Would anyone be interested in starting a cruise club?
 

HI!

I posted last spring inquiring if there a Cruise Club. Not a travel club but one for cruising only? There is not one for cruising, yet.

My husband and I love cruising and would love to travel with others.

Let me tell you why I am hesitant to start the club myself...

• I am new to the Villages (Moved in Feb. 2013)
• Mostly because I am a travel agent and I do not want people to think I am trying to start a club to lure in buyers. I am not! We really do love cruising and honestly as long as I am on a ship it doesn't matter to me where you booked your cruise. Don't get me wrong I would love to have you as clients but I will not solicit anyone.

I am not a 'hard sell' type of person and so I don't want anyone to think I am trying to sell them a cruise every time I see them. I am genuinely interested in meeting new people here in The Villages.

I do have access to sales reps from various cruise lines that can come and give a presentation and if we do decide to go on a group cruise, they can offer us some extra perks.

We can also have people share their pictures and experiences if they go on an unusual cruise or one that member are interested in hearing about.

What do you think?

Would you be interested? Do you think its a conflict for me to start the club?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!
:smiley:

interested.

Thanks Kitty! Lets see if we can get some more interest and then I will look into starting the club!

Something very similar to what you are proposing has already been done here, it was closed down by TV. I was there when it happened, we were shut out of the Rec Center.

I had heard about this....that is why I am leary about starting a cruise club myself. I honestly don't want to look like I am trying to trick people into buying cruises from me. I really just love cruising.

Was the other club run by someone looking for business, or was it just a club?

The other club was run exactly as the one you propose, exactly. The other club is still in business and operates outside of TV. The rumor - RUMOR - at that time was that they were competing with AAA - only a rumor, no confirmation of this.

This is the link to the club Cruises at a Discount which, now that it is running outside of TV, is a real travel club.

JE:

I am familiar with the incident Madelaine refers to. I went to several meetings of that particular club, but began to be disenchanted when there was always a "commercial" before the presentation.

It's true that that "club" was denied access to Villages facilities because it was considered "a sales operation."

All that said, I'm still inclined to think that a club which concentrates on cruisers' experiences, and offers folks the opportunity to suggest things to do or avoid in port, things to do or avoid on board, etc., might be fun.

Villagers are inveterate cruisers. I personally have done 22, and 23, 24 and 25 are booked, with 26 "cooking." I have been offered the opportunity to participate in many other cruises, all "sponsored" by a Villages group of one sort or another.

The more I think about it, the more I worry that too many Villagers are too experienced (and, probably, opinionated) about the cruising experience to make any club "friendly!"

Still and all, should someone come up with a non-selling club, I'd give it a fair shake!

SWR
:beer3:

P.S.: Retired from a travel agency in 2002, after nearly 20 years.

SWR
Thanks for your input. It seems like the idea of starting a club just wouldn't go over well.

We had one in the neighborhood I lived in for a few years prior to TV. We did just as you said, concentrated on cruisers experiences. The last meeting I attended two ladies did a presentation on their 30 day cruise. They visited such great ports it was awesome. I was in the club for two years and I never even told anyone I sold cruises. If they knew and asked me, it was a different story, of course I helped them.

Again I really do not want to make it a commercial about my company. BUT I it seems no matter what people would assume I was just doing it to get business.

26 cruise! Wow sounds heavenly! Where have you been lately?

I'm very interested. Next month we are going on a 15 day cruise of the Panama canal.

I would love to hear about that! What ports are you visiting? Have fun!

Let us know when you return so we can hear all about it!

Bon Voyage!

Cruise Club
 

Sounds good

Sounds interesting. I have only been on 2 cruises but loved them both. Would be very interested as long as there was ABSOLUTELY NO commercial connection at all and was laid back.

count me in, we'll FT Frogs as of Jan 2014!

Quite a few of the social clubs do cruises from time to time. It is a standard practice for the cruise line to give a free cabin to the originator for every 8 bookings they get.

Hi Buggy

Well it's not exactly standard practice anymore. Some cruise lines have stopped giving the cabins out. The "free" cabins are one berth for every 8 cabins (generally speaking) but they do not pay taxes, gratuities etc. So there is still a fee. So if there were two of you in one cabin you would need 16 cabins to get two 'free' berths.

Generally when I have a group I ask if they would prefer to use that value and spread it amongst all the group members in the form of an on board credit. Then one person is not benefiting and the other are left out.

Some cruise lines do not offer the 'free' berth anymore. Some lines don't even give you amenities for having a group.