Connections Party -worth it or not please?

[Wookie01]

As a first time cruiser (30 Sep 2011) the Connections Party sounded like a good idea so we have registered for ours, but I notice that there are only 8 signed up to it so far. There are many more than this on the rollcall for our cruise.

Are these parties generally popular?

Is ours unusual to have only 8 at this stage?

Do people tend to sign up closer to the departure date?

Any info and/or opinions welcome thanks :)

Graham

[texkan]

As a first time cruiser (30 Sep 2011) the Connections Party sounded like a good idea so we have registered for ours, but I notice that there are only 8 signed up to it so far. There are many more than this on the rollcall for our cruise.

Are these parties generally popular?

Is ours unusual to have only 8 at this stage?

Do people tend to sign up closer to the departure date?

Any info and/or opinions welcome thanks :)

Graham

 

I have attended several Connection Parties. The last one on Constellation March 2011 was NOT worth the time. Celebrity had coffee and juice and some rolls. The turnout for the party was very poor. There were over 100 cruisers that signed up but there were many no shows.

 

Is your Roll Call Active? Do you have someone that has taken charge to get everyone to sign up for the Party? Maybe you should encourage others on the Roll Call to sign up.

[Hollywood Traveler]

I really liked our Connections party. Met quite a few people who became friends throughout the cruise and one that we have remained friends with since. September's still a long way away. Our April Connections party didn't hit the magic number until March.

[shipshape sam]

As texkan indicated. Sometimes no, sometimes yes.

 

If you have an active roll call, you are more likely to have a better connections party as it may be the first time you meet all the people you have talked to on CC.

 

There are no absolutes though. We had our best connections party on a panama canal cruise from 2009. People were on it for 18 months and it was great meeting at least 10-12 people I had gotten to know on the cc boards.

 

I would, for sure, suggest going to the party and for sure getting on your specific roll call thread. And yes, typically more people sign up closer to the sailing. If the cruise is an exotic destination, there tends to me earlier activity vs standard caribbean, but you can have a heavy cc presence even on caribbean cruises.

 

Make the thread a great thread prior to the cruise and most people will for sure want to attend the connections party to meet you! :)

[cpdad]

I believe more will register for the gathering as the date draws near. At our Millennium party last month, we had a large turnout, with several ship's officers. I was not able to meet nearly as many cruisers as I would have liked.

 

In addition to the usual coffee/juice/pastry, they also served Bloody Marys and Mimosas. That was a nice touch!

 

Also, at this gathering, staff started a sign-up list for a bridge tour later in the cruise. If this activity is of interest to you, you might want to go to the Connections party - you never know what may be happening there.

[Wookie01]

Is your Roll Call Active? Do you have someone that has taken charge to get everyone to sign up for the Party?

 

Our roll call does not seem very active to me, but I have no experience to base it on. Comparing it to the same cruise departing 10 days prior, ours is positively quiet.

 

Maybe you should encourage others on the Roll Call to sign up.

 

I have sort of suggested this a couple of times, but didn't want to appear pushy, and as others are experienced cruisers I thought there may be good reasons why others weren't signing up :confused:

 

 

To cpdad, shipshape sam & Hollywood Traveller, thanks also for your inputs.

 

:)

[Mr&MrsBee]

Connections party is an adult show and tell that gives the elderly a chance to brag while munching on free pastry. If you go with your "other" you will have someone to talk with. The cliques stay to themselves and really don't want you to interfer with their aloftness. Only an opinion. So you can start trashing me now.

[zebra36]

Unless you "connect" with the people on your roll call before the cruise I find that there is generally very little "connecting" during these affairs. If you do not have anything else planned there a worse ways to spend an hour.

[mi_in_sc]

Did it last year and not doing it this year.

[uktog]

 

 

I have sort of suggested this a couple of times, but didn't want to appear pushy, and as others are experienced cruisers I thought there may be good reasons why others weren't signing up :confused:

 

Very good point, I get very frustrated on boards when people keep going on and on about register for the party...has everyone registered....check you have registered etc I think, although very well intentioned, this puts some people off

There can also be a risk as happened on one trip when someone took over the roll call and both on the roll call and during the get together was very much of the view that they were the only one who could do or say anything related to the roll call -it was theres and they were in charge

Although not as extreme as Mr and Mrs Bee I understand what you are saying and I have found some events have been competitions about Ive been on this number of cruises, Ive been on that. I have also been at others where members of the roll calls were monopolising any officer who attended to try and weedle out some perk/captains table invite etc

That said, they can be very pleasant events where it is good to put faces to names which then allows you to know who folks are if you meet them in a bar or on an excursion. Recently though I notice some cruise directors do not give the time for everyone to introduce themselves and there are not name tags available

To the OP I would say, you may well still reach your numbers, when you get to the meeting, you will find about a 30-50% attendance against the numbers and if you mingle and circulate, it could be a pleasant time

[Texed]

We have been to good "Connections", and to not so good. But, we enjoyed meeting CC members at either. :)

[EithneMay]

I think it depends on your roll-call and how connected your group is. We have had hits and misses.

