More organizations are now considering chartering ships for their meetings, conferences, or incentive travel programs for enhanced security and exclusivity. A full ship buyout allows the sponsoring company to customize the experience and brand the vessel.
Whether you need 25 staterooms for an executive retreat, 500 staterooms for a sales recognition program, or 2,500 rooms for a global convention, hosting an event on a privately chartered ship provides a unique and memorable experience that attendees cannot replicate on their own.
Chartering a ship is a major decision and investment for any organization, making it crucial to conduct thorough due diligence. Where should you begin? For over 40 years, Landry & King Global Ship Services has collaborated with various cruise lines and successfully arranged hundreds of ship charters worldwide.
Our Top 7 Tips to Help You Plan a Successful Ship Charter Program
1. Ship Size Matters
The charter price is only as cost-effective as your ability to use most or all of the rooms. Be realistic about the number of rooms you need since every empty room is ultimately the charterer’s liability. You’re securing your charter with a contract and upfront payment or financial guarantees — and you can’t give back the rooms you don’t use.
2. Negotiate Well
Once you sign the charter contract, your organization effectively removes the ship from the cruise line’s inventory and takes ownership of it. And with 99 percent of the cruise lines, there’s no backtracking on the agreement. While this arrangement protects the cruise line, you can protect yourself, too. Work with an expert who is familiar with cruise ship charters. They can help you negotiate terms and explain flexible clauses that could benefit you.
3. Customization – Put Your Stamp On It!
Want to express your creativity? You’ll love how much you can personalize the experience on a chartered ship. Since the sponsoring company “owns” the ship, virtually every aspect of the cruise charter can be customized – from menus and entertainment to ports of call and team-building shore excursions.
4. Know When to Opt for Group Space
Your perfect ship has the necessary facilities but more sleeping rooms than your group requires. Booking group space on the ship instead of a full ship buyout is likely the better solution. Our clients have successfully hosted groups of as many as 1,000 people on ships that hold 3,500 or more without compromising the desired exclusivity at events.
Consider large-ship theaters to accommodate a thousand people or the possibility of deck parties. Several contemporary cruise lines offer luxury ship-within-a-ship concepts, which offer smaller groups perks like private key access, butler service, and exclusive pools, bars, and/or restaurants. These are well-suited to group bookings and offer the bonus of all the facilities of a much larger ship.
5. Consider Smaller Vessels
Megayachts, barges, expedition vessels, tall ships, and riverboats offer unique charter opportunities. These are good options for groups of anywhere in size, from 50 to 500 people. Landry & Kling has the resources to help you find the perfect small ship charters for your event.
6. Not Enough Hotel Space? – Dockside Ship Charters
Cruise ships and other vessels can also be used as “floating hotels” for city-wide meetings or global events when there is a shortage of sleeping rooms. During a dockside charter, the ship remains in port for a determined number of nights to provide accommodations and meeting space. This is an invaluable solution when there are not enough hotel rooms to support a city-wide convention, government summit, or major sporting event.
7. Work With a Ship Charter Expert to Minimize Risk, Maximize ROI
Researching all the ship options, narrowing down the choices, contacting different cruise lines, and negotiating a charter contract takes time. Understanding what’s involved is also essential. Planning and booking ship charters, especially dockside charter projects, requires different logistics.
Landry & Kling’s depth of experience in planning and booking global ship charters is unsurpassed. Our team is ready to assist you in creating your best event ever!
For a complimentary ship charter consultation, request a proposal, call us at +1 786-594-0732, or email inquiry@landrykling.com.
FAQs
How do I get started with planning a ship charter program?
First determine your program budget and preferred date and location. Your next step is to contact a ship charter specialist to research your ship options and negotiate the charter contract. With over 40 years of global ship and vessel charter experience, Landry & Kling is your best resource to help plan a successful charter.
What types of events are best suited for a ship charter?
A private ship charter is ideal for corporate events, including meetings & conventions, product launches, incentive programs, tradeshows, corporate retreats, or milestone anniversaries. Affinity or re-sale ship charter programs include entertainment and music festivals, fundraisers, special interest and theme cruises.
Dockside ship charters also provide supplemental housing and meeting space for government summits, international sporting events, and city-wide conventions. Ships and vessels are also chartered for disaster relief, humanitarian aid, and workforce housing.
Can we arrange exclusive entertainment and guest speakers?
Yes, of course; this is your cruise! You can bring on entertainment and speakers specific to your group. Plus, you can use the onboard entertainment staff as MCs or additional entertainment.
