mafig Posted October 7, 2013 #1 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Just found out there's a BINGO group on my Crown Princess cruise on November 9! Anyone know anything about this group? Is it a large group that will impact us? Much? :o:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geocruiser Posted October 7, 2013 #2 Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) google BINGO group cruise Crown Princess. You can find the info there. From what I can see there are 300-375 people going. I saw that 300 were going then it was posted that 75 players were coming from Europe. Edited October 7, 2013 by geocruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrivesLikeMario Posted October 7, 2013 #3 Share Posted October 7, 2013 I think there are probably worse groups on cruises. ;) This could be a good thing compared to the other groups. There's no controlling who books 'your' cruise, so just roll with the experience or change your booking to another date. If you're "into" bingo, you may be a bit out-numbered and feel a little left out of the group. If you're not, then maybe you won't notice them onboard too much. They'll probably occupy some of the public rooms during the daytime but hopefully, it won't impact your cruise negatively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted October 7, 2013 Author #4 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Past final so we have no choice but to roll with it. Thanks for the numbers. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted October 7, 2013 #5 Share Posted October 7, 2013 No personal experience, but from what I've read avoid the regular BINGO sessions and the casino. Also, might be a good idea to switch to traditional seating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickEk Posted October 7, 2013 #6 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Here's the link in case anyone is interested... http://www.specialeventcruises.com/bingo_2013.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JimmyVWine Posted October 7, 2013 #7 Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) If you are planning to spend your sea days outdoors by the pools, then I would think that this is a great group to share your cruise with. 350-375 fewer chair hogs, or so it would seem. But if you were planning on spending sea days playing BINGO or in the casino, things could get crowded. As noted above, I can think of worse groups to be on board with. Like the American Nightclub Hecklers Association. Or the International Binge Drinking Society. Edit to add: I took a look at the brochure that the organizer has on line and interestingly, it reads: "Reduced lines and seat saving will be available." Not sure how this comports with standard BINGO operations or etiquette, but it does seem as if this group intends to "rule" the BINGO room, if that matters. Edited October 7, 2013 by JimmyVWine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted October 7, 2013 Author #8 Share Posted October 7, 2013 No personal experience, but from what I've read avoid the regular BINGO sessions and the casino. Also, might be a good idea to switch to traditional seating. Why traditional seating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JimmyVWine Posted October 7, 2013 #9 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Why traditional seating? I think that the assumption here is that groups like this typically book Anytime Dining, and if a BIGO event ends around 5:00-5:30 and 375 people descend on the Anytime MDRs all at once, it could be a big problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted October 7, 2013 Author #10 Share Posted October 7, 2013 I think that the assumption here is that groups like this typically book Anytime Dining, and if a BIGO event ends around 5:00-5:30 and 375 people descend on the Anytime MDRs all at once, it could be a big problem. :eek: OK. I have to run this by dh. He really prefers the flexibility of anytime (so do I). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMM34667 Posted October 7, 2013 #11 Share Posted October 7, 2013 I want to go on a Bingo Cruise!! Looked like they probably have their own bingo sessions and not just joining the regular ship games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JimmyVWine Posted October 7, 2013 #12 Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) :eek: OK. I have to run this by dh. He really prefers the flexibility of anytime (so do I). Again, I think the original advice was based on an assumption. I'm not saying it is true. And even if it is, the problem of a "rush to the MDR" might only be an issue early on. I doubt that the Anytime MDRs would be impacted after 7:00 as there are not likely to be any games letting out at that time. Looked like they probably have their own bingo sessions and not just joining the regular ship games. Maybe. There are only so many venues that can hold a group this large and those larger venues are usually the ones used for the ship's regular games. (On Crown, it is Club Fusion). If the regular games are in Club Fusion, where are they going to put 350-400 people for the Specialty Cruise? The Princess Theater? I suppose that is possible. Of course, that will wipe out whatever other activities would have been scheduled for the theater, like movies. Or I suppose that they could use Club Fusion for ALL games, private and public. But again, that would wipe out Club Fusion for other events. Edited October 7, 2013 by JimmyVWine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMM34667 