Best way to get a good group rate on Gem for Europe

[scrappinheather]

There are 23 people in my family and we are going to book 10 rooms on the Norwegian Gem in August 2010 to Greece. The prices that NCL are offering on their website right now are a 6 category upgrade and third and 4th people in a room are cheaper. We only have 3 triple rooms and the rest are doubles. What is the best way to get a good deal on a group rate for this trip. Better with a TA or NCL directly. What about airfare? Better with TA, NCL, or using on line airfare sites? NCL isn't offering any OBC right now or any discounts off the rooms other than the rate liste don their website. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Heather

[seesee]

Heather, I booked directly with NCL for a group of 16 so far. I have a great cruise consultant. I wish I could tell you her name, but I think that is not allowed. She took excellent care of each one of us. I feel we got the best deal possible with added perks for having a group of 16. Hope you have the same luck as we did. Enjoy your cruise.

[seesee]

Heather, I booked directly with NCL for a group of 16 so far. I have a great cruise consultant. I wish I could tell you her name, but I think that is not allowed. She took excellent care of each one of us. I feel we got the best deal possible with added perks for having a group of 16. She keep us in a group and cross referenced all of us. After your group reaches 16 they turn you over to a group planner. The size of your group should allow you to have some perks also. I am not sure how a TA works it, since I like to book directly with NCL. Hope you have the same luck as we did. Enjoy your cruise.

[scrappinheather]

Thanks! I tried NCL directly and the best rate they could get was $1449 per person per room with a balcony & the 3rd and 4th passengers are $599 + port fees. I contacted a TA and got a rate of $100 of per person per room & $50 off for the $599.00 people + $50 per room OBC and a bottle of wine in each room. I'm going to call NCL as I get ready to book and see if they can match that, but so far the TA had much better rates.

 

Heather

[wg6530]

There is also a website that lets agnts compete for your business. I've gotten so good deals that way, but have not tried it with a group booking. You will get multiple bids within a day or two. We can't mention the name of the site but if you google the words "cruise" and "compete", you should find it.