2009 & 2010 Group Updates

NEWS ALERT

Hi Everyone,

If you read the newsletter sent by Tina this morning you will note that I have been assigned both the Christmas'09 and QE '10 group sailings. I consider it an honor to be able to work with you all on these sailings and will be very open to any suggestions you all have for the group. To give you an idea of how I plan on assisting the group with the 2009 sailing here is a simple outline:

Just prior to pricing coming out I will be posting a poll about cabins. If you are planning on booking please vote in this poll as it will greatly assist me in requesting the right number of each type of cabin right from the start.

Once pricing is announced and the group is set up with Cunard I will be setting up several cruise sale weeks for the group to book during to take advantage of extra OBC and reduced deposits. Watch for the announcements on this. I will be waiving my usual booking fee for those booking into the group.

I will be excepting bookings via email and phone. You will need to request a booking form and once received back in my office you will be issued an email confirmation. Paper confirmation can be mailed on request.

I of course have been planning on joining this sailing and now will also be your group leader. My job onboard will include organizing and hosting official group events, offering general support and assistance and be a general point of contact for the group members.

I will of course be available pre-cruise for assisting you with all of your travel arrangements regardless of where you are traveling from and will essentially be treating each reservation as if it was an individual booking so feel free to request something out of the group offerings.

With regard to TC's and amenity points: Once the points are announced I will be putting up a poll with what is available and allow the group to voice their choices. The final decision will be made on what I think is best for the entire group with your desires taken into considerable account. TC usage will depend on final group size and will be announced closer to the sailing date.

Check back to this thread for more information as the sailing gets closer. I also recommend you sign up for the newsletter updates to keep abreast of the latest news especially once you are booked as I will be using that as a communitcation tool.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you all!

Looking forward to 2009 and 2010!

Nina,

It is OUR pleasure to be working with you!

Murray

Congratulations on being assigned the groups Nina!! I'll be on both sailings!!

Nina, do the reduced deposits apply to Grill accommodations as well as the standard cabins?

Loves 2 Cruise wrote:

Nina, do the reduced deposits apply to Grill accommodations as well as the standard cabins?

Yes it does. Also, Categories B & above receive double of certain amenities as well as additional OBC.

Wow, so this is really happening?!?!? This is EXCELLENT news!! I have a few group related questions:

1) When you say double of certain amenities, what does that mean? For example, if I book an AA and my sister books an inside D, and let's say that wine is one of the amenities, does that mean I get two bottles and she gets one?

2) Can we "order" cabin gifts through you. Yes I realize it will be extra but, personally, I'd like to know my bottle of dom perignon is waiting for me in my cabin and has already been paid in advance.

3) What type of minimums are we looking at before Cunard will host a reception for us. I know CC it's usually 25 minimum but, I'm not sure if they've ever been successful with Cunard in hosting a Meet and Greet. I'd sure LOVE to rub their faces in it, if we can manage it!

4) I can't speak for anyone else, I'm the antsy pants type that is going to want to book as soon as the reservations open, are you going to try to have a sale week the same time the bookings open? In other words, say Cunard opens bookings on March 15th - would you have a booking sale beginning the 15th too? If not, can we "sneak in the back door" have you "hold" cabins until your sale begins?

5) Would it be possible to a "group" dinner at Todd English? Maybe towards the end of the cruise, this way regardless of cabin category it would be a chance to socialize together. Yes, I know Cruise Freeks isn't about "groupie - group" stuff so maybe we could have a poll for interest before we'd go ahead with something like that since it might not appeal to anyone but me

I think that's it for now, I'm just excited about the group idea and that it's actually getting off the ground! We're going to show CC how it's done!

Dee wrote:

Wow, so this is really happening?!?!? This is EXCELLENT news!! I have a few group related questions:

1) When you say double of certain amenities, what does that mean? For example, if I book an AA and my sister books an inside D, and let's say that wine is one of the amenities, does that mean I get two bottles and she gets one?
That is correct.
2) Can we "order" cabin gifts through you. Yes I realize it will be extra but, personally, I'd like to know my bottle of dom perignon is waiting for me in my cabin and has already been paid in advance.
Yes, you would treat me the same as your usual TA and I would give the same service.
3) What type of minimums are we looking at before Cunard will host a reception for us. I know CC it's usually 25 minimum but, I'm not sure if they've ever been successful with Cunard in hosting a Meet and Greet. I'd sure LOVE to rub their faces in it, if we can manage it!
I have an email about this into my rep and will let you know if they are going to make any special arrangements besides their usual canned answer of 50.
4) I can't speak for anyone else, I'm the antsy pants type that is going to want to book as soon as the reservations open, are you going to try to have a sale week the same time the bookings open? In other words, say Cunard opens bookings on March 15th - would you have a booking sale beginning the 15th too? If not, can we "sneak in the back door" have you "hold" cabins until your sale begins? Yes, I will be scheduling the first sale to coincide with the opening for booking date.

5) Would it be possible to a "group" dinner at Todd English? Maybe towards the end of the cruise, this way regardless of cabin category it would be a chance to socialize together. Yes, I know Cruise Freeks isn't about "groupie - group" stuff so maybe we could have a poll for interest before we'd go ahead with something like that since it might not appeal to anyone but me
If there is interest we can make it happen
I think that's it for now, I'm just excited about the group idea and that it's actually getting off the ground! We're going to show CC how it's done!

I'm thrilled that you are so excited! I'm sure it is going to be a great success!

Congratulations on the groups Nina! I know you're going to be a terrific group leader and travel agent for us!

Nina, I'd also like to extend my congratulations on being the TA for both sailings! Looking forward to meeting you on BOTH!

