It’s interesting for me to see how ‘social’ cruising is.
People who cruise often like to do so with other people they know.
About half the time my clients will book a single stateroom.
The other half of the time the client will bring along friends.
Sometimes a group of 4-8 will presents themselves together right from the start. This frequently happens, for example, when two couples met on a cruise at some time in the past and now regularly plan their trips together.
Many times, though, it starts with just one stateroom and grows from there as first person or couple starts telling their friends where they are going and how excited they are about their trip.
When several couples plan and take the same cruise together, in travel “industry-speak” we would call these clients “travel-withs”.
Four or eight people travelling together is great fun, but it doesn’t officially count as a GROUP from the cruise line’s perspective.
So, what’s the difference?
A Group for the cruise industry requires between 5 and 10 cabins. The exact number depends on the cruise line and several other factors. The most common group minimum is 8 double-occupancy cabins.
We don’t often see preferential group pricing any more, but once you have enough people for an official group, the cruise lines will start throwing additional amenities at you.
In some cases, this might be as simple as an additional onboard credit for everyone in the group.
In other cases, it will involve Tour Conductor Credits (TCC).
A TCC is a “free” cabin or berth for the ringleader of the group. If there is an actual Tour Conductor, s/he will use these credits to escort the group on their trip.
Late last year I was on a Rhine River Cruise and met a group of 30+ people from South Carolina. They were having a blast! Getting to know them, I learned that it started with 3 couples wanting to do a Rhine cruise, and they started talking to friends and neighbors, and the group just kept growing in size.
This group of 30+ was able to earn several Tour Conductor credits.
The ringleader of this group ended up doing a lot of the legwork, so she took two of these TCC for her and her husband. This means they both got to sail for “free”. I put the word “free” in quotations because it not completely free – you usually pay the port taxes, and for cruise lines that charge separately for gratuities, those are normally added to the shipboard account.
In reality, this means the two of them got a one-week river cruise on the Rhine for a few hundred dollars total. Not a bad deal.
The other Tour Conductor credits this group earned were divided amongst the remaining guests, who each got a few hundred dollars off their cruise fare. They also received an additional onboard credit that they would not have gotten if they were travelling individually.
As you can imagine, there is more than a little bit of fine print that goes along with Group Travel. But if you thrive on helping others plan their travel, then there is definitely the opportunity to earn a “free” trip.
With the growing pent-up demand for travel, and the heightened need for human connection that the pandemic has taught us, the timing might be perfect for you to be the ringleader and organize a group trip.
Many of you have reached out recently and booked your extended families on a trip together.
We’ve noticed a degree of urgency underlying these requests.
Many of us have belatedly realized that in the past we may have taken for granted the ability to travel with our kids and grandchildren.
Then a global pandemic came along and recalibrated all our expectations.
Why not organize a group trip with your friends and/or family? First and foremost, you’ll enjoy each other’s company and together create memories to last a lifetime. As an added bonus, your own cruise fare can be ‘free’ if the numbers are right.
If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here to get in touch today.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sue Bradley
Sue Bradley
