Planning a group cruise? Try CruiseCompete.com

CruiseCompete.com, a four-year-old competitive cruise-shopping Website that allows consumers to request multiple offers from travel agents in order to land the best cruise deals, has just added a new Group Cruises feature.

If you're planning a cruise with a group of 16 people or more -- such as a family reunion, wedding, or corporate meeting -- you can go to CruiseCompete.com, click on the Group Cruises tab, fill out a brief form, and expect to hear back from several agents with an expertise in group travel.

After contacting you for more information, the agents will provide you customized quotes for cruise rates and, if you decide to use their services, will help with planning your group cruise from start to finish -- including on-board parties and receptions, meetings, team-building activities, and group shore excursions.

If you are planning a group cruise, it's best to get started as early as possible since securing large numbers of cabins on a ship gets increasingly difficult the closer you get to sailing date -- and this is one of the easiest ways to start putting it all together.

Photo: passengers enjoy on-deck activities aboard a Carnival cruise ship, by Dennis Cox/WorldViews.