Full Cruise Ship Charters:
You can charter the entire cruise ship for exclusive use by your organization. You can fly your own flag, choose the itinerary and daily events. Schedule your entertainment and conferences on your schedule. Ship capacities range from 30 to 5200 passengers. So, whether it is a small executive retreat on a 36-passenger yacht sailing the waters of the Hawaiian Islands or a full-blown company event on a mega ship with over 5,000 guests sailing in the Caribbean, there is a ship that will work for your group in virtually any part of the world.
Why Would You Charter a Ship for Your Group or Event?
A charter gives you the utmost in privacy, exclusivity, and safety. For incentives or meetings at sea, you have the added plus of an environment that you control, so there are no concerns about a competitor being on board or participants going off-property and getting into accidents like you might find on a program at a land resort.
Chartering gives you flexibility in designing the itinerary to suit your specific needs and objectives.
On a charter, you can brand the program throughout the cruise without
the ship’s staff having to balance concerns for the other passengers.
This often means more creativity in customizing the itinerary, dressing
up the ship and on-board functions as well as custom shore excursions
for the group. Plus, you will find that you will receive more cooperation
and care from the on-board staff and crew members if they only have
your group to deal with.
Another plus a charter gives you is the flexibility you have with your numbers. Initially care has to be exercised in pinning down the maximum number of cruisers likely to participate as once you have committed to a charter you do not have to worry about penalties for downsizing the group, however, if your group does grow then you have a problem as the ship can only accommodate a fixed number of passengers. But since the biggest headaches are always attrition, this removes one potential planning challenge.
Another plus a charter gives you is the flexibility you have with your numbers. Initially care has to be exercised in pinning down the maximum number of cruisers likely to participate as once you have committed to a charter you do not have to worry about penalties for downsizing the group, however, if your group does grow then you have a problem as the ship can only accommodate a fixed number of passengers. But since the biggest headaches are always attrition, this removes one potential planning challenge.
*** Important Note ***
Cruise ship charters require a single payer that must post a multi-million-dollar performance bond up front. If you are unable to do this, a charter is probably not for you. The cruise line is taking the ship out of service and has to rebook any passengers that were booked on the cruise the ship was regularly scheduled for. For most charters, it usually requires a year or more advanced planning in order to position a ship to meet your needs. Chartering does not usually work well for speculative events because cruise lines require a hefty up-front payment and do not accept multiple individual payments. Using a ship for a floating hotel also does not work well anymore because of the various issues cruise lines run into with staffing and visas, etc.
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