Meet & Greet on Cunard?

Does Cunard provide a meeting room, refreshments and a staff member for CC Meet & Greets?

Our group size to date is 14 and we plan to meet up on QM2 on 23rd February ex Hong Kong.

On one previous Cunard cruise I recall a get together of sorts which was organized by a world cruiser in the Atlantic Room.

thanks

Lorraine

Cunard will provide a venue and put the meeting in the Daily Programme if arranged in advance. We had a couple of staff members at one of our meet and greets last year. I have not been to one with refreshments but since I did not arrange the M&Gs, I don't know if they were asked for or not.

After attending a couple of M&Gs that Cunard had participated in I've begun advocating the "flash mob" approach, where we just agree to meet in the Commodore Club at 2:00 or 2:30. In my experience the provided venue tends to be a multipurpose room not near a bar and the provided refreshments tend toward coffee and cookies.

Thanks Scrapnana & Underwatr for your information and advice. I had suggested we meet in the Commodore Club around 11.0am. It is usually not too busy around that time, especially on the first sea day. With regard to venue, I wasn't too impressed with the Atlantic Room.

Thanks Scrapnana & Underwatr for your information and advice. I had suggested we meet in the Commodore Club around 11.0am. It is usually not too busy around that time, especially on the first sea day. With regard to venue, I wasn't too impressed with the Atlantic Room.

The traditional CC M&G on Cunard ships is the first sea day, 2PM, port side of the Commodore Club. Getting Cunard involved means that the day, time, and place will be at Cunard's convenience. Your group has to decide if that is an advantage or not.

In general, 11AM on the first sea day is also the prime time slot for a featured Insights speaker. Having the M&G at 11 will force people to chose one of the other. Maybe the speaker won't draw much interst and the choice is easy. (Or maybe the speaker is the ship's designer - and for me the choice was also very easy.)

After attending a couple of M&Gs that Cunard had participated in I've begun advocating the "flash mob" approach, where we just agree to meet in the Commodore Club at 2:00 or 2:30. In my experience the provided venue tends to be a multipurpose room not near a bar and the provided refreshments tend toward coffee and cookies.

The best M&G, in my experience, have been those where we simply met up in the Commodore Club at a certain time, usually, as has been pointed out, 2pm first day at sea. The room is pleasant, with great views and a bar... ;). People can quietly slip in unobtrusively and mingle.

(At one Cunard-organised M&G held in a far-too-large interior meeting room (ie. with no view, and no bar) every time the door opened the room went quiet and all heads turned to see who was next... :( . It was like a scene from a horror movie where the stranger in the village goes into the busy ancient pub, that then instantly goes silent... :eek: ).

My advice would be to not involve Cunard, if you can possibly avoid it. They'll invariably move it to one of the meeting rooms (on QM2, under Illuminations) that has all the atmosphere and welcome of a hospital waiting area (add a few well-out-of-date magazines, and a bored receptionist, and the illusion would be complete). Stick with the Commodore Club.

Hope this helps :)

..The best M&G, in my experience, have been those where we simply met up in the Commodore Club at a certain time, usually, as has been pointed out, 2pm first day at sea. The room is pleasant, with great views and a bar... People can quietly slip in unobtrusively and mingle...

Couldn't agree with you more, and in the interest of full disclosure I've come to greatly resent the "superorganizers" who swoop in and plan an RCI/Carnival type M&G. (I know they have the noblest of intentions and those who "sign up" clearly like and appreciate their plans.)

I remember all too well a July 4th sailing where the roll call group was to meet at the traditional time and place. Two weeks before sailing, someone who had just booked "was on the phone with Cunard about other things". (She hijacked the M&G.)

The "flash mob" approach allows the roll call group to meet at their own convenience. Nobody has to commit to it but just show up if and when it's convenient.

Thanks everyone for your valuable insights. I was on the right track when I suggested we meet in the Commodore Club but I will take your advise and suggest we meet at 2.30pm instead of 11.0am and stick with the "flash mob" approach.

Lorraine

I have to agree with you 100%.

 

The best M&G, in my experience, have been those where we simply met up in the Commodore Club at a certain time, usually, as has been pointed out, 2pm first day at sea. The room is pleasant, with great views and a bar... ;). People can quietly slip in unobtrusively and mingle.

