Meet and Greets - Will We Fit In?

[rwmartin]

My wife and I will be going on our 4th cruise in the fall. I discovered CruiseCritic since our last cruise (nearly 10 years ago) and I enjoy reading the boards. We enjoy meeting people and have gotten to know some people, by chance, on previous cruises and ended up going to dinner together or meeting for the show on one or two nights. So, I'm interested in the Meet and Greets, but I'm wondering if my wife and I will fit in. We're in our late 40s and we will have been married 25 years when we go on the cruise. Based upon your experience at Meet and Greets you've attended on NCL ships, will we fit in? Will there be other people our age and with our limited cruising experience? Or will it be mostly retired folks who are Platinum with lots of cruising experience? I'm a bit of an introvert in new situations, so, I'm just wondering what to expect. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[NJGeorge]

7 minutes ago, rwmartin said:

My wife and I will be going on our 4th cruise in the fall. I discovered CruiseCritic since our last cruise (nearly 10 years ago) and I enjoy reading the boards. We enjoy meeting people and have gotten to know some people, by chance, on previous cruises and ended up going to dinner together or meeting for the show on one or two nights. So, I'm interested in the Meet and Greets, but I'm wondering if my wife and I will fit in. We're in our late 40s and we will have been married 25 years when we go on the cruise. Based upon your experience at Meet and Greets you've attended on NCL ships, will we fit in? Will there be other people our age and with our limited cruising experience? Or will it be mostly retired folks who are Platinum with lots of cruising experience? I'm a bit of an introvert in new situations, so, I'm just wondering what to expect. Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

If you feel uncomfortable at the M&G just leave.

We have met some really wonderful people at them and some we didn't like.

Just like life!

 

[Peachypooh]

It depends on the ship and the demographics. Sometimes we felt like we fit in and occasionally not.

You can always leave early or maybe meet some new friends.

[ColeThornton]

Join your Roll Call and get to know some your fellow cruisers before you sail.   Personally, I've never been to one.  I meet plenty of people around the ship so they really don't serve any purpose, for me at least.

[erdoran]

M&G’s are great fun.  I’m a super introvert but even I enjoy them.  The trick is to get active on your roll call in advance so you get to know people, then you end up being curious about who the different screen name people really are.  You might find you have something in common with some (or not) before the cruise, and then meet up during the M&G.  The ship officers stop in to introduce themselves and they leave cards as well, so if you need to know who to contact and how, there’s that.  You will learn about activities (if you don’t already know!) so you can see if you are interested.  Often there is a gift exchange or some such as a ice breaker.

 

Give it a try - as someone else said, you can always leave.

[Zippeedee]

I have gone to a few, mostly on Transatlantics, and the age range is huge. Everyone from twenty-somethings to retirees and every age in between. You can just sit and hear the officers speak, get their contact information and relax. Talk to anyone nearby that seems friendly, or not. Some are so packed it is hard to meet many people. Joining your roll call is a good way to at least recognize some names.  I have enjoyed smaller roll call events like the Slot Pulls and Left, Right Center games because they are smaller groups and it is easier to talk to more people. Try one, you can always just leave if you hate it!

[smplybcause]

Every cruise is different. Can't answer that question until you know who is showing up to the m&g and only know who is going to the m&g by going. It's a catch 22 but you're only risking less than an hour even if you're someone who won't leave early. 

[ready2cruzagain]

Early 50's here and been on 42 cruises and Platinum not far from Platinum Plus on NCL but we have never felt out of place at any of the M & G's.  Guess I am missing something with the question. 

[warburg]

Greetings from South Beach, rwmartin. Get involved with the Roll Call for your cruise if there is one for starters. That is also the place to explore excursions and sometimes get information. Just have fun.

[Gershep]

The M&G is for all ages, 20's and up. I used to go by my self and one time my husband came to meet me and now he goes to all the M&G's. Met some nice people. It's nice when you walk the ship and recognize some one from the M&G. Like others said, if you don't like it just get up and leave.

[mking8288]

OP, the typical M&G group is a hybrid mix, not consisting of retirees with Platinum/+ status (and, FYI - less than 4 dozens with ambassador status, most of them ... not in attendance) - coming from all walks, ages & demographics.  We've been cruising for 20+ years and learn of CC/got active for about 10 years - we're once young and still feel the same ... children & teens are invited and welcomed at more than a handful of M&G that we've been in, including several of that I ran and/or helped others to organize.  

 

We've gotten newbies, first time cruisers, infrequent and of course, the "veterans" of NCL and some with passion for a particular ship, ethnicity & household composition, solo and those sailing without their partner/spouse for whatever reasons.  Some M&G were better than others, huge crowds and big attendance are not keys for success - smaller # of folks in attendance made for better mingling & chatting.  I didn't like the classroom style setup for the chairs this month when we confirmed with a headcount of 50 in a space good for 100 ... it's a gathering, not a lecture or rally speech - anyway, when the senior officers came & left (in about 10 minutes) - we turned the chairs around & did it our way, stayed for another 15 or 20 minutes, before the sub-group that wanted to do a slot pull left to head into the casino.  

 

Those that didn't participate or sign-out, said their goodbye & left - we ran into quite a few during the rest of the cruise.  Some of the solo arranged plans on their own.  We met another couple, Platinum+ also, around our age & actually lived not far from us - had dinner with them in the MDR one evening, not to "shoot the moon" ... planning to stay in touch with them post-cruise.  It is a small world, pretty good chance that paths will cross again with many others - if not onboard, then - here on CC in the future.  

