Issues With Meet & Mingle

[BillOh]

he said they read the complaints on Cruise Critic about the prizes and are taking it to heart and stepping up to give better prizes.

 

Well, the people at my last M&M did seem pleased. I wouldn't know because they changed the time up 30 minutes the day before and I didn't get notified. :( We walked in and got to meet a few people walking out.

[reallyitsmema]

I signed up for the meet/mingle on our upcoming cruise - I did it because it was our first cruise and when I started posting here, everyone was telling me to do it! :p

 

But if we are on the ship and it's at a time that we wanted to do something else, I can't say for sure we will go- it's our first cruise, so I have no idea what we will be doing.

 

Our roll call wasn't that active so I don't really post there and last night I tried to find a way to remove ourselves from the meet/mingle, but I can't. :confused:

 

We will try our best to attend.

 

There is absolutely zero pressure to attend the meet and mingle so if you have a conflict and can't make it, don't worry about it. At least if you are signed up, there is a good chance you will receive the invitation for the meet and mingle and then can choose to go if you want.

 

Some people get really obsessive with meet and mingles and rollcalls. Do what works for you and not what works for others.

[bigque]

Wow, cool your jets, they will let you know when it is scheduled.:)

 

WOW Cool Yours! My initial question was to the OP. If they were on the Aruba Route, what was the day and time of their Meet & Mingle. Some of the other replies such as yours did not help me at all as you are not the OP! We are trying to make some plans in our roll call thus the reason for the question as they don't always change from cruise to cruise!

[reallyitsmema]

WOW Cool Yours! My initial question was to the OP. If they were on the Aruba Route, what was the day and time of their Meet & Mingle. Some of the other replies such as yours did not help me at all as you are not the OP! We are trying to make some plans in our roll call thus the reason for the question as they don't always change from cruise to cruise!

 

Deep breaths everyone.

 

I think what people are trying to tell you, it is very easy to take the confirmed list and look at the cruise line's website for the Aruba route sailings and find the information yourself.

 

I have done it for you for the next two sailings that are the Aruba route and both of the meet and mingles are scheduled for day 4 at 11:30 in either Jester's or Blue Moon.

[BillOh]

At least if you are signed up, there is a good chance you will receive the invitation for the meet and ming.

 

My experience is you get the invitation about 85% of the time. (Still a sore point with me;) ) That 85% of the time includes the 11:30pm phone call the night before from the coordinator because her printer broke. Had I missed that roll call I think the group would have hunted me down and beat me. (Year long trivia contest I organized)

[cruisenfever]

WOW Cool Yours! My initial question was to the OP. If they were on the Aruba Route, what was the day and time of their Meet & Mingle. Some of the other replies such as yours did not help me at all as you are not the OP! We are trying to make some plans in our roll call thus the reason for the question as they don't always change from cruise to cruise!

It doesn't matter what "route" you are on, you will not find out when and where your M&M is going to be until you reach 25. If you don't have 25, there will be no M&M hosted by RCI.

[sjb317]

There is absolutely zero pressure to attend the meet and mingle so if you have a conflict and can't make it, don't worry about it. At least if you are signed up, there is a good chance you will receive the invitation for the meet and mingle and then can choose to go if you want.

 

Some people get really obsessive with meet and mingles and rollcalls. Do what works for you and not what works for others.

 

Agree with you!:D I usually sign up for the M&M to help reach the minimum number but don't necessarily attend. I also don't participate in gift exchanges after my last experience on our TA watching people argue about the gift they had received, they did not feel the gift they received was "equal" to the gift they exchanged.:eek:

 

We did attend the M&M on our Vision cruise last February and as someone else said, the AD gave out some really nice prices. However,here was very little mingling or meeting, people stayed in their own little groups, the AD spoke, did the raffle and people left. Not worth the effort to attend, especially since I did not win anything!:D

 

Sherri:)

[BillOh]

It doesn't matter what "route" you are on, you will not find out when and where your M&M is going to be until you reach 25. If you don't have 25, there will be no M&M hosted by RCI.

