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There are several things that must be taken into consideration when traveling with a group: hotel, restaurants, meeting rooms, equipment, activities, entertainment, and many, many other assorted details. Planning group travel can quickly become a nightmare as costs begin to stack up and overwhelm many companies meager travel budgets. Making cuts to save money on trips such as these will result in less than stellar trip reviews from those in the group. This has the potential to damage employee morale and negatively effect productivity. Instead of planning an expensive trip on land, companies and organization should consider taking their group on an incentive cruise to the Bahamas.
With land travel, every aspect of the trip has to be planned on an individual basis. The hotel may not have a restaurant or have only one dining option. A separate meeting room may have to be secured, and all of the equipment needed may not be provided by the meeting facility. When the meeting is over, employees may not know where to find local entertainment or activities they would enjoy. Furthermore, employees have no real incentive to build camaraderie or spend time with one another outside of schedule meetings. Finding transportation for the group from the hotel to restaurants, activities, and meeting spaces can also be difficult.
Now consider a cruise. A cruise can be all inclusive, and meeting planners can customize the cruise to meet the needs of their clients. Compared to land travel, a customized cruise can save companies up to 40 percent. This is because meals, meeting rooms, equipment, activities, entertainment, and many other services are inclusive of the cruise fare. This means that taking a group cruise to the Bahamas can be less expensive than planning a trip on land. In addition, the Bahamas is a tropical, exotic destination that will be seen as exciting and adventurous. Because everything is included in a cruise, employees can band together and participate in activities as a group. This helps to build solidarity and cohesion among the company's top performers and management.
Taking a group on a cruise to the Bahamas is definitely more feasible that most companies realize. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on hotels and expensive restaurants, save money and book a custom cruise. A cruise to the Bahamas will be memorable, and it will give new employees an incentive to work harder and achieve greatness. Incentive travel programs are integral to the success of a company and retention of top talent. Incentive travel program such as a group cruise to the Bahamas is an excellent to draw top talent to a company, inspire success, and give the organization a distinct edge.
Group cruise planners may seem like the life of the party, but they can also be overstressed and overworked. The job isn’t as easy as it looks, it involves a lot of planning and it seems as if everyone else on the whole boat gets to have fun but the group cruise planner! A little common sense would suggest that there might be an opportunity to make friends and reap rewards, so here is some advice on how to turn a group cruise planner into a cohort:
When planning a group cruise for a meeting or corporate event, you may be wondering how to customize the event to make it more memorable. Here is a sampling of ideas for customization whether you are booking for a group, half ship or full ship charter.
Pre-cruise promotion: • Customized informational booklet detailing what participants need to know before they board • Descriptions of ports and shore excursions with advance registration forms
Sailing accessories: • Zippered document pouch with logo • Neck pouch with logo to hold the ship’s ID card • Name badges with logo
Day of sailing: • Private “bon voyage” brunch prior to sailing • Customized pier décor such as balloons or banner • Private onboard reception with open bar and live music
Compliments of the ship: • Private workroom with Internet access • Welcome letter in each attendee’s room signed by ship’s Captain • Complimentary group photograph
Program enhancements: • Gift certificates for spa services • Exclusive shore events with private transfers
Half-ship charter: • Negotiate exclusive use of the dining room and show lounge • Daily newsletter printed on program or company letterhead
Full ship charter: • Bridge reception hosted by ship’s Captain • TV channel displaying program agenda or video of the day’s activities • Daily onboard activities scheduled around meetings
For more ideas about how you can customize your cruise event, visit Seasite.com.
If you want to book a meeting at sea, instead of at a hotel, here are some differences between the two venues that you should be aware of.
Arrival time: It is common for meeting and event planners to arrive at a hotel a day or two before a big event, but with a cruise ship you can arrive an hour or two before the meeting participants.
Reserving rooms: Unless you charter a ship for your group cruise, you will need to coordinate with the cruise line in advance to secure the meeting space you need on the day and time you need it. Otherwise, another group may already be using the space.
Saving money: The cruise ship includes things like AV equipment and themed décor, so you do not have to budget for these items separately like you do for a hotel. You can either keep the extra cash or use it to offer incentives or fun activities, such as additional onboard amenities or shore excursions.
Promoting differences: A cruise ship offers different options than a hotel, so you can advertise these when promoting the trip. For example, you can mention that participants choose from a vast menu for all three meals, or that there is a wide range of activities available, or that participants will be able to visit several different destinations without extra packing or travel hassle.
When group cruise planning, a bigger cruise ship is not always better. While larger ships can be extremely advantageous, for some groups a more intimate setting on a smaller charter ship is preferable. Even though some charter ships may be smaller, these ships still feel spacious and very accommodating. By choosing a smaller ship for an incentive cruise, businesses can create a more personalized experience for cruise event participants. Smaller charter ships still offer amenities such as sizable conference rooms, fitness facilities, lounges, panoramic ocean views, and spas. By choosing a smaller ship for an incentive cruise, participants will not miss a thing.