Posted October 7, 2013 #13 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Maybe. There are only so many venues that can hold a group this large and those larger venues are usually the ones used for the ship's regular games. (On Crown, it is Club Fusion). If the regular games are in Club Fusion, where are they going to put 350-400 people for the Specialty Cruise? The Princess Theater? I suppose that is possible. Of course, that will wipe out whatever other activities would have been scheduled for the theater, like movies. Or I suppose that they could use Club Fusion for ALL games, private and public. But again, that would wipe out Club Fusion for other events. From their Web page: MORE BINGO: Are you ready for this.......over 20 hours and 100 games during the days the ship is at sea! Bingo cash and prizes of more than $80,000 are up for grabs! In 2012 we paid over $95,000 in cash and prizes for all of our gaming tournaments with more than 60% of our players going home winners. The best winning odds in Bingo! Every player receives a 9-on package of Bingo paper (no more, no less) for each session, and the player with the highest winnings after all the sessions becomes Bingo's Grand Champion. I've never seen those types of payouts for regular onboard games! Payout schedule subject to change.Payouts for Bingo, Slots, Blackjack and Poker may change based on the number of participants. In order to register for the Bingo Tournament you must book the cruise through Special Event Cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JimmyVWine Posted October 7, 2013 #14 Share Posted October 7, 2013 From their Web page: MORE BINGO: Are you ready for this.......over 20 hours and 100 games during the days the ship is at sea! Bingo cash and prizes of more than $80,000 are up for grabs! In 2012 we paid over $95,000 in cash and prizes for all of our gaming tournaments with more than 60% of our players going home winners. The best winning odds in Bingo! Every player receives a 9-on package of Bingo paper (no more, no less) for each session, and the player with the highest winnings after all the sessions becomes Bingo's Grand Champion. I haven't played BINGO on a ship since the QE2 in 1976, so I have no frame of reference as to what any of that means. :D My guess is that if these players are "serious", (and I think that they are), they would have additional private games that run at times other than the ship's standard games so that the players could also attend the ship's regular games. Wouldn't the only thing better than a BINGO tournament be to have a BINGO tournament scheduled in such a way as to allow for playing more BINGO during your "spare" time? I have to imagine that the probablility of this group not spilling over to the main BINGO games is next to nil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted October 7, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted October 7, 2013 I haven't played Bingo since I was on a ship where the payout was $35! I do, however, enjoy the casino, and it appears that these bingo-ers will also be there. Not a biggie, though. I usually get disgusted with ship casinos pretty quickly. They won't be playing bingo in the casino anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted October 7, 2013 #16 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Again, from what I thought I read, the rush to Anytime dining was huge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted October 7, 2013 Author #17 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Again, from what I thought I read, the rush to Anytime dining was huge. Read where? From the Bingo website? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akeasley Posted October 7, 2013 #18 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Of all the possible groups I could be on a ship with, a bingo goup would be one of my first choices...can't be too much into partying/staying up late since they'll be so busy playing bingo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin' Chick Posted October 8, 2013 #19 Share Posted October 8, 2013 I'm hoping for the OP that it won't be anything like our 1994 cruise on the Sensation. When we first boarded the ship, there was a huge banner that said "Welcome to the World Tourney of Bingo." Besides wondering why there would even be such a thing (and I'm the daughter of a bridge life master, and have accompanied her to a regional competition == well, I went sightseeing during the day while she competed, but had dinner with she and her fellow bridge players a couple of times while they recapped the games), we wondered how our cruise would be impacted. Here's how it was: My estimate was that at least a third or more of the passengers were there for the tourney. And these were very additive types. I'm not kidding about that. Can't remember if they had name tags or tee shirts or something, but many were often with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in another. You didn't want to be between the dining room entrance and this group when the doors were opened. Same for the casino gates. Not kidding. The one good thing is that when the games were held, they were all in the lounge. And whenever we were in a piano lounge or other places during the matches, you can hear the non-players making jokes. Again, not kidding. On the flight back to LA, we were talking with one nicely dressed woman sitting by us. When we found out she had been on the same cruise, I cracked a joke about the bingo players (after