Meet anbd Mingle

[caribill]

Just came across this link

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcall/cruiselinel2.cfm?cruiselineid=28

[mcrcruiser]

Yes it is important to GO if signed  up for the Meet & Mingle

 Hard  to understand those who sign up yet do not show up . Imo total ignorance

Edited November 18, 2019 by mcrcruiser

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Yes it is important to GO if signed  up for the Meet & Mingle

 Hard  to understand those who sign up yet do not show up . Imo total ignorance

That seem to happen with lots of folks. Something else always pops up & they forget about the meeting. 

[skynight]

3 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Yes it is important to GO if signed  up for the Meet & Mingle

 Hard  to understand those who sign up yet do not show up . Imo total ignorance

Not hard to understand and not ignorance. People go to the roll calls to find out information regarding ports, private tours, to provide information and many other reasons. Attending a M&G may not be their thing.

[JF - retired RRT]

20 minutes ago, skynight said:

Not hard to understand and not ignorance. People go to the roll calls to find out information regarding ports, private tours, to provide information and many other reasons. Attending a M&G may not be their thing.

Yeah but...they say they're going to attend.

Sharing info on the roll call is different from saying "I'll be there" and then not going.

 

And I'd call it something else rather than "ignorance".

[Doug R.]

I have been to several meet and mingles that were absolute disasters. One wanted to have participation in all activities such as cabin and pub crawls, gift exchanges, slot pulls and a group excursion. It became way too intrusive when I was asked by the organizer why we didn't participate in the cabin and pub crawl accompanied by an annoyed and disapproving look from the organizer.  Another was on a re-positioning cruise from San Juan to NYC and had a group of regulars who did this cruise annually and treated the other members who weren't regulars with utter contempt. Last cruise on the Regal everyone sat around like bumps on a log, no greetings and no interaction with the half dozen crew members who showed up, at least I got a gift.

[billco]

28 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Yeah but...they say they're going to attend.

Sharing info on the roll call is different from saying "I'll be there" and then not going.

 

And I'd call it something else rather than "ignorance".

I'd call it prerogative.

[billco]

I just got back from the NCL Encore inaugural  cruise from Southampton to NYC. IMO it was the best organized Roll Call and Meet and Greet that I haver ever been part of. The Roll Call had over 500 members and at least 400 attended the Meet and Greet. NCL fully supported the M&G with the major officers attending and plenty of wine and appetizers, much like a Captains Circles gathering. Here is a link to a video the Roll Call organizers put together announcing alll the activities.

 

[Northumberland]

We've signed up for 3 M&M's and attended 2 of them. We actually hosted 1 of them. The 1 we missed was in my view the fault of the cruise line. For the first 2 M&M's, we received notices from the cruise line as to the when & where. We didn't get any notice from the cruise line about the 3rd 1, we were told by guest services that we should have checked with them when we boarded as the M&M had already taken place. It seems all the cruise lines do things differently.

For the M&M we hosted, we also had a slot pull & gift exchange which was totally voluntary and no one was hasted or shamed if they didn't want to participate. A good time was had by all who attended and participated.

[JF - retired RRT]

23 minutes ago, billco said:

Here is a link to a video the Roll Call organizers put together announcing alll the activities.

That was amazing!!!

[denmarks]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

Just came across this link

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcall/cruiselinel2.cfm?cruiselineid=28

 

I think that some of that may not be true about Princess automatically setting it up if you don't. Also if you assume they will do it for you there is no way to plan a gift exchange with no one in charge.

[dickinson]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

Just came across this link

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcall/cruiselinel2.cfm?cruiselineid=28

 

Interesting.  A lot of it isn't true about Princess.  They do not automatically set one up and it is NEVER in the Patters.  This seems to be a Cruise Critic page and not a Princess page.  I think the OP posted this because it seems to be not accurate for Princess.

 

I have gone to many M&G and enjoyed them all.  Some have been very large and others have been small groups that were not arranged through Princess because the roll call was small.

[Daniel A]

6 minutes ago, denmarks said:

 

I think that some of that may not be true about Princess automatically setting it up if you don't. Also if you assume they will do it for you there is no way to plan a gift exchange with no one in charge.

I didn't see where the link said that Princess will set it up if we don't.  They said that it will be held on all sailings.  I think that means if Cruise Critic members want to do a Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle and contact Princess to ask for one to be set up they will do it on all sailings.

 

I have set up some Meet & Mingles and won't do it anymore.  I did a lot of work at my expense printing up the CC name tags, designing and printing formal invitations for ship's officers, providing Sharpies for attendees to print their names on the tags only to have half the people who said they'd attend actually show.  Once I was extremely embarrassed when we actually had more ships officers in attendance than CC attendees.  ( It was on the Regal.)  Nope, I won't do it anymore - I'm done. 

