Comparing Carnival, Celebrity, and NCL w/regard to CC Meet-n-Greet's

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

This topic came up in another thread (in the CARNIVAL forum) earlier today, and I thought it had merit enough on its own to be discussed separately.

Can I make a request here at the start? How about we all just read this, and add constructive input. Let's not get into any "bashing" of the various cruise lines or get snippy at each other. We are adults... right? :) This is for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as slighting Carnival (REALLY) - it's "just the facts"! Since this is useful information, I request that if the moderators determine that the responses of some people get out of hand, to simply delete those comments or, if it becomes widespread, to delete the offending comments, and LOCK the thread down - at least it can then remain as a reference source... THANKS

 

I have attended Cruise Critic "Meet-n-Greets" on 3 different cruise lines, and would like to compare/contrast what I have seen.

 

 

=======================================================

CARNIVAL:

Since Carnival was our "first" cruise line, let's start with them. I have, on numerous occasions, contacted the Groups Department at Carnival prior to sailings when it became apparent that we had enough people on a roll call here to justify a more formal meeting place than the "aft bar at sail-away" or similar. They have always been quick to reply and quite helpful in finding a location which did not conflict with planned shipboard activities. Typically it has been in the disco, once or twice in the piano bar. A bar is usually open, with a waiter working the crowd - though we have never gone with the open bar ($) option. Perhaps someone here can give more details on that, as I am not really familiar with how that works. The groups department lately has indicated that the time/place would be listed in the Funtimes. More often than not, such a mention is MIA. At a couple of the meetings there has been a small showing of Carnival staff. Once or twice a cruise director has made an appearance - most recently Todd Whitmer. Another time or two an "activities staff person" or similar has made an appearance. Other than that - we are pretty much on our own, and simply have the place to meet one another (kind of like the intent: "meet and mingle")! I appreciated the assistance from the groups department to set the area aside for us.

----------------------------------------------

 

 

CELEBRITY:

Celebrity does things a little differently - actually devoting a page on their website (LINK). There you can register for a line supported "Cruise Critic Connections" party. Once 25 people from any (7+night) sailing register, it becomes "official". They have another page which provides for FAQ (LINK) with the following topics:

Subject: Cruise Critic Connections

> How do I register for a party?

> Is there a maximum number of people who may register for the Celebrity Cruises/Cruise Critic Connection?

> How can I cancel my registration?

> Are children allowed at the party?

> How can we ask other questions about the party?

> How will I know when and where our Connections Party will be?

> What happens at the parties?

> What is served at the parties?

> What is the dress code for the parties?

> Why isn't my Booking ID/Reservation Number being accepted for registration?

> How can I find out how many people are in my party?

> Can I register other guests who do not have an email address?

> Are all Celebrity cruises eligible for a Celebrity Cruises/ Cruise Critic Connections Party?

> How do I add someone to my party?

> How do I register a large group for a party?

> How many people do we need to have a party?

> How will we know if we qualified for a party?

> I missed the registration deadline, can I still attend?

> Is there a charge for these parties?

> Who can attend the parties?

 

On our first qualifying sailing with Celebrity (Thanksgiving 2008 on the Constellation) we met the 25 headcount threshold, and they put together a nice meeting area complete with snacks/drinks (non-alcoholic), had name tags for all, and made a short presentation. After that we all got together for a photo:

 

 

This was new to me, having not seen this kind of interaction between the cruise line and Cruise Critic members previously. It was appreciated! I have already registered online for our Eclipse sailing next January - though we have not yet met the "critical mass" number... we have plenty of time though!

------------------------------------------------------------

 

NCL:

 

Prior to our first sailing on the Epic earlier this year, I learned that to set up a CC meeting one needed to contact (via email) the Groups Coordinator for the ship you are sailing on. Since nobody in our roll call had taken the initiative, I decided "what the heck" and made contact. They replied very quickly. Everything was set up for an 11am meeting on the first sea day in the Bliss Lounge. They only asked that I get back with them shortly before the sail date to give them a headcount. I did, and what they put together was even more impressive than what Celebrity had done! We entered the lounge not knowing what to expect and found all their monitors around the bar (it's a disco at night) scrolling a Cruise Critic logo :cool::

 

 

They had refreshments set up (no photos of that, darn!) and several officers were mingling. Present was the Hotel Director, F&B Manager, Cruise Director, Chef, Captain, etc... They all took turns speaking to the crowd. The Captain even displayed a sense of humor, saying something along the lines of: "we at NCL do read your reviews, though sometimes I wonder if I was on the same ship"!

