Become a Group Leader!

How would you like to gather a group of your friends or family and do the thing we all love best take a cruise? It's easy to start planning and promoting your own group cruise. Just follow the instructions and advice we provide below and you'll be sailing away with a few (or a few hundred) of your fellow friends and family! We'll even make it easy to find your group onboard by giving the group a special discount on specially designed T-Shirts or other gear. Start earning yourself a free cruise by becoming a group leader! Just follow our easy steps below to get started.

1. Pick a Ship and Itinerary
Check with your friends and family to see what itinerary that they are interested in. Call CruiseOne to check out what ships are available for that itinerary.

Tip: New ships tend to attract the most takers.

2. Select a Month to Travel
Once you have a ship and itinerary selected and an initial group that's interested, attempt to select a month that all can agree to travel.

Tip: The best group deals are offered in May, June, September, October and early November.

3. Contact our CruiseOne Independent Cruise Specialist.
Once you have an idea of how large your group will be initially and the month and ship of sailing, contact CruiseOne and let us know that you are interested in leading a new group cruise. At this time your personal cruise specialist can offer additional advice, information and expertise on your choice of cruise. We will explain the process and give you a quote. After you receive your proposal, and checking with your group members, it is full speed ahead! Our Cruise Specialist will create a web page for your group as well as designate your own message board forum.

Hint: Being flexible in sailing date may mean a better price and more amenities!

4. Promote Your Group Cruise
Once you have a group started, we will create a special web page for your group cruise listing all of the information about the cruise including prices and booking information and a message board just for your group along with E-mail and postcards! This is the perfect place to talk about the cruise and get to know each other before sailing, make onboard plans to meet (wearing your own special designed gear of course!), and keep your group informed of important details like deposit and final payment information.

Hint: We'll help designed specials postcards, E-mails, and flyers to give to all of your friends and family.

5. Remind Group Members to Send in Deposits
Once you have decided to reserve a new group, the CruiseOne Independent Cruise Special will reserve an cabin allotment for the sailing date. Full deposits for each cabin booked need to be made no later than five months prior to sailing (this may vary depending on the ship and sail date). At that point any cabins which do not have deposits on them will be released. After these cabins are released you may have difficulty obtaining additional cabins if others want to join your group, so remind members to send their deposits in. In some categories availability may be limited, plus, on some cruises all group members will receive additional perks if a certain number of cabins are booked in the group. Encourage your group members to send in their deposits as soon as they have decided to cruise with the group.

Hint: If prices for the sailings come down after booking the group, the CruiseOne will make adjustments to the payments even after final payment has been made. If there are no price adjustments available, the group is guaranteed the original negotiated price for the initial allotment of cabins.

6. Encourage Purchase of Travel Insurance
It's important to remember that there are penalties on a group starting at 70 days prior to departure so please get your group to buy travel insurance. Take the worry out of cruising.

Hint: Third party insurance offers more comprehensive coverage than your average cruise line package. Insurance is based on price per person of actual cruise fare. CruiseOne has negotiated with Travel Guard to provide you with the best possible coverage.

7. Plan Some Fun
Plan some group activities during the cruise, or make arrangements to go on some shore excursions together. Decide if you want the group to have a pre-cruise party at a day early to get to know each other before the cruise. If so, your cruise specialist can help you plan it at a local port hotel and include transfers to the port the next day, and other amenities.

Hint: This is a great opportunity to wear your special gear and meet all your online friends and take a group photo!

8. Order Your T-shirts or other specially designed gear.
All CruiseOne group members are entitled to receive discounts off any bulk ordered CruiseOne logowear. Your Independent Cruise Specialist can help you with the details and ordering.

9. Final Payment
Final payments will be paid directly to the CruiseOne. Some groups may require the prepayment of gratuities. Individuals can contact your Independent Cruise Specialist directly to make all payments to protect their credit card information. Passengers that are purchasing an air/sea package will have their transfers included from the airport to and from the ship.

Hint:

Group Leader Perks
All CruiseOne groups must have a minimum of 8 cabins booked to be considered a group and receive all of the group perks. As group leader you will receive one free net cruise fare if at least 8 cabins are sold, and two free net cruise fares if at least 16 cabins are sold. Group leaders will need to pay for their cruise upfront, but will be rebated the equivalent rate per berth for the category which has the largest number of cabins booked. Group leader is responsible for all port charges, taxes and fees.

CruiseOne reserves the right to refuse permission to be a group leader for any reason.