 

This statement is true. If you want to make the effort you can search the confirmed Meet and mingle list and search by ship. Find a date that has the same intinerary. This will show you the date, location, and time that your meet and mingle May/should/ may not be ;) Even on the same itinerary/ship I've seen them vary the location. My assumption is it is based on the number of people and what else is going on then.

[pcur]

I'll give you a little different spin on the M&M party. I sign up, but rarely go. I do it so the rest of the people registered can actually GET the party! I think of it as my social obligation fulfilled.

 

So, if those of us who sign up and don't go are being rude, what would happen if we didn't sign up at all? Some of the M&M's I've registered for only had about 30 people total.

Edited July 27, 2015 by pcur

[bigque]

Deep breaths everyone.

 

I think what people are trying to tell you, it is very easy to take the confirmed list and look at the cruise line's website for the Aruba route sailings and find the information yourself.

 

I have done it for you for the next two sailings that are the Aruba route and both of the meet and mingles are scheduled for day 4 at 11:30 in either Jester's or Blue Moon.

 

Thank You Very Much! That is all I was looking for or an answer from the OP or someone who had recently been to a meet & mingle on that route! Once again...Thank You! :cool:

[bigque]

It doesn't matter what "route" you are on, you will not find out when and where your M&M is going to be until you reach 25. If you don't have 25, there will be no M&M hosted by RCI.

 

I have been to Meet & Mingles on previous cruises and I know all that but a lot of times they are the same date and time from like cruise to cruise unless it gets changed later or while on board. It was just looking for an answer to a simple question that has now been answered. Thank You! :cool:

[cruisenfever]

I have been to Meet & Mingles on previous cruises and I know all that but a lot of times they are the same date and time from like cruise to cruise unless it gets changed later or while on board. It was just looking for an answer to a simple question that has now been answered. Thank You! :cool:

You're welcome. It was very nice of reallyitsmema to look up the information for you.

 

Enjoy your cruise and I hope you reach 25 people.

Edited July 27, 2015 by cruisenfever

[John&LaLa]

You're welcome. It was very nice of reallyitsmema to look up the information for you.

 

Enjoy your cruise and I hope you reach 25 people.

 

I'll sign up. ;)

[shipshape sam]

I tend to sign up to help the group get their minimum. I guess I'll stop doing that:eek:

 

Keeping helping!

[cjdixon4]

I tend to sign up to help the group get their minimum. I guess I'll stop doing that:eek:

 

Yep, it appears that for some it is a crime punishable by death. LOL

[BonTexasNY]

Just checked Patti's confirmed M&M list (thank you for posting the link!) and noticed that a handful of M&Ms are held at 9:15AM, first sea day. Kind of early, but that's just one woman's opinion ;)

[cruisenfever]

Just checked Patti's confirmed M&M list (thank you for posting the link!) and noticed that a handful of M&Ms are held at 9:15AM, first sea day. Kind of early, but that's just one woman's opinion ;)

You're welcome. Yep, some of the times are really crazy and they do make mistakes. The time on the Confirmed List does not always agree with the time that is on the invitation left in your cabin.

 

We have a cruise on Serenade out of Quebec on September 25. We actually overnight in Quebec, so we do not depart until 3PM on the 26. They scheduled the M&M for the 26th at 11:30AM!:eek: I sent an email explaining that there is a pretty good chance not many will attend. They appreciated the info and rescheduled it for Sunday September 27 which is a sea day!!

Edited July 27, 2015 by cruisenfever

[CaptData]

Another reason you may not have a meet & Mingle is not enough people have signed up you need 25 to meet there quota.

[wolfganghowell]

I have a confession. We sign up to get the minimum for the people that want the event. How dare us do something so helpful? :eek: It's never even crossed my mind to be irritated by people not showing up. It's not exactly a formal event! And I like having the option of going if I choose to at the last minute.

