Return guest party?

[SugarStar00]

Is there a special party for past guests on Princess like Carnival has? This will be our second Princess cruise, will we qualify? If so, what does it usually consist of and when would it be on a 10 day to the Southern Caribbean?

 

Thanks

[Gunner22aa]

Or I have missed all of them. They do have pre organized meet and greet functions from the roll calls, special invites for their most travelled passangers on the cruise and an elite passanger get together but I have never seen one for returning passangers.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Last winter on the Emerald Princess, there was a part for Gold members in the Princess Theater. The captain spoke, the singers sang, they showed a Royal Princess video and everyone was handed a free drink coupon on the way out of the theater. It was very nice.

[dorisis]

Is there a special party for past guests on Princess like Carnival has? This will be our second Princess cruise, will we qualify? If so, what does it usually consist of and when would it be on a 10 day to the Southern Caribbean?

 

Thanks

 

You will qualify as will many many of the other passengers. They Usually serve drinks and canapes. You will be greeted by the captain and officers as you enter and maybe have your picture taken with the captain (although with so many past passengers it is time consuming and may be omitted) I think I can guarantee that it will be VERY crowded. If it is held in the atrium there are very few spots for seating.

 

wWe rarely attend these parties as they are not worth the effort. It is usually on the first formal night. Generally the first sea day.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Last year it was held the first full day of the cruise (second day) around 4:45pm, even if that day was Princess Cays.

[CruisinChris]

Ok - the Captain's Circle Party is totally different than the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party which is held in the Atrium on the first formal night and all passengers are invited. The Captain will be introduced and he will do a short welcome speech and the other officers and department heads will be introduced.

 

The Captain's Circle Party is by invitation only and is for those who have sailed at least once before with Princess. Your invitation will arrive in your stateroom and advise you of the date and time. Depending upon the number of Captain's Circle members aboard the number of parties and the venue can vary. Princess has a very high repeat rate so there could be up to 4 parties to accommodate everyone (the Gold Party in the Theater would be an example). More typically the parties are in the Vista Showlounge or The Club Fusion (deck 7 aft). They are often scheduled on the second formal night prior to the set dinner times. This can vary, too, especially on sailings with a very high number of past passengers. At this party there are free cocktails including sparkling wine being passed (you don't have to take a drink off the tray, you can request what you want) and there are passed canapes.

[Nan_Sea]

Last winter on the Emerald Princess, there was a part for Gold members in the Princess Theater. The captain spoke, the singers sang, they showed a Royal Princess video and everyone was handed a free drink coupon on the way out of the theater. It was very nice.

 

Same on the Star last March.

[Pam in CA]

Whichever and whenever they are, I avoid them and haven't been to one in years.

[sept10dsm]

The Captains Circle party. I've been to a few.

[Samanthamelody3]

When I was a gold member, I recall there was a gathering for members, but I didn't attend. Walking down the hallways I could see that the majority of cruisers were gold and I didn't want to be in a huge function like that.

[GweninTX]

The last 3 cruises it was held in the late afternoon in the Princess theatre. We got a invitation in our mail slot by our cabin door. We took that to get in. There was a short speech by the Captain, a video on the new Royal, a short presentation by the Princess singers and dancers and then a drawing for free champagne, then one lucky guest got drawn to be elite for the rest of the cruise! As we left they gave each person a voucher for a drink of their choice in any bar! Got a huge piña colada one night with my coupon! Very nicely done and lasted about 20 minutes - for a free drink - well worth the time IMHO!

[Tiggertastic]

make sure you sign upto gold circle to be invited

[PescadoAmarillo]

make sure you sign upto gold circle to be invited

You're automatically enrolled in the Captains Circle now; no need to sign up. :)

[paul929207]

Whichever and whenever they are, I avoid them and haven't been to one in years.

We went to one last October. We were number 3 most traveled for the first time.

[ExDean]

There is a Captain Circle gathering for platinum and above in addition to the "repeat cruisers" party. The drinks and snacks are of a better quality and usually fewer folks gathered. always fun and usually on a formal night. At least this was the case on the Ruby Greek Isles in May 2013.

[nunuc2000]

The last 3 cruises it was held in the late afternoon in the Princess theatre. We got a invitation in our mail slot by our cabin door. We took that to get in. There was a short speech by the Captain, a video on the new Royal, a short presentation by the Princess singers and dancers and then a drawing for free champagne, then one lucky guest got drawn to be elite for the rest of the cruise! As we left they gave each person a voucher for a drink of their choice in any bar! Got a huge piña colada one night with my coupon! Very nicely done and lasted about 20 minutes - for a free drink - well worth the time IMHO!

 

EXCATLY details our experiences with this too!

 

Celine

[SugarStar00]

Thank you! sounds like something I'd be interested in attending. Pam in CA after a few hundred cruises I can imagine you'd avoid it, I can't imagine there would be much left to excite you though

[elliair]

We always go to those parties, why pass up a free drink or two? We also like the little snacks they serve - that's always interesting.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Is there a special party for past guests on Princess like Carnival has? This will be our second Princess cruise, will we qualify? If so, what does it usually consist of and when would it be on a 10 day to the Southern Caribbean?

 

Thanks

 

As you are reading from some of the posts above, it's the "Captain's Circle Party" and you should be getting an invitation to it. The details have varied from cruise to cruise ever since we've qualified.

 

The last cruise, the gold and platinum/elite parties were held separately, and most likely on separate nights. Ours was in the Princess Theater, the cruise director emcee'd it and introduce certain crew members (including the captain, who only stayed a while as he had something to attend to on the bridge, according to the CD).

