12thman Posted October 25, 2019 Report Share Posted October 25, 2019 So I'm thinking about trying the group cruise next year. Does the group get any extra discounts for excursions, drink packages etc? Also can someone give me examples of what the group does activities wise? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted October 25, 2019 Report Share Posted October 25, 2019 26 minutes ago, 12thman said: So I'm thinking about trying the group cruise next year. Does the group get any extra discounts for excursions, drink packages etc? Also can someone give me examples of what the group does activities wise? Thanks! I'm booked on the October 2020 GC - since this will be my first, I can only share what I know from learning from others. There are no discounts on things you can purchase in the Cruise Planner (drink packages, "Eatin' Packages" - Mr SpeedNoodles' term!). I think they usually plan at least one excursion that's complimentary for those who book with the GC through MEI. I know the price that I paid through MEI was lower than the listed price at the time that I booked. I've heard of various activities, but I'm sure those who have already done one (or two, or three) will have more details. StephanieH and 12thman 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted October 25, 2019 Report Share Posted October 25, 2019 4 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said: I'm booked on the October 2020 GC - since this will be my first, I can only share what I know from learning from others. There are no discounts on things you can purchase in the Cruise Planner (drink packages, "Eatin' Packages" - Mr SpeedNoodles' term!). I think they usually plan at least one excursion that's complimentary for those who book with the GC through MEI. I know the price that I paid through MEI was lower than the listed price at the time that I booked. I've heard of various activities, but I'm sure those who have already done one (or two, or three) will have more details. Yep. This is exactly right. No package discounts but a couple of fun group activities and at least 1 group excursion. StephanieH and SpeedNoodles 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookingyo Posted October 25, 2019 Report Share Posted October 25, 2019 RCBlog group cruises are fun. There are a lot of adult activities, we sometimes have cake, we definitely have booze, we also play Jenga and do shots, and try to get the pub singer to hate us. And as an added bonus you get to hang with the Cookingyo family. Well worth the price of admission to a group cruise. SpeedNoodles, AnnetteJackson, princevaliantus and 8 others 4 1 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 5 hours ago, cookingyo said: RCBlog group cruises are fun. There are a lot of adult activities, we sometimes have cake, we definitely have booze, we also play Jenga and do shots, and try to get the pub singer to hate us. And as an added bonus you get to hang with the Cookingyo family. Well worth the price of admission to a group cruise. Plus you learn things like... It's a real website. Deedeelynn and Matt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted October 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Thanks everyone! Hopefully we'll make the cruise. Sounds like fun. Are you going @twangster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 53 minutes ago, 12thman said: Thanks everyone! Hopefully we'll make the cruise. Sounds like fun. Are you going @twangster? Not at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 6 hours ago, cookingyo said: we also play Jenga and do shots, and try to get the pub singer to hate us. Think this exactly sums up my Mariner and Anthem group cruise nightly activities. betatke1480, AnnetteJackson and Matt 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 1 hour ago, 12thman said: Thanks everyone! Hopefully we'll make the cruise. Sounds like fun. You know there’s no CK on Brilliance right? kidding...went with the group on Anthem and we had a blast. I would have gone on Brilliance too but the timing doesn’t work out. darketower 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted October 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 6 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: You know there’s no CK on Brilliance right? kidding...went with the group on Anthem and we had a blast. I would have gone on Brilliance too but the timing doesn’t work out. Wait, there's no CK? We didn't eat anywhere else besides CK, Izumi, and Chops. What are we going to do!? Haha! If we're able to go it's so I can meet some of the people that have been so helpful. Especially @Matt but he kind of ignored my other questions about the group cruise when he was live on Thursday. Maybe I should get a refund for my super chat? Just kidding! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Here's an example of the group events we had scheduled on Anthem: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/anthem-of-the-seas-group-cruise-events AnnetteJackson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted October 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 5 minutes ago, Matt said: Here's an example of the group events we had scheduled on Anthem: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/anthem-of-the-seas-group-cruise-events Thanks @Matt!! Seems like a very fun time!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Just now, 12thman said: Thanks @Matt!! Seems like a very fun time!! Warning...Group Cruises have a domino effect. Booking one will lead to wanting to book others. Come on @Matt waiting for the 2021 announcement. Fingers crossed I can make that one! Matt and AnnetteJackson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Just now, Lovetocruise2002 said: Warning...Group Cruises have a domino effect. Booking one will lead to wanting to book others Just now, Lovetocruise2002 said: Come on @Matt waiting for the 2021 announcement. Fingers crossed I can make that one! What does Justin want as a GC? AnnetteJackson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted October 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 1 minute ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Warning...Group Cruises have a domino effect. Booking one will lead to wanting to book others. Come on @Matt waiting for the 2021 announcement. Fingers crossed I can make that one! How about a group cruise in Europe or Asia!