Compass - Winter 2008 - (Page 7)

Photographs courtesy of Dynamic Events Worldwide Inc. How much private function space do you need onboard? Most of the shorter cruises (three, four and ﬁve days) are older ships that may not have speciﬁc meeting space that is not a public lounge. They may be limited timeframes when you can use the theatre. Also, the lounges may have tables, chairs and sofas that are not moveable. • Dining seating: More and more cruise lines are going with a more open dining experience. Eat whenever you want. However, if you have a large group that wants to eat together, you must plan in advance. Most cruise lines will have two dinner seatings in their main dining room. They will put an entire group as close as possible, but this might mean one entire ﬂoor of the dining room, which is usually in a large U-shape. Therefore your group is spread out. Also, although there are several large tables for eight and 10 people, there are a lot of two-, four- and six-person tops. So there is some lack of ﬂexibility in this area. • Entertainment availability for private functions: Many companies like having private cocktail parties almost every night. Because the lounges are being used later for general public entertainment, planners may be limited to certain hours. Also, the band, pianist, etc., who is hired may only be available when their schedules allow. • Supplies: With no access to a general supplies store, everything needs to be brought aboard, even those items for “just in case.” So it takes planning and organization to make sure you have everything you need. If that special device has a rechargeable battery, be sure to bring the recharger! How long would you like to sail? The longer you go, the more options you have. The newer, fancier ships offer larger meetings space, more lounges and more dining options. They also sail the longer markets, e.g. seven-day Caribbean/Alaska. The newer ships also have more balcony cabins where older ships have fewer suites and no balconies. What time of year and where? Take this into consideration not only when is best for your group but what else is going on that time of year. Is it spring break? If you don’t have a kid-friendly group, is school out? Is it over a holiday? You’ll pay much more during these demanding times. There are plenty of sources for cruise information. One of them is the individual cruise lines. Another is the cruise industry organization CLIA (www.cruising.org). The August 2007 issue of Smart Meetings had a terriﬁc article on the subject (www.smartmeetings.com). For those planning their ﬁ rst cruise meeting, hiring a cruise planner specialist might be a good idea since they have the inside track on negotiating prices and aiding in ﬁ nding the right ship to meet speciﬁc goals and requirements. Victor Goodpasture is the editor of Compass. He is also a professional photographer and owner of Professional Digital Photography. compass • Winter 2008 What’s next? Getting more interested? When planning a cruise-based meeting, here are some factors to consider, according to Lams. 7 http://www.cruising.org http://www.smartmeetings.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Compass - Winter 2008

Compass - Winter 2008 Contents Message from our President Networking- After the Event Holiday Party Cruise Control San Diego Firestorm 2007 Good Manners Is Good Business Planner Profile Supplier Profile News Briefs New Members Calendar at a Glance Advertisers’ Index

Compass - Winter 2008

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