Experienced "meet and greeters"

[floridafolks]

I have seen several posts about how to go about setting up a "meet and greet" on this board, but I was wondering, is there is a minimum number of people needed before HAL will set something up? We have a small roll call and I do not think any of us has set one up before. I thought if a "meet and greet" was set up maybe more would join in as time gets closer. How far in advance should one of us contact ship services? We sail May 9th. Also I thought someone mentioned that HAL would need our room numbers, but what if we are on a guaranty and won't have a room number assigned the month before when the meet and greet paperwork is due? Thanks in advance for your experienced opinions.

[kakalina]

HAL only need room #'s if you want them to send out invitations on your behalf. You most likely won't want that as most of us set up the time and place on the roll call boards.

There is no required # of persons. I have set up M&G's with as little as 10 and as many as 45. They want to know how many so they can send the appropriate amount of cookies and drinks.

 

I always set mine up at least 30 days in advance, more if I have the necessary info.

[serendipity1499]

I have seen several posts about how to go about setting up a "meet and greet" on this board, but I was wondering, is there is a minimum number of people needed before HAL will set something up? We have a small roll call and I do not think any of us has set one up before. I thought if a "meet and greet" was set up maybe more would join in as time gets closer. How far in advance should one of us contact ship services? We sail May 9th. Also I thought someone mentioned that HAL would need our room numbers, but what if we are on a guaranty and won't have a room number assigned the month before when the meet and greet paperwork is due? Thanks in advance for your experienced opinions.

 

Don't believe there is any set number of people needed.. There will be times that you have 30 people on your roll call & only half show up for a meet & greet..It's a little early to try to set up a meet & greet, for a May 09 departure, but it's not too soon to suggest it..

On the ones I've set up, we have had as few as 10 people, but each ship does it differently...HAL is not an official sponsor of CC's Meet & Greets...The only official sponsor is RCCL, as they have an agreement with Cruise Critic..

Also bear in mind that unofficial protocol dictates that usually the person who starts the roll call, sets up the meet & greet..Most participants acquiesce to that person, however they often ask for help from other posters..

Suggest you go back on your roll call & ask that person if they intend to set one up..You might even offer your assistance, but don't feel bad if they don't take you up on it..

If you do end up setting it up, first find out how many are really interested in meeting..Then set up a special e-mail to have them send full names, cabin No's & hometown..Even if you don't have all cabin numbers now, it's not important at this point..They can e-mail you right before departure..

The only one who actually would like cabin No's is the ship's contact, usually the Hotel Manager...If you don't have all the cabin No's when you board the ship he can find them with their full names & hometown..

About 5 weeks prior to departure you should contact the on board coordinator for your ship...All That is important is the number of participants & the time you want to have your meet & greet..Be sure to specify it's a NO HOST meet & greet..There is another thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=933231

on page two or three which has more info...

Hope you have a great return..Any more questions, feel free to ask..:)Betty

[serendipity1499]

I forgot to add, that the reason the Hotel Mgr. Or Bar Mgr often requests cabin No's & Names, is they may invite the Cruise Critic people at your meet & greet to another venue, but don't count on it..On the Veendam we were a small group of only 11..However we were invited to the Captain's VIP Party later on in the cruise..:)Betty

[innlady1]

I have seen several posts about how to go about setting up a "meet and greet" on this board, but I was wondering, is there is a minimum number of people needed before HAL will set something up? We have a small roll call and I do not think any of us has set one up before. I thought if a "meet and greet" was set up maybe more would join in as time gets closer. How far in advance should one of us contact ship services? We sail May 9th. Also I thought someone mentioned that HAL would need our room numbers, but what if we are on a guaranty and won't have a room number assigned the month before when the meet and greet paperwork is due? Thanks in advance for your experienced opinions.

 

I've set up three so have a little experience. Set it up now...HAL likes it as soon as possible. Give an estimated #, then update them a couple weeks before you sail. There is a contact person for each ship. I have sailed on the Noordam so have dealt with Arica Hawley who does the Noordam and Eurodam. If you provide room numbers, HAL will send invitations. It's also handy to have them in case you need to contact people for one reason or another beforehand. Hope this answers your questions.

[Susie51]

I have set up Meet n greets, but I was not the original poster. In Dec. our roll call wanted someone to do it and I volunteered. HAL had drinks and cookies for us in the Crows Nest. Another lady from our roll got things started with introductions ect.

