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  Randall Shirley 1:28 pm on July 29, 2011 COMMENT
  Tags: cruise planning, Dining ( 3 ), Food ( 3 ), group ( 2 )   

  How to plan your own group cruise, part 4: dining together 

   If you want to organize a group cruise and perhaps sail free, it is possible! If you do it right, you may end up several free cruise cabins! Starting a few weeks back, and continuing over the next several weeks, I’m providing a series of tips for planning your own group cruise with specific sensibilities for the gay cruise traveler.

  Food. It’s one of the most talked about elements of cruise travel. Some travelers adore the quantity, personally I hope for quality (it’s always my goal to not gain weight on a cruise—where it’s said some passengers gain as much as a pound a day; yikes).

  But beyond the food itself, there’s the question of the dining experience. This is where traveling with friends as a group can be a real joy—after all, how often do you get to break bread with those same people seven days in a row.

  Some things to consider:

  Big ships with multiple dining venues. If you’ve chosen a ship with this type of dining, it most-likely will be a big ship (2,500+ passengers), which will make getting your group together each evening all-the-more important. If you’re on the Diamond Princess, for instance, where there are four different “themed” restaurants plus the formal dining room, you’ll have some coordinating to do. Talk with the F&B manager as soon as you board if you will be trying to seat a large group each night in a different restaurant.

  Ships with limited dining venues. This is what I consider to be “classic cruising,” an old fashioned dining room, a buffet, and perhaps a specialty restaurant or steak house. Even if they offer so-called “open seating,” you should request “set seating” for your group. In this case, I recommend having your travel agent put in the dining room table requests ahead of time, but get on board very early on embarkation day and talk to the maitre‘d.

  An evening in the “specialty” restaurant. If your travel agent has clout with the cruise line, s’he  may be able to get the cruise line to “throw in” a meal in the specialty restaurant—if not for your full group, at least for you!

  Bars. If you’ll be occupying the same deck space every day, find the nearest bar and make friends with the barbacks who seem to work there. Let them know if you’re frequent drinkers, and they’ll quickly figure out how to take care of you. I’ve been astonished at the excellent service attention my gay groups have received from bar servers.

   

  
  
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  Randall Shirley 11:42 pm on July 22, 2011 COMMENT
  Tags: beaches ( 2 ), costa rica ( 3 ), cruise planning, hawaii ( 7 ), shore excursion ( 12 ), zip line   

  How to plan your own group cruise, Part 3: Shore excursions 

  Planning your own shore excursions

   If you want to organize a group cruise and perhaps sail free, it is possible! If you do it right, you may end up several free cruise cabins! Starting last week, and continuing over the next three weeks, I’m providing a series of tips for planning your own group cruise with specific sensibilities for the gay cruise traveler.

  One of the best things about having your own group on a cruise is the fun of shore excursions – planning that time together*.

  It’s easy to find things to do on the ship, and a sea day or two on any itinerary tends to be a favorite of many gay cruise passengers.

  But what about things to do in port? Everyone knows that the cruise lines offer pre-arranged shore excursions, and sometimes they’re the right fit for you. But when you’re travelling with a group, a whole new world opens up.

  

  Maui Little Beach is essentially a gay beach in Hawaii.

  On our group cruise to Hawaii, we knew we wanted to spend time at Maui’s Little Beach – a famous clothing-optional spot with a popular gay beach area. So, we rented three cars, and we all went to Little Beach. Having several cars gave us the flexibility for the group to split into smaller groups later in the day as some people grew tired of sand ‘n surf and wanted to go shop or eat. We simply split the cost of the rental cars among all members of the group. It’s worth paying a bit extra (if required) to add an extra driver, and the insurance might be a good idea.