(At one Cunard-organised M&G held in a far-too-large interior meeting room (ie. with no view, and no bar) every time the door opened the room went quiet and all heads turned to see who was next... :( . It was like a scene from a horror movie where the stranger in the village goes into the busy ancient pub, that then instantly goes silent... :eek: ).

 

My advice would be to not involve Cunard, if you can possibly avoid it. They'll invariably move it to one of the meeting rooms (on QM2, under Illuminations) that has all the atmosphere and welcome of a hospital waiting area (add a few well-out-of-date magazines, and a bored receptionist, and the illusion would be complete). Stick with the Commodore Club.

 

Hope this helps :)

The progression of "smiley's" on this post was priceless.

I wonder what in the world is an "RCI/Carnival" type M & G though....

The progression of "smiley's" on this post was priceless.

 

I wonder what in the world is an "RCI/Carnival" type M & G though....

An RCI M&G is organised by some well meaning soul and everyone normally has to wear a lanyard bearing their names/screen names. There is often food served, because there clearly isn't enough food available on a cruise, and coffee and/or soft drinks. Some senior officers and heads of department attend to address the adoring throng about what happens and how things work. It normally lasts less than 30 minutes and is often followed by a gift exchange between the attendees who have some tat from their local area which they give as a souvenir and then sometimes there is a cabin cavalcade where people troop around the ship into each other's cabins to see just how large/small/spacious/cramped they are. I won't mention the slot pull which I believe involves each person dropping a dollar into a slot machine and sharing out the resulting winnings, communism at it's best. If you think that the whole thing sounds tawdry and unpleasant, don't worry because it is!

An RCI M&G is organised by some well meaning soul and everyone normally has to wear a lanyard bearing their names/screen names. There is often food served, because there clearly isn't enough food available on a cruise, and coffee and/or soft drinks. Some senior officers and heads of department attend to address the adoring throng about what happens and how things work. It normally lasts less than 30 minutes and is often followed by a gift exchange between the attendees who have some tat from their local area which they give as a souvenir and then sometimes there is a cabin cavalcade where people troop around the ship into each other's cabins to see just how large/small/spacious/cramped they are. I won't mention the slot pull which I believe involves each person dropping a dollar into a slot machine and sharing out the resulting winnings, communism at it's best. If you think that the whole thing sounds tawdry and unpleasant, don't worry because it is!

Well said Capn ....... :D

An RCI M&G is organised by some well meaning soul and everyone normally has to wear a lanyard bearing their names/screen names. There is often food served, because there clearly isn't enough food available on a cruise, and coffee and/or soft drinks. Some senior officers and heads of department attend to address the adoring throng about what happens and how things work. It normally lasts less than 30 minutes and is often followed by a gift exchange between the attendees who have some tat from their local area which they give as a souvenir and then sometimes there is a cabin cavalcade where people troop around the ship into each other's cabins to see just how large/small/spacious/cramped they are. I won't mention the slot pull which I believe involves each person dropping a dollar into a slot machine and sharing out the resulting winnings, communism at it's best. If you think that the whole thing sounds tawdry and unpleasant, don't worry because it is!

You nailed it. I pulled out of a roll call where Madame Superorganizer was using every other post to "sign up" people. She will be getting off no less than four RCI cruises before boarding QM2. I know what's coming and don't want any part of it.

That was freaking hilarious!:):)

I hate the old "LOL" but I really did do just that, Cap'n.

A slot pull!!! :D

On the roll call list I cannot find Cunard? I know there is one, can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Melinda

On the roll call list I cannot find Cunard? I know there is one, can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Melinda

On the main forum page you will see a section ROLL CALLS and below that Cunard Roll Calls. Click that and you'll see that there is one for each ship.

That was freaking hilarious! I hate the old "LOL" but I really did do just that, Cap'n. A slot pull!!!

I thought I was the only M&G party pooper but many others don't care for these activities either. A while ago a thread asked why some chose not to join roll calls. Many disliked the activities mentioned by the Cap'n but they were not expressed quite so accurately.

