I'd skip the specialty restaurants.  

 

You can reserve entertainment for everyone, but do you know everyone will want to go to the shows each evening?  Maybe ask the group which TWO they'd like to enjoy together.  

45 minutes ago, cello56 said:

Having a general 'meeting area' is helpful.

This is a great idea.  Make it a relatively empty spot -- the library could be ideal.  Look at the 7th floor deck plan and see if a good spot jumps out at you.  

[sunlover12]

Hmmm…MILs getting a bad rap in a couple of these posts. I’m here to say we’re not all like that.  

We have a group of 10 next year to Alaska on Quantum. 3 generations. 6 adults and 4 children. I am the MIL and mother/grandmother.  My husband and I have booked 3 cabins for our group. We booked early dining which we have all agreed to. We may or may not do 1 specialty restaurant. Other than eating dinner together each night, we have no expectations or requirements that we do everything else together. My husband and I booked a GS. The others are in a standard balcony stateroom. Ulterior motive on that is my husband and I want to eat alone in Coastal Kitchen for some lunches and all breakfasts! 
 

Bottom line is that we all have different interests. We are fine with everyone doing their own thing because our primary goal is for all 10 of us to have a memorable and fun cruise. 

[knbcruisers]

Good advice here from all...even when we travel with just one other couple that is how we do it.  They tend to come with us on excursions because they like what I plan😉 but no expectations.  We check in with each other around dinner..and each decides what to do.  Sometimes we eat together other time drinks afterwards in a Lounge.    
I learned the hard way that you can't make everyone's vacation "perfect" because there is no such thing. Kids get sick, people bicker, an excursion is not as good as you thought it would be....things go wrong. You'll end up disappointed instead of just enjoying the experiences and the opportunity to connect with each other.

[cruiseguy1016]

The biggest group I have traveled with is 12. We all had early seating for dinner so I didn't have to worry about making dining reservations. We have never been on the big ships so there have never been shows to book either. I have planned many trips with first-time cruisers. One piece of advice I will give you is to remember that this is your vacation also. Do not let everyone latch on to you and expect you to plan every minute of every day for them. Encourage them to do some research and to find things that they want to to do. Something we do is have "our spot" near the pool. It's usally the deck above it. This is the spot we congregate at if we want to hang out with the group. If you don't want to hang out with the group, the "rule" is to find another spot and the group will not bother you while you are there. Another thing we do is have a pre-dinner cocktail at one of the bars. One guy in our group is usually in charge of this decision. He'll let everyone know, either in person, or by leaving a voice mail on the cabin phone. If you want to have a drink, we'll see you there. If not, we'll see you at dinner.

[Toddcan]

I will also add that I set up a Discord group with multiple channels to cover all sorts of topics from restaurants, to excursions, to shows, etc etc.  People to discuss these items for over a year before the cruise so that if they were so inclined - they could read up on information if they wanted.  If the didn't need to know the small details, they simply didn't participate in the pre-cruise discussion.  

 

Oh, and we all got matching T-shirts for embarkation day - that was very cool to get that photo 🙂

[ticketsunlimited]

17 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

7 night group of 10 with my mother in law in charge. She was very confident everyone would eat together every night, get on and off the ship for excursions at the same time. She was positive everyone would like early dining. She thought 2 or three hours a day at the pool would make everyone happy. She knew we would all like our cabins together in the same area of the deck. We had a table for 10 and she was telling everyone where to sit each night. I have never seen anyone so disappointed on a daily basis and so upset that we did not all fall in line. A year later we did another family cruise with 12 from the other side of the family, only demand from the in laws was to make sure we were not late to LAX,,, that was a great cruise. 

Love it!!  My wife has said the exact same thing.  Let the cards fall as they may.  I will schedule as much as I can and not be disappointed if all are not present.  I am just trying to point everyone in the right direction to give them the best experience.

[bjlbbk]

I would say it depends on your group and how much they want to stick together. We have cruised in both large and small groups and there are always some who enjoy the flexibility of cruising and do their own thing and others who like being told where and when to show up because they would rather not worry about making their own reservations, etc. (and actually appreciate someone else working out the details on their behalf). You just have to know your group and their overall expectations.

