Rare Lady Arwen Posted July 11 #1 Share Posted July 11 I just found out that our cruise has been chartered by Chumley’s Bear group. Does anyone have any experience with this group or have any info to share? If we had known it was a charter, we would have never booked it. Even our CVP didn’t know. What can we expect? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeasleysMom66 Posted July 11 #2 Share Posted July 11 You can do a google search and turn up several old CC threads but it is a group of large hairy gay men. Apparently they are not an issue behavior wise as the group mantra is that they are just traveling together it isn't meant to push or advertise their lifestyle. The only reliable complaints I have found were the same as any other charter on a cruise: the group is large and takes over the boat and associated amenities. Common complaints were: they take over a specified pool area and other guests can't find space to use it. Elevators always full as these are NFL linebacker sized men, one board thread repeatedly referenced never getting any reservations at a specific specialty restaurant because the group of 800 had taken all of them. Often bars or other spaces were closed to the public as the group has reserved them for their use. So whether you agree with who they are or not it is a large group on board that has the potential to reduce or eliminate your access to some things that many cruise for. I would call Princess and ask if they can estimate how large the group is and if that number is too high I would rebook another date. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedprincess Posted July 11 #3 Share Posted July 11 Having sailed aboard a partial charter with them in the past, it's very minimal impact. There were approximately 200 or so aboard, some different events that they had in different venues at different times that very minimally affected the experience - aboard Caribbean, the aft lounge was used for private events a couple times, while everything else was open. Skywalkers a couple times during the day. Wheelhouse once. A final pool party at the aft pool for sunset finale party for a few hours.. And they essentially adopted the aft pool as they're pool hangout time. Lots showed up in Skywalkers at night after they're events. It was fun, and very minimal affect t in anything, they weren't a huge group. They're just there to cruise and enjoy, same as any one else.. I was in a group of 15, and none of them even realized there was a charter aboard until I told them... The Irish Stars particularly charter we ended up on was way more impactful on the overall experience than Chumleys. As was the Polka partial. Whew - that was interesting! Enjoy, 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynight Posted July 11 #4 Share Posted July 11 (edited) You can expect them to dominate all the venues, especially the pool areas. YOu can expect a less than pleasant cruise. I don't believe it's a charter, believe it's just a very large group. For the future https://www.bearcruises.com/about-cbc Edited July 11 by skynight 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonlady6390 Posted July 11 #5 Share Posted July 11 I also sailed on a princess cruise with the bears group I did not think it affected my cruise at all of course did see them around they tended to hang out at the aft pool and smoking area. There were a few on my shore excursions. No rowdieness that I remember. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voljeep Posted July 11 #6 Share Posted July 11 34 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said: I just found out that our cruise has been chartered by Chumley’s Bear group. Does anyone have any experience with this group or have any info to share? If we had known it was a charter, we would have never booked it. Even our CVP didn’t know. What can we expect? can you re-schedule - CFAR - and take the SUN P 7 day western on 10/26? oh, wait - nevermind 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PacnGoNow Posted July 11 #7 Share Posted July 11 It really depends on how big the group is. Your TA/CVP may be able to find out through their PCL rep. We’ve had a couple of groups on ours, one was Baltic and smaller group, 200, did not impact our cruise. They had their own private meetings and parties. Except aft pool was always full. We also had a Caribbean cruise with a large group, about 400. Never could get near the Aft pool and the bars were always crowded. But, that can be with any cruise. SD was hard to get a reservation, but not a big deal. They also had many private events. Personally, if it’s a small group, I’d keep it, but large, I’d rebook, as with any large group, I’d rather take another one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PacnGoNow Posted July 11 #8 Share Posted July 11 24 minutes ago, skynight said: You can expect them to dominate all the venues, especially the pool areas. YOu can expect a less than pleasant cruise. I don't believe it's a charter, believe it's just a very large group. For the future https://www.bearcruises.com/about-cbc That link is helpful, as you can see the cruises they are on. Most importantly, how large is the group. 🥴 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lady Arwen Posted July 11 Author #9 Share Posted July 11 Thanks, guys. I’m waiting to hear back from our CVP. She going to try to secure us a spot in the Sanctuary for the week so we don’t have to be around the other pools. I doubt if Princess will go for it, though. We've pre—booked specialty restaurants for every night, so no MDR. We’re only concerned about the noise level when you get a large group of men in one venue at the same time. Had we known in advance, we would not have booked this cruise. I should have done my due diligence before booking so my bad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lx200gps Posted July 11 #10 Share Posted July 11 12 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said: Thanks, guys. I’m waiting to hear back from our CVP. She going to try to secure us a spot in the Sanctuary for the week so we don’t have to be around the other pools. I doubt if Princess will go for it, though. We've pre—booked specialty restaurants for every night, so no MDR. We’re only concerned about the noise level when you get a large group of men in one venue at the same time. Had we known in advance, we would not have booked this cruise. I should have done my due diligence before booking so my bad. Thanks for highlighting this. I just checked their website and they are on the Sun the week after us in October. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lady Arwen Posted July 11 Author #11 Share Posted July 11 Just now, lx200gps said: Thanks for highlighting this. I just checked their website and they are on the Sun the week after us in October. Happy for you! Wish I’d checked before booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted July 11 #12 Share Posted July 11 If your ship has been chartered, you will be receiving a cancelation notice. If this is just a large group, sorry. