F.O.D. Meetings on Princess

[Simru12]

Has anyone had a rough time getting FOD meetings scheduled on Princess?

 

I just got off the Golden last week, and we had a heck of a time getting one. Took three days and more than a few people asking before it got in the "Patter", then when the time came, no one from the crew showed up. There were 10-12 of us, so we had a good time anyway. Just would have been nice for someone from the CD's staff to acknowledge us.

 

I know it all depends on the CD and his staff, and their schedules are quite full during the day, but would it have upset the balance of things so much if they had stopped by to say "Thanks"?

 

Just my ramblings.....

 

We're going over the schedules for the next cruise. Is there any cruise line that's better than others at planning and follow-up for things like this?

 

David

[CL-JW]

On both our Princess cruises (Dawn & Sapphire), FODs were automatically in the Patter. I don't remember how many on Dawn, but there were 3 on Sapphire a couple of weeks ago. The first one was hosted by one of the Cruise Director's staff and they even had complimentary champagne.

[deweydjb]

I was both on the Star and the Caribbean Princess and both times the FOD just showed up on I think the second day in the patter. I am not sure if a passenger requested them or if they just decided to have one, but there was a member of the CD staff there both times and it seemed like the person from the CD staff scheduled the meetings. Maybe it really does rely on who is on the CD staff!

 

Doug

[defreeze]

Simru,

 

If you just got off the 4/29 - 5/6 Golden Princess San Juan to NYC cruise, then you must have missed the host at the gathering. A woman from the cruise director's staff was there, along with several bottles of champagne, for the first half hour. Did you come late?

 

By the way, it was advertised in the Patter as a "Rainbow GLBT Gathering", which I think is much better than the antiquated, closeted "Friends of Dorothy" moniker.

[Simru12]

Simru,

 

If you just got off the 4/29 - 5/6 Golden Princess San Juan to NYC cruise, then you must have missed the host at the gathering.

 

Hi Defreeze,

 

I was actually on the Golden the week before you. 4/22 - 4/29, San Jaun r/t. We had one meeting on Tuesday, and I asked for another later in the week but didn't get it. Nice that your CD showed with, and with champagne no less!

 

I guess it really does depend on the CD staff. Could also have been the fact that we had a lot of late port departures and only one sea day.

 

David

[sfbear]

:D

Simru,

 

By the way, it was advertised in the Patter as a "Rainbow GLBT Gathering", which I think is much better than the antiquated, closeted "Friends of Dorothy" moniker.

 

Like the "GLBT" rather than FOD. Anyway, on the Dawn, leaving SF to Mexico cruise of 4/19 there were three gatherings with the CD staff at, at least, one. Good for Princess.

[kkorman]

We had one automatically scheduled on the second day in the patter on the Caribbean Princess last week. Not a big fan of the host, but he gave everyone a bottle of cheap bubbly.

[Buddy604]

We just had one on the Dawn, on a three day repo cruise. It was scheduled for the Wheelhouse Bar, but moved to Magnums because the bar was closed for a private party.

 

This one was listed an LGBT Friends of Dorothy Soiree and included CD staff for the first half hour and a bottle of bubbly. We had maybe 16 to 20 people there.

[EnchantmentSeeker]

What about a gay congaline - in drag - around the pool at teatime.:eek: :eek: :eek:

[RMS Olympic]

With RSVP using Princess as a gay charter in October followed by a gay charter in Feb...perhaps headquarters will learn to embrace our dollars and acknowledge our presence in the future. It may prove a positive move and provide a more consistant policy rather than depend on the CD.

My history with Princess has been very positve, but it was before FOD gatherings became an sought after scheduled event.

Believe me there use to be many a CD that made no bones about being a FOD...and could snap in a "Z" pattern with the best of them. I cant wait to experience the current Princess product on the RSVP cruise in Oct.

Let the games begin....snap snap snap.

[bdjam]

I guess it really does depend on the CD staff. Could also have been the fact that we had a lot of late port departures and only one sea day.

Who was the CD on Golden when you were on board? I just got off Regal Princess and out of 15 days on board, we had FOD gatherings (and they are still calling them FOD there, so I commented on my Comment Card) at least 8 of the 15 days. Small group, but they still had them. The member of the cruise staff who was present said the gatherings were now compulsory on all Princess ships – so there should be no trouble getting one.

[johncruiser]

We were on Island Princess repo to Alaska earlier this month. FOD didn't work to most people's satisfaction. It didn't take place until the 3rd day, and that was the only meeting. It was in a crowded bar with big and immovable chairs, so it was difficult to sit around and converse. Princess had a representative there who was not GLBT (and clearly announced that), which was strange for a crew where many, many, including the cruise director, were gay.

[aaerobear]

Just off the Coral 5 day repo to Vancouver, had one "party" scheduled on the second day. They called it LGBT Rainbow something or other.

Free Champagne (I should say sparkiling wine, cause that weren't no champagne, but who's complaining when it is free and from the cruiseline)

 

There were about 30 people present, bith Gay and Lesbian.

 

Ed/Jeff

 

ps, I think I told everyone about the FOD party on the Maasdam where Lorna Luft showed up and asked if the "daughter of Dorothy" could come to the party.