 

In Oct. on Carnival Canada/New England, I set up the Meet n Greet and they brought coffee and cookies to us. Both groups had about 30 people attend

[redhead1944]

I keep seeing this term which I assume means people from CC who will be on your sailing - I am a sailing rookie - can someone pls tell me where I might find the roll call the Oosterdam 5/19 Med Romance Cruise out of Venice if there is one - I asked some questions in an earlier post about fellow CC being on the cruise and also about excursion - have gotten no response yet...any info would be appreciated. CJ in PacNW:)

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I keep seeing this term which I assume means people from CC who will be on your sailing - I am a sailing rookie - can someone pls tell me where I might find the roll call the Oosterdam 5/19 Med Romance Cruise out of Venice if there is one - I asked some questions in an earlier post about fellow CC being on the cruise and also about excursion - have gotten no response yet...any info would be appreciated. CJ in PacNW:)

 

 

Hi, Redhead:

 

Please click on the link below to find the roll call for your cruise. There appear to be quite a few other CC'ers going with you:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=735228

[jtl513]

I keep seeing this term which I assume means people from CC who will be on your sailing - I am a sailing rookie - can someone pls tell me where I might find the roll call the Oosterdam 5/19 Med Romance Cruise out of Venice if there is one - I asked some questions in an earlier post about fellow CC being on the cruise and also about excursion - have gotten no response yet...any info would be appreciated. CJ in PacNW:)

For future reference, or in case you lose the link that m-a-m just gave you: On the main Boards page, instead of choosing Cruise Line "A-O" Holland America Line you choose Roll Calls - Holland America Roll Calls. Then you choose your ship and search for your date. If you can't find one for your date, then start one! :)

[RustaRoo]

HAL only need room #'s if you want them to send out invitations on your behalf.

If you provide room numbers, HAL will send invitations.

On our January sailing, we provided the room numbers and yes, HAL prepared and delivered invitations on our behalf, BUT there was a charge for this and a member of our roll-call graciously picked up the charge, which was a 'per invitation' charge.

[MARIMART]

Hi

I have set up a meet and greet for our trans atlantic sailing we contacted HAL they put me on to Larson, Jocelyn (HAL) <jlarson@hollandamerica.com who was very helpful and set the M&G for us HAL is very helpful on this you can contact above or call HAL and they will direct you to the right person for your cruise

Happy Cruising

Marty:)

 

I have seen several posts about how to go about setting up a "meet and greet" on this board, but I was wondering, is there is a minimum number of people needed before HAL will set something up? We have a small roll call and I do not think any of us has set one up before. I thought if a "meet and greet" was set up maybe more would join in as time gets closer. How far in advance should one of us contact ship services? We sail May 9th. Also I thought someone mentioned that HAL would need our room numbers, but what if we are on a guaranty and won't have a room number assigned the month before when the meet and greet paperwork is due? Thanks in advance for your experienced opinions.

[redhead1944]

:)Thanks my three experienced friends - that was exactly what I needed.....:) CJ in PacNW

[djhsolara]

I'm not sure on which ship you're sailing, but here is what I typed to someone regarding the recent Eurodam M&G that I organized...

 

 

 

I did exactly what she said and I set up a special email on hotmail using the name of the sailing...ours was eurodamfebruary7@live.com. Then I talked it up on the roll call to see how many people were interested.

 

I contacted HAL (Arica as mentioned above) and was set up. I had actually planned a M&G (in the Silk Den - a nice "new" location for these events) and also a private galley tour. I love the private galley tour because when they do the regular galley tour, the galley is pretty much shut down for the tour and it is not "working". When you have a private galley tour, it will be a working galley (at least it has been on both of the private tours that I have been on).

 

Arica needed a "final" number for the M&G about 4 weeks prior to sailing, so I set a deadline on the roll call. I asked that everyone send me their name, hometown, cruise critic name and stateroom number.

 

One thing that I have found is that the ship will do much more for you for free than Seattle will offer to do for free. Seattle told me that if I ordered any food I would need to pay for it, but when I got on the ship they were very generously offering. I asked Seattle if the group could be placed on the VIP list to be invited to the Captain's Cocktail Party...Seattle said there is no VIP list but the ship took the list and invited everyone.

 

As soon as I got on the ship I went to the front desk and asked see the Beverage Manager (who was Peter Damien). Peter came out and had the information that was sent to him from Arica (but I also brought my copy along just in case). When I spoke with him I asked if they would be able to do anything special for us. He immediately offered up champagne and mimosas. At the actual event we had both of these as well as butlered hors d'oeuvres and chocolate covered strawberries. When I met with Peter, I also confirmed that Mark Pells (the Hotel Manager) would stop by the M&G. Peter also confirmed the private galley tour for me.

 

I had printed my own flyers for invitations to both of the events (I will happily send you copies if you would like that you could just edit for your sailing...just email me...they must have looked pretty decent because everyone thought that the ship printed them up). I didn't ask if they would deliver, so I just did it myself.

