Meet and Greet through HAL Facebook?

[callmebetty]

I have orchestrated numerous meet and greets on previous cruises (never through HAL), name tags, gift bags the whole shebang. I have been trying to get a group together since October. Someone just posted on our roll call that they replied to a HAL email promoting a roll call through Facebook. When did this become the normal practice? Apparently 19 people are attending and here I thought no one was interested....did I miss something?

[cruz chic]

Iirc hal does send an email reminding you of shore ex, dining reservations, signing up for facebook meet and greets. I wouldn't touch the facebook m&g with a ten foot pole. Does a person need to advertise that they'll be away from their home?

[dfish]

My experience is a lot of people sign up, but don't attend the meet and greet through Facebook.

 

Deb

[cruz chic]

My experience is a lot of people sign up, but don't attend the meet and greet through Facebook.

 

Deb

 

I find that happens thru cruise critic too.

[callmebetty]

I see now that HAL promotes a Facebook page. In all our cruises, we have never seen this so I was a bit surprised!

[sail7seas]

I don't participate in CC meet & greets since a few bad experiences.

 

I would NEVER participate in a Facebook M&G. Not for me.

 

Now that I am a solo cruiser, I could consider joining CC Roll Calls but no way FB.

 

[IRL_Joanie]

I see now that HAL promotes a Facebook page. In all our cruises, we have never seen this so I was a bit surprised!

Also, if you noticed the HAL advertised M&G are all scheduled for embarkatin day in the Digital Workshop (Computer Center) and if I remember correctly held at 2:30pm........

 

As noted above very seldom do people show up. If they do there are no drinks of any sort, alcohol or other to include water... And NO HAL reps, just passengers....

 

I ask... What good is that.....

 

Joanie

[callmebetty]

Thank you Joanie! I would never post for the world to see on FB that I will be away from my home, especially in a ! We arrive in Seattle at 1AM so there is very little likelihood that I would attend a M&G on 2:30 on the first day, especially when there is a sea day the following day! On past cruises (not HAL) we have done meet and greets with officers and refreshments, not a group of guests in a media center. Perhaps it turns out better than I am imagining, but we will not be attending a FB meet (which saves me time and money on the name tags and gift bags!)

[sail7seas]

Gift bags are one of the reasons I have little interest in M & G's sponsored by anyone. Names tags are fine and fun but no interest in gift bags, cabin crawls, slot pulls, pre-planning shore excursions with strangers and the like. :o

Edited May 3, 2015 by sail7seas

[cruz chic]

Gift bags are one of the reasons I have little interest in M & G's sponsored by anyone. Names tags are fine and fun but no interest in gift bags, cabin crawls, slot pulls, pre-planning shore excursions with strangers and the like. :o

 

I'm ok with some stuff but I really don't want to cart extra stuff in my luggage or take extra stuff home. I take one suitcase plus a carry on roller board for my cruises and it's hard to keep it under the maximum weight.

[kura]

Gift bags are one of the reasons I have little interest in M & G's sponsored by anyone. Names tags are fine and fun but no interest in gift bags, cabin crawls, slot pulls, pre-planning shore excursions with strangers and the like. :o

 

I agree....I do not participate in M &G's either. Very rarely even make a comment on Roll Calls. Nowadays they just seem to be about organising tours that we have no interest in. I also would NEVER even put my cabin number on here....and most of Roll Calls ask for that now if you want to take part in M&G.

[Danni3ll3]

Interesting thread. I am organizing a Meet and Greet for our group and I am keeping it super simple with name tags done by "moi" and treats/beverages provided by HAL. This is the first time I have done this so I hope this is fine. If it isn't, well... I guess I won't be doing it again or I will know better for next time.

 

Sail, I am curious as to what you meant when you said "bad experiences".

 

Joanie, the point of our meet and greet is to get to know each others' faces and names at the beginning of the cruise. Not sure what you mean by it is no good if HAL reps don't show up. Can you enlighten me?

[dfish]

I'm not sure of the purpose of the HAL Facebook Meet and Greets, but the CC ones I've participated in have all been very nice. I've never been forced to participate in anything I didn't want to take part in and only one suggested a cabin crawl, non had slot pulls. The excursions planned were for those who wanted to do so, those who didn't want to, didn't.

 

Only once did we collect cabin numbers and that was only those who wanted a reminder of the Meet and Greet. People were told they could provide it, but only if they wanted to do so, it was not required to do so. People were given the option of posting on the roll call or emailing it to the organizer. The key thing is that we kept everything optional and allowed people to participate in the activities they were interested in and to not participate if they chose not to.

 

I'm sorry some have had bad experiences with them and I can see how that could happen. I think the important thing on a roll call is to be respectful of others and allow participants to decide what they do or do not want to do.

 

Debbie

[IRL_Joanie]

Interesting thread. I am organizing a Meet and Greet for our group and I am keeping it super simple with name tags done by "moi" and treats/beverages provided by HAL. This is the first time I have done this so I hope this is fine. If it isn't, well... I guess I won't be doing it again or I will know better for next time.