  

  Horseback riding, Finca Daniel, Costa Rica is a great self-arranged shore excursion. © Randall Shirley

  

  Zip Line in Costa Rica, Finca Daniel. © Randall Shirley

  On my Panama Canal cruise, I arranged a Puntarenas, Costa Rica zipline shore excursion for 16 people. It was not available through the cruise—in 2004 zipline and canopy tours were still relatively new. The excursion was a full day at a ranch / coffee plantation / canyon, and they picked us up at the pier. The day included horseback rides, amazing ziplines, learning about coffee growing, a picnic in the jungle, and more…all for just over $100/person. It was exceptional value, and we all had a blast. Back on the ship it was very clear that we had waaaaay more fun that day than most other passengers. As organizer, I was offered a discount for my own excursion (not free, but saved a bit).
  Learn more about this type of shore excursion.

  How do you find shore excursions? Easy. Check guidebooks and websites for the destinations you’ll visit. Call or email ahead to tour providers you’re interested in, and let them know you’re bringing a group onshore from a cruise ship. Ask what they can provide (pier-side pickup is important!), and what they can do to help create a great experience for you. Negotiate on price.

  Risks.

  • I suppose there’s the possibility that a provider won’t show up. It might be worth checking with the city or region’s tourism office about the reputation of providers.
  • The chance that you miss the ship. It’s crucial that you inform the tour provider of your ship’s required all-aboard time. But even so, if something goes wrong (a van breaks down, unexpected road closure, etc.), and you miss the ship, you will be responsible for getting yourselves to the next port.
  • Make sure everyone in your group is aware of these risks!

  Tip: Make sure your group members offer an appropriate gratuity at the end of the excursion!

  Tip: If your group is big enough to fill a van or even a bus, and you are interested in having the cruise line arrange your excursions for you (which will qualify you for their various guarantees—like the ship won’t leave without you if the excursion was booked by the cruise line), ask your travel agent to look into it—or to put you directly in contact with the shore excursions company who handles the cruise line’s onshore tours. Be sure to ask for discounts and a couple of free tour passes for yourself (no promises, but you never know).

   Next week: dining together on ship and ashore

  *In fact, that’s one of my favorite things about connecting with other gay cruise passengers via MeetMeOnBoard.com before a cruise…the chance to plan shore time together.

  
  
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  Randall Shirley 5:19 pm on July 15, 2011 COMMENT
  Tags: cruise agents, cruise planning, gay group cruise ( 11 )   

  How to plan your own group cruise, Part 2 

  If you want to organize a group cruise and perhaps sail free, it is possible! If you do it right, you may end up several free cruise cabins! Starting last week, and continuing over the next three weeks, I’m providing a series of tips for planning your own group cruise with specific sensibilities for the gay cruise traveler.
  

  1. Choosing a cruise agent to help you book a group cruise. Not all travel agents are the same, and sorry, but your friendly neighborhood agent may not have the power to pull off what you need. In order to get the most out of your group cruise, you need an agent who brings the following:
     • Clout and experience with the cruise line(s).
       • At the very least, your agent should have sailed more than once on the line you’re hoping to use.
       • Ask if they are “certified” by the cruise line in question – most lines have certification courses agents can take.
       • Ask how many passengers they’ve booked onto the line
       • Ask how many previoius groups they’ve booked onto the line, and what their success rate is for getting the group organizer to the “free cabin” level X
     • Previous experience booking group cruises. If this is their first time, you likely won’t get the best deal or service.
     • A willingness to give you part of their kick-back (commission) if you reach certain targets. If they’re not willing to discuss this possibility, push them. Ask what they’re willing to give.
     • A willingness to help you sell the trip. If, for some reason, your friends aren’t jumping aboard as quickly as you wish, your agent should be pushing the itinerary to others—they don’t need to be pals with you on board, but if they are booked as part of your group it counts toward your free cabin and possible other perks.
     • Understanding gay spending power. Your agent doesn’t need to be gay, but they need to be able to remind the people they’ll be negotiating with at the cruise company of the well-known fact that gays tend to spend more than straights, thus incentivizing the cruise line to give you a better deal.
  2. The politics of your “free cruise.”This can be tricky territory.
     • Do you tell your friends that you will be cruising “free” if enough of them book?  You probably should, but you will need to have your sales pitch ready—the reason why you should cruise free.
     • What are you adding to the experience for them?
       • Determine the value of your advance work in dealing with the travel agent
       • Any shore excursions you’re independently arranging for the group, etc.
       • All those things do have value, and you shouldn’t be expected to plan your friends discounted cruise for nothing. Your reward is the trip. But gays can be catty…so have a thick skin!
  3. Negotiating extras from the cruise line. If you believe you’ve got enough interest for a reasonably large group—say 20 or more people—ask your agent to do everything in his/her power to upgrade you to a suitewhich you can use for hospitality purposes on board—perhaps your own group gatherings 2-3 times during the voyage.
     • This is good PR for both you and for the cruise line—letting your fellow group members know that the cruise line provided a “hospitality suite” helps show that the cruise line values all of your business and wants you to have a good time.
     • If the cruise line isn’t willing to do this, then ask for a complimentary hospitality space elsewhere on the ship that you can use to entertain your group.

