lildawgscottFL Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 The Queen and I have never planned a cruise with another couple, family, group, or anything along those lines. We even bailed on the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle. We're very spontaneous people, and we tend to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. On the other hand, we always manage to meet people on board who become lifelong friends. :D Which is exactly what happened two years ago on Oasis. Now, those Oasis friends will be joining us on our Navigator cruise. :D We're totally stoked about this! But... How do you get alone time? How do you organize for four, as opposed to just two, especially when we've been together for 22 years and, for the most part, agree on everything? What if they don't like what we like? Bummer! :( When couples disagree, they're used to sorting it out and moving past it. What do you do in the worst case scenario (I know, this is me being too pessimistic)? What do you do if that old magic doesn't return and now you're stuck for a week? When you meet people on board, there always seems to be an unspoken, understood arrangement whereby you give each other some space. For instance, you meet another couple at R Bar on Monday. You choose to meet for dinner and the evening debauchery on Tuesday. It all works out and you keep up the routine throughout the cruise. But, you leave the excursions or other daytime activities out of it. Or some other example, but somehow it's all silently understood. However, when you're planning a cruise with someone, do you just state outright, "Uh...we like you and all that, but we don't want to see you all day." That sounds rude, no? But, I'm sure they also would want alone time, right? In the past, when we've met people on board who we didn't really want to spend time with, we just found convenient ways to avoid them. That's not gonna work here.I know this is a totally personal, totally subjective experience, and the situation just needs to be handled tactfully, with grace and care not to offend. But, maybe you folks have some experience doing this before? Maybe someone met with disaster? Maybe someone pulled it off without a hitch? We want to cruise with them. Please don't mistake that. It's just our first time planning a cruise where other people have a say in how the cruise turns out. And, we want to remain friends with them when it's over! We also want to be able to do this again with other people.Thanks for your thoughts!- Mr. Nervous Wreck :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 My suggestion is keep your plans simple and "lightweight". Don't plan your days more than maybe having a meal together or doing an excursion together. That way, you keep it simple and if you guys want to all hang out more than what you did, you can and if not, you have an easy out after each activity. lildawgscottFL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 I agree with Matt. Cruising with friends on Royal was one of my favorite experiences; however, it was one of the most exhausting cruises, too. Plan on meeting for dinner and then share you're plans with you're mates. If they want to join you, great. If not, then you'll see them afterwards for dinner. Matt and lildawgscottFL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerel Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Agree with above statements. Really I think your over thinking this. I was worried about the same thing cruising with my Dad, will he be attached at the hip or will I never be able to find him, maybe ill spend all my time trying to keep him happy. Really there was no reason to worry, theres so much to do together and apart. I knew where he liked to hang out and we left each other messages on our room phones, also met up at MDR. Easy to find him when we wanted to hang out and easy to break off if needed alone time. Really I think honesty is the best option. If you dont want to see the song and dance show, say so, they wont mind, nor would you. Keep in mind your going with cruisers, im sure you will all have a great time, together and apart. lildawgscottFL, Matt and Marc 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I have cruised with friends, and even gone with a couple before and never had an issue. I tend to like to do my own thing so it worked out well. When I wanted to join them I did and vice versa, but lots of time to let them do their own thing and I mine. And always seem to make and meet friends around the ship as well. However, I could see where if you were friends or made friends with the wrong couple and they crowded your space or followed you around it could defn get a little awkward and/or annoying. Hopefully the fact that you made friends with them during a cruise and it worked out well then, that things would be similar with them this time! lildawgscottFL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarney Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I've cruised with both friends and family. And also with both at the same time on our last cruise - my family and my sister's, my friend, his in-laws, and a couple of his friends - it was a party of 16 of us. The ground rules were: it's YOUR vacation, do what you wish, and we'll all meet at dinner. Sometimes we've had excursions together, which was fun, and other times it was just my wife and I for some alone time. It all worked out in the end. lildawgscottFL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 I've cruised with both friends and family. And also with both at the same time on our last cruise - my family and my sister's, my friend, his in-laws, and a couple of his friends - it was a