Cocktail Party

[KKCruisers]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has ever taken advantage of the cocktail party that Carnival offers to a group of 20 or more for a small fee.

 

I need to know how you aranged payments by CC members. I know Carnival will only let one person pay for it on their sign and sail card but how did you arrange to collect the fee from each CC member?

 

 

Your help will be greatly appreciated we are sailing in 3 weeks and need to take care of this now.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

PS I am not talking about the cocktail parties at the Captain nights.:cool:

[pkrchkr]

I am planning the one for the Breezer's Nov 24 2012 cruise.. contac CCL special event dept and get a special event co-ordinator.. make a spread sheet to collect names of people interested in a attending..Figure out what you want.. ( we are doing a 2 hour open bar with dry snacks for about 20pp).. then arrange payment.. you will get billed for everyone attending so make sure that the non drinkers are accounted for from the drinkers so you don't get the extra charge for amount of a drinker.Set a dead line for pre payment and that is it a deadline.. you don't want to pay out of pocket for people just attending with out paying..There is several option including a private wine tasting, hot and cold hors deurvies sp),etc but the SE will help you..Good luck on your event

[scgamecock]

We always did this via Paypal, however a few of the technologically challenged in our group mailed a check.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

We always did this via Paypal, however a few of the technologically challenged in our group mailed a check.

 

I would also recommend paypal, and second the advice to set a deadline and stick with it. As long as you communicate it a few times, no one should have issues with that. (Hopefully;))

[imluvncruzn]

I posted the paypal rules for personal payments over on the roll call boards for this cruise. There is no fee to accept personal payments as long as they pay with their paypal balance or bank account. You will incur a fee if they try to pay with a debit or credit card. I've done this several times before and it's quick, easy, and efficient!

[MagSeven1413]

I organized ours on our Halloween cruise and it was very easy. Group event planning will handle it and someone from the ship's hotel staff will meet with the organizer once you board the ship. It was $19.44 for a 2 hour open bar with snacks for drinkers. I think 3 people preferred to send me checks; the others paid through paypal, which is very easy.

 

I put the money I collected on my S&S once the party was billed to me.

 

Since there were some people on our roll call that didn't subscribe to the thread or check in regularly, I kept posting reminders about the payment deadline on our roll call.

 

It worked out fine and we had a great time!

 

Joe

[KatSt]

Our Roll Call is doing a Cocktail Party on the Magic January 29th sailing.

 

The Host used both Paypal and Chase Payments to accept payment. I haven't heard whether there is any problems, but I'm assuming all is going well.

 

The cost is now $22 for the premium package which allows unlimited drinks up to $8.50 for 2 hours. The $20 package only covers drinks up to $6.50. We all decided to go with the premium package for the extra $2.

[5waldos]

Agreed that paypal is the way to go. But remember to add a bit extra for the tip, and I also add a bit extra to allow for name tags, and also for some form of id for who is alcohol, who is soda. And also to ask people to include their online handle when they pay- I found it easy to get confused about who Bob and Mary are when I think of them as The CruisePair.

 

I have gotten plastic leis at the local party store in two colors which weigh nothing and can pack up without concern of getting crushed. Makes it easy for the staff at the party to know who gets what, and who is not a paid participant. We usually have a first day informal meet up and I will have an envelope with an stick-on badge, the appropriate colored leis, and a printout of where and when the party is. I ask everyone to find me so I can give them the envelope.

 

Carnival will call you once on board to confirm the number and the venue and then it will be charged to your s&s account.

[MagSeven1413]

Our Roll Call is doing a Cocktail Party on the Magic January 29th sailing.

 

The Host used both Paypal and Chase Payments to accept payment. I haven't heard whether there is any problems, but I'm assuming all is going well.

 

The cost is now $22 for the premium package which allows unlimited drinks up to $8.50 for 2 hours. The $20 package only covers drinks up to $6.50. We all decided to go with the premium package for the extra $2.

I wonder if that just changed because neither of the bartenders turned down anyone's drink request at our party; of course, I wasn't paying that much attention to what others were drinking and I didn't hear any complaints.

