A Room With A View: Conferences & Retreats at Sea

We have all attended conferences and retreats held at a local hotel or conference center.  They tend to follow the same pattern:  Meet in a cold (sometimes REALLY cold) ballroom, have a couple of breaks, maybe lunch is included or you have to find a local spot that can accommodate a huge influx of guests in a short period of time.  It’s typical, clean-cut and gets the job done.

But what if you were able to turn that conference into an experience, something that participants will remember for years to come?  What if you could do this for a flat fee and have participants clamoring to join you?

How can you turn your next event into this type of experience?  Consider holding your event on a cruise ship!  Not only do you provide your participants with first-class accommodations, all-inclusive fees and resort-like experience, you are able to take advantage of state-of-the-art conference facilities available on most of the newer ships.  And, in most cases, these facilities are included in the set-up costs for your group.  The only stipulation is that you meet their minimum guest requirement (around 32 participants, depending on the cruise line).

An event at sea is great for:

• Speakers and coaches looking to hold an exclusive mastermind class
• Incentive trips to award your top sales people
• Trainers offering CEU credits or other intensive training for specific industries
• Groups that love to travel together or have a specific interest in common (e.g., cooking, wine-tasting, etc.)
• Family reunions or destination weddings

What’s great about planning an event at sea is that you can choose any destination you want – provided it is accessible by ship.  Think about checking off destinations on your bucket list – the Caribbean, Croatia, Alaska, Thailand, India, Europe – the sky’s the limit.

Ideally, you’ll want to choose a trip that has at least 2-3 days at sea, so that you have some exclusive time with your group.  Successful cruise-based events also take a while to plan, so you should start the process 12-15 months ahead of time, and market the event at least 10-12 months prior to sailing.

This is not an endeavor that you want to undertake on your own.  There is a lot of coordination that needs to take place with the cruise line, so we highly recommend using a travel professional to help you through the process.  Here at Luxury Destinations Concierge, we specialize in creating successful events at sea.  Contact us at 805-236-4437 to start planning your next luxury conference or retreat.