 

Sail, I am curious as to what you meant when you said "bad experiences".

 

Joanie, the point of our meet and greet is to get to know each others' faces and names at the beginning of the cruise. Not sure what you mean by it is no good if HAL reps don't show up. Can you enlighten me?

 

I mean that since most of us are either still arriving to the port, basking in relaxation of no time frames or deadlines to be somewhere, unpacking, etc...

 

It makes no sense to me why anyone would schedule a M&G on embarkation day in a place where you can not/should not be taking drinks, etc., and no place to sit down and relax to enjoy the people you wish to meet.

 

When I used to do the M&G's I would always ask if we could have some Officers (Reps) to chat with us is a real Ice Breaker:) Though we have had 1 or 2 where either the Officers did not come, once, or they had an emergency to deal with and ran out on us. BTW, we were very happy they ran out on us!! If you wish to see why read this: Joanie's Alaskan Adventure 2011 has begun:)

 

Joanie[/font]

Edited May 3, 2015 by IRL_Joanie

[wandb]

This is a very interesting thread! We have recently returned from a Zuiderdam cruise, where we had a fairly active Roll Call. Lots of info passed around and one tour organized (which turned out to be great!) Several were active on HAL's Facebook page and planned to attend that M&G. (I don't do Facebook, so was not involved there---in fact, was surprised to see that HAL sponsored that event. Did not know this is common for HAL.)

 

The Roll Call planned to just informally get together on the first sea day---no invitations, no special snacks, no gifts, bring your own drinks, etc. We just wanted to meet each other. Due to concerns about a large group on board who might be using "our" space (our "preferred" space!! haha!) I contacted the ship's special events coordinator, who was wonderful! HAL took care of everything---even though it was pretty last minute (really a few days before the cruise!) We had a GREAT M&G, with 10 or 12 officers present---so pleasant and so hospitable. I did write a few thank you notes afterward, but I loved the ease of this kind of gathering. All I brought were a few stick-on name tags and sharpies to write our names!! But I do promise to get this done before the 5 week time limit next time!

 

It turned out that when the folks showed up for the Facebook M&G, there was no gathering at all! So glad we went ahead with the CC gathering.

 

As "dfish" pointed out, if cabin numbers are necessary for any reason, there should always be an option of posting them either on the Roll Call or to an e-mail address, whatever the posters are comfortable with.

 

I have never experienced a bad M&G. Have organized several with very minimal work involved, and enjoyed them all. Was concerned once, when we had a very small turnout---but how happy I am that we did not cancel that one for lack of interest!! It was a very special meeting---the day we met "sppunk" and his lovely DW!!

 

All this to say that I think the CC Meet and Greets can't be beat. Can't imagine how a 30 minute Facebook gathering right before Muster could possibly give one time to meet all the folks you have been "chatting" with. But to each his own.

[callmebetty]

Things have changed. On our past cruises, our roll calls were very active, 10-20 of us posting daily. I really felt like I had some connection to the people on our cruise. One of them went so far as to knit me a prayer blanket (which I still use today) because I was going through some medical issues. I think out of the 3 pages of this current roll call I have easily filled 1 1/2 of them. Perhaps people are more private or I came off as overbearing. Either way, I am looking forward to the cruise with or without the meet and greet as we celebrate our 10th anniversary!

[cruz chic]

Years ago it seemed like I'd know a few people on roll calls. Now I'm excited if I know anyone. Sometimes you gel really well with people, sometimes not.

 

The main board has really changed too. It used to seem more like a community. Sometimes it does but so many times lately I just get frustrated here by the constant one-upmanship and people trying to increase their post count.

[sail7seas]

I'm not sure of the purpose of the HAL Facebook Meet and Greets, but the CC ones I've participated in have all been very nice. I've never been forced to participate in anything I didn't want to take part in and only one suggested a cabin crawl, non had slot pulls. The excursions planned were for those who wanted to do so, those who didn't want to, didn't.

 

Only once did we collect cabin numbers and that was only those who wanted a reminder of the Meet and Greet. People were told they could provide it, but only if they wanted to do so, it was not required to do so. People were given the option of posting on the roll call or emailing it to the organizer. The key thing is that we kept everything optional and allowed people to participate in the activities they were interested in and to not participate if they chose not to.

 

I'm sorry some have had bad experiences with them and I can see how that could happen. I think the important thing on a roll call is to be respectful of others and allow participants to decide what they do or do not want to do.

 

Debbie

 

It's nice that some Roll Calls are conducted this way but they are not all.

There are/were good reasons some of us bowed out and have not returned. I never post or for that matter even read a roll call thread.

 

[dfish]

It's nice that some Roll Calls are conducted this way but they are not all.

There are/were good reasons some of us bowed out and have not returned. I never post or for that matter even read a roll call thread.

 

 

I probably wouldn't either if I was forced to participate in some of the things you've mentioned. I have read a few horror stories about some roll calls. I would probably just quit posting to one if it turned out that way.