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 1 minute ago, Matt said: What does Justin want as a GC? Mongolian week in any WJ. Kidding, if you pick anything leaving from North America in either July or early August, then we are likely in! Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted October 28, 2019 Report Share Posted October 28, 2019 On 10/25/2019 at 11:35 AM, 12thman said: So I'm thinking about trying the group cruise next year. Does the group get any extra discounts for excursions, drink packages etc? Also can someone give me examples of what the group does activities wise? Group Cruises are great because you can enjoy your own cruise experience within your family and decide to participate or not with the schedule group activities. Typically they will have a meet up the night before the cruise in the debarkation city..and often locals will show up and hang out even if they aren't cruising. Sometimes are able to organize a group hotel available which makes it convenient and then there's a possibility of an organized shuttle to the port. Part of the perks of being with the group is that they will schedule things such as cocktail parties where we get to be "those people" and go past the sign that says RESERVED FOR PRIVATE EVENT. Usually there's a group excursion opportunity as well. On the Thanksgiving Symphony cruise last year we got to participate in the podcast recording down in the conference center. Roller skating sessions, ice skating sessions, bumper cars are all things I've seen. @Matt also tries to organize something exclusive for the Insiders (https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/support) to participate in. But I think the impromptu events tend to be just as much part of the fun. They set up a chat group so folks can connect with each other during the cruise. There was a fun bar crawl and a cabin crawl that was organized on the Symphony, impromptu laser tag session on Mariner. And I always knew I could turn up to the pub at night and run into someone from the group. I've found the group rates ended up being better since they got locked in so early and it's refundable til the 90-days out mark. Plus you get to meet @AnnetteJackson from MEI travel and she is a blast to hang out with! AnnetteJackson, SpeedNoodles, ellcee and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted October 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 @AshleyDillo thanks for all the insight! Hopefully we can make it. I'm planning our Alaska cruise for next year. Group activities sounds fun!! Does anyone know how booking excursions, meals etc. Gets coordinated with group activities? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted October 29, 2019 Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 8 hours ago, 12thman said: @AshleyDillo thanks for all the insight! Hopefully we can make it. I'm planning our Alaska cruise for next year. Group activities sounds fun!! Does anyone know how booking excursions, meals etc. Gets coordinated with group activities? You just schedule and plan your meals and excursions as you want. If you decide you want to participate in what the group is doing then you can cancel something you already scheduled. Unless I really want to do something, I just wait until I see what the group excursions are going to be before I plan anything. I haven't actually participated in an official group excursion yet with a group cruise as both of the ones available were at ports where I had other things I really wanted to do. They did rent three beach bungalows at CocoCay for the first leg of the Mariner group cruise and it was fun to chill out there as people came and went. For onboard activities, they have to work with Royal to set up things on the ship, so they can't release all of the activities until everything is firmed up. If you don't pick MTD when you book then they tend to group all of the group cruisers together for dining in the MDR also..so you could end up sitting near and sharing tables with the group cruisers for dinners. Alaska is an AMAZING time..I'm actually going back June 5, 2020 out of Seattle on Ovation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteJackson Posted October 29, 2019 Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 18 hours ago, 12thman said: @AshleyDillo thanks for all the insight! Hopefully we can make it. I'm planning our Alaska cruise for next year. Group activities sounds fun!! Does anyone know how booking excursions, meals etc. Gets coordinated with group activities? Hey - as I sit at SeaTac right now! Group cruises - I wish we could post all the group events when we start out the gate, but because the numbers in the group change, we cannot lock in some of our items with the ship until after final payment. Matt did give a link to group events as an example, but we try to have a meet up each day. We never want to force anyone to eat dinner at a certain time so we try to avoid meal times. We use an app for those that are on wifi so that we can give you changes and reminders about group events, but for those that are not on wifi, I will make sure you have a printed schedule as well as notecards along the cruise so you have reminders of items and locations. Groups - the people are the best! Excursions - I always say book what you want to do just in case. Make sure you can cancel if you decided to do a group excursion with us - but always your choice. For an example, we have not announced the Group Shore Excursion for NYE on Freedom yet. It can take several weeks after everyone makes final to lock some of the events in place.... but trust me... we try to make it fun for everyone! SpeedNoodles, Ken23 and Mike P 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted October 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 Which cabins get the group rates? This years seems to be inside and