 

 

 

They handed out their cards, with their phone extensions listed there. They seemed genuinely interested in making sure that we had a good cruise experience - telling us to give them a call if we had any problems or questions. NICE TOUCH!

 

BTW - I have already set-up plans for a repeat CC meeting onboard for our 11/26/11 return to the Epic!!

-------------------------------------------

 

Well, there it is! If anyone cares to add anything, or has any question, don't hesitate to ask!

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

[DrFootball]

WOW! what a great topic: Don't have anything to add yet, but I will rate my first M&M when we get off the Gem in early Nov...

 

I will admit before my "Bespoken for" days I was in a singles cruise group that I did one Canada/River cruise and one Carnival to the W.carib. with, and lots of folks from that group did bash other cruise lines constantly, which I do think is unfair. I also like to pride myself on my research (DW Brags about it to all her friends and our family that i start planning 6-12 months in advance or more!) I do see why we did move away from Carnival and towards NCL though,..for the most part it seems a more "adult" way of dealing with things...

 

Bill(DrFootball)

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

WOW! what a great topic: Don't have anything to add yet, but I will rate my first M&M when we get off the Gem in early Nov...

 

I will admit before my "Bespoken for" days I was in a singles cruise group that I did one Canada/River cruise and one Carnival to the W.carib. with, and lots of folks from that group did bash other cruise lines constantly, which I do think is unfair. I also like to pride myself on my research (DW Brags about it to all her friends and our family that i start planning 6-12 months in advance or more!) I do see why we did move away from Carnival and towards NCL though,..for the most part it seems a more "adult" way of dealing with things...

 

Bill(DrFootball)

 

Thanks for the feedback! :)

 

Tom

[kerrytens]

Tom (again) thanks for posting this on the NCL boards too:D The answer I wrote on another board is probably more appropriate here but ... the jist of what I said was 'great info'! And thanks:D

 

(and tips on being the m&g 'point person' are more than welcome too)

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

 

(and tips on being the m&g 'point person' are more than welcome too)

 

You've got that in the bag! :D

 

Just confirm everything one last time before you go - print it out, and you're all set!

 

Tom

[kerrytens]

You've got that in the bag! :D

 

Just confirm everything one last time before you go - print it out, and you're all set!

 

Tom

LOL! I'm trying ... phew:p

[kerrytens]

I wanted to add that folks should visit this same post on the CCL boards to specifically look at Halos' post. Her words that the 'little things' add up really speaks volumes about NCL.

 

The idea of having officers attend a group meeting and then hand out their cell numbers simply blows my mind. To have someone tell me to call them if I have an issue while onboard means a lot to me. It makes so much more sense to me to give the line an opportunity to fix something rather than allow a passenger to go home and stew about it. Bravo NCL!

[cabincop]

Thank you for this post I have been cruising since 1981(Iwas a baby I swear) I always have a great time however once I discovered CC I went to my first m/g on the Gem I have only been to 2 since I joined and only on NCL I love that the staff came and I loved how they would acknowledge you when they saw you around the ship. Only 2m/g yet what an added pleasure to my cruise experience thank you

[Steelersvixen]

Fingers crossed that hubby will book this cruise instead of the Carnival on the same date

[nikimouse]

I have done a carnival meet n mingle with open bar! it was on the victory on the second day at 4pm in a very dark black and red seas room, i really wish we'd just met on deck since i dont like formalities and also, it was kinda hard to drag myself away from the hot tub. I didnt help myself by turning up still wearing my wet bathing suit under my dress :eek:

there was a bar server who gave us a drink and then disapeared! she only gave us 2 drinks and i was tempted to go behind the bar and help myself but didnt. I wasnt impressed but it was nice to meet people from the rollcall. We didnt meet any other ship staff or get any snacks, but I bought a ton of chocolate all the way from England for everyone and I got along great with a few people and we hung out afterwards.

 

omg when it comes to rollcalls carnivals cruisers seem to get alot more involved, we had like 2000 + hits on our thread and over 800 comments, yet I am the ONLY person on my ncl rollcall and theres no one to talk to!

