Cruise Freek Forums Blogcast

“While I was in Ft Lauderdale last week for the cruise3sixty convention, I had a chance to talk to a couple of the sales managers for area hotels. They are all eager to work with pre-cruise groups, but of course we cannot set up anything without dates from RCCL. Each hotel has a limit as to how many rooms can be set aside for groups, so depending on our group size and the hotel limitations we may have to use more than one hotel.

I also spoke with a local bus company (that can provide transportation to group events). At the very least I’m thinking they will be the way to go for transportation to the cruise terminal the morning of the cruise … otherwise we’ll overwhelm the hotels (the ones that offer shuttles that is) or go nuts trying to arrange for a multitude of taxi cabs.

I also spoke with someone at the Seminole Hard Rock which works with groups of 25 or larger … they’ll provide free transportation to their property and give everyone a gaming voucher, in return you need to spend about 4 hours on property (of course they hope you are spending that time gambling).

As for finding out anything about the cruise itself … noting, nada, zip … maybe late May or early June they’ll start releasing tidbits of information … they won’t even commit at this point to whether or not group space will be available (although it’s been available on previous inaugural cruises, they are qualifying themselves by saying “Genesis is different….” “Genesis is unique….”)”

Join Cruise Freek Forums on Genesis for the Inaugural sailing in Fall, 2009!

had a great time at my cruise conference and toured the Zuiderdam, Westerdam and Caribbean Princess. (more on that once I get a chance to organize my pictures)

At the private club that Cunard had set up for their top agents at the conference I talked to Carol a bit, wonderful lady, very gracious and down to earth. I was treated like the darling of the Club which was fun and got the emails of almost every VP in the company with an invitation to contact them if I needed anything. (Still wondering if that was because of my record with Cunard or thanks to my dress but we’ll see!) Although, I had met many of them at the QV event it was nice to build the relationships more. I will be working with them on some new marketing ideas which will be fun. Hopefully, I will be able to gain more insider knowledge for our groups here through these firmer relationships.

I think I posted this before but I will post it again, pricing is scheduled to come out April 20th or close to that although it won’t formally be announced until the beginning of April. Hopefully, they will get ahead of schedule and come out with it sooner since Princess is coming out March 21st and the two companies work very closely together. I’ll keep you posted on that. Also, 4th of July is certainly out of NYC and I got another nod from the top to the positive for NYC for Christmas in 2009 although they haven’t finished scheduling so couldn’t give me a firm yes just yet. I also found out that they will be watching these groups! Good things to come if they are successful That’s it in a nutshell.

The chat will be featuring the May, 2009 European cruise on the brand new Celebrity Solstice and any other updates Bob has to share with us. Everyone is invited and you’re encouraged to attended even if you’re just curious or thinking about this sailing. An additional reminder will be sent out later in the week with times the Live Chat will be taking place. For more information about the European cruise CLICK HERE to be taken to the dedicated page that lists the itinerary, allows you to sign up for email updates regarding this sailing, and see a Sneak Preview Slide Show of Meditteranean.

CAN’T MAKE THE CHAT? MAKE YOU SIGN UP FOR OPT-IN EMAIL LIST FOR UPDATES ON THE MAY 25, 2009 SAILING ON CELEBRITY SOLSTICE

Can’t make it to Europe with us in May, 2009? We are also organizing a group cruise on Celebrity Solstice for President’s week in February, 2010 in the Caribbean. Click Here for more details!

VISIT http://www.cruisefreakforums.com to learn more about this new and fast growing Cruise Message Board Community! 

Cruise Freek Forums is proud to present a LIVE CELEBRITY CRUISE LINE CHAT EVENT with our own HOST BOB!
Date:  Saturday, March 15, 2008
Time:  6pm Eastern and again at 6pm Pacific (that’s 9pm Eastern Time)

Host Bob will be presenting Celebrity Solstice and information regarding the May 25, 2009 Mediterranean Cruise that Cruise Freek Forums is sponsoring on this incredible new ship!

EUROPE MAY 25, 2008 HAS BEEN SELECTED, THE ITINERARY IS AS FOLLOWS:

Mon 25 May 2009 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 6:00 PM Boarding Tue 26 May 2009 At Sea Wed 27 May 2009 Santorini, Greece 2:00 PM 10:00 PM Tendered Thu 28 May 2009 Mykonos, Greece 7:00 AM 5:00 PM Docked Fri 29 May 2009 Istanbul, Turkey 1:00 PM Docked Sat 30 May 2009 Istanbul, Turkey 2:00 PM Docked Sun 31 May 2009 Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey 9:00 AM 6:00 PM Docked Mon 01 Jun 2009 Rhodes, Greece 8:00 AM 5:00 PM Docked Tue 02 Jun 2009 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 8:00 AM 6:00 PM Docked Wed 03 Jun 2009 At Sea Thu 04 Jun 2009 Naples/Capri, Italy 7:00 AM 6:00 PM Docked Fri 05 Jun 2009 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Departure

For more information on this incredible BRAND NEW ship visit:  http://www.celebritysolstice.com

Whether you just want to learn about Celebrity Solstice or if you plan on booking our group cruise please make the time to join this Saturday.  All are welcome.  Just remember, you need to be registered and signed in for chat to visible!  Registration and Membership on Cruise Freek Forums is FREE.

http://www.cruisefreakforums.com

Cruise Freek Forums will be getting a face lift during the coming weeks - you will see a more organized board, hopefully making it easier to find what you’re seeking faster and easier. We will be adding web pages for articles, updates, group cruises, cruise news and more (including a cleaned up message board with less advertising, which is being moved to it’s own dedicated area) - agents and board moderators will be receiving a separate email later in the week to explain the changes in detail. Any board outages for these updates will be kept to a bear minimum and, we will try to take care of updates during off peak times.

Also a reminder that we will be having a LIVE CHAT with Host Bob on Sunday, March 15, 2008. The chat will be featuring the May, 2009 European cruise on the brand new Celebrity Solstice and any other updates Bob has to share with us. Everyone is invited and you’re encouraged to attended even if you’re just curious or thinking about this sailing. An additional reminder will be sent out later in the week with times the Live Chat will be taking place. For more information about the European cruise CLICK HERE to be taken to the dedicated page that lists the itinerary, allows you to sign up for email updates regarding this sailing, and see a Sneak Preview Slide Show of Meditteranean.

Can’t make it to Europe with us in May, 2009? We are also organizing a group cruise on Celebrity Solstice for President’s week in February, 2010 in the Caribbean. Click Here for more details!

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Explorer Of The Seas

WHY BOOK A GROUP CRUISE WITH CRUISE FREEK FORUMS?

1) No forced socializations! We will certainly organize Meet and Greets and other such activities if there is enough interest, however, you are never required to attend. Likewise, you may select your dining time and table size just like if you were booking an individual reservation. It’s your vacation, it’s your time!

2) Groups generally tend to receive some type of amenities package like on-board credit and other benefits such as bottles of wine or dinner at a specialty restaurant and depending on the cruise line selected, it could even mean reduced fares for members of the group.

3) Reliable, dependable, trustworthy travel agents to make booking your cruise a pleasure. Unless there is a scheduling conflict, our assigned travel agent will be escorting the group to aid with any onboard requirements that might arise.

4) Your opinion matters! If the group is still forming you can voice your opinion and give suggestions in selecting the date, ship and itinerary for the group! Just register with Cruise Freek Forums and post your ideas!