[bellybutton530]

Our Nov 2010 Constellation roll call was very active, and the turnout at our party was very good. Host Andy (the host with the Most) was on our cruise, and he brought CC items to give away. I had had a banner made, and asked the members to sign it for me. We took a group picture. We even had a second party that was well attended.

 

Who knows what will happen on Connie this December? Only time will tell. I will always sign up; I will decide to attend based on the sailaway....

[Spf12]

Have been to several(a complete waste of time),will not go again.

[derf5585]

Here is a video of the CC party on the Mercury

 

[kitkat9438]

I completely agree, it's all about how active your roll call is and if you have someone to organize it. Our last roll call was one of the most active I have ever seen. I organized the roll call for our last couple of cruises. I keep a list of everyone on the roll call, set up a sail away party to meet before the ship sails, arrange for a slot pull and gift exchange and make sure to remind everyone to sign up for the connections party. We had a great turn out last December, with the cruise director and some other crew members showing up. We followed up the connections party by going directly to the casino for our slot pull which was a lot of fun!

 

The connection party a couple of years ago was even better because we had it in a lounge and were offered some free drinks, champagne and mimosas. A very nice touch with several members of the crew in attendance. There are no set rules and as in everything it is what you make of it. It's really an opportunity to meet everyone you've been talking with on cruise critic prior to the cruise and if you've made friends there, then it's even better. My first connection party is where I met my great friends that I cruise with every year. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

 

You will probably get more people signed up as it gets closer.

 

For our upcoming cruise in December, there are only 9 of us on the roll call and 6 who have signed up for the connections party!! :eek: This is the least active roll call I've ever been on.

 

Go and have a good time!!!

[Vol fan]

The parties are hit or miss as others have stated. Celebrity doesn't do name tags, but someone on the Roll Call can volunteer to do name tags. I have done this on the last two cruises I have been on. I made 127 name tags on our last cruise on the Eclipse in April and about 50 people attended. Of course, only the people who had been posting on the Roll Call and had posted their names had name tags. The persons who signed up for the party, but had never posted didn't have name tags because I had no way of knowing their names. They couldn't understand why they didn't have name tags. They thought Celebrity had done the name tags and left them out. I had blank name tags and sharpies so they could make their own, so it was okay.

We only had one person from the ship show up to welcome us and say a few words. There were light refreshments - coffee, tea, danish, juice.

 

We each introduced ourselves, told about our favorite cruise and mingled for quite a while afterward. Several people did shore excursions together and hung out during the cruise playing trivia, going to shows, etc.

 

It was nice recognizing people on the ship during the week.

 

We also had a Sail Away party at the Pool Bar. We wore Mardi Gras beads so we would recognize each other and about 30 showed up at different times.

 

My husband and I always cruise with just the two of us, so we enjoy meeting other couples at the Cruise Critic events. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but we enjoy it.

 

Carole

[CaroleLee]

As a first time cruiser (30 Sep 2011) the Connections Party sounded like a good idea so we have registered for ours, but I notice that there are only 8 signed up to it so far. There are many more than this on the rollcall for our cruise.

Are these parties generally popular?

Is ours unusual to have only 8 at this stage?

Do people tend to sign up closer to the departure date?

Any info and/or opinions welcome thanks :)

Graham

 

It really depends upon your group. Check the roll call for your sailing & urge anyone who hasn't signed up for the party to sign up. Every part of a cruise ( or any vacation) is what you make of it. Start chatting with members of your roll call-its fun to put faces to e-mails

Carole

[cruisestitch]

As well as being dependent on how active your Roll Call group has been, it also depends on who is the Special Events Coordinator on board. Some of them love the Connections parties, provide name tags, arrange for mimosas or bloody marys, then "work the room" and try to make sure everyone is introduced. Others pretty much ignore the party and provide only the minimum coffee and snacks and are never seen again. Sometimes lots of ship's officers come to mingle, other times not. It may be a great time to meet some of the staff and other passengers, but it may be somewhere you stick your head in for a moment and then leave quickly. If you go, look around for someone who might be sitting alone and introduce yourself -- the party will be what you make it.

[CelebrityMan]

I agree with several of the other posters that the parties can go either way, dull or fun.

 

And I heartily agree that it's largely dependent upon how social your Roll Call is. The better the communication there, the more folk will register and attend your Connections event. If people feel welcome and wanted in the Roll Call they'll tend to want to meet those they've been 'chatting' with when they are aboard ship.