 

If you aren't sure or still comfortable, sit close to the entrance & discretely made your exit, just like the folks that came in late, or forgotten about it entirely ... or ran from another gathering, like the Behind The Scene tour.  Maybe, you aren't missing anything at all - on the other hand, the opposite is true ... I know that we shared a few useful tips & insider tricks during the gathering.  

 

After a while, you build up your own blacklist and whitelist of who's who on your next cruise.  

[Sweetnspicy]

I have gone to each one on the cruises I have been on. At 20 I was the youngest on my first cruise and I had a blast with everyone! I’m so excited for the next one at the end of January. Just like everything else, it is what you make it.

[CarrieAP]

I'm on the shy spectrum, yet have a yearning to meet new people. A few years ago I decided I could be the initiator by introducing myself to the closest person/family sitting near us, especially those who were sitting alone like us. I'm so glad I pushed myself! Have met so many wonderful people and now look forward to the M&G. On our last cruise I even volunteered to coordinate the cabin crawl. The opportunity to meet diverse groups of cruisers in age, travel experience, home locale etc. adds to my love of cruising. 

[coach jim]

One added benefit of going to the M&G is to meet some of the officers and get their contact info.  We had a few issues dealt with immediately because we were able to go right to the top, beveridge manager in one case.  Even if shy, great to be able to meet and later recognize a few friendly faces during your cruise.  As has been stated, you can always leave, but stay to get the officers info!

[tlm48]

YES!

[G-DawgMN]

 We are in our 40's and typically go the meet and greets. We have been cruising for 10 years now and went even on our first cruise. The roll call was a great way to get information about our cruise and ports. The Meet and Greet was great for meeting the people we talked to prior to the cruise.

 

[rwmartin]

I'm hearing a resounding "YES!" from everyone. Thanks for everyone's feedback and suggestions for making a M&G worthwhile. I'm going to go join my roll call now. Thanks again!

[DomoYoshi]

Another resounding “Yes!” from me. Even if you decide not to spend time with them again, there are likely to be experienced cruisers of your itinerary and/or ship that can offer great tips. We saved a lot of time in one port thanks to great advice we received at a M&G. 

[Koali]

I was in my late 20s when we started cruising. So most definitely always the youngest in the group. My husband is more the chatterbox than me, but it’s easy to get the standard introductions done and if you’re not

vibing with the crowd you can leave. One of them we had pre-arranged shore excursions with some folks from the m&g so we met them at the event. 

[Debde]

My advice-do stealth mode on your roll call!!  LOL😉

 

I don't do them much as it is so not my husbands thing. Does not seem to much matter weather you do a M&G or not because for me, we never seem to have a problem meeting great folks while cruising.

 

Sometimes you can get a feel of people that will be on you from the roll call. I'm not much on the group slot pull, stateroom tours and pub crawl stuff. Some can be some over the top cruisers and others are just the nicest people you'll ever meet. Remember-you can always head for the door!!! LOL

[luckyinpa]

i went to 2 of these 3 years ago. you can be isolated and sit there or join in at a table. one time we got lucky and joined a lady that shows us her DOS and i even got a bottle of booze out of the deal 🙂  you definitely should go then if its weird just take off. you can fake going to the bathroom if you need to . no restaurants on cruise ships have bathrooms so its legit to have to leave to go. 

[casofilia]

The best M&Gs are where the organiser had made some arrangements whereby you "have" to get up to talk to others.   I hope you don't get one where everyone has large quantities of glue on the seat of their pants!!!   I have been to too many where people settle into their seats and only talk to those at the same table.

[DinaS]

We've been to almost every meet & greet since we started cruising - I have even organized a couple.  Most are great fun, and there are people of all ages, from all walks of life.

 

Every once in a while, you may find one where the energy or chemistry just isn't what you enjoy.  Simply smile, and make your exit - no harm no foul.

 

On our last cruise, we weren't thrilled with the meet & greet, but it had more to do with the organization (or dis-organization) of the event, and the over-crowded location, than it did with the people in attendance.

[puddles99]

I would say that I've attended most of the M&Gs when we've sailed, starting with our first cruise and have coordinated a few.  Sometimes we connect with people who become friends long beyond that single sailing and sometimes we identify someone we try to avoid for the rest of the cruise - LOL! As others have said, I would recommend joining your Roll Call here, stop by the M&G if it works for your schedule, and then decide for yourself.

 

Happy Sailing!

[DinaS]

On 1/1/2020 at 9:40 AM, coach jim said:

One added benefit of going to the M&G is to meet some of the officers and get their contact info.  We had a few issues dealt with immediately because we were able to go right to the top, beveridge manager in one case.  Even if shy, great to be able to meet and later recognize a few friendly faces during your cruise.  As has been stated, you can always leave, but stay to get the officers info!

 

I forgot to make that point - thanks for reminding everyone.

 

You get to meet the officers, and while they want to keep everyone happy, they may go a bit further to keep Cruise Critic members happy.  They know we are more likely to write a review - good or bad - than most other passengers.

 

It is definitely worth it to have the officers direct numbers in case a problem ever arises during your cruise.  We only had one issue a while back with a bad (and I mean really bad) meal at a specialty restaurant, and when we didn't get a resolution, we simply called and the problem was taken care of.