[MagSeven1413]

Agreed that paypal is the way to go. But remember to add a bit extra for the tip, and I also add a bit extra to allow for name tags, and also for some form of id for who is alcohol, who is soda. And also to ask people to include their online handle when they pay- I found it easy to get confused about who Bob and Mary are when I think of them as The CruisePair.

 

I have gotten plastic leis at the local party store in two colors which weigh nothing and can pack up without concern of getting crushed. Makes it easy for the staff at the party to know who gets what, and who is not a paid participant. We usually have a first day informal meet up and I will have an envelope with an stick-on badge, the appropriate colored leis, and a printout of where and when the party is. I ask everyone to find me so I can give them the envelope.

 

Carnival will call you once on board to confirm the number and the venue and then it will be charged to your s&s account.

We did a 50/50 (half the take) drawing at ours and the bartenders got an extra $25 each in addition to the normal tips. They were quite happy.

 

And yes, make sure you get them to include their cruise critic screen name when sending you money.

 

I made up an excel spreadsheet with screen name, given names, hometown, cabin number and anything else they wanted to provide and I emailed that to everyone prior to the cruise.

[okgirl]

I wonder if that just changed because neither of the bartenders turned down anyone's drink request at our party; of course, I wasn't paying that much attention to what others were drinking and I didn't hear any complaints.

 

This is why a couple of years ago Carnival got a little reluctant to do Cocktail parties for Cruise Critic groups ( not to be confused with M&Gs).

 

They want you to have the spreadsheet available and have some sort of identification as to who has paid for what (alcohol vs non-alcohol). They are discrete but they do count heads and the bartenders are much better at only serving people who have the correct wrist band or necklace or whatever on.

 

We usually have someone on our roll call collect money, I did it one year, and then our TA sets up the party and pays Carnival and we pay her. We collect cash for the tips.

[serene56]

I hve set up a few of these on cruises past. We used my travel agent to set it up but it needed to be paid for ahead of time. I do not recall an option that paying off a sign and sail card was available.

 

(what happens if you say 20 people go and 4 dont show up- are you still responsible to pay for those 4 people?

 

 

the upcoming trip very few people drink so it didnt call for ordering a coctail partyfor us

[bigsmooth]

I hve set up a few of these on cruises past. We used my travel agent to set it up but it needed to be paid for ahead of time. I do not recall an option that paying off a sign and sail card was available.

 

(what happens if you say 20 people go and 4 dont show up- are you still responsible to pay for those 4 people?

 

 

the upcoming trip very few people drink so it didnt call for ordering a coctail partyfor us

I had 6 cruisers that did not show up:eek:. The answer is yes. I had to pay that $72.00:eek:. The money was due at the Meet&Greet the day before the Cocktail Party and they did not show up to pay. So I thought they would show up at the Cocktail Party and pay then but man was I wrong:eek:, but that was my fault for trusting peoples. I should have had everyone to pay one or two months in advance.

[MagSeven1413]

This is why a couple of years ago Carnival got a little reluctant to do Cocktail parties for Cruise Critic groups ( not to be confused with M&Gs).

Actually I was referring to the choice of alcoholic drinks. I had been under the impression that it might be limited to lower end alcohol, but my DW was drinking Jack Daniels and coke during the party and I did notice some special concoctions floating around but like I said, no one complained (either staff or attendees).

 

I did not mention CC when I set up the party. When I met the hotel manager, she asked if it was a Cruise Critic party because she would have arranged for Wee Jimmy (the Legend's CD) to make an appearance. She did get him to come down anyway.

 

I spent about 15 minutes talking to the coordinator and she didn't understand why I was so reluctant to mention Cruise Critic. I tried to explain the 'bad image' that some CC members have given and that Carnival sometimes frowned on those 2 words. She had no problems with the group - in fact, she sent a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to our room the next day. She also took some group pictures for me too. She also remembered me every time we passed in the ship.

 

Really, if the group is well behaved and everyone uses common sense during the party, I don't think Carnival would have a problem. However, once someone associated with any group (not just CC) causes problems, it begins to give the whole group a bad name by guilt through association. Whether that is deserved or not is another story, but it happens.

 

I'm just happy that:

1. everyone on my roll call paid up front

2. they behaved themselves as adults

3. no one else tried to crash the party.