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voljeep Posted July 11 #13 Share Posted July 11 3 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said: Happy for you! Wish I’d checked before booking. checked where exactly? - that specific website for that specific group? - what about other groups? - Is there a (potential side gig alert) website that tracks, if possible, group cruises - it seems like they would have to track by individual groups - not thru the cruise lines? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lady Arwen Posted July 11 Author #14 Share Posted July 11 2 minutes ago, voljeep said: checked where exactly? - that specific website for that specific group? - what about other groups? - Is there a (potential side gig alert) website that tracks, if possible, group cruises - it seems like they would have to track by individual groups - not thru the cruise lines? Apparently there is a way of tracking charter cruises, but I don’t know if the same can be said for large groups. Our CVP is checking it out. She thinks that Princess may do something for us. Who knows. We’ll see how this plays out and then decide if we cancel or not. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beltsbear Posted July 11 #15 Share Posted July 11 59 minutes ago, skynight said: You can expect them to dominate all the venues, especially the pool areas. YOu can expect a less than pleasant cruise. I don't believe it's a charter, believe it's just a very large group. For the future https://www.bearcruises.com/about-cbc There are tons of groups (mostly country specific large tours) that are worse and happen all the time. On a Canada / New England cruise the pools are not usually the focus and it might not make a big difference. If you have kids that want the best pool , it will probably be a negative. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that Posted July 11 #16 Share Posted July 11 In our experience in August pools on this itinerary are active 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voljeep Posted July 11 #17 Share Posted July 11 1 minute ago, that said: In our experience in August pools on this itinerary are active and will be completely taken over - as well as the hot tubs - might as well be prepared for some PDA also ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lady Arwen Posted July 11 Author #18 Share Posted July 11 4 minutes ago, voljeep said: and will be completely taken over - as well as the hot tubs - might as well be prepared for some PDA also ... Yup, that’s what we think, too. I don’t give a flying fig what adults do in private. We chose this itinerary because we thought it would be a quiet and relaxing cruise. A Caribbean cruise should be more appealing to people who go to party. Guess we were wrong. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memoak Posted July 11 #19 Share Posted July 11 (edited) 1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said: Thanks, guys. I’m waiting to hear back from our CVP. She going to try to secure us a spot in the Sanctuary for the week so we don’t have to be around the other pools. I doubt if Princess will go for it, though. We've pre—booked specialty restaurants for every night, so no MDR. We’re only concerned about the noise level when you get a large group of men in one venue at the same time. Had we known in advance, we would not have booked this cruise. I should have done my due diligence before booking so my bad. We usually google the ship name and sailing date to see if there are any group bookings. We have had a few cruises with football fans etc. not usually an issue unless it is a real big group. The worst I remember was in the early 1990’s when a square dance group brought their on music to the disco and wanted that kind of music. This was when DJ’s actually listened to requests or the cruise that had a large number of anti drinking anti gambling ryors who would stand outside bars and casino trying to hand out pamphlets Edited July 11 by memoak 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1emerald1 Posted July 11 #20 Share Posted July 11 I was on a Halloween cruise on the Discovery a couple of years ago and there was a group of Bears. They did not affect my cruise whatsoever. Although, being that it was Halloween, some of their costumes were questionable.... And yes, the pool area was crowded, as well as the lounges. Was difficult to find a seat for a pre-dinner drink. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lady Arwen Posted July 11 Author #21 Share Posted July 11 2 minutes ago, memoak said: We usually google the ship name and sailing date to see if there are any group bookings. We have had a few cruises with football fans etc. not usually an issue unless it is a real big group. The worst I remember was in the early 1990’s when a square dance group brought their on music to the disco and wanted that kind of music. This was when DJ’s actually listened to requests I’ll take the square dancers any day over Chumley’s Bears! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
555 Posted July 11 #22 Share Posted July 11 Forget about using the aft pool or bar on deck 16 or the tables/chars nearby. They tend to take over & most people just migrate elsewhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cruise Raider Posted July 11 #23 Share Posted July 11 8 minutes ago, memoak said: We usually google the ship name and sailing date to see if there are any group bookings. We have had a few cruises with football fans etc. not usually an issue unless it is a real big group. The worst I remember was in the early 1990’s when a square dance group brought their on music to the disco and wanted that kind of music. This was when DJ’s actually listened to requests or the cruise that had a large number of anti drinking anti gambling ryors who would stand outside bars and casino trying to hand out pamphlets I bet them handing out pamphlets went over like a lead balloon with the cruise line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lady Arwen Posted July 11 Author #24 Share Posted July 11 3 minutes ago, 555 said: Forget about using the aft pool or bar on deck 16 or the tables/chars nearby. They tend to take over & most people just migrate elsewhere. My husband is a breath away from cancelling. If they would refund the full cost of the cruise, including our EZAir reservation, then we’re out. We’re pretty disappointed right now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bollycats Posted July 11 #25 Share Posted July 11 I was on the Caribbean Princess with them last year. Like you, I was very upset. I'm leery of ANY big group. Embarkation day we did our rounds of the ship and ended up near the aft pool. Yep, lots of them there. We are not pool people so we never went back. If any venues were taken by them we didn't notice. Didn't do specialty dining so I don't know if those were full. Saw some of them around the ship in groups of 2-4 but didn't have anything rowdy going on. (that I know of) By the middle of the cruise I actually forgot they were there. Now I look back and laugh at my pre-cruise anxiety. But again, I didn't really frequent the places they supposedly do so it didn't affect me. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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