Reunion Cruises to Nowhere (or Somewhere)

Some of the members in our Linkedin.com Group "Reunion Planners (High School, College, Family, Corporate)" have mentioned that short reunion cruises are wonderful alternatives to land-based reunions if you're near a major port city.  Linda Hilson of cruise planners, All Points Beyond https://www.allpointsbeyondtravel.com/ tells me that there are several options. First, there are dinner cruises like those provided by World Yacht, http://www.worldyacht.com/, which circles Manhattan. You depart at a certain time and return 4 or 5 hours later, having had the time of your life. But that's it. No down time together to relax. Strict in and out times, etc. Then there are two-day cruises to nowhere. Imagine going out to sea for two overnights, all meals included. It's a party on a beautiful ship where your reunion group can take part in festivities all weekend long. This type of cruise departs only a few times a year out of major cities and may not coincide with your reunion plans, but the good news is that it's not much more expensive than a reunion banquet and a two-night stay in a mid-price hotel over a weekend. Then there are four-seven day destination cruises. A typical four-day cruise might run from Thursday to Monday with three days at sea and one day at a port of call. That leaves plenty of time for reunion activities and getting reacquainted with old friends Linda tells us that, 3-7 days cruises include all meals and snacks, and nightly entertainment. Private functions, like a cocktail party or banquet for your group, can be scheduled and private rooms for these functions can be reserved free of charge. Imagine a floating resort for you and your fellow classmates to catch up on all the years gone by. What could be more relaxing - and fun? Any thoughts on this idea?

Comments

Linda Hilson said…
Very good information. Cruising is definately a great alternative to the hotel or resort-type reunions. Let me show you how booking your reunion, no matter what the size, on a cruise ship is perfect for everyone.
May 27, 2011 at 12:42 PM
Marilyn, Reunion Maven said…
Great to learn that you have successfully booked reunion cruises. Perhaps you can tell us about a particularly interesting one.
May 31, 2011 at 5:28 PM
Cheryl Austin said…
I think the one thing that is so interesting is that my clients who have had an initial experience with reunion cruises, are typically repeat clients. Their reunion events grow every year, and they are inclined to want to explore longer cruises together to new destinations. I have one family that took their first family reunion in 2009 on a 4 night Bahamas sailing. They loved it so much that they came back and booked a 7 night cruise in 2010 on the Oasis of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's largest ship. Their group grew by over 50% of the first cruise. In August they will do their third reunion. Their group will be 60+ attendees from various cities in the US. Next year, they are already planning to expand their reach to have even more family and friends attend. They have decided that reunions at sea are perfect for every family member and this is a tradition that they plan to continue.
June 1, 2011 at 5:07 PM
Marilyn, Reunion Maven said…
I can see how a cruise would be excellent for family reunions. But what about school reunions? Have you had success with them? Is there anything that planners of school reunions should consider when planning a reunion cruise?
June 2, 2011 at 7:15 PM
Unknown said…
My sister and I have been thinking about starting up our own company that offers audio visual services . Both of us were theater majors, and we think it would be really cool to offer audio visual services to different theaters as a free lance job. What are some good tips to starting up a business? Are there some catches that we should watch out for?
July 11, 2012 at 11:42 AM
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