Crown Princess Wedding 11/11/08

[m25653]

I had a group already cruise booked and then added my wedding to it. We have 14 cabins and 35 people booked. I asked my travel agent about any extras or perks that we could get and she said we would have to wait until the final payment in August then she could see what she could do. Does this seem right? Why should I have to wait I already have all these people and a wedding on top of it, and at least 2 more cabins will be booked next week. Should I find a new travel agent?

Also, any advice/comments for an at sea wedding on Crown?

[flhokie]

It may be difficult to "switch" all the bookings to another agent, but I would definitely ask questions about what some of the possible options might be. Some options may depend on total bookings (at final payment) which may be why she's saying to wait.

 

While you are spending a good deal of money on the wedding, the agent doesn't get anything out of that (out of the cabin bookings, yes, but not the wedding) and Princess doesn't take weddings into consideration (a group booking is a group booking)--TWE that handles the weddings is a separate company.

 

I got married at sea on the Grand, not the Crown, but my advice is to not worry about the details too much (it all works out in the end). I found that it was easier to communicate with TWE by e-mail (responses within 1 day). We did lunch at Sabitini's and a reception with DJ in Skywalker's. We loved the way it worked out.

[vannagreen]

I found that depending on the sailing, princess awards something called group ammenity points. You can apply these points to your group after everyone is fully paid... like OBC for everyone or wine, etc.

 

Also, I believe with princess groups, for each 8 full staterooms (16 paid fares) you get a free fare... so if you have 32 people who pay in full at the end, you should get one whole stateroom free... (minus taxs, port fees)... but don't quote me, b/c im just learning about this too...

 

Ive also heard that with some ammenity points you can "reduce" the number of fares needed to earn the free fare.... so that for every 6 rooms you get a free fare...

 

Ask your TA if she would explain the group amenity points with you.... Im sure she can provide her expertise in helping you decide what would be best!

 

But im sure it will all work out for you in the end! Good luck!

[sas80]

I had a group already cruise booked and then added my wedding to it. We have 14 cabins and 35 people booked. I asked my travel agent about any extras or perks that we could get and she said we would have to wait until the final payment in August then she could see what she could do. Does this seem right? Why should I have to wait I already have all these people and a wedding on top of it, and at least 2 more cabins will be booked next week. Should I find a new travel agent?

Also, any advice/comments for an at sea wedding on Crown?

 

Nope, this does not sound right. Your TA should be able to tell you how many GAP points are available for that sailing, based on the number of cabins you currently have booked, and she should be able to tell you what the list of rewards is that you can choose from.

 

GAP points are assigned to each sailing and are a motivation for TA's to book large groups onto a cruise. Some sailings have more GAP points than others. GAP points are like prize tickets at a carnival. Certain cruise 'rewards" have certain point values. Big stuff requires more GAP points, small stuff less GAP points.

 

It may be that your cruise doesn't offer many GAP points and anything you "get" would be coming off of your TA's commission.

 

At the very least, for 8 cabins booked (at least 2 beths per cabin) you should get 1 free berth (one free fare, excluding taxes and port charges) in the most booked category.

 

If you really want to know what is available for this sailing, I would call around to other TA's and ask "If you booked N cabins on the sailing, what kinds of perks and rewards would they give you?"

 

Be sure to call at least 3 TA's as some TA's are really stingy.

 

For anyone whom wants to turn their wedding cruise into a group cruise, it is always best to call around and see whom is offering the most perks, so that you get the most bang for your buck.

 

Happy sailing!

[rene4205]

what exactly do you mean by extras or perks? Do you mean extras for the wedding....?

[m25653]

rene4205 - I mean extras for on the cruise for getting so many cabins booked, like OBC or wine for everyones room or at dinner.