CRUISE FAQ

Strong value proposition! Innovative venue offering dedicated conference centers as well as a multitude of multi-purpose lounges and venues to facilitate your events. A variety of choices for dining, entertainment, shipboard & shore activities are available in addition to a myriad of program customization options. Dedicated onboard group coordinator to support the execution of your program to ensure your event is a huge success.

○ Whenever you want to offer attendees an “out of the box” experience
○ Whenever gambling, golf, and/or nightly entertainment are desired for a program
○ Whenever you want a captive audience
○ Whenever you’re looking for an all-inclusive program
○ Whenever you have weather concerns about a land destination
○ Whenever you are looking to maximize budget dollars and receive an overall better bang for your program budget

Cruise lines require the cabin block for the group department to consist of a minimum of eight (8) cabins. A group of 8 or more cabins entitles the group to special concessions. However, if your group has less than 8 cabins, it is still possible that we can negotiate special concessions for your group.

On most cruise lines, accommodations, meals, 24-hour room service, coffee breaks, meeting space with standard audio/visual equipment, shipboard activities, entertainment, casino, state-of-the-art Spa & Fitness Center, exciting itineraries and ports of call, and of course, impeccable service are all included. You may also find the option of beverages and shore excursions included on some of the luxury vessels.

Shore excursions, soft drinks, bottled water and alcoholic beverages, government taxes and port fees, gratuities, spa services, specialty restaurants, duty free shopping purchases, photographs, casino gambling and any other personal incidentals. Please note that many of these items can be prepaid.

For a proposal, please submit an RFP by clicking on the Submit RFP button and choosing group or charter RFP option.  Or you may contact a Corporate Cruise Consultants’ Sales Manager by emailing [email protected] or by calling 561-625-8807.

What type of group – meeting, incentive, or special affinity event, will individuals being paying on their own, is the group mostly single or double occupancy, the length and pattern desired, time of year and destination desired, an approximate per person budget, the class of hotel normally booked, etc. all assist in defining the best cruise line and vessel for your program.

Turnaround time for proposals depends on a number of variables, but generally we receive a reply to our request for rates from the cruise lines within two business days. Once rates are received, we will turn around the proposal within 48 hours. Should we not receive all information required from the initial RFP, this may extend the turnaround time. We strive for a 48-hour turn around. If urgent or you have a deadline, please indicate on the RFP prior to submitting and we will do everything in our power to meet your deadline.

Deposit and Payment Policies: All cruises are pre-paid. Cruise line group deposits are usually minimal and payment policies fairly lenient. A detailed payment schedule is provided in the cruise contract. Please note that all cruise lines require a deposit for each stateroom within a group block; the deposit amount will be dependent on how far out the group signs the contract and the size of the allotment contracted.

Cancellation & Attrition: Cancellation and attrition terms are generally more flexible than a hotel or resort. Most cruise lines offer groups the ability to drop any and all space up to 6 months in advance with absolutely no penalty. Within six months, groups are permitted to drop additional space without penalty generally, with the exception of luxury cruise lines, the space blocked can be released up to 90 days prior to sailing with a minimal financial penalty.

Most cruise lines feature dedicated, purposely built meeting facilities on all ships. Multi-purpose public spaces such as the theaters, lounges and restaurants can also be used to host meetings. Seating capacities and configurations vary depending on ship. Meeting space is complimentary and based on availability at the time of booking.

Based on availability, majority of cruise lines offer standard audio/video equipment onboard each vessel. A/V is available on majority of cruise lines free of charge. Equipment such as LCD projectors, overhead projectors, slide projectors, screens, TVs, DVD player, flip charts, laser pointers, microphones, podiums and more are standard on all ships. Tech Fees are applicable if a tech is required to operate equipment during meeting or event.

Similar to Hotel and Resort offerings, many of the cruise lines offer an array of culinary and beverage packages for purchase for your private receptions, meetings and events. Standard coffee breaks are complimentary. A minimal set up fee per person may apply. For those groups that wish to provide unlimited alcohol and soft drinks, beverage packages are available on a per person, per day rate. Many five star vessels include alcohol at no additional charge.

Yes. Each cruise line offers the ability to customize your program. With over 40 years of experience executing events at sea, Corporate Cruise Consultants can help you customize your experience onboard to meet your group’s needs. From private receptions and team building events to turndown gifts and customized group shore excursions, we can assist in making your cruise program everything you had hoped for and more.

Corporate Cruise Consultants can assist you in arranging private and customized group shore excursions. Arrangements for group shore excursions are required prior to group sailing.