 

When you first enter the room, your invitation is taken (so if you want a record of it, you should take a photo of it before you go) and there's a drawing. Can't remember if there was the usual champagne bottles, etc., but there was a card selected and that person was granted elite status for the rest of that cruise (and considering this was day 2 or 3 on a 14-day cruise...). When each passenger left, they were handed a coupon good for a drink at any bar on any day of the cruise (we were able to get drinks that normally go for $7.95).

 

While one waited for the gathering to begin, videos of the Royal were played.

 

I've read here that some of the CC parties have been held in the grand atrium (which seems a bit too open). On some cruises, there were a few parties held one after the other in a lounge, and one was given a time to go. Of course, those were pretty short.

 

The drinks that are offered at the party (when the coupons aren't given) are usually watered down. There's usually a big deal made about upcoming ships. There used to be the musicians playing, and dancing encouraged after the top three passengers were announced.

[Samanthamelody3]

Great to know about this....I will be going on my next cruise. If it's only 20 minutes, I think I can handle it :D.

[iceleven]

The last 3 cruises it was held in the late afternoon in the Princess theatre. We got a invitation in our mail slot by our cabin door. We took that to get in. There was a short speech by the Captain, a video on the new Royal, a short presentation by the Princess singers and dancers and then a drawing for free champagne, then one lucky guest got drawn to be elite for the rest of the cruise! As we left they gave each person a voucher for a drink of their choice in any bar! Got a huge piña colada one night with my coupon! Very nicely done and lasted about 20 minutes - for a free drink - well worth the time IMHO!

 

This was exactly my experience. Short and sweet and used the drink coupon later in the week.

[monakayk]

:confused:OK--I am confused, so please explain this to me how it works NOW.

 

The last past pax party we went to was on the Grand-Nov. 2012--last fall in a lounge and it was held exactly the way 'Cruisin'Chris' explained in his post. Now my confusion is: do they NOW give out drink coupons instead of walking around the lounge with the drinks giving them out by the glass with the hor dourves? This drink coupon thing sounds like what Carnival does on their past pax parties I have been to. Not PCL past pax parties. Maybe PCL does it different for shorter cruises then they do it for longer cruises?

 

:confused:Also, are the parties now being held more in the late afternoons than on one of the formal nights during the evening? I wouldn't like that happening...breaking up my day at sea or day on Princess Cay to go to it, which we really enjoy doing. :(

[paul929207]

I don't think there is an absolute answer. It will depend on the ship size and number of returning passengers. For instance, the Cabaret Lounge on the small ships will hold roughly 1/2 the passengers. So a year ago when we were on they still had the party with two sessions timed to fit in before the two dinner seatings. Remember the Ocean and Pacific do not have AD.

 

On the other had, on the Grand in January, there were about 1000 Elites and another 1000 Platinums. There was a party for the Gold members with the drink coupon. Then there were several parties for the other repeat passengers in the Piazza.

[PlanoDebbie]

You will qualify as will many many of the other passengers. They Usually serve drinks and canapes. You will be greeted by the captain and officers as you enter and maybe have your picture taken with the captain (although with so many past passengers it is time consuming and may be omitted) I think I can guarantee that it will be VERY crowded. If it is held in the atrium there are very few spots for seating.

 

wWe rarely attend these parties as they are not worth the effort. It is usually on the first formal night. Generally the first sea day.

 

I'm not sure which ships you've sailed on, but we just got home last night after spending 2 weeks on the Sapphire Princess. We booked it as a 14 day cruise and got an invitation both weeks to the past guest party. There was no food served. No drinks served. It was primarily a video promo for the new Royal Princess ship's dedication and amenities. There were maybe 60-70 people there for the first week. The captain spoke for a few minutes and the Princess singers/dancers performed for about 15 minutes. They did a drawing at the end of the presentation to award a guest with "Elite" benefits for the remainder of their voyage. Everyone got a free drink coupon as they left.

 

We've sailed with Carnival several times and their past guest parties are always packed. They serve free drinks and snacks during the entire party. We were kind of expecting the same thing on Princess.

[Cruisin' Chick]

:confused:OK--I am confused, so please explain this to me how it works NOW.

 

The last past pax party we went to was on the Grand-Nov. 2012--last fall in a lounge and it was held exactly the way 'Cruisin'Chris' explained in his post. Now my confusion is: do they NOW give out drink coupons instead of walking around the lounge with the drinks giving them out by the glass with the hor dourves? This drink coupon thing sounds like what Carnival does on their past pax parties I have been to. Not PCL past pax parties. Maybe PCL does it different for shorter cruises then they do it for longer cruises?

 

:confused:Also, are the parties now being held more in the late afternoons than on one of the formal nights during the evening? I wouldn't like that happening...breaking up my day at sea or day on Princess Cay to go to it, which we really enjoy doing. :(

 

The way it was handled on the Golden Princess last December: the Golds were at one party, and the Platinum/Elites at another. This is how the Gold party went (again, this was on our last cruise, and not necessarily how it's done on other ships): 1) we came in to the Princess Theater and handed over our invite.

2) while waiting for the event to begin, the Royal Princess videos were being shown

3) the CD introduced the various staff who was there (Captain Circle's Rep, Future Cruise Consultant, etc)

4) the captain, I think, was there just briefly and had to leave

5) there was drawings for the elite status and maybe champagne (can't remember)

6) we were told that that as we leave, we would each be given a drink coupon as we leave, and that we can use it at any bar on any day of the cruise