party of 16 of us. The ground rules were: it's YOUR vacation, do what you wish, and we'll all meet at dinner. Sometimes we've had excursions together, which was fun, and other times it was just my wife and I for some alone time. It all worked out in the end. Great rule of thumb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lildawgscottFL Posted November 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 So now two others are also cruising with us! The six of us will be reunited from our Oasis 2013 cruise together! :D :D :D Kerry & Mike from Whitegate, Cheshire, England, UK Barbara & Damian from Fingal, Ontario, Canada The Queen & I from Orlando, Florida, USA As Doc's kid pointed out, one of the best things about cruising is meeting people from all around the world. Doc clearly has a brilliant child! When I heard the news, I was, at first, super excited and then immediately got more concerned than I already was. "Had I known, would I have picked Navigator? The price was amazing, but now there's Anthem! And Harmony! Who knows when we'll reunite again? Is April the best time of year? Will the weather be good? Do I persuade them to do all the specialty dining we had intended on doing, or do we sacrifice for the benefit of all? What about excursions? Breakfast? I suck in the morning. Morning for me is 1:00 pm. My wife knows I do not speak for at least 30-60 minutes after waking up. I can't do that with them! That would be rude!" My neurotic brain keeps rambling off these sorts of questions and concerns.But then I remember, I'm a "glass is half full" sort of guy. I'm sure that monctonguy is right when he said, "Hopefully the fact that you made friends with them during a cruise and it worked out well then, that things would be similar with them this time!" And Jerel is right too, "they wont mind, nor would you" - I'm pretty laid back about stuff. So I'll be honest and tactful, and keep my fingers crossed. And to quote the sage thoughts of Jerel once again, "Keep in mind your going with cruisers, im sure you will all have a great time, together and apart." Absolutely correct! These are fun people!!! If they weren't, I would never have met them in the first place. The only question left is, at what point do we qualify for the group rates? Or better yet, at what point do I get deals as the group organizer! ;) Jerel and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 I think second guessing oneself is common when you've picked a ship just for a cruise rather than its specific features and/or destination. If you've seen some of my posts in the past, I had second guessed booking the Liberty after the Freedom was refurbed and kept checking prices on other ships in the fleet as we were just sailing on Liberty to experience a Freedom-class ship. However, there was an appeal to sailing out of Galveston as it's a little closer to California and also it's a port that we haven't sailed out of before. So while I'll miss Sabor, the shorter flight and a new port will be very good for us. And heck, maybe Royal will invite me back in February to do a before/after comparison (I wish). Now for our Baltic's cruise, I haven't wavered once in that decision as I like the itinerary. It could be on a rusted out tug and I'd still go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lildawgscottFL Posted November 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 Okay, so now this is getting weird. Two more couples are highly considering joining us!Which makes me really have to consider the question about group rates/perks for me, the organizer. I know I've heard Matt address this, but I cannot remember where and when. I'll quickly search the boards, but if anyone knows, please help a brother out!Thanks! Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted November 26, 2015 Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 Okay, so now this is getting weird. Two more couples are highly considering joining us! Which makes me really have to consider the question about group rates/perks for me, the organizer. I know I've heard Matt address this, but I cannot remember where and when. I'll quickly search the boards, but if anyone knows, please help a brother out! Thanks! You're just too cool and too popular. ;) I believe you need to book at least 8 cabins to be considered a "group" with any perks. This is where working with a TA can come in very handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lildawgscottFL Posted November 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 You're just too cool and too popular. ;) Well....duh! You didn't know that already!? I'm a Royal Caribbean Insider! I believe you need to book at least 8 cabins to be considered a "group" with any perks. This is where working with a TA can come in very handy. Darn! We'll only be at 5 cabins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted November 26, 2015 Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 Obviously, you need more friends. lildawgscottFL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted November 26, 2015 Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 Okay, so now this is getting weird. Two more couples are highly considering joining us! Which makes me really have to consider the question about group rates/perks for me, the organizer. I know I've heard Matt address this, but I cannot remember where and when. I'll quickly search the boards, but if anyone knows, please help a brother out! Thanks! I would recommend working with a travel agent to coordinate groups. It will make your life FAR easier. lildawgscottFL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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