 

[denmarks]

3 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I didn't see where the link said that Princess will set it up if we don't.  They said that it will be held on all sailings.  I think that means if Cruise Critic members want to do a Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle and contact Princess to ask for one to be set up they will do it on all sailings.

 

I have set up some Meet & Mingles and won't do it anymore.  I did a lot of work at my expense printing up the CC name tags, designing and printing formal invitations for ship's officers, providing Sharpies for attendees to print their names on the tags only to have half the people who said they'd attend actually show.  Once I was extremely embarrassed when we actually had more ships officers in attendance than CC attendees.  ( It was on the Regal.)  Nope, I won't do it anymore - I'm done. 

 

 

I remember years ago we set up a Meet and Greet and a few days later another one appeared in the Patters. There has been a decline in the number of attendees. On the first cruise where I set one up there were close to 100. As it declined I decided to let others take charge and I only keep track of members. For our December cruise we have 36 signed up for the Meet and Greet so far,

[Daniel A]

9 minutes ago, denmarks said:

 

I remember years ago we set up a Meet and Greet and a few days later another one appeared in the Patters. There has been a decline in the number of attendees. On the first cruise where I set one up there were close to 100. As it declined I decided to let others take charge and I only keep track of members. For our December cruise we have 36 signed up for the Meet and Greet so far,

I was advised to specifically request that Princess keep the M&M out of the Patter.  Non CC members have seen it in the Patter and showed up expecting free drinks and caused some disruption.  I always told the roll call members it would not appear in the patter and to make a note of the date, time and location.  (Usually 11AM first sea day.)  The CC M&M is a private function. 

Edited November 18, 2019 by Daniel A

[Daniel A]

15 minutes ago, denmarks said:

 

I remember years ago we set up a Meet and Greet and a few days later another one appeared in the Patters.

It may not make a big difference, but if you check the link in OP's post, you will see that these events are actually named "Meet & Mingle" not 'Meet & Greet.'  That may be why an informal Meet & Greet got trumped by a Meet & Mingle.  Usually a Meet & Greet is an event where you can shake hands with a celebrity, politician or author.  On the Joe Kenda cruise, they have a Meet & Greet with Joe Kenda and the actor who portrays him listed as an official event.  I don't know why, but many on these threads absolutely refuse to call these events by their proper name.  Go figure...

[PoohUnderstands]

What we do now when there is not much interest in a meet and mingle is we just get together for the first sea day at the MDR at noon for lunch.  Last time we did it there were about 20 of us and Princess was very acommodating and set us up in the corner of the dining room at two tables of 10 next to each other.  No fuss, no real planning (well, I did let the maitre d' know ahead of time what we would like to do when I got onboard).  We all enjoyed it very much.  Of course, this wouldn't work if many people wanted to do it, but for cruises with no real interest(which is fine with me) meeting for lunch was a nice touch that we all ended up enjoying.

 

Pooh

[mizLORInj]

I think people get involved in other activities, forget, or just say yes when they may or may not actually plan to show.   When I plan an event I always expect at least 20% not to show, and that is usually the case.  Once in awhile I get surprised and more show than I expect.

 

We also had one M&M set up on NCL Gem years ago--lots of interest on CC, yet only about 8 of us showed--there were more officers than us.   And one person with whom we hung for the rest of the cruise did not know about CC or the M&M, he just decided to see where 8 officers were going in a rush!  LOL 

 

So on Princess you just assume it's the first sea day?   I haven't been to a CC M&M on Princess yet.   I'll have to check with our quite quiet roll call if anyone has contacted Princess yet.

 

ALSO, off topic (i know tsk tsk on me) does Princess still do past guest party?

[skynight]

M&M or M&G, does not matter what you call it, although Princess normally refers to these meetings as Meet & Greets. A Princess HQ person will assist the roll call organizer in setting the day, time and location. Princess does not place announcements in the Princess Patter. Princess also does not invite on ship's officers. That responsibility falls to the M&G organizer.

The cruise critic information has been mentioned before and it is not totally accurate. See comments in bold below.

Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle parties will be held on all Princess Cruises sailings. (Not true. Only held if a roll call member organizes one). Please check the daily activities program, called Princess Patters, for notification regarding the day, location and time of the event. (Not true. Princess does not place a M&G announcement in the Patter).  Should you wish to pre-arrange the Meet & Mingle for your sailing, please contact Princess Cruises Customer Service at 1-800-PRINCESS. (True, you must contact Princess in advance. Princess does automatically set up a M&G). Please make sure your efforts are coordinated so that only ONE person contacts Princess Cruises. (True).

[TheRabbit]

8 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Yes it is important to GO if signed  up for the Meet & Mingle

 Hard  to understand those who sign up yet do not show up . Imo total ignorance

The cruise lines have figured they can provide smaller areas than what was asked for because of no shows. Then when everyone shows, there is not enough seating. This has happened a couple of times on very active roll calls.

