Then I'll likely have to cancel it If cancelled then of course everyone has their deposits refunded and would be welcome to switch to another cruise date if their vacation dates allow. It's strange because the cruise before this one on July 25th has 65 places sold and the one after this one on August 3rd has 42 place sold, we must have just hit a quiet spot. I'm hopeful that we could still get another 3 couples sign up to make it a go.
I'd move my travel dates (we come in the day after one and leave the day before the next) but it would cost $400 to change tickets . Thought I read somewhere that you could "rent out" the boat if we chip in and pay extra? Don't remember what the price was We're members so I also remember something about a yacht that's available to rent and I have been having LOTS of blonde moments lately so I may be making things up LOL
I think asking people to pay extra when we have a low number of people has been suggested before by others but it's not something I am keen on doing and have never done before. I'm fairly sure that if I was to raise the price I'd get some cancellations from those already signed up and we'd end up with even less people. Then need to increase the price further and have more people still drop out. We could use a smaller boat at the same price but it would not have sufficient power for our sound system, meaning we wouldnt hire a DJ. Then our Ents staff wouldn't be able to deliver the usual high quality service we are known for without the sound system and DJ. I want people to enjoy the full experience rather than cut corners to make something happen. We have a cruise this Friday and I'm going to chat with the boat operator about possibilities, maybe we can get the hotel to sell a dozen or so places to add to the group, but the number they may manage to sell is always going to be an unknown until the actual day. I've also found through experience that when we are close to meeting the minimum some people hold back and wait until it has tipped before they book their places. I wouldn't be surprised if there are 3 couples out there looking to see if it will go ahead before booking, when if they booked now it would go ahead! There's no risk in sending in a deposit since if it's necessary to cancel then everyone gets refunded. That might be an option but I cant book that for you, or provide staff and service. It has to be part of your contract and you'll need to book through Premier. The yacht only holds about 10 people though. Let me see what I can negotiate on Friday and I'll post here before I fly out back to the UK later that day.