 

I would still prefer to meet at the aft pool bar, but if ncl do go to an effort for their cruise critic guests like they did for you then you've persuaded me to try and do another get together :D

[Shellbelle28]

It's been a few years now, but I had the same experience with NCL on two prior cruises for CC get togethers. We were provided a nice meeting area, complimentary snacks and a beverage and the Hotel Manager and F&B Manager were there. They gave us their cards with their contact numbers and I was floored that every time one of those officers passed us anywhere on the ship for the rest of the cruise, they remembered us by name and were genuinely interested in how things were going for us.

[STARFISH*4]

COOL on the EPIC, i only know NCL M&Gs...i set up the last one on the Sun last year and several officers including the captain were there and punch and cookies were served (okay not sure exactly as i was to busy and never got over to the refreshments....lol...)

 

they always make a BIG thing of telling us if there are ANY problems to PLEASE come see them so that they can have a chance to make things right and NOT to read about the problem on CC!!

 

as the Group Leader for my SUN cruise last year...i was treated with a bit of VIP status which i MUCHLY APPRECIATED and DIDNT expect!

the GROUP EVENTS COORDINATOR onboard was wonderful and always asking if there was anything that could be done to make our cruise better.

 

IT WAS A WONDERFUL cruise despite about 2 hrs or so later the ship

"broke" and then we ended up having quite a week--but for myself and my hubby we ENJOYED ourselves VERY MUCH and whatever was happening

(missed ports/changed itinerary) we made the best of it and thought NCL did a GREAT job dealing with the SUNs situation.

 

i am also doing the M&Gs for our B2B again on the SUN and looking forward to meeting the crew and meeting the CC members aboard!!

 

btw each request which i put in a few months ago for our Dec sailings were handled quickly and within a day or two our M&G was scheduled.

[joyy7403]

We have been to 3 M&Gs, only on NCL and I am so impressed every time I attend one! The Captain and officers always take time to mingle and then speak to our group and, as said before, give us their telephone numbers in case we have a problem. They genuinely care if we are having a good time, and will try to fix it if we don't. I love it when they recognize me during the rest of the cruise, and will stop to chat, if just for a second. The passengers are important to them, and it shows every day in everything they do. Ok, I guess I am an NCL groupie, but why not stick with a good thing? Thanks, NCL!!

[Sauer-kraut]

omg when it comes to rollcalls carnivals cruisers seem to get alot more involved, we had like 2000 + hits on our thread and over 800 comments, yet I am the ONLY person on my ncl rollcall and theres no one to talk to!

:D

 

I have had the opposite experience on Carnival, there were 5 posters on my roll call, and a total of 24 posts!!! So it was a very lame roll call, considering on of the posters had a family reunion going on, another had a high school reunion, and I was a guest of a fairly large wedding.

[Minoushka]

I have organized a few on NCL and Celebrity

On Millie it was OUTSTANDING High echelon crew showed uop in full dress uniform ...VERY NICe Mimosas and Champagme flowing VERY IMPRESSIVE

On Silhouette NOTHING special Coffee danish Few people ie CREW MEMBERS showed up Rather disappointing Some CC members never told of place and time so MISSED it

On EPIC .Nice turn out by Crew NIce spread all in all very nice

Carnival ...do not remember going on one mmmmmmmmmmmmm?

[SuiteRose]

I have attended Cruise Critic Meet & Greet's on our last 3 cruises. I was the one who actually planned the one in January. We had a very large and active roll call and more than 80 people signed up for the Meet & Greet. Everyone did not attend but we had a really great showing. When the hotel manager arrived he walked up to me and handed me his card. I could not believe the amount of time that the officers spent in the room, first each talking about their roll on the ship and then mingling with us after the formal talks by each of them.

 

I am sad that our roll call for my upcoming cruise is so small.. I hope it will pick up as the cruise gets closer. We would really miss the Meet and Greet.

[nikimouse]

I have had the opposite experience on Carnival, there were 5 posters on my roll call, and a total of 24 posts!!! So it was a very lame roll call, considering on of the posters had a family reunion going on, another had a high school reunion, and I was a guest of a fairly large wedding.

 

 

bad luck, guess it just depends on the sailing and who ever happens to join the rollcall. I am the only person on my rollcall at the moment but im sure it'll liven up. maybe it wasnt a carnival thing and I just lucked out with that rollcall, everyone said it was the liveliest rollcall theyd ever been on! it was the first one id ever been on so I assumed they were all like that and then i wondered where everyone was who is supposed to be sailing the pearl because no one else joined the rollcall ( its only been a week so ill give it a chance ) have your NCL rollcalls been better than your carnival one?