Balcony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted October 29, 2019 Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 4 minutes ago, 12thman said: Which cabins get the group rates? This years seems to be inside and Balcony. I find a lot of group rates (RC blog related or not) tend to be inside/ocean view/balcony. For the Brilliance GC, MEI did have a refundable GS that royal did not offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted October 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 2 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: I find a lot of group rates (RC blog related or not) tend to be inside/ocean view/balcony. For the Brilliance GC, MEI did have a refundable GS that royal did not offer. Thank you for the information! Waiting for my TA to get me pricing hopefully it'll have that GS maybe a OS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteJackson Posted October 29, 2019 Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 18 minutes ago, 12thman said: Thank you for the information! Waiting for my TA to get me pricing hopefully it'll have that GS maybe a OS. Feel free to email me and I can let you know exactly what we have left. we do hold certain cabins so it could depend on what is booked right now as to what we have at group rate. Happy to help and work with your MEI Agent. [email protected] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted October 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2019 9 minutes ago, AnnetteJackson said: Feel free to email me and I can let you know exactly what we have left. we do hold certain cabins so it could depend on what is booked right now as to what we have at group rate. Happy to help and work with your MEI Agent. [email protected] Thanks email sent. AnnetteJackson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted October 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2019 (edited) Question was about JS. Edited October 30, 2019 by 12thman Found the answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted November 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 Do a sailings offer "The Key" is it worth it if you have a Junior suite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted November 3, 2019 Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 5 minutes ago, 12thman said: Do a sailings offer "The Key" is it worth it if you have a Junior suite? If you are going to get VOOM anyway, then maybe yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted November 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 21 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: If you are going to get VOOM anyway, then maybe yes. Yes, possibly 2 accounts. Do you know if there's a lunch on embarkation day for the Key? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 1 hour ago, 12thman said: Yes, possibly 2 accounts. Do you know if there's a lunch on embarkation day for the Key? Yes, one of the benefits of The Key is lunch on embarkation day. 12thman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 2 hours ago, 12thman said: Yes, possibly 2 accounts. Do you know if there's a lunch on embarkation day for the Key? Yes. It’s a lunch served in the MDR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted November 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 12 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Yes. It’s a lunch served in the MDR. Oh I was hoping for Giovanni's. No worries. Thanks for letting me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted November 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 When I look at what's on the Brilliance it says there's a suite lounge but when I look at the deck plans I don't see it. Where's the suite lounge located? I know Junior suite don't get access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 12 minutes ago, 12thman said: Oh I was hoping for Giovanni's. No worries. Thanks for letting me know. The Key lunch in MDR is the food from Chops 12thman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 10 minutes ago, 12thman said: When I look at what's on the Brilliance it says there's a suite lounge but when I look at the deck plans I don't see it. Where's the suite lounge located? I know Junior suite don't get access. Suite Lounge on Brilliance is across from the Diamond Lounge on Deck 13. It's called the Concierge Lounge. 12thman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arebee Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Save me from reading.... What date is the group cruise? I MIGHT be able to make it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 11 Oct 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted November 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 8 minutes ago, arebee said: Save me from reading.... What date is the group cruise? I MIGHT be able to make it... Yup! https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/event/royalcaribbeanblogcom-cruise-aboard-brilliance-of-the-seas Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewww Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 When do you start hearing about activities on the group cruises? I know they're SOOOO far away, but my wife and I are booked on the ones in October 2020 (hopefully can still go) and July 2021 (definitely going) and hearing about all the activities they have lined up for the one that is currently going on I was just wondering when we might start hearing about that stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Drewww said: When do you start hearing about activities on the group cruises? I know they're SOOOO far away, but my wife and I are booked on the ones in October 2020 (hopefully can still go) and July 2021 (definitely going) and hearing about all the activities they have lined up for the one that is currently going on I was just wondering when we might start hearing about that stuff. Usually @Matt and @AnnetteJackson don't announce group activities until after final payment. That way they know their exact numbers. Drewww 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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