meet and mingle still "paused" why?

[sisocialworker]

no pandemic...anyone have the RCI response, inside scoop, as to why they are still paused?

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, sisocialworker said:

anyone have the RCI response, inside scoop, as to why they are still paused?

As with most things with RCI, it is likely a $ driven decision.

[sisocialworker]

11 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

As with most things with RCI, it is likely a $ driven decision.

with a billion in current profit..that is sad

[island lady]

Lack of interest is part of it (attendance was going down along with roll call involvement)....but mostly...IMHO..it is yet another of the cost cutting that RCI is enjoying from so many cut backs during  the "Covid era".   RCI probably loved the savings on those, and figured since they have been gone so long...why bring them back?   Guess they think we would not notice....but many of us remember.  

[smokeybandit]

Lack of interest. Not worth the effort. I doubt there's much of a cost savings by not having them. 

[Ourusualbeach]

4 minutes ago, island lady said:

Lack of interest

This^^^

[neverbeenhere]

That person is now working in another department.

[klfrodo]

My opinion only (and may get deleted due to antiquated policies)

A few years back, this site was a big driver (still only about 5% of cruisers) for cruise lines and it was a good marketing scheme to promote and thank the cruise critic population with a sponsored gathering.

As time has gone on, other social media sites are taking over and draining the cruise critic popularity. Therefore, the cruise line marketing teams no longer see a value in sponsoring a cruise critic meet and greet.

[island lady]

30 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Lack of interest. Not worth the effort. I doubt there's much of a cost savings by not having them. 

 

True.  I was thinking of the time spent by an officer to host the meeting.  The set up of the meeting with the coffee, donuts etc., and the gifts they gave out.   Not to mention cleanup after.  

 

Just one more thing RCI has decided we don't need any longer.  😉 

[alfaeric]

Even when there were a lot of people active on a roll call, hardly anyone went to M&M's.  I went to one that the drawing for swag meant everyone got something out of the small bag of stuff brought.

 

It is about money and time- what's the point of having it when the roll calls are a tiny fraction of what they used to be, and even then- the people who go are a small fraction of that.

 

 

[molly361]

31 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

This^^^

I remember going to one with you.  WOW that was a LONG time ago

[Ourusualbeach]

37 minutes ago, molly361 said:

I remember going to one with you.  WOW that was a LONG time ago

That certainly was

[notscb]

I agree with @klfrodo. If cruise critic as a website isn't driving a certain amount of traffic, cruise lines aren't incentivized to do anything for it's user base.

[mets123]

Royal doesn't make money on them. If it was held in a venue where drinks were served, then they would have reason to do it.

[gkbiiii]

Oddly, MSC's best party was for Cruise Critic, better than for Black Diamonds!

[Tlbecker1]

We had a Meet & Mingle on the first day on the Anthem TA. It was for D,D+ & P’s.  The event was in the Solarium with tables of champagne and they were walking around with all sorts of food.  We have 2 more days of cruising.

[cruisegirl1]

2 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said:

We had a Meet & Mingle on the first day on the Anthem TA. It was for D,D+ & P’s.  The event was in the Solarium with tables of champagne and they were walking around with all sorts of food.  We have 2 more days of cruising.

People were referring to a specific Cruise Critic  invitation only meet and mingle that used to be held on ships pre-Covid. It was usually hosted by a Royal Caribbean staff, had some light refreshments (mostly nonalcoholic), and some door prizes.  It was away for the people on the cruise critic page to get to meet one another. It had nothing to do with any type of crown and anchor level and was open to all of those who registered. The event has not been reinstated since the return to sailing several years ago. 
 

What you described seems to be some sort of crown and anchor party.

Two different events. 

M

[shipgeeks]

There is no rule against organizing a get-together with roll call people here or on other sites.  If the point is to meet people you've been chatting with online, that is just as good.  If the point is to get some free drinks, not as good.

[Charles4515]

4 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

People were referring to a specific Cruise Critic  invitation only meet and mingle that used to be held on ships pre-Covid. It was usually hosted by a Royal Caribbean staff, had some light refreshments (mostly nonalcoholic), and some door prizes.

The adhoc meets that we used to organize from roll calls that were not sponsored were usually better than the sponsored meets. The problem now is that the roll calls are largely defunct except for many sailings. Sailings where people to meet others for independent tours are probably going to be better. If there is no sponsored meet then an adhoc meet can be organized. Some staff might even show up if the adhoc meet is drawing large interest. On another cruise line where the meets were not sponsored they invited the Captain and he often showed up.  

[Cigar King]

My understanding is the M&M was a joint effort between Cruise Critic and Royal.  Prior to the shutdown, it was obvious that neither really cared for the concept anymore and after a few cheap trinkets were distributed and the raffle was over, people just left. 

 

If they are going to be resumed I would hope a proportional effort is made to make them more enjoyable.  That goes for the attendees too.  Don't just show up to collect you swag and bolt.  That's not how you meet and mingle.

[doghog]

On 10/27/2023 at 8:33 AM, sisocialworker said:

no pandemic...anyone have the RCI response, inside scoop, as to why they are still paused?

Have you contacted RC and asked? 

[klfrodo]

When CC originally started ( I originally joined in the mid to late 90's), it was a dedicated AOL Chat room. Then it got bought or moved away from the AOL Chat area and was rebranded. Not that it matters but all of us from the AOL days lost all recognition of post count. Well, I shouldn't say everyone. Some complained loud enough and were able to keep their post count.

What I'm getting at is that unfortunately, CC people are ageing out for the most part and group/topic forums are/have moved to other social media platforms.

CC is one of the best places to learn about cruising, ask questions, seek advice, etc, however, they haven't kept up with other social media platforms.

[framboesa]

We went to several MnM and there were more than 100 persons attending. We thought that was lot of people but reading all the posts maybe it was not enough.

[ShillyShally]

1 minute ago, Scottdalfonso said:

We sailed 10\1 on Oasis and the meet and greet was fun, I only stopped by but it was fun, I was really active on the group in general, so I actually got recognized by people randomly throughout the cruise which was both funny and a bit weird, lol.  We had a group slot pull, as well and a few other things scheduled throughout the week. 

I had every intention of doing the sail away meet and greet but we landed at Playmakers and met a great couple we were having fun chatting and getting to know.  I always plan such activities loosely, because some days they work and some days they don't.  I had been active in the group so was sorry not to meet people but it was one of our best cruises so no regrets!  I was happy not to be recognized though, I am not that memorable I don't think but my husband still laughs about the time we were on a cruise many moons ago and started talking to a group near us at Quest and when they put 2 and 2 together they said "YOU'RE ShillyShally?"  No idea what reputation I had to them but my husband isn't buying that story either lol!

[bouhunter]

On 10/27/2023 at 11:08 AM, klfrodo said:

My opinion only (and may get deleted due to antiquated policies)

A few years back, this site was a big driver (still only about 5% of cruisers) for cruise lines and it was a good marketing scheme to promote and thank the cruise critic population with a sponsored gathering.

As time has gone on, other social media sites are taking over and draining the cruise critic popularity. Therefore, the cruise line marketing teams no longer see a value in sponsoring a cruise critic meet and greet.

Makes sense.  There is a LOT less activity on the roll calls now compared to pre covid.