  
  
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  Randall Shirley 4:48 pm on July 5, 2011 COMMENT
  Tags: cruise planning, gay group ( 7 ), travel agents   

  How to organize your own group cruise, Part 1 

  If you want to organize a group cruise and perhaps sail “free,”* it is possible! If you do it right, you may end up with several free cruise cabins! Over the next four weeks, I’ll be providing a series of tips for planning your own group cruise.

  Do all your friends say, “gee, we’d just love to go on a cruise with you sometime,”? If so, and if you’re a natural planner and a bit of a shameless promoter, you could start organizing your own group cruises – either as small gay group cruises, or along other themes of your choosing…or just for a bunch of friends with no theme at all.

  I’m about to give you my tips – my lessons learned – from a group cruise I tried to organize a few years ago. I’ll give you the pros and the cons from my own experience.

  1. If you can’t afford the trip without the group, don’t even start. My wallet and I learned this the veryhard way, the several thousand dollars way.
     • I planned a trip I couldn’t afford thinking gay travelers would jump at the chance to sail round-trip from San Diego to Hawaii over the Christmas holidays.
     • While plenty of people expressed a desire to join us, too few got out their credit cards (for reasons below); thus my partner and I were not able to qualify for the free or even discounted cabin we were planning on.
     • I needed to sell 8 cabins for the 50% discount, or 16 cabins for my partner and me to “cruise free.” We sold 5. Ouch.
  2. How many people do you personally know who are likely to actually pay to travel with you? And would they be willing to pay for your trip—because in organizing group travel, that’s essentially what you’re asking them to do.
     • In my case, I actually knew more-than enough people who wanted to go, my problem was timing (see the next point).
     • Depending on several factors, it can take as few as 5 sold cabins to qualify for one person to cruise “free,” and 10 cabins in order to obtain a completely “free” cabin. The factors depend largely on demand for the itinerary and how motivated the cruise line’s sales agent is to work with your travel agent (and yes, you will need to use a travel agent, and s/he should be a group cruise expert).
  3. Timing is a huge factor in planning group travel. People have busy lives. It’s a crucial to make sure you’re planning a cruise during a period when the people in your dream-group will have time off from work and other obligations.
     • This is where I made my biggest mistake. We chose the Christmas holidays for our 14-night cruise, because I knew my friends who teach school would be off work.
     • Indeed, tons of people expressed a desire to go and everyone had the time, but the majority were unwilling to go because they wanted to be home for Christmas. As someone who hates the family drama at holiday time, I was shocked at the number of mature gay men who said they would happily leave on December 26, but they needed to be with their mom’s on Christmas Day.
       • Lesson learned: I would not worry about the school schedule, and would simply plan a cruise for mid-winter when the majority of my friends (who are not in education) could take vacation time.

  Next week: Choosing a good group itinerary, Choosing the right travel agent / cruise agent, How to work successfully with your agent.

  Do you already have a group cruise planned? Be sure it’s listed in the gay cruise calendar!

  *Note: nothing in life is truly free. A “free” cruise as the organizer of a group will have other costs associated, including onboard expenses, possibly port fees/taxes, and of course the cost of airfare, as applicable. You also have to weigh in the time you spend organizing…your time has a value, so keep in mind that there will be expenses associated with a group cruise even if your cabin is “free” or “comped.”

  

  
  
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