Nothing beats a cruise vacation, unless, of course, it's a FREE cruise vacation. This probably sounds too good to be true, but it's not. We've had many customers over the years that have earned their way just because they love cruising and are not afraid to talk about it. Cruise Lines will reward Pied Pipers with free travel just for bringing other friends and family along with them on their vacation. As a Group Leader, you can earn free passage on a cruise as well.
Here's how it works... If you have enough people who are interested in taking a cruise together, then you can earn a free cruise. The cruise line will award a free berth for every so many cabins your group books. This can be as few as five cabins for longer Caribbean, Alaska and European sailings or as many as eight cabins for shorter cruises. There's typically no cap on the number of free beds you can earn, so as long as you keep booking cabins, you group can keep earning free beds.
Here's an example of the number of free beds you could earn if your group booked a 7 Night Caribbean Cruise:
Cruise Lines only award the value of the cruise itself. Port charges, taxes and government fees are not free and must be paid by the group. Each cruise line has its own group leader policy and they may vary depending upon the cruise line.
What you do choose to do with these free beds is up to you. Here are a few ways our past group leaders have taken advantage of earned berths:
Group Leader Sails Free
If you take the time to organize the group, promote the group, coordinate with group members and make all the arrangements, it is not uncommon for the group leader to keep the free beds for themselves and cruise for free and even earn extra spending money if enough cabins travel. This is agreed upon in advance and is kept confidential from other group members.
Deeper Price Discounts
Some Group Leaders choose to take the value of the free berths and divide it among the other cabins on the group to provide an additional discount. Since the number of free berths depends on the number of cabins that actually sail, the additional discounts are applied as a rebate after the group returns from the cruise.
Onboard Group Escort
Some groups like the thought of hiring an on-board group escort to help coordinate on-board and on-shore activities. Although you may have to pay the escort a fee, the cabin berth is free.
Special Guest Invitation
Some groups use their free berths to invite a guest lecturer or celebrity who may add value to your group cruise experience. This could be a local pastor, radio personality or specialists in your group's field of interest whose participation may encourage others to join your group.
Gifts or Shore Excursions
Some groups take the value of their free berths and apply them towards the purchase of shore excursions like city tours, snorkeling adventures or a helicopter ride. Other groups may elect to provide in-cabin gifts like fruit baskets, wine, bathrobes, t-shirts or caps. The possibilities are endless.
Remember, cruise lines love Pied Pipers, so to earn your Free Cruise you need to start speaking to everyone you know about their interest in taking a group cruise vacation. Group cruises are great for:
Once you have people excited and interested, contact AlaskaCruises.com and our Group Cruise Specialists will help you find the best ship and destination for your group.
AlaskaCruises.com will help you with all aspects of Group Cruise including planning, registration and administration. Our in-house graphics department will assist you in developing registration forms, promotional fliers, and even a special website to help you promote your group.
For immediate assistance in planning your Group Cruise, please call 1-800-784-5844