all, I heard a lot that week) and she said she had taken the cruise for the tourney, but was embarrassed after seeing the behavior of these people to be associated with them. She was a pilot's wife and decided to cruise solo and thought it would be fun. I think we've all been on cruises with groups (doubt if you'll have a cruise without at least one family reunion or company giving an incentive cruise), but haven't had such a laughable experience since then. Been on a cruise that had a large group of travel agents (only knew this from the door signs) and a large group onboard for a cardio tech conference. They did take over a lounge or two on sea days, but at least they didn't monopolize a dining room or pool. And the people we met from that group seemed very nice (a good number of cardiologists too, so that could have been a plus). On another cruise, there was a large group of French-speakers from many countries (our next door neighbors were from an African country). They had various meetings and activities. One channel on the in-cabin TV was devoted to French language programming, and occasionally we would tune in to see what shows, even though none of us in my family knew French. We even watched "The Incredibles," in French, but then we had seen that movie so many times before, we practically know the dialogue anyway. So again, hoping that it's a smaller percentage on the OP's cruise and the OP doesn't end up inconvenienced by this group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrivesLikeMario Posted October 8, 2013 #20 Share Posted October 8, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the link, Rick. From that website: MORE BINGO: Are you ready for this.......over 20 hours and 100 games during the days the ship is at sea! Bingo cash and prizes of more than $80,000 are up for grabs! Wow - 100 games in a week on the sea days only? How is that even possible? Last time I checked, there were only 24 hrs. in a day. :eek: At least mafig's sea days will be empty at the pools. I bet the comment about dining is correct though - they'll choose Anytime Dining - or, they'll just use the HC all week. In that case, you might want to find out their schedule when you board and do the opposite of them. Good luck, mafig. Oh - just thought of another venue that probably will be empty - the gym. Edited October 8, 2013 by DrivesLikeMario Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vexorg Posted October 8, 2013 #21 Share Posted October 8, 2013 Well, it is an itinerary with three sea days, so 6-8 hours of Bingo a day and you've pretty much covered it. I seem to recall actually seeing a Travel Channel special about this World Bingo Championship at one point, but couldn't be bothered to actually watch it so I just flipped past it. With a group that large I'm guessing they'll end up in the theater, since it's pretty much the only venue that would handle all of them. I also suspect that the "regular" Bingo games might not happen on this one since the equipment will be tied up (unless they're bringing their own.) Speaking of Bingo, how the heck do you manage to become a world champion of Bingo anyway? Isn't that pretty much just one step up from being the World Champion of the Lottery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig103 Posted October 8, 2013 #22 Share Posted October 8, 2013 Thanks for the link, Rick. From that website: MORE BINGO: Are you ready for this.......over 20 hours and 100 games during the days the ship is at sea! Bingo cash and prizes of more than $80,000 are up for grabs! Wow - 100 games in a week on the sea days only? How is that even possible? Last time I checked, there were only 24 hrs. in a day. :eek: At least mafig's sea days will be empty at the pools. I bet the comment about dining is correct though - they'll choose Anytime Dining - or, they'll just use the HC all week. In that case, you might want to find out their schedule when you board and do the opposite of them. Good luck, mafig. Oh - just thought of another venue that probably will be empty - the gym. I am reading that as "spread across the sea days", not 20 hours of each sea day. I wouldn't worry too much since their 'serious' bingo won't be the same as the Princess bingo and it will keep the busy in whatever lounges they are assigned. The casino crowding might be a valid concern though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britter16 Posted October 8, 2013 #23 Share Posted October 8, 2013 how do you find out if a group of any kind is on your cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysalis Posted October 8, 2013 #24 Share Posted October 8, 2013 how do you find out if a group of any kind is on your cruise do a google search with ship name and dates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted October 8, 2013 Author #25 Share Posted October 8, 2013 I emailed the tour promoter and asked him if most of the people had selected Anytime or Traditional and I got a response this morning that "most have chosen Anytime." However, my dh still wants us to take our chances saying that we'll find out their schedule and either beat them to the dining room or go after then (when he thinks it'll be empty). I really have concerns about this, hopefully it'll work out. Their "flyer" says that the bingo games will be held in the theater, so that's where they'll be.....empty loungers by the pool, I guess. Thanks everyone for your help and sympathy.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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