I really have to thank everyone from that roll call for making it a success. So many of them had been very active on the thread prior to the cruise that we felt like friends once we got together (plus there were no cliques).

 

Just my 2 cents (or more).

 

Joe

[serene56]

I had 6 cruisers that did not show up:eek:. The answer is yes. I had to pay that $72.00:eek:. The money was due at the Meet&Greet the day before the Cocktail Party and they did not show up to pay. So I thought they would show up at the Cocktail Party and pay then but man was I wrong:eek:, but that was my fault for trusting peoples. I should have had everyone to pay one or two months in advance.

 

 

Live and Learn-- for that reason I would tell people-- pay upfront or dont go.

Its a VERY expensive lesson to learn too late

[okgirl]

Actually I was referring to the choice of alcoholic drinks. I had been under the impression that it might be limited to lower end alcohol, but my DW was drinking Jack Daniels and coke during the party and I did notice some special concoctions floating around but like I said, no one complained (either staff or attendees).

 

I did not mention CC when I set up the party. When I met the hotel manager, she asked if it was a Cruise Critic party because she would have arranged for Wee Jimmy (the Legend's CD) to make an appearance. She did get him to come down anyway.

 

I spent about 15 minutes talking to the coordinator and she didn't understand why I was so reluctant to mention Cruise Critic. I tried to explain the 'bad image' that some CC members have given and that Carnival sometimes frowned on those 2 words. She had no problems with the group - in fact, she sent a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to our room the next day. She also took some group pictures for me too. She also remembered me every time we passed in the ship.

 

Really, if the group is well behaved and everyone uses common sense during the party, I don't think Carnival would have a problem. However, once someone associated with any group (not just CC) causes problems, it begins to give the whole group a bad name by guilt through association. Whether that is deserved or not is another story, but it happens.

 

I'm just happy that:

1. everyone on my roll call paid up front

2. they behaved themselves as adults

3. no one else tried to crash the party.

I really have to thank everyone from that roll call for making it a success. So many of them had been very active on the thread prior to the cruise that we felt like friends once we got together (plus there were no cliques).

 

Just my 2 cents (or more).

 

Joe

 

I think most of the bad rep that CC has had from the ship personnel has gone away. I don't feel that vibe from them. JH's blog is another thing all together. I think there have been some trolls that gave us a pretty bad black eye over there.

 

Our CC group cruise cocktail parties and cruises in general have been a spectacular success. The Crazies that I sail with have done so 5 or 6 times in various size groups.....sometimes just 6 or 8 of us and sometimes 300.......but always fun....

[afcj1]

I just had one on the Magic in Oct and there were 60+ people. Everyone needed to pay whether they drank or not, since the bartenders are too busy making drinks, to ask for proof of payment. I gave wristbands at the door, but even so, wanted to keep it fair to all. Yes, a couple of ppl pushed back...but they attended.

 

At these cocktail parties, ALL drinks are covered, not just those up to a certain price, as previously stated.

 

I kept reminding folks of the deadline for payment and there was a choice of either PayPal or check. My sister has a POB, so no worried putting the address on the Roll Call. Wristbands were given at "check-in, where I had tables set up.

 

Once I collected all of the funds I had the event coorinator in Miami charge my credit card for the exact amount.

 

There was a raffle for a basket of home town items that ppl brought with them and ALL of the money, >$125, was given to the CCL bartenders/helpers. Since I wanted to make sure that all of the employees got their share, I gave the funds to the event coordinator on board to disburse.

 

I LOVE organizing these...next up Breeze TA:)

[Cyn7]

I organized one for my Legend Cruise this past September. It was my first cruise ever...lol.

 

I had people pay via PayPal or Check. I had a deadline date and I ordered custom made lanyards and made name tags to go in the plastic pouch that came with the lanyards.

 

Before the cocktail party, I showed the Group Coordinator, Bar Tenders and Servers the lanyards and informed them that IF the person didn't have a lanyard with the name tag I had made in it, then the person was not with our group and was not to be served.

 

I had extra lanyards left over and gave them to the crew taking care of us along with extra tip money. We had a group of 60.

 

One BIG tip, if you do the party on sail away day make sure you have it after you leave port or you will get charged taxes. Duh, moment for me when the bill was $50 more....lol.