 

The best roll call was the one for my South America/Antarctica cruise. Great people!

 

Deb

[ger_77]

I've organized a number of meet & greets for various cruises, but have never included cabin / pub crawls, slot pulls, scavenger hunts, etc., for a selfish reason; I am on vacation. I enjoy being able to get people together so they can meet one another, but I don't want to be the associate cruise director for the group. I value my time on the ship and don't want to be saddled with obligations; I have enough in my daily life without adding them in to vacation time. For the past couple of cruises I've joined the lists on Facebook as well, but have chosen not to attend that M & G simply because I want to be on deck with my husband, family, or friends, enjoying time before sail-away, rather than indoors in a meeting room.

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Gerry

[erewhon]

I have orchestrated numerous meet and greets on previous cruises (never through HAL), name tags, gift bags the whole shebang. I have been trying to get a group together since October. Someone just posted on our roll call that they replied to a HAL email promoting a roll call through Facebook. When did this become the normal practice? Apparently 19 people are attending and here I thought no one was interested....did I miss something?

 

Why do you need gift bags at a Meet and Greet?

What is in the bags?

[dfish]

i've organized a number of meet & greets for various cruises, but have never included cabin / pub crawls, slot pulls, scavenger hunts, etc., for a selfish reason; i am on vacation. I enjoy being able to get people together so they can meet one another, but i don't want to be the associate cruise director for the group. I value my time on the ship and don't want to be saddled with obligations; i have enough in my daily life without adding them in to vacation time. For the past couple of cruises i've joined the lists on facebook as well, but have chosen not to attend that m & g simply because i want to be on deck with my husband, family, or friends, enjoying time before sail-away, rather than indoors in a meeting room.

smooth sailing! :) :) :)

gerry

 

yes!

[dogo88]

Attended one years ago and it was done well with a large crowd. In retrospect, it was most likely the same group that had gone on m any prior cruises and we were caught up in the M&G.

 

Decided to get involved in a subsequent cruise and was talked into running it. Bad move. Very awkward. I'm not a "work the room" guy and all we mostly did was sit around and chit chat. Will never do that again.

 

Last few cruises the roll call threads were pretty much empty and eventually tripped over a comment where the poster had said everyone on the M&G were over on HALs Facebook page. Don't do Facebook and have no interest in joining Facebook. So now we peruse the rool call but usually don't say anything other than we're going.

 

I will say the one we attended on the POA was very interesting. It seemed the group that ran it were on that ship a number of times. We had two meetings. One at the start and one on the next to last day. Both meetings were attended by ship's staff and the queried us as to likes and dislikes and any comments we cared to make. They were generally interested in what folks had to say. On subsequent NCL M&G they too had ship's staff there to gather info. Didn't find that level of interest from HAL.

 

Dan

Edited May 4, 2015 by dogo88
added a section

[Lady Chew]

Decided to get involved in a subsequent cruise and was talked into running it. Bad move. Very awkward. I'm not a "work the room" guy and all we mostly did was sit around and chit chat. Will never do that again.

 

Last few cruises the roll call threads were pretty much empty and eventually tripped over a comment where the poster had said everyone on the M&G were over on HALs Facebook page. Don't do Facebook and have no interest in joining Facebook. So now we peruse the rool call but usually don't say anything other than we're going.

 

I will say the one we attended on the POA was very interesting. It seemed the group that ran it were on that ship a number of times. We had two meetings. One at the start and one on the next to last day. Both meetings were attended by ship's staff and the queried us as to likes and dislikes and any comments we cared to make. They were generally interested in what folks had to say. On subsequent NCL M&G they too had ship's staff there to gather info. Didn't find that level of interest from HAL.

 

Dan

 

What's wrong with sitting around and chatting?

 

I participate in all the Roll Calls for my cruises, sometimes actively, sometimes just checking in occasionally ... there are some that get very busy organizing slot pulls & cabin crawls, etc, but no one is ever forced to participate in those activities.

 

I've set up a few on HAL and always invited senior officers & staff, and have always had them attend. Thank you notes as a follow up can help make things easier if you want to set up additional M&Gs if desired.

 

There is nothing stopping anyone from setting up their own M&G if you don't like the time assigned by HAL. There are many places on board for groups to get together and mingle!

 

I am on Facebook, but would never participate in a Roll Call there. Anyone can log in and see who's going to be away from home.

[Lizzie68]

It is interesting how those who do not participate in M & Gs and roll calls have so much negative to say about them. Both are what you make of them yourself. You can 100% participate and throw yourself into everything or you can just choose to say hi and get to know some of the people sailing on the same cruise. If there are additional activities or tours organised, you do not have to participate. Nothing wrong in being friendly and saying hi while putting a face to a name you have seen on the roll call.

 

As to the facebook M&G - I just don't understand that and have to wonder whose idea it was to have that get-together on embarkation day in a dreary location.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Lizzie68