One of the most significant advantages of smaller charter ships is their ability to dock in destinations that are not oft-visited. In many cases, these ships can dock in exotic destinations not available to larger cruise ships. Cruise event participants may be greatly motivated by corporate travel that is out of the ordinary. Visiting exotic destinations on a ship charter that feels intimate but roomy will likely be high on the list of participants' preferences. While this type of cruise may seem like it would be more expensive than a larger cruise ship or land venue, businesses may be surprised at their affordability.
If you have seen one hotel, you have practically seen them all. While hotels can be quite beautiful and offer fine dining experiences, there is nothing all that unique about staying in a hotel. For this reason, employees may not be genuinely motivated by incentive travel if the destination is a hotel in a large city. However, a floating hotel is a different thing altogether. Instead of choosing a land venue for a business meeting, consider holding the meeting on a cruise ship. The cruise ship or floating hotel is an excellent venue for meetings at sea and can offer choice business amenities and services.
A ship charter can offer companies and organizations significant savings and provide employees with a break from the everyday norm. Individuals can choose to stay in a hotel room any time they like; however, staying aboard a cruise ship is not an every occurrence. A group cruise planner can make an incentive cruise easy and affordable for a business. A cruise meeting on a floating hotel may be just the things employees need to experience a burst of creativity and innovation. Inspired by majestic, beautiful, natural surroundings, a cruise event on a floating hotel can be profitable for everyone involved.
Meetings themselves can be incentives, especially when they are held in exotic locations or on group cruise events, but that is not always practical for run of the mill meetings. There are other ways to make average meetings a bit more interesting than they have been in the past with proper incentives. These same ideas have proven to be very popular in meetings that are non-compulsory as well. Here are three ideas for anyone looking into ways to liven meetings up:
Favors or gifts – inexpensive gifts or favors are a great way to keep participants happy and on-task. These favors should probably be a combination of useful items that relate to the meeting or business in general along with one or two gifts that simply make participants happy. Vouchers for coffees at the local coffee shop are great examples as they are inexpensive and appreciated.
Branded products – Pens, notebooks, USB memory keys, shirts, caps, coffee mugs, and other items that are stamped with the corporate logo make for great ways to liven a meeting up and add morale to a room. Consider offering on or two very special branded products to those who perform the best or meet some special criteria.
Offer something tangible – One reason that many people do not like meetings is that many meetings go nowhere. Offer tangible results and check back in on those results and see how the mood can liven when those who are frustrated now feel engaged.
Incentive planning is important to building guaranteed attention and focus of any audience, and luckily there are a number of tools to help with this. Some of the tools are available in the most obvious of places, while others might be a little more subtle.
Venues – surprisingly, many venues have built-in incentives that they can offer, such as tours or gifts. This is more common in more exotic locations, and special destinations such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City. For more information, inquire with the hotel’s concierge service.
Local Concierge Services – In many cases, it is possible to find local services that offer meeting planning services at a discount. Smart meeting planners can and will consult with these for pricing whenever appropriate. Often it turns out that the local services have developed special relationships based on volume and history, and thus are able to offer better pricing.
Searching – If you do not look for it, then do not be surprised if you do not find it. The Internet is an amazingly powerful tool for looking for anything, and Google makes the entire process look simple. Simply navigate to Google’s home page (www.google.com) and type in what you are looking for. For example a search for ‘affordable tours in Tucson’ is a great way to locate an incentive.
Seasite.com – This amazing portal offers group cruise planning tools you can use to plan an incentive cruise. With all cruise brands represented, you can source a group cruise easily with a single electronic RFP.
Are you looking for something a little different than trust falls and guest speakers for your next team building event? If so, you might want to consider a murder mystery weekend, murder mystery vacation or murder mystery cruise. There are several outfits offering a variety of murder mystery events around the country and on cruise ships, providing plenty of options from which to choose. Some companies will design corporate murder mystery events specifically for your company in the location of your choice, while others offer affordable, pre-arranged adventures that your team will love.
If you choose a murder mystery group cruise for your next corporate event or team building trip, be aware that there are different types of murder mystery adventures to be had. On the one hand, you have organized cruises that require all participants to study for a role and bring a costume for their character. This can be incredibly fun and is a full-immersion experience; however, this might not be the best option to fit your needs. This type of environment means that other passengers may be constantly interrogating your team members and your staff’s energy will be focused entirely on their part in the mystery.
For corporate events and team building experiences, it is likely a better idea to choose murder mystery events that are organized in a way to allow for plenty of free time and limited participation. For example, some murder mystery cruises have regularly scheduled murder mystery meetings and suspects are available for questioning during scheduled meals. In addition, investigation updates are delivered to cabins each day to keep guests up-to-date on developments.
This type of murder mystery event allows for easy scheduling of corporate meetings, team building activities or other group events, while still allowing your participants to fully enjoy the fun and excitement of solving a murder.
Everyone loves a cruise, and a cruise meeting incentive is a great way to inspire excitement and energy, and motivate employees. There are many cruise lines, ships and destinations from which to choose. One easy way to source a group cruise incentive event is Seasite.com. You can create a single RFP, and plan your group cruise entirely online.
The Carnival Fantasy sails in to her new home – Charleston, South Carolina.