Eddie

Down The Shore Guy wrote:

Nina, I'd also like to extend my congratulations on being the TA for both sailings! Looking forward to meeting you on BOTH!

Eddie

Eddie - You mean you're giving up EOS and the OMG crowd to sail on Cunard? LOL Don't worry, so are we!!

Nina - Congratulations! I know you're going to be a great leader and TA for our group!! BTW - you're going to be sooooo tired of Eddie and Me by the time sailing comes around, you'll probably want to throw us overboard LOL Just kidding, we aren't really difficult, we just post a lot!! I'm also looking forward to meeting you and sailing with you onboard.

Really Nina, we're harmless!!

Eddie

Host Nina, l'll be happy to announce the sale dates in my blog for those who might be interested, as you know I have built up a good size following. You can either PM on here or email me at Ajani_MN@yahoo.com when you have the information ready!

Thanks Ajani, I will!

Eddie, Nick, I'm going to be keeping both eyes on you guys

Note to the rest of you all, if you find me at the bar at 8:30am you will know why, Eddie and Nick pushed me over my limit.

(No, really, I'm looking forward to 2009!)

AmbianceTraveler wrote:

Thanks Ajani, I will!

Eddie, Nick, I'm going to be keeping both eyes on you guys

Note to the rest of you all, if you find me at the bar at 8:30am you will know why, Eddie and Nick pushed me over my limit.

(No, really, I'm looking forward to 2009!)

Me? A ?? NAH!!

Nina,

As far as airlines, I know Cunard allows custom air, my question is what is the charge to use this service and if we're coming in over a week or two early would it even be available to us? Thanks.

Nina,

I have a question about the Meet and Greet, you mentioned 25 as the magic number. Is that 25 cabins or 25 people?

Eddie

Q.o.S. To tell you the truth you would probably be better off price and schedule wise to do the air seperately. (As the TA for this group I can help you with that)

I have only had a very few occasions where the cruise line offered better air then what was available through other channels. Plus, since you are coming in so early you won't have to worry about missing the ship due to air. Will Cunard do it? Yes, if my memory serves me right it is about $50.00 per person for the custom air fee. I would compare schedules/prices though.


Eddie,

Actually, I just checked with Cunard and it is 32 booked passengers. So once we have a confirmed group of at least 32 people that option becomes available to us through the amenity program.

Q.o.S

Here is a PDF outlining the policies for custom air on Cunard. I was mistaken. The first request is free, the second is $75.00 per and any changes are $100.00.

http://www.cunard.com/images/Content/customairpolicy11_8_04.pdf

AmbianceTraveler wrote:

Thanks Ajani, I will!

Eddie, Nick, I'm going to be keeping both eyes on you guys

Note to the rest of you all, if you find me at the bar at 8:30am you will know why, Eddie and Nick pushed me over my limit.

(No, really, I'm looking forward to 2009!)

LOL Nina, you won't be the only one drinking!!

Announcement: The "Friends of Nick & Eddie" will meet daily from 8:30am to 9:30am in the Commordore Club

LMAO!! Gotta love a TA with a sense of humor! Ok Nina, I promise not to drive you to drink...too much And, I'm sure my wife will be more than happy to share tips on how to deal with me!!

AmbianceTraveler wrote:

Announcement: The "Friends of Nick & Eddie" will meet daily from 8:30am to 9:30am in the Commordore Club

Hey Nick, look!! We're famous already!!! Joanne and Leanna are going to have to teach Nina how to deal with us!! Or join her at the bar!!

Ok on a more serious note, I have a restaurant suggestion for the group. Ok, granted, this place isn't fancy but, it would put us near Radio City and, it's basic American food, pretty much something for everyone, even for our friends from across the pond:

http://rosieogradys.com/

(Either location works but the one on 7th is closer...I think )

Here's the dinner menu (sorry folks, Manhattan prices, hope they don't shock you too badly):
http://rosieogradys.com/page/ntz8/Our_Dinner_Menu.html

It's very casual and family friendly.

Another suggestion might be the Heartland Brewery. Yes, I know, I know you can burgers and beer anywhere but, there is a location right next to Radio City that could work to our advantage. Here's the link:

http://14935.williams.hostinglogin.com/media/heartlandbrewery.html

Again it's very family friendly and has items our British counter parts might enjoy such as Fish and Chips. Not exactly 5 star dining but, with families in tow, it might be a good option. Just don't expect gourmet cooking. And they DO handle groups.

Also Nina, here's the link for Gray Line for the Holiday Lights Tour:

http://www.grayline.com/Grayline/destinations/us/newyork.go?mode=activityDetail&apid=1368&sid=529

The tour runs from 6 to 8:30 so we might need to make a decision between the bus or Radio City, unless there is a large enough group and we create two groups, one for Radio City and one for the Bus Tour. Just a thought...

BTW - tired of us yet?!!???

Hey Nick, I actually ate in the Heartland Brewery when I was in NYC this past fall, it was pretty good. To describe it to everyone... Think of a more upscale Friday's or Bennigan's and you got it. Personally, I enjoyed it...but that's coming from a college student, others might have a different opinion.

Great ideas guys and thanks for the links! Personally, I would love to visit a more low key eatery. When I travel I like to feel more like a local than a tourist. Plus, with NYC prices and us taking a (by then) family of 5 plus sis it would be nice to avoid a $500.00 dinner bill (Do you know what I could do with $500 at the spa!? Or better yet the bar!!?)


BTW, I'm really looking forward to meeting Joanne & Leanna, they must be fun if they are married to you guys! (either that or good friends with Jack Daniels ) When are you going to get them started posting on the board with us?