[kerrytens]

My NCL roll call is by far the busiest one I've been involved in. It took a while to get going but a few months ago, it just took off. GREAT group of people. I can't wait to meet them .. in person:D

[OceanDreams]

IMHO ~ NCL has the best CC Meet & Greets. The warmth, camaraderie of the staff is outstanding. I have had the pleasure of attending Carnival and Royal Caribbean's CC meetings and they are really nice ..... but NCL is the best.

 

OceanDreams

[SunFunCruiser]

I'm really looking forward to my NCL Epic meet! Although, I wish they did these a little later in the day lol

 

Our Celebrity Cruise Critic meet had almost 100 people signed up, not sure how many actually showed up, but it was a lot. I started the meet up and everyone was so nice, they even came up to me and thanked me!

The crew was great and made a speech. It was super early in the morning,on a med cruise <sigh> they put out coffee,juice, fruit and danishes. But hey, we didn't get a photo like you did!!!

[mellygo]

I agree that NCL does the best Meet & Mingles! I still have John's card from the Jewel, and he truly remembered us and spoke to us when he would see us somewhere on the ship.

 

I am the organizer of the M & M for our upcoming (leaving in 18 days!!!) cruise on the Jade. I am certainly hoping that it is a good experience for everyone again, because there are over 140 of us signed up to come!!! Any advice last minute?

[*Luv2Cruz*]

IMHO ~ NCL has the best CC Meet & Greets. The warmth, camaraderie of the staff is outstanding. I have had the pleasure of attending Carnival and Royal Caribbean's CC meetings and they are really nice ..... but NCL is the best.

 

OceanDreams

NCL M&G's have always been great!:D

[Medtech2]

Well, my roll call for my SUN cruise is just me and one other person so far. I hope it picks up....I really liked our M & G on the Epic. We ended up having CC friends to stop and chat with throughout the cruise AND the crew members also. Even the captain stopped to chat while running by one day and was very patient while my husband tried three times to take a picture!

[newmexicoNita]

This topic came up in another thread (in the CARNIVAL forum) earlier today, and I thought it had merit enough on its own to be discussed separately.

Can I make a request here at the start? How about we all just read this, and add constructive input. Let's not get into any "bashing" of the various cruise lines or get snippy at each other. We are adults... right? :) This is for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as slighting Carnival (REALLY) - it's "just the facts"! Since this is useful information, I request that if the moderators determine that the responses of some people get out of hand, to simply delete those comments or, if it becomes widespread, to delete the offending comments, and LOCK the thread down - at least it can then remain as a reference source... THANKS

 

I have attended Cruise Critic "Meet-n-Greets" on 3 different cruise lines, and would like to compare/contrast what I have seen.

 

 

=======================================================

CARNIVAL:

Since Carnival was our "first" cruise line, let's start with them. I have, on numerous occasions, contacted the Groups Department at Carnival prior to sailings when it became apparent that we had enough people on a roll call here to justify a more formal meeting place than the "aft bar at sail-away" or similar. They have always been quick to reply and quite helpful in finding a location which did not conflict with planned shipboard activities. Typically it has been in the disco, once or twice in the piano bar. A bar is usually open, with a waiter working the crowd - though we have never gone with the open bar ($) option. Perhaps someone here can give more details on that, as I am not really familiar with how that works. The groups department lately has indicated that the time/place would be listed in the Funtimes. More often than not, such a mention is MIA. At a couple of the meetings there has been a small showing of Carnival staff. Once or twice a cruise director has made an appearance - most recently Todd Whitmer. Another time or two an "activities staff person" or similar has made an appearance. Other than that - we are pretty much on our own, and simply have the place to meet one another (kind of like the intent: "meet and mingle")! I appreciated the assistance from the groups department to set the area aside for us.

----------------------------------------------

 

 

CELEBRITY:

Celebrity does things a little differently - actually devoting a page on their website (LINK). There you can register for a line supported "Cruise Critic Connections" party. Once 25 people from any (7+night) sailing register, it becomes "official". They have another page which provides for FAQ (LINK) with the following topics:

Subject: Cruise Critic Connections

> How do I register for a party?

> Is there a maximum number of people who may register for the Celebrity Cruises/Cruise Critic Connection?

> How can I cancel my registration?

> Are children allowed at the party?

> How can we ask other questions about the party?

> How will I know when and where our Connections Party will be?

> What happens at the parties?

> What is served at the parties?

> What is the dress code for the parties?

> Why isn't my Booking ID/Reservation Number being accepted for registration?