 

I've enjoyed every Connections event I've been to, I'm a very social person. But as you can see from some of the responses here, there will always be negativity.

 

Also, my experience is that the shorter the sailing the less attendance. And even on the longer sailings where a 'beginning' and and 'farewell' Connections event are held, the second event will have far less attendance.

 

Do what you can to encourage communication on your Roll Call and go to your event (if you get 25 registrants), and help make it fun by engaging other attendees.

 

Above all, have a GREAT cruise!

 

 

 

CM

[cruise wizard]

I have found that the most successful parties are the ones that include several activities - like a "cabin crawl", grab bag or slot pull. Something to create enthusiasm about being a part of "fun group" - set an atmosphere that gets people involved. Good Luck!!!

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I just had to add my comments. It depends on the roll call, and it depends on the staff. Our roll call for our last cruise started out quietly, but became very active closer to sail date. I think this trend will increase with the changes in policy for refunds or OBC after final payment is due, causing many to wait until the last minute to book. I started the roll call, but took great pains to make sure I did not take it over ("This is not my roll call, this is our roll call.") and made new members feel welcome. I periodically reminded people to sign up for the Connections party, if they were so inclined, and we were stuck at 24 registered for the longest time-- finally finished with 70. About 35 people showed up, and there were no cliques that I observed, no one competing for Best Cruiser. We made it a point to try to visit with everyone at least a little. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to meet each other.

 

Our cruise was port intensive, held at 5pm the first full day, so that could explain why only half of those registered showed up. Celebrity provided champagne and mimosa, as well as some things to munch on (don't remember details, I was too busy meeting people). Four officers and staff attended, name tags were provided, and everyone had a chance to introduce themselves. Since we had two flights cancelled enroute, we missed the roll call's unofficial sailaway party. When everyone realized we made it, a rousing cheer went up from all of our new friends that warmed our hearts. Because of the timing, the party only lasted a half-hour, as people had to make their way for early seating or the special event that night, Super Bowl XLV. I wish we could have spent a couple of hours chatting with everyone. Our group was offered both a bridge tour and a private galley tour later that week.

 

Compare that to the experience of one of our roll call members who stayed onboard for a B2B. His roll call was very quiet-- 160 total posts to our 1,100. No sailaway party or other roll call events, and the Connections party was a bust-- I think he said only 15 people showed up. He partly blamed himself, saying he could have done more to get the party going on the roll call, as we did on ours. The speculation was that Celebrity does monitor the roll calls and plans accordingly, though I can't vouch for the accuracy of this.

 

Our other Connections party previous to that, we were Celebrity newbies and were able to visit with many of the veterans, who were happy to give advice and visit. I think part of the cliquiness can be overcome by being outgoing and engaging. You have as much right to be there as the 100+ cruiser.

 

To those who don't go to the Connections parties, it's not so much about the free coffee and pastries, it's the chance to meet other like-minded cruise fans. Maybe your party will be a bust, but maybe it'll be one of the highlights of your cruise!

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I have found that the most successful parties are the ones that include several activities - like a "cabin crawl", grab bag or slot pull. Something to create enthusiasm about being a part of "fun group" - set an atmosphere that gets people involved. Good Luck!!!

 

A quick note-- our Connections party had nothing special organized in direct connection with the party itself-- no gift exchange, no cabin crawl or slot pull immediately following, though we did do a cabin crawl later in the week. We still had a great time and a fun group, but the atmosphere was created prior to the cruise on the roll call. Grab bags, gift exchanges, slot pulls and cabin crawls in conjunction with the party do help, though.

[Us Two]

We are VERY NEW to CC. I am a young 60'ish And do not find it easy to navigate around some of these ROLL CALLS.

I am lost with the terminology and so I feel a little dumb!!

We went on line (CELEBRITY) last DEC and got onto the roll call. Did not do sail away etc as again did not know what they were talking about!

So my take on our first ever "CONNECTIONS" is pretty negative. WE did not know what was going to happen and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

We will try again this NOV on our CONNIE TA, but methinks it will be our last if it does'nt turn out better than our first! :(

[bellybutton530]

We are VERY NEW to CC. I am a young 60'ish And do not find it easy to navigate around some of these ROLL CALLS.

I am lost with the terminology and so I feel a little dumb!!

We went on line (CELEBRITY) last DEC and got onto the roll call. Did not do sail away etc as again did not know what they were talking about!

So my take on our first ever "CONNECTIONS" is pretty negative. WE did not know what was going to happen and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

We will try again this NOV on our CONNIE TA, but methinks it will be our last if it does'nt turn out better than our first! :(

 

Here is the link to your cruise's roll call; I didn't find any posts by you over there:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1309224&page=16

 

It would be a good idea for you to join the roll call and get to know your fellow passengers in advance of the cruise. It looks like they are planning some activities too.

 

Good luck....