Just a note: There is nothing wrong with any of the "groups" listed. But anytime you cruise with a large group you run the risk of not being able to get your preferred dining time if that large group wants to eat the same time you do.
But anytime you cruise with a large group you run the risk of not being able to get your preferred dining time if that large group wants to eat the same time you do.
LHP, I thought you were a Platinum Guest. Which entitles you to Guaranteed dining times.
But anytime you cruise with a large group you run the risk of not being able to get your preferred dining time if that large group wants to eat the same time you do.
LHP, I thought you were a Platinum Guest. Which entitles you to Guaranteed dining times.
Large groups can sometimes create major problems on cruises, and the cruise lines do everything possible to deny passengers this type of information when they book. There was a recent story (on a another large board) about a recent Carnival cruise that had a large unruly group that created problems for all the other passengers. Carnival refused to deal with all the issues during the cruise and at this point many passengers are asking for some type of compensation. A few years ago we were supposed to go on a RCI cruise, but we happened to find out a few weeks before the cruise that half the ship (more than 1,000 passenger) were from a large "holy roller" group. We were able to change our cruise date to the following week and we later heard that the religious group harassed other passengers about their skimpy dress (swim suits), took over some of the public rooms (which denied other passengers full use of the ship) and brought on-board their own entertainment which caused cancellation of many of the normal entertainment. We have learned that we can usually avoid these large groups by simply booking longer cruises, but not everyone has this type of flexibility.
We also have the additional issue of our autistic son. He is 16 years old and people "in costumes" (mascots) put him into panic attacks.
If the dancers or pirates are at the formal dining room having pictures taken, the Maitre' D will tell us before we leave so we can duck out another way.
He has used Funship Freddie as a learning tool to compensate. We get Freddie's schedule etc and avoid the few times that he is out.
Needless to say, we will never sail a Disney ship. (We can't even go to the Theme Park)
Just like with kids aboard the ships, when 5% of the brats muddy up the reputation of the rest of the children on board, the small percentage of groups that do cause additional problems make me want to avoid them all.
Originally posted by LisaP:
Here's one specific to Holland America Line, started by a poster from another board. It's pretty new, so still a work in progress:
I've also checked the "big cruise boards" as they very often have groups exceeding 100 pax.
LHP, I love the unofficialcarnivalwiki site! I wonder if there are similar pages for other lines. I'm off to Google...
Thanks for the HAL site. We have not cruised them yet, but if they have karaoke...I will one day.
Btw, the carnivalwiki site does need to work on their definitions. They have a group on January 12, 2008 as an LDS Singles....when it is actually a Swingers group.
This is their website...(ok .. no pictures just info about the cruise)
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