Internet access is available on all major cruise line vessels. Internet speeds can vary significantly from line to line and ship to ship, depending on factors like location and available bandwidth. Most cruise lines don’t offer speeds that can support streaming services like Netflix or Spotify.  Many cruise lines now offer  branded apps allowing cruisers to chat with each other onboard, super-fast high-bandwidth Wi-Fi and even tablets for use at sea.

You may be in the middle of the ocean, but you can still stay connected while at sea! Most ships are equipped to allow you to make and receive calls, check voice mail, send text messages, and receive GPRS data.

If you interested in visiting a ship following receipt of a cruise proposal and prior to contract, we will be happy to arrange for a non-sailing site inspection. Depending on the location of the port where the site is being conducted, either a Corporate Cruise Consultants and/or a representative from the cruise line will escort you on a tour of the various cabin categories, public areas, conference facilities and conclude the day with lunch onboard the vessel. Once the group has contracted, you may be eligible for a complimentary site inspection cabin on comparable itinerary. Complimentary cabins for a sailing site inspection are based on a minimum of 50 cabins contracted.

○ Western Mediterranean
○ The Baltic’s
○ The Greek Isles between Athens and Istanbul
○ The Norwegian Fjords
○ The British Isles
○ River cruises on the Danube, Rhine, Elbe, Rhone, etc. These vessels call on ports like Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Amsterdam, etc.

Cruises to Europe, Alaska and Northeastern U.S which include Bermuda, Canada and New England have the same seasons. In March and April each year many vessels that winter in the Caribbean are moved trans-canal to Seattle and Vancouver for the summer Alaska season, which runs from May through the beginning of October. Other vessels sail trans-Atlantic to European ports for the same period or to the Northeast for Canada/New England and Bermuda cruises. Cruises in the Caribbean are year round. South America cruises operate during winter in the US, which is summer in South America.

Valid Passports are not required for most cruises departing from the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Hawaii, but are recommended.  We recommend that your passport expiration date be valid for six (6) months from the sailing termination date.

US Citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port) and travel to destinations in Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Bermuda are able to re-enter the United States with proof of citizenship other than a passport or passport card. Acceptable proof of citizenship includes an original or certified copy of a government issued birth certificate (raised seal and signature) and a laminated government issued picture ID (typically, driver’s license), Consular Report of Born Abroad Certificate, or a Certificate of Naturalization.  NOTE: Baptismal records and certificates issued by a hospital are not acceptable. In the event of an emergency where air transportation is necessary, a passport will be required.

Boarding times vary depending on the port, cruise line, ship, and itinerary. Boarding times for your ship and sailing date will be specified in the online printed cruise documents. We advise groups not arrive at the pier earlier than the specified time as the ship will not be ready to board guests. Early boarding can be arranged in advance for your program’s travel staff, VIP’s and production crew.

Once the ship has received proper clearance from the port, disembarkation can begin. Specific disembarkation details will be delivered to your stateroom the day prior to the last day of the cruise. We recommend arranging return flights after 12:00 noon depending on the port.

Motion Sickness – is almost a non-issue with the newer larger vessels and their state-of-the-art stabilizers. Most of the time it is hard to know you are on a ship at sea.

Motion Sickness – is almost a non-issue with the newer larger vessels and their stat-of-the-art stabilizers. Most of the time it is hard to know you are on a ship at sea.

Every vessel has a doctor and nurse onboard in the ships medical center or hospital, which is always on the lowest deck. You may also wish to secure medical and trip cancellation insurance. Corporate Cruise Consultants can assist in securing group rates.

Security is one of the top benefits of hosting your event at sea. The highest priorities of each cruise line is to ensure the safety and security of all guests. Each cruise line has established strict security procedures in the seaport terminals and onboard their vessels. These measures include screening all guests and their personal property prior to boarding.
The passenger manifest, which includes all passenger birth dates, citizenship, and passport numbers, is sent to the Department of Homeland Security three days prior to each ship’s departure. Passengers are issued a photo secured card at embarkation that is used for room keys, incidental purchases and identification. While the ship is in a U.S port, the Coast Guard has boats around the ships and often divers under the ships

Given the sophisticate radar technology that is currently available on cruise ships, vessels can seek out problem areas (in regards to weather), and alter the ship’s path to avoid storms or rain showers. Unlike coastal hotels and resorts, storms and hurricanes rarely affect cruise ships, as they have the ability to move around the tropical activity. Hurricanes may alter the itinerary, but unless the embarkation port is affected, the operation of the program will not be affected. When a hurricane threatens a land program, there is no switching of venues on short notice without additional costs.