Another common theme was an implication that those in premium accommodations somehow "owed" something to CC members. One man said he mentioned having booked a "Grande Suite" on another line. Big mistake. On the Roll Call board he was asked to host a sail away party for the entire CC group. He never joined another roll call. "I love having people over to my cabin but I want to be able to pick them."

My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to check a roll call from a different line which I had last sailed on in 2000.

I found this:

Sail Away Party - Sky Bar after muster drill (Wear some Mardi Gras beads to identify yourself)

Meet & Mingle - Invitations should be in our staterooms with time, date, and location

Mystery Bag - Right after meet & mingle

Gift Exchange - Right after mystery bag

Slot Pull - Tuesday, Feb. 10th 3:00 pm (To participate you will need to sign up)

Slot Pull List

I am sure it's all in good fun but Cap'n P you just made me crack up again:D

I also noticed a discussion on "vaping" on there.

It sounds like a really fun series of non-events, it has the ring of the only RCI cruise that I ever took.

This thread is really making me LOL

We were invited to a cavalcade once. It was bedlam!!

It sounds like a really fun series of non-events, it has the ring of the only RCI cruise that I ever took.

Different passenger mix. RCI tends to draw those who want a more relaxed, folksy atmosphere. RCI also lacks Cunard's daytime programs, so on repositioning cruises or unscheduled sea days perhaps some welcome these activities as a way to break up boredom. On Cunard ships however these tend to compete with scheduled speakers for the same time slots. The organizers are either oblivious or don't care. I don't think I have much in common with a group that prefers to do a slot pull over hearing Christine Roussel.

I'd avoid attending a M&G with a "super-organiser" involved.

To me, these get-togethers should be relaxed, not regimented.

An opportunity to see old friends again, and make new acquaintances, also to put faces to on-screen names.

The whole idea of lanyards & name tags (like you're attending a sales convention at a crummy hotel), slot-pulls, mystery bag (whatever that horror is), cabin-cavalcades ("oh look, this is identical to mine"), and my particular bete-noire, the "gift exchange"...

Being told just how much I am enjoying myself (and when that should happen). Highly organised spontaneity.

(A few years ago on a QM2 crossing a M&G was organised (not in the Commodore Club). A very large circle of chairs was laid out by the self-appointed leader (to prevent conversation, except with one's immediate neighbour, as it turned out). I was sat at an adjoining table in the bar with a book, not wishing to be the first to arrive, planning to join the group once a few people had turned up. Thank goodness I waited. As people sat down, exchanged greetings, talked quietly to others, recognised old friends etc, the "leader" repeatedly said, in a commanding and increasingly exasperated voice, something like "You'll have the opportunity to introduce yourselves to the group in a minute, if you all talk at once no-one can hear me". I closed my book and went to the Golden Lion for afternoon trivia... )

Best wishes to all (except the super-organisers :D )

I'd avoid attending a M&G with a "super-organiser" involved.

To me, these get-togethers should be relaxed, not regimented.

An opportunity to see old friends again, and make new acquaintances, also to put faces to on-screen names.

 

The whole idea of lanyards & name tags (like you're attending a sales convention at a crummy hotel), slot-pulls, mystery bag (whatever that horror is), cabin-cavalcades ("oh look, this is identical to mine"), and my particular bete-noire, the "gift exchange"...

Being told just how much I am enjoying myself (and when that should happen). Highly organised spontaneity.

 

(A few years ago on a QM2 crossing a M&G was organised (not in the Commodore Club). A very large circle of chairs was laid out by the self-appointed leader (to prevent conversation, except with one's immediate neighbour, as it turned out). I was sat at an adjoining table in the bar with a book, not wishing to be the first to arrive, planning to join the group once a few people had turned up. Thank goodness I waited. As people sat down, exchanged greetings, talked quietly to others, recognised old friends etc, the "leader" repeatedly said, in a commanding and increasingly exasperated voice, something like "You'll have the opportunity to introduce yourselves to the group in a minute, if you all talk at once no-one can hear me". I closed my book and went to the Golden Lion for afternoon trivia... )

 

Best wishes to all (except the super-organisers :D )

Been there done that, still get slated by the organiser for not attending, even though she does not know me ! (LOL)

I'd avoid attending a M&G with a "super-organiser" involved.

