Halloween 2010 Charity Cruise Questions

How does this new depositing policy work? I know Carnival you put down $25 per person and a few weeks later you place the remainder. Is that how it will work with Royal Caribbean?

Has Oasis of the Seas been chosen as "the" ship for this sailing?

the poll results so far have been overwhelmingly for Oasis....

FYI the 10-30-2010 Oasis will be doing a Western Caribbean itinerary. We can block space effective 9-3-2008, and it will be under the new group policy (we're still getting info on how this policy works). The $25 per berth bulk deposit will be due within 30 days of blocking the space ... we're still getting clarification on how the rest of the deadlines work.

Not that it matters all that much but, do you happen to have the ports for the Western Caribbean?

per RCCL:

Quote :

the Western Caribbean itinerary, which will call at Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s private beach destination in Haiti; the new port of Falmouth, Jamaica; and Cozumel, Mexico.

So this is now official? We're booking Oasis of the Seas for a 7 night Western Caribbean itinerary departing October 30, 2010. Is this correct? The reason I'm asking is that I want to put up a notice at work and, get as many people interested as possible.

Karl,

I'll ask Tina, but I think that's a safe bet based on poll responses as well as the response from the Susan B Komen Foundation. We'll have pricing in Sept after the group space is blocked.

Cool

Karl,

Tina is okay with it. A couple of things when advertising this publicly:

only publicize the $250pp deposit -- we're still getting information on the new group policy, but the $250pp deposit is the only way to reserve a room in the group (i.e. a specific category and room number) -- bulk deposits will only be held at group level and will not hold specific rooms. We'll post more here later when we have more details on how bulk deposits will work, but publicly (including what the foundation will publicize) the deposit is $250pp.

Suites or triple/quad occupancy rooms have to be deposited and full passenger names given at the time of booking. I can block them in the group space but can only hold them for 30 days. After that we'll have to book them individually at the prevailing fares and pull them into the group space. And I'm sure the suites will continue to be popular, and will sell out much sooner than other categories on the sailing.

Also, there will become a point where we cannot pull more rooms into the group (i.e. when group inventory is closed; and when the ship hits a certain point of being sold we cannot even pull individual rooms into the group for amenities). So, the sooner deposits are paid, the better in order to secure the room(s) wanted.

Anyone wanting to book can contact me direct at (888) 221-1209 or susan@shipsntripstravel.com

Care to give us a hint who the special guest might be?

Andrew,

we honestly have no clue at this point - we're working with Susan B Komen as well as some other folks with contacts to see who can be secured. It might be awhile before we can say definitely who it will be.

Will there be a costume party on-board? That would make things a lot of fun!

that's the plan

Hello everyone.

So, if we are interesting in booking this cruise, right now the deposit is $25.00 or $250.00?

$25pp does not hold a specific room for you, it just helps secure the overall group space.

We're still clarifying the new group policy and trying to figure out how this is going to work for the gorup - I'm going through more training tomorrow afternoon, and will hopefully have some concrete answers at that point.

thanks for the info. Im in. I'll keep watching for the updates.

Do we pricing yet? I don't expect you to list all 30 categories but, perhaps you can give us some ball park ideas.

I can get some later today ... with the caveat that prices are subject to change between now and when we actually block the group space.

Thank you! I hate to sound naive but, how do these charity cruises work? In otherwords, how do we make donations or is it built into the pricing?

with RCCL specifically we can pass on the normal amenities available to groups (OBC, bottle of wine, etc.) and instead of RCCL use the amenity points as a donation to the chosen charity. And that way we do not have to mark up the cruisefare that anyone pays.

additionally we'll have fundraisers onboard, like a silent or live auction for the group. A lot of that will have to wait until 2010 to be finalized (this far out the foundation cannot commit to what they can get in prize donations).

ok, I've spent a good chunk of today on the phone with RCCL ... got some Halloween 2010 prices ... keep in mind these can change by the time group space is blocked, and some categories are already showing sold out: royal loft suite, presidential suite, all aqua theater suites ... only 2 sky loft suites show available. There appear to be some crown loft suites available, as well as owners suites, grand suites and jr suites available.

pricing
based on double occupancy with port charges, taxes and fuel surcharges included (as of today, subject to change):

JS $1959.83pp
D8 $1159.83pp
CV $1079.83pp
I $1059.83pp
PR $1059.83pp (yes, the same as "I")
L $969.83pp
N $929.83pp

how group deposits will work....
$50 per room is due within 30 days of our blocking the group space
it will hold GENERAL space for you in the group but not a specific room assignment, and possibly not even a specifc room category

if you want a room number assignment, a suite, or a triple/quad occupancy room, full deposit ($500/room) will be required within 30 days of booking the room - no exceptions - RCCL will recall those rooms if deposit is not posted in time.

we will then have about 120 days before we face recalls from RCCL. I will need to discuss with Tina how wer'e going to handle this. For example, let's say we have ( D1 rooms in the group space and 8 people pay $50/room bulk deposits in the first 30 days and they all want D1 rooms. But at 60 days none have paid full deposits yet and 4 people come along wanting D1 balconies and are ready to pay full deposits on the spot. these are the types of logistics we need to work out when Tina gets back....

One more time please... I'm not sure I completely understand the new group policy. I know I want to book so I pay $50 per person and then I pay a second deposit? In other words, if it's my wife and I for this Halloween cruise, we pay the initial $100 to help hold group space, then in 30 days the remaining $400 is due and that's when we get a cabin assignment, is that correct? This is provided we're not overly particular about cabin assignment.

Now, if we want a specific cabin category, say, I want a Boardwalk Balcony and I want my cabin assigned immediately, then I pay the $500 deposit as normal.

Do I have it right?

Steve,

the initial "bulk" deposit is $50 per room not per person. that will help secure the group in general, but does not guarantee you a specific room or category (until you pay the full deposit)

if you want a specific category or a specific room number, or if you are booking a suite or triple/quad occupancy rooms then we need full deposit up front (we can only hold those rooms for 30 days).

Maybe I'm missing something but, wouldn't it just be easier to require the $500 at booking and avoid all this recall stuff? Or doesn't it work that way now?

Kenny,

Yes it would be eaiser ... but we do need to come up with the bulk deposit in 30 days, and if no one is ready to pay $250pp in that first 30 days then we need to resort to collecting the $50 per room in order to cover the bulk deposit.