 

But we stopped going for many of the reasons here. Number one is that the time is just not good for us. I don't want to interrupt my first "at sea" morning and that is the time ours always seems to be. If that changes, maybe we will reconsider. The last few we attended had some of the same issues - (1)a small minority of whiners and complainers who take the event as an opportunity to gripe;(2) a large contingent of people who basically sat there and stared at each other, most of which had NOT even posted on the roll call and showed no interest in "meeting" or "mingling"; (3) one sailing a small group was too busy shaming those who did not participate in a voluntary gift exchange to even enjoy themselves and my favorite - we were at the same restaurant where a pre-cruise group had organized their dinner. I had told them I would be at the same restaurant. I had met one of the couples at our hotel earlier and said I would come by and say hello. When I did, most looked at me like I had grown another head and had spit in their food. I acted friendly and normal - I was clueless as to why the reception was so cold. They had all been friendly on line. Even the lady I had met was embarassed by it. We saw each other onboard and when she asked why I wasn't at the M&M, I told her that dinner was quite enough. SHE agreed with me and said "I don't know WHAT that was about." So....perhaps everyone who is so intent on the M&M's needs to chill out and not take them so seriously - and be nice to everyone.

 

We have much preferred doing an informal "hi there" either before sailaway or during. People are happy and excited and the best is you might find new friends and the worst is you might see people that you simply smile and say hello to all week. We have made many great friends through CC and enjoy anticipating the cruise on the roll call. But nah, the M&M is not on the top of the To Do list.

[Arzeena]

I was recently on the Adventure of the Seas and attended the meet & mingle. I am sadly disappointed by the behaviour of some of our members who also attended this event. Forgive me as I am about to step on a few toes here but I need to get this off of my chest. Some long time cruisers were making comments to the cruise director about getting the same free gift over and over and the same prizes from the raffle over and over again. I'm sorry to say, it's comments like that, that ruin it for the rest of us. Just because you have cruised since Moses walked the earth and you are jaded doesn't give you the right to complain about a free gift. If you don't want that free gift feel free not to take it. When people make comments about an event that the cruise line holds for us free of charge that event could easily be taken away like many of the other fun things that we use to get and no longer do. The other thing that bothered me were the people who signed up for the meet and mingle and couldn't be bothered to show up. If you sign up you need to show up or the party could be taken away from us. Just some food for thought! I've now gotten this off my chest, feel free to comment if you want.

 

Who cares about the complainers and grumblers!! I ignore them, move on and enjoy my M and M.....if I choose to go!

Edited July 27, 2015 by Arzeena

[MicCanberra]

I sign up to get the numbers and will attend but I know that many will not. I still appreciate the ones that sign up but do not attend as without them often the party would not happen at all.:D

[brillohead]

At my last one, I overslept... those darn interior rooms are SO DARK!!!! :o

[novalab]

I love the Meet & Mingles. As 1ParticularHbr says, it's the opportunity to get to put a face to the name of that nut case you've been having so much fun with over the preceding months.

 

On many of my cruises, The Crew (the Cruise Critic Crew, that is) have added to the event with gift exchanges, cabin crawls, cash collection for a slot pull, forming trivia or horse race teams or other activities.

 

All in all, I believe we all need to be more appreciative. Otherwise, it's very possible that a year or so from now; we'll find ourselves complaining about the good old days, back when the line used to host get M&Ms. and the new cruisers will have no idea what we're talking about. :(

 

And yes, if you sign up ... go. It's only an hour (at the most) and someone went to the trouble of trying to do something nice. It's just good manners.

 

I too agree with the above, putting faces to names we've talked to & shared things with for months in most cases. I also understand signing up to get the amount of cruisers needed for the event. Our past M & M on Allure last year only lasted for a half hour at most. DD won the grand prize of a large gift bag full of RCCL logo items. We thought it was really great:) and you can see by my signature we are not new to RC. I have to admit that I do miss the gifts we use to get when we attained a new C&A level. The other cruise line I use to sail with never did that. Awwww the good old days.:o

Edited July 28, 2015 by novalab

[buckeye rob]

I'll sign up. ;)

 

If you show up for my August 22 Oasis cruise, I'll buy the drinks !! We will just skip the M & M. You're cracking me up !! Gerry.

Edited July 28, 2015 by buckeye rob

[setsail]

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