Choosing an incentive cruise for a company's corporate incentive travel program can be a very exciting venture. With all inclusive services and many exotic destinations from which to choose, employees will be motivated to earn their place on the cruise ship. Planning an incentive cruise should not be undertaken at the last minutes. While last minute planning will not make a ship charter impossible, advance planning can ensure enough space for all eligible cruise participants. Advance planning can also help companies make certain that they get the best rates. A meeting planner can offer these tips for successful incentive cruise planning:

1. Booking the cruise – the sooner the cruise is planned, the better. In this way, companies may have their choice of things such as cruise lines and ships. They may also have their choice of itinerary as well.

2. Choosing an itinerary – having an idea of preferred destinations will be most helpful. In addition, companies will also need to consider the length of the cruise. Cruise length often helps determine cruise destination.

3. Choosing a ship – companies need to ensure the ship they choose can easily accommodate their employees. Choosing a ship that is not too big or too small will be essential.

When you are looking for destination options for your next incentive travel program, you may want to consider adventure travel. Adventure travel has taken the travel industry by storm and is a hot trend among families, couples, groups of friends and companies looking for exciting team building, incentive travel or executive retreat options.

Examples of adventure travel include:

• Mountain climbing
• Rock climbing
• Trekking across the desert on camels
• Cave exploration
• SCUBA diving
• Going on a safari
• Spending a week or a weekend at a dude ranch
• Storm chasing
• Backpacking
• Camping
• Exploring ancient ruins in a rainforest

There are many reasons to consider adventure travel for your incentive travel winners, including offering a unique vacation experience that they may never otherwise have the chance to experience. One additional reason why more companies are opting for adventure travel is that most options include an underlying team building component. This makes this type of travel beneficial to both the employees and the company overall, making it a more enticing option.

If you decide to opt for adventure travel as a reward for your company’s incentive program, always keep in mind that it is extremely important to choose options where everyone can participate. Low-key adventure travel, such as whale watching or bird watching is not as physically demanding as other options and may be a good choice for some companies.

Incentive travel planners are faced with clients who just don't have a large budget to spend, these days. Small businesses are cutting out unnecessary expenses with the hope that their employees will not notice, and larger corporations — especially those who accepted government bailout money — are trying to restore their image of competence and frugality. Incentive travel is a scary proposition for them both.

Think incentive cruise.  Cruising is often a much more affordable choice for people who love to travel in general, and could be your answer to the problem of affordable incentive travel. Why? Because cruises are relaxing, cruise lines have expanded their ports of call, and a cruise is typically all inclusive.  

A cruise event can save you as much as 40% compared to a land based hotel venue because almost everything is included. Meals, meeting rooms, A/V, coffee breaks, activities, entertainment and even room service are part of the all-inclusive cruise fare. You spend nothing more for linens, florals, lighting, labor or state/city taxes, which saves your client money and gives you time to devote to your business agenda and attendees.

Planners may also save yourselves some headaches other than financial related ones. If you have a small incentive travel group that is from a foreign culture, you might consider a cruise that will appeal to that culture. For instance, let's pretend Irish music and culture has become all the rage in Eastern Europe. You have been hired to find a cruise for a group of Eastern European business people. Your logical choice will include Ireland, and expand to the other British Isles if there is time just for a bonus.

Cruises can, indeed, be a port in this financial storm the world is in right now. Next time you are trying to find an affordable incentive travel program, take a few minutes and check on group cruise events.

You will be surprised at how easy it is to plan a meeting at sea, and stay within your budget.
 

An incentive travel program that involves a cruise can be really exciting; not only is it invigorating and refreshing, a cruise trip can be a great employee motivation program that successfully blends business with pleasure.

Event planners have a great time organizing cruise trips that involve a lot of exciting activities on board.

When it comes to cruise trips, you are definitely spoilt for choice. There are so many cruise trip options available around the world that you may not know which one to choose. One way of choosing ideal and favorable cruise trip destinations is through word of mouth. If a particular cruise trip destination has been recommended as worthwhile, companies or event planners are encouraged to try it out. Another option is to do research online or go through travel brochures to find out a suitable cruise trip destination. Read the rest of this entry »

Event planners who work with inventive groups are faced nowadays with clients who just don’t have the money to spend. Smaller business are trying to cut out luxuries with the hope that no one will say anything, and larger companies–especially the ones with bailout money–are trying to regain an image of competence and frugality. Incentive travel is a scary proposition for them both.

Enter the cruise. These are often much more affordable choices for people who love to travel in general, and could be your answer to the problem of affordable incentive travel. Why? Because cruises are relaxing, cruise lines have expanded their ports of call, and many of them offer sightseeing excursions in the cruise package.

Another cost-cutting advantage of the cruise is the other inclusions. If you book a pyramid tour in Egypt, for instance, you also have to plan for accommodations, meals, other activities, etc. All of this is included in the cruise. Cruises offer enormous and variable meals spreads, and there is something for everyone there. Read the rest of this entry »

An incentive travel program is just what corporate groups need to keep their staff happy and motivated for future work. Any employee who works hard feels the need to get appreciated. Other than giving away corporate gifts and awards, incentive travel programs are excellent ways to show employee appreciation. All employees may not like a corporate gift, not knowing what to do with it, but they will definitely like an incentive travel trip sponsored by the company. After all who does not want to travel to exotic locations and have a great time, with all expenses being taken care of by someone else!

The great news for event planners is that these days companies are not hesitating to send their employees on an all-expense paid trip as part of an incentive program. All these incentive trips need to be organized and supervised by someone and that’s where the event planner comes into the picture. Read the rest of this entry »

Incentive travel programs are one way corporations reward star employees.   One of the best things about being a corporate meeting planner is the added perk of  incentive business trips. If you are wondering how to plan a corporate incentive trip, it is not all that difficult. These days there are so many options available for business travel destinations that you could be hard pressed to decide on one. 

In fact studies have found that incentive travel programs are one of the main attractions of event planning jobs- it is one of the main reasons why most people opt for careers in event planning and stick to it. 

If you are not familiar with what an incentive program is, the answer is quite simple- an incentive program is an all expense paid trip for a group of corporate individuals as a bonus for excelling in the work force. For example, a food processing company could offer an incentive travel program to its sales staff for meeting desired goals. This is a great way to motivate employees and ensure that they retain their interest in the work, looking forward to more of such trips. Read the rest of this entry »