 

As for planning, we track a doc with all our activities, and check it each morning. Similar to this. It helps us remember. This one is stripped of personal info.

LINK

[Bruin Steve]

Let me bring in a different perspective...

I've gone on a LOT of cruises--and on several different cruise lines...

 

On Celebrity, it's the cruise line that has a link...and a system set up.  All one does is register on that cruise line web page (which can be accessed by a link here on Cruise Critic).  When registration tops 25 passengers, it is on.  Everyone receives an email confirmation from Celebrity.  When you board the ship, there is a printed invitation in the cabin.  The cruise line assigns a time and a reserved room on the ship.  They set it up with coffee/tea/juice and pastries.  They also provide sticky name tags.  Several ship's officers show up...usually the Captains' Club Host and often the Cruise Director.  It doesn't always work out perfectly...but usually does.

 

On Royal Caribbean, it's largely the same process...but they also provide some giveaway goodies--like everyone gets a lanyard/card holder...and they send door prizes--bottles of wine/champagne, logo goodies...and they hold a drawing.

 

On Princess, however, they are nowhere near this level of involvement.  On all of my Princess cruises, we have ALWAYS arranged our own meet & greet on the Roll Call.  On some cruises, someone will take some initiative and try to contact the line to reserve a room and time--but, most often, we've just done it in some public bar--where we have no specific rights and share the room with everyone else who just happens to want to drink at that bar at that time...If you read that page linked here, you'll note that Princess guarantees nothing...other paid groups get preference on any available space...You print out your own name tags...and you're pretty much on your own.  That said, I've usually ended up with doing an informal Cruise Critic Meet & Greet right after the Muster Drill at the bar behind the buffet...and we've had to find some mechanism for identifying each other...We've had as many as 30-40 show up...or as few as 3 or 4 of us...

 

Even on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, with those intricate reservation/confirmation/invite systems, you NEVER get as many people in attendance as the number who have signed up...Some people forget...others just end up getting tied up in other things and don't make it...Many people sign up their spouse and kids--but the spouse and kids don't really want to go.  You just hope to get a representative showing.

 

I've also found that the Meet & Greet is much more important on some cruises than others.  On shorter Caribbean or Mexican Riviera cruises where most people are taking shore excursions in port if anything at all, it's nice to meet people, but not all that important beyond that.  On long European cruises, where many of us have arranged private small group tours with others on the Roll Call, it's somewhat imperative that everyone shows up--so you can actually see each other, make plans for where to meet, exchange contact info, etc.

Edited November 18, 2019 by Bruin Steve

[skynight]

3 hours ago, skynight said:

M&M or M&G, does not matter what you call it, although Princess normally refers to these meetings as Meet & Greets. A Princess HQ person will assist the roll call organizer in setting the day, time and location. Princess does not place announcements in the Princess Patter. Princess also does not invite on ship's officers. That responsibility falls to the M&G organizer.

The cruise critic information has been mentioned before and it is not totally accurate. See comments in bold below.

Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle parties will be held on all Princess Cruises sailings. (Not true. Only held if a roll call member organizes one). Please check the daily activities program, called Princess Patters, for notification regarding the day, location and time of the event. (Not true. Princess does not place a M&G announcement in the Patter).  Should you wish to pre-arrange the Meet & Mingle for your sailing, please contact Princess Cruises Customer Service at 1-800-PRINCESS. (True, you must contact Princess in advance. Princess does automatically set up a M&G). Please make sure your efforts are coordinated so that only ONE person contacts Princess Cruises. (True).

Correction. Princess does NOT automatically set up a M&G.

[MixerDave]

I am hosting a M&G on a Princess ship - does anyone have advice on inviting offices and staff?  My contact gave me a list, but it is too many people.  Any suggestions for a invitation?

 

Thanks

[Daniel A]

36 minutes ago, MixerDave said:

I am hosting a M&G on a Princess ship - does anyone have advice on inviting offices and staff?  My contact gave me a list, but it is too many people.  Any suggestions for a invitation?

 

Thanks

I would normally invite Captain, Staff Captain, Cruise Director, Hotel Operations Officer, Maître' d, Head Chef.  But ask on your roll call who they would like to hear from at the event.  That's your best source of information.  I would generally ask the Cruise Director to do all of the introductions and act as an MC.  They're used to it and are very good.  Good luck!

 

Attached is a Word Document that is an invitation I made a couple of years ago.  Feel Free to adapt it.

Cruise Critic Invite March 2018 v2.docx

Edited November 19, 2019 by Daniel A

[oldjetdriver]

I print invitations on 4x6 photo stock and print envelopes before the cruise.  Take extra envelopes for name changes. 

Meet and Greet Invitation sample.psd Invitation envelopes sample.docx