To me, these get-togethers should be relaxed, not regimented. An opportunity to see old friends again, and make new acquaintances, also to put faces to on-screen names...

On Cunard roll calls however there is very little overlap between regular participation in this forum and the roll calls. (But perhaps many people chose to lurk here rather than post.) On my 2013 EB the "superorganizer" was a woman who never, ever, posts anywhere in any forums except the roll calls where she is the self appointed organizer. Go figure. :confused:

The "flash mob" allows the group to meet at their convenience and adjust the time should the daily program have something else the majority would wish to attend. "Superorganizers" however take something that is working perfectly fine and break it. :mad:

Been there done that, still get slated by the organiser for not attending, even though she does not know me ! (LOL)

I am sure the organiser knows you as well as you know her. :confused:

I volunteered the organisation of a meet & greet on the world cruise last year after one guy who offered do it backed out, leaving a gap and no one else volunteered.

I ended up hosted 6 or 7 meetings on the world voyage.

It was a new experience for me and I found it rather fun. I made it fun as I am a fun person.

Many people turned up and yes, I made the badges at my own expense and time. No lanyards as I hate such things but we had fun badges. The Americans like badges apparently and I got requests on what they expected them to be like and how they fixed them. All serious stuff for some. ;)

Most people made it to the meeting and the ones that didn't sent an apology for not turning up.

After all, it is not an easy thing organising, enough badges for over 250 people and the rest that came and went on QE last year. Most of them had been on a roll call so I knew they were coming.

It was very time consuming arranging it all in advance and most people just except it happens. That is OK as I had offered to do it so I did my best.

The people who came were very nice and I am still in contact with many of them. The meetings were fun and relaxed. Cunard staff came along a few times and made it more fun. People came and went but most stayed the full 45 minutes and some longer.

The meet & greet is not everyone's cup of tea, but on a world cruise it is more common as it is a way of meeting other people if you are travelling alone, or looking to share a tour with someone else. Personally I would not normally attend meet & Greets as I am very well travelled and no need for help, or advice from others, but I do appreciate that many people like these little get togethers.

They can be a good source of information for many and also you just never know who you will meet and become friends. ;) One thing I did refuse to do to please some American guests was arrange a cabin crawl! This was not something I would like so suggested they arrange it themselves. I never happened.

I am sure the organiser knows you as well as you know her. :confused:

 

I volunteered the organisation of a meet & greet on the world cruise last year after one guy who offered do it backed out, leaving a gap and no one else volunteered.

I ended up hosted 6 or 7 meetings on the world voyage.

It was a new experience for me and I found it rather fun. I made it fun as I am a fun person.

Many people turned up and yes, I made the badges at my own expense and time. No lanyards as I hate such things but we had fun badges. The Americans like badges apparently and I got requests on what they expected them to be like and how they fixed them. All serious stuff for some. ;)

Most people made it to the meeting and the ones that didn't sent an apology for not turning up.

After all, it is not an easy thing organising, enough badges for over 250 people and the rest that came and went on QE last year. Most of them had been on a roll call so I knew they were coming.

It was very time consuming arranging it all in advance and most people just except it happens. That is OK as I had offered to do it so I did my best.

The people who came were very nice and I am still in contact with many of them. The meetings were fun and relaxed. Cunard staff came along a few times and made it more fun. People came and went but most stayed the full 45 minutes and some longer.

The meet & greet is not everyone's cup of tea, but on a world cruise it is more common as it is a way of meeting other people if you are travelling alone, or looking to share a tour with someone else. Personally I would not normally attend meet & Greets as I am very well travelled and no need for help, or advice from others, but I do appreciate that many people like these little get togethers.

They can be a good source of information for many and also you just never know who you will meet and become friends. ;) One thing I did refuse to do to please some American guests was arrange a cabin crawl! This was not something I would like so suggested they arrange it themselves. I never happened.

Maggie, I so enjoyed the Meet & Greets I attended that you organised. Great to meet other people from the roll call. I have attended on Celebrity and Princess but Cunard's are so much more refined. Not sure I would attend on either of those lines again. I don't like the cabin crawl or "the giving of gifts". Meet and Greets are what people make it.