> How can I find out how many people are in my party?

> Can I register other guests who do not have an email address?

> Are all Celebrity cruises eligible for a Celebrity Cruises/ Cruise Critic Connections Party?

> How do I add someone to my party?

> How do I register a large group for a party?

> How many people do we need to have a party?

> How will we know if we qualified for a party?

> I missed the registration deadline, can I still attend?

> Is there a charge for these parties?

> Who can attend the parties?

 

On our first qualifying sailing with Celebrity (Thanksgiving 2008 on the Constellation) we met the 25 headcount threshold, and they put together a nice meeting area complete with snacks/drinks (non-alcoholic), had name tags for all, and made a short presentation. After that we all got together for a photo:

 

 

This was new to me, having not seen this kind of interaction between the cruise line and Cruise Critic members previously. It was appreciated! I have already registered online for our Eclipse sailing next January - though we have not yet met the "critical mass" number... we have plenty of time though!

------------------------------------------------------------

 

NCL:

 

Prior to our first sailing on the Epic earlier this year, I learned that to set up a CC meeting one needed to contact (via email) the Groups Coordinator for the ship you are sailing on. Since nobody in our roll call had taken the initiative, I decided "what the heck" and made contact. They replied very quickly. Everything was set up for an 11am meeting on the first sea day in the Bliss Lounge. They only asked that I get back with them shortly before the sail date to give them a headcount. I did, and what they put together was even more impressive than what Celebrity had done! We entered the lounge not knowing what to expect and found all their monitors around the bar (it's a disco at night) scrolling a Cruise Critic logo :cool::

 

 

They had refreshments set up (no photos of that, darn!) and several officers were mingling. Present was the Hotel Director, F&B Manager, Cruise Director, Chef, Captain, etc... They all took turns speaking to the crowd. The Captain even displayed a sense of humor, saying something along the lines of: "we at NCL do read your reviews, though sometimes I wonder if I was on the same ship"!

 

 

 

They handed out their cards, with their phone extensions listed there. They seemed genuinely interested in making sure that we had a good cruise experience - telling us to give them a call if we had any problems or questions. NICE TOUCH!

 

BTW - I have already set-up plans for a repeat CC meeting onboard for our 11/26/11 return to the Epic!!

-------------------------------------------

 

Well, there it is! If anyone cares to add anything, or has any question, don't hesitate to ask!

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

 

Tom, we have never done a M&G with Carnival so I can't judge them, but our experience with Celebrity, was great except they scheduled it mid week (actually almost the end of the cruise) so it was poorly attended.

 

NCL does a good job, usually the first day at sea and yes, it is either 10am or 11am with refreshments served and many of the officers in attendence to answer questions.

 

We are doing Princess next week; they work similar to Carnival it seems, no refreshments, yes a bar will be available and the officers have to be invited. This was a real surprise to me. When we return we will report on the outcome.

 

It is obvious every line handles these things their own way, which makes it interesting.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

I have done a carnival meet n mingle with open bar! it was on the victory on the second day at 4pm in a very dark black and red seas room, i really wish we'd just met on deck since i dont like formalities and also, it was kinda hard to drag myself away from the hot tub. I didnt help myself by turning up still wearing my wet bathing suit under my dress :eek:

there was a bar server who gave us a drink and then disapeared! she only gave us 2 drinks and i was tempted to go behind the bar and help myself but didnt. I wasnt impressed but it was nice to meet people from the rollcall. We didnt meet any other ship staff or get any snacks, but I bought a ton of chocolate all the way from England for everyone and I got along great with a few people and we hung out afterwards.

 

omg when it comes to rollcalls carnivals cruisers seem to get alot more involved, we had like 2000 + hits on our thread and over 800 comments, yet I am the ONLY person on my ncl rollcall and theres no one to talk to!

 

I would still prefer to meet at the aft pool bar, but if ncl do go to an effort for their cruise critic guests like they did for you then you've persuaded me to try and do another get together :D

 

How involved has a lot to do with the sailing dates and the itinerary I think. The family busy weeks usually do not produce great Meet and Greets, for starters. We have had the best results with NCL, the worst with HAL. I will add, the one we are taking next week on Princess is by far the most active we have been involved in or it appears that way. As for comments, our Princess one has over 1000, but many are from the same few posters, including me. Our last NCL had about 700 to 800 responses. Our informal M&G which we always do for sail away was very successful. The actually M&G was not all that well attended compared to how many signed up.

 

Nita