 

The largest group we have cruised with was a group of 14 and we stuck together when it made sense but we also split off from time to time depending on the activity or time of day. Dinner in the MDR was the one guaranteed time of day that we would all meet up (we had two adjacent tables). For breakfast and lunch everyone was on their own but we still found ourselves running into each other and eating together in small groups.

 

As for entertainment one person made the show reservations for our entire group based on what worked best with with our dining time. On most nights we all attended but on a couple occasions some choose not to go  (but they were at least covered had they wanted to).

 

On port days we were all interested in similiar activities so we managed to find independent group tours where we could all stick together. For Labadee and CoCo Cay we got off the boat together and found chairs in the same general area but did our own thing from there (it was nice to have a home base where we could hang together during our down time and find each other if needed). 

 

Having a few general meeting spots on the ship was helpful too. We tried to stick to the same general areas in the Windjammer, Solarium, theater, etc. to help narrow down our search for each other. Leaving notes on a dry erase board or post it notes on each other’s door were helpful too. 

 

As for getting a group photo together there were some backdrops that worked better than others. A couple of us scoped out a good spot ahead of time and just let the others know when and where to show up (just prior to dinner). We just showed up and got in line with no issue. As much as I love Central Park that has been those most challenging photo spot though. Grandpa’s tie was flying sideways and long hair was flying everywhere! It’s challenging enough to coordinate that many people all looking in the same direction without adding in all the wind! HA!

[ticketsunlimited]

7 hours ago, knbcruisers said:

We've done 2 cruises with group of 10 ( on Princess)and next month have 14 on the Freedom ages 6-60 and 5 kids 6-14.   Only rule is "we are not joined at the hip".  I did make main dining  dinner reservations for my core group of 7 but only as a placeholder for DH DD DSil and GKs.  Kids may or may not want to sit that long.  We are going to try for one dinner all together..someone else is planning that.   I did plan the excursions for my 7  and then told everyone else they could join us or not. We're all doing water park together as we got a good price. Let others take the lead if they want to plan something for the group, you shouldn't have to do it all. I booked the pre-cruise hotel for my 7 then let others know as was good rate. My philosophy is "here is what we're doing..do you want to join us?."  It's their $ and time to spend as they wish.

All great suggestions.  Thanks

[ticketsunlimited]

4 hours ago, cello56 said:

Having a general 'meeting area' is helpful. Friends we cruise with know they can usually find us in the Viking Crown Lounge type of thing. Or by the pool. Or in the Solarium. Just a rough idea to narrow down the search. You can also have a wipe off board on your cabin door. As far as dinner we did a cruise with 10 and they put us at a long rectangular table. This made it pretty much impossible to speak with anyone at the other end of the table. So if possible ask for round tables. Excursions are very expensive so I would never expect other people to feel obligated to go on the ones we choose or even a majority rules type of scenario. Don't forget that there are House Phones in each elevator bank area. You can dial in the cabin number and be connected to your friends cabin. Helpful if you think they might be in the cabin and save you a bunch of steps!

Very helpful and great ideas.  Thanks!!

[ticketsunlimited]

3 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I'd start by sending out a "newsletter" to the whole group -- something in print that they would save along with their cruise stuff:

- For the benefit of the newbies, include some packing tips. 

- Discuss how /when to sign up for boarding and explain the getting-on-the-ship process -- especially since you're sailing out of Miami, which can be kinda coo-coo for coconuts. 

- Be sure they know from which terminal you will sail -- newbies may not realize that's important. 

- Mention shore excursions and tell the newbies how to make choices, but leave each family to make their own decisions.  It's unlikely that everyone would want the same things, and trying to push them all into the same experience is a recipe for disaster.  

 

You'll probably end up with two large tables in the MDR.  Two weeks before the cruise, email dining (put your sail date + ship in the subject line) and request two tables next to one another.  

 

Since this is a short cruise, and most of your people are new to Royal, I'd skip the specialty restaurants.  

 

You can reserve entertainment for everyone, but do you know everyone will want to go to the shows each evening?  Maybe ask the group which TWO they'd like to enjoy together.  

This is a great idea.  Make it a relatively empty spot -- the library could be ideal.  Look at the 7th floor deck plan and see if a good spot jumps out at you.  

All awesome ideas and will be using them for sure.  Thanks very much!!  I like the meeting area idea.  we are all near the elevators on deck 7 and I think going up a floor to the music hall (Formally  Dazzles) will be a great spot to meet and even get a drink if the bar is open at the time.