[robtx100]

We were on the Grand a few months ago and there was a gathering every evening hosted by Kat, from the cruise director's staff. It was held at a different place each night. Kat even met up with us at a bar in Cozumel and introduced us to a lot of the crew. Then she came with us for a little "drunk shopping".

[Gator83]

On my Coral Princess cruise this past December I was told by the person that hosted our FOD gathering that the gatherings depend on whether a crew member wants to host them. Our person (who was and still is straight) said she loved hosting them. So if someone doesn't want to host them then you have to ask for them and it is not a given that they will even set aside a time and place for them. Even if they aren't hosted I think having a set time and place and mentioning it in the Patter is good enough.

[bdjam]

We were on Island Princess repo to Alaska earlier this month. FOD didn't work to most people's satisfaction. It didn't take place until the 3rd day, and that was the only meeting. It was in a crowded bar with big and immovable chairs, so it was difficult to sit around and converse. Princess had a representative there who was not GLBT (and clearly announced that), which was strange for a crew where many, many, including the cruise director, were gay.

Who was the Cruise Director?

[cruisegoer310]

I was both on the Star and the Caribbean Princess and both times the FOD just showed up on I think the second day in the patter. I am not sure if a passenger requested them or if they just decided to have one, but there was a member of the CD staff there both times and it seemed like the person from the CD staff scheduled the meetings. Maybe it really does rely on who is on the CD staff!

 

Doug

 

I'm sailing on Star in July in the Baltics and look forward to a meeting. Has anyone else had good experiences on the Star? What itineraries and when?

 

Doug: What type of itinerary was the Star cruise you were on? Do you remember what the CD staff member's name is? I'll be sure to give a big thanks to him/her if it's the same person!

 

--Ben

[jeffdal]

:D

 

Like the "GLBT" rather than FOD. Anyway, on the Dawn, leaving SF to Mexico cruise of 4/19 there were three gatherings with the CD staff at, at least, one. Good for Princess.

 

 

I second that! GLBT is alot better than FOD!! Most my friends have no idea what FOD is!!

[Jerry & Kirk]

Cruisegoer...........We have sailed on the Star twice: first on it's inaugural 26 day journey from Singapore to L.A. in Feb. 2002, and again on the Star's inaugural 36 sailiing to Australia and New Zealand in Nov. 2003 from L.A., so we know the ship and crew well.

 

The inaugural Singapore sailing was very exciting b/c the ship was brand new and there was lots of fanfare, and we were the first passengers to experience this beautiful ship.....yeah!! There were never any glitches as some inaugural's can be (like on the Rotterdam...another story). Best of all, we were upgraded from a minimal inside cabin to a large balconly cabin....how lucky can you get??? We're still trying to figure out WHY we were given such a great upgrade. I guess we'll never know??? The inaugural itinerary was fabulous!! There were ports stops in several major cities in Asia, including Hong Kong, Tiwan, Osaka, Bangkok, etc., etc. After leaving Asia the ship crossed the North Atlantic Sea enroute to Hawaii. There were 4 stops in Hawaii before sailing to it's final destination, L.A.

 

In 2003 the ship sailed out of the port of Long Beach, crossed the Pacific to Hawaii, and again made stops at 4 islands before heading to Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji, Samoa, and eventually all the major port stops in New Zealand. Then onto ports in Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart, Tasmania. In Sydney and Hobart, we were embraced by guys we'd been chatting with on CC. Now get this, these total strangers squired us around showing us the sights of their beloved cities for the enitre day...even prepared a picnic lunch and uncorked bottles of Champagne to celebrate our arrival. Since then, we have become very tight with these guys, and now they have visited us 3 times, bringing along with some of their other Aussie friends. Aussi's are GREAT people!

 

About FOD and GLBT meetings......on the many different Princess ships we've traveled on, there were always meetings, but it's not automaticly announced in the daily newsletter, the Patter. When we first board ship we find the cruise director and request a meeting and ask for it to be announced in the Patter, ASAP. If you can't find the CD, go to the pursers desk and leave a note for him/her with your request, and include your name and cabin number. If you don't see any results in a few days, track the CD down and make a second request. Hope this helps.

 

J & K

[rolando]

Just got off the Caribbean Princess today and we had 3 gatherings automatically posted on the Patter, and all hosted by a member of the CD staff. I thought that was great for a 7 day cruise.

[m steve]

Went on Diamond Princessx in Feb and they scheduled a FOD the same time as the CC meeting. Both had champagne but the FOD group got asst. CD Frankie who was ablst. We got some young girl who brought C and left.

[bdjam]

Frankie knows exactly what he's doing.

[bm6546]

Me and my sister will be on the Princess Star sailing from Seattle to Alaska on Aug 9, 2009. We have never been to a FOD meeting before and were wondering if there were others that might like to join us. I am gay and my sister is straight, but she likes to hang out with gay people. Not even sure if I can find my way back to this thread, so maybe you can just send me an e-mail. Thanks, Brian bm6546@yahoo.com

[litehouz70]

You may want to create a new thread to find out if anybody else is on your cruise. You may be surprised to find out how many others may be there.