 

Also, you can request a microphone (there's no extra charge), I had everyone email me the names of everyone in their group and if anyone was celebrating a special event to let me know. I made one small speech and announced all the special events our group was celebrating. We had a lot of anniversaries that cruise.

[kr8z]

 

And yes, make sure you get them to include their cruise critic screen name when sending you money.

 

I made up an excel spreadsheet with screen name, given names, hometown, cabin number and anything else they wanted to provide and I emailed that to everyone prior to the cruise.

 

That's exactly how I did it when I collected the money last time. Amy organized it trough Carnival, but I paid for it. It did go on my S&S. I wanted to pay for it separately with my paypal debit card, but they were not cool with that, so I relented and did S&S. The only drink I've been turned down was a martini up - they said they could only do it on the rocks. Fine, I just asked for a separate glass then strained it myself lol Mind you this was after they had already been serving me martinis up, but whatever! I love these gatherings. I order a Sam Adams and Absolut or Stoli martini at the same time. I feel I am better balanced when I have a drink in each hand :p

[Cyn7]

Oh, I forgot to mention. What I did with the money...lol.

 

Since PayPal offers a Debit Card, I got one and as I collected money on PayPal I would call and order Funship Dollars and asked that it be credited as OBC on my account. So when I boarded the ship, I had $725.00 OBC to pay for the Cocktail Party,

 

It was easy because I didn't have to worry about taking the cash or having a HUGE charge on my Credit Card at the end of the cruise.

 

I know that many of our group was ordering expensive drinks as well. My DH is a Scotch drinker and he wasn't doing the cheap Scotch either.

[5waldos]

Oh, I forgot to mention. What I did with the money...lol.

 

Since PayPal offers a Debit Card, I got one and as I collected money on PayPal I would call and order Funship Dollars and asked that it be credited as OBC on my account. So when I boarded the ship, I had $725.00 OBC to pay for the Cocktail Party,

 

It was easy because I didn't have to worry about taking the cash or having a HUGE charge on my Credit Card at the end of the cruise.

 

I know that many of our group was ordering expensive drinks as well. My DH is a Scotch drinker and he wasn't doing the cheap Scotch either.

 

I like that idea a lot- may adopt it.

 

We did a 50/50 (half the take) drawing at ours and the bartenders got an extra $25 each in addition to the normal tips. They were quite happy.

 

I have no idea what that is. But it sounds complicated.

[Cyn7]

I like that idea a lot- may adopt it.

 

We did a 50/50 (half the take) drawing at ours and the bartenders got an extra $25 each in addition to the normal tips. They were quite happy.

 

I have no idea what that is. But it sounds complicated.

 

A 50/50 Drawing is you collect 1-5 dollars for a ticket that you put into a drawing. Who ever's ticket gets drawn wins 50% of the take and the other 50% goes to the servers. People can buy as many tickets that they want to buy.

 

This is what we do when we do Poker Run's for charity.

[BoooBooKitEFk]

I've organized two in the past, and am in the process of organizing one for my Fascination cruise in February. In the past, I've had a little more time so that when I call the Groups Department I had some kind of choice as to when/where the M&G would be held. This time, it's kind of last notice, so I was given only one choice. Not a bad choice, but would have preferred having more than one option to choose from.

 

I've always done the PayPal thing, but also give my email addy for a contact point in case people would rather mail me a check/money order. Never had a problem to date. I've also done the prepaid OBC thing... once all the monies were collected for the M&G, I called Carnival and put that amount on my S&S account prior, so that once I was on board, I wouldn't notice anything... the exact money owed was the exact money I had already pre-paid.

 

I've heard of people waiting till EV1 was on board to collect monies, but I am just too worried about being stuck with a bill for 20+ people on my sail & sign bill, and I'm just not willing to take that risk. I'm guessing if someone in my group is that worried about losing $11 and change to not prepay, then I'm not all that confident that they'd show up before the party to pay me either. Nothing against anyone personally, just natural human nature.

 

Anyway, in my experience, these types of get togethers are a great time to meet your roll-call folks and in some cases, make some lasting friendships!

 

Good luck and I hope you have a wonderful M&G and an even better cruise!