Simplifying Groups

Cruise lines love groups.  Groups fill ships by the dozens rather than by the room.

Hedge Maze at Getty Museum in L.A.

Even more, cruise lines love groups who work through travel agents, because any time decisions must be made by more than one person or a couple, planning can get quite complicated, with lots of questions and possible confusion.

For the same reasons, you should enlist a friendly, knowledgeable travel agent if you want to plan a reunion with family, friends and associates.  A travel agent costs you nothing, because while specific deals may come and go, cruise lines (and most resorts) won't undersell agents.  A travel agent saves you time, energy and frequently money while directing you to the best value on the cruise that best fills your needs.

If you want to build a group, just send an email to Wes@CruisePlanners1.com saying when and where you want to go, with any preferences regarding cruise lines or ports.  The more specific you are, the better I can help you quickly and accurately identify the best possible cruise or land vacation for you and your group.

Pool on Carnival Victory

For example, a valuable client recently contacted me about a 4 to 7 night cruise leaving in July or August for her family reunion.  I began by letting her know that prices tend to drop for the Caribbean as we move deeper into August, and so I needed to know what the latest acceptable date.  The response was through Saturday, August 22, 2015. 

I found an excellent value on a 5 night Western Caribbean cruise that I was sure fit their parameters. This cruise has great terms, including prices about 20% below current "lead rates" in select categories and zero money down for double occupancy rooms until full deposit of $200 per person is required on April 13, 2015.  The ship has relatively large standard rooms, with lots that will accommodate triple and quads. 

Wes and Julie at Margaritaville in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

While most groups require full deposit when specific staterooms are assigned, and for any triple or quad room a specific room must be assigned at the time of booking because not all rooms will accommodate more than two passengers, someone can hold a double with no money down and gamble that the triple or quad will be available when April rolls around. 

Easy destination for group cruise from So Cal?  Ensenada!

Or, if it is esssential that they have a quad room, they can hold it with a refundable deposit, forgoing the miniscule interest they would earn on that money in a savings account. The choice is for each individual family.

And if it doesn't work out?  There's not a penalty.

It turned out that they usually hold their reunion on the week of August 8, and therefore were really only interested in that week.  Not a probelm.  I'll find a different cruise for them and offer that group space I held to other lucky people, including you!  Just click the hot link above to get started.



La Fontaine Dining Room on Holland America Zuiderdam

Sometimes, you might have some friends who definitely want to join you on a dream cruise, but you doubt you will have eight rooms, which is the minimum size for setting up a group and possibly getting special group amenities or pricing.  I can hold a group and then work on selling extra staterooms, as with this terrific Panama Canal cruise (click on the hotlink to see if you want to get one of these discounted rooms). 

However, while cruise lines have attempted to simplify cruises, it can be somewhat confusing to explain to your friends, so you need an ally to help you out.

Better service leads to better trips, and that includes organizing your group so that you don't have to spend seven days a week doing it yourself.

By the way, if you want to combine a fun cruise with fundraising, we have specific group programs that make it simple to help your cause.