Family reunions & multi-family trips
Family Reunion Trips: How Group Rates Work for Cruises and Resorts (2026)
The short answer
- • Cruise: about 8 cabins (16 guests) makes a group on most major lines. Norwegian has published offers from 5 cabins.
- • Resort or hotel: 10 or more rooms a night.
- • Group rates aren't online. They're negotiated for your dates and set out in a contract, so you get them by asking, not by searching.
What a group gets
- • A negotiated rate for the whole block, based on your group size, dates and season. Off-peak dates usually get the most room to negotiate.
- • Free cruise fares as you grow. Lines typically give one free fare for every 16 paying guests, counting the first two guests in each cabin. Kids sharing a cabin as the 3rd and 4th guest don't count toward it. Taxes and port fees are still due.
- • Time to fill the rooms. The block is held for you until a cut-off date, so families can confirm one by one instead of everyone paying on day one.
- • One plan, separate bills. Each family usually pays for its own room or cabin through a booking link or a rooming list.
What the contract asks of you
- • A deposit schedule. Group contracts set when deposits and final payments are due, which is usually earlier than a single booking.
- • A cut-off date. Rooms nobody has claimed by then go back to the hotel or cruise line. Read whether you owe anything for unfilled rooms (called attrition) before you sign.
- • A rooming list. Names for every room or cabin, sent to the hotel or line before arrival.
- • Change and cancellation terms that differ from a regular booking. Get them in writing for the whole group.
Want the numbers first? Five reunion trips priced per family of 4: Carnival by port, Cancun and Punta Cana family wings, Orlando suites, from dated searches.
Cruise or all-inclusive for a reunion?
A cruise keeps everyone on one ship with kids' clubs, shows and dinners together, and the free-fare credits add up fast for a big family. See what a family of four pays from Texas in our Galveston cruise prices.
An all-inclusive resort gives grandparents a calmer pace and one price that covers meals and drinks. Compare family resorts in our Cancun family resorts guide, and if some families are 5 or more, see hotels that allow 5 in a room.
How we get your group rates
- Tell us the basics below: rough dates, how many families and rooms or cabins, kids' ages, and cruise or resort.
- Our Fora travel advisor requests group rates from several hotels or cruise lines at once, because those rates aren't published.
- You get the best 2–3 options side by side, with the deposit dates and cut-off date spelled out.
- You choose, and each family books its own room or cabin through the group link. The hotel or cruise line pays our advisor, not you.
Questions families ask
How many cabins do you need for a group cruise?
Most major cruise lines, including Carnival and Royal Caribbean, treat 8 cabins (about 16 guests) as a group. Norwegian has published group offers starting at 5 cabins. Some sailings don't accept groups at all, so the line confirms it for your exact ship and date.
Does a family reunion get a free cabin on a cruise?
Usually a free cruise fare, not a free cabin. Lines typically give one free fare (a "tour conductor" credit) for every 16 paying guests, counting only the first two guests in each cabin. Taxes, port fees and gratuities are still due on the free fare, and the exact ratio varies by line.
How many hotel rooms count as a group?
Hotels generally treat 10 or more rooms a night as a group. Group rates are negotiated with the hotel and set out in a contract, so they never appear on booking sites.
Can't find a place that fits everyone?
Plan B Rentals works in reverse. You post your dates, group size and budget, and hosts send you private offers. It costs $1 a month, and that fee isn't refundable.
You book and pay the host directly, and the host sets the deposit and cancellation terms. Get everything in writing before you pay.
Post your trip on Plan B Rentals →Affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.