 

At the sailaway I saw the Cruise Director (Susan Wood) and made my way over to her to introduce myself and personally invite her to the M&G.

 

Our M&G was planned for the first sea day from 9AM-10AM in the Silk Den. Susan stopped by and spoke for a few minutes to everyone. Mark Pells and Jules (part of the event staff) came, spoke and answered questions. Mark took the sign-up list that I had provided and placed everyone on the VIP list and invited them to the Captain's Cocktail Party later in the week.

 

I did make certain to write personalized thank you notes to everyone who was part of this process onboard (Susan Wood, Peter Damien, Mark Pells, Mark (sorry I do not remember his last name but he was the Culinary Operations Manager who did our private galley tour) as well as to the Captain to express my thanks for the wonderful service provided by all of these people). I don't know if this means much to these people, but I was brought up to properly thank people for a job well done...and I know that just before we walked off the ship, Susan was standing there saying goodbye to everyone as they disembarked and she reached out and thanked me for the note.

 

I've gone on and on here...sorry if I've bored you with my rambling detail. If there is anything else that you need to know, please let me know and I will try to help.

__________________

[JudeeJim]

I set up a Meet and Greet through HAL customer service. I contacted a representative for our cruise on Zaandam Mar. 7. I was sent a form via e-mail and filled it out. I didn't have to have names or room numbers. Just had to tell them the approximent people and how I wanted it set up. I requested reception set up with cookies, coffee, tea and water. I wasn't told about them making name tags so I made some myself. As of now I think we number 22.

 

Judee

[RuthC]

I didn't have to have names or room numbers.

HAL doesn't have a requirement that you furnish cabin numbers, but many of us who have set these up recommend that you get them.

If you don't need them---no harm done; but if you need them and don't have them....

 

There are times that there's a change in plans, or that you want to get together again, and it's easy to make arrangements if you have the info handy. Then there's other times that HAL will send invites to other get-togethers, but that can only happen if they know where to find everyone. ;)

[innlady1]

On our January sailing, we provided the room numbers and yes, HAL prepared and delivered invitations on our behalf, BUT there was a charge for this and a member of our roll-call graciously picked up the charge, which was a 'per invitation' charge.

 

I didn't realize there was a charge, Richard. On our cruise last February (also the Noordam) they sent invitations and didn't charge.

 

Maybe it was because there were so many of us this time around :confused: Or, perhaps it's a new policy :confused:

 

I arranged the M & G for our 2nd leg this year (2/2) but there was a glitch with the invitations, none went out, so I wasn't billed...if that is the new policy.

[serendipity1499]

What everyone should remember is that HAL does not officially sponsor Cruise Critic Meet & Greets...The only line which sponsor's them is RCCL..This could be the reason why HAL might be charging on some ships..

I've set up at least 5 Meet & Greets on HAL & other lines & would never request that Ships personnel issue or distribute invitations..

I've always printed the invitations at home & planned to distribute them myself...However on several cruises the distribution was offered by the HM & I gladly accepted the offer....On Oceania, I planned a luncheon & brought extra invitations which I was going to fill in the names, dates & venue by hand...However, without my asking, the Concierge offered to print the invites & distribute them..He even gave them to me for approval..Again I was happy to accept his offer..Also it's important for the person who sets up the meet & greet to have the list of names & cabin numbers only because there could be a change of time or place..And most of the HM & Bar Mgrs would like a copy..I also make up the name tags..

I would never ask a Hotel Mgr. or Bar Mgr what they could do for our group either, only because IMO it's not proper..;) Whatever is offered is accepted, but never asked for, with the exception of coffee, pastries & a place to meet &/or another luncheon or meeting ..

 

Agree, a Thank You is important to those who made you feel welcome..

 

JMO..Betty

[serendipity1499]

I set up a Meet and Greet through HAL customer service. I contacted a representative for our cruise on Zaandam Mar. 7. I was sent a form via e-mail and filled it out. I didn't have to have names or room numbers. Just had to tell them the approximent people and how I wanted it set up. I requested reception set up with cookies, coffee, tea and water. I wasn't told about them making name tags so I made some myself. As of now I think we number 22.

Judee

 

For your own peace of mind you should have those on your roll call e-mail you with their full names & cabin numbers... What will you do if the ship decides on a change your meet & greet, which could happen..Make sure you contact either the HM or Bar Mgr. when you board the ship..On cruises when I've planned the meet & greet, either the HM or Bar Mgr. has asked for a list ..

:)Betty

[djhsolara]

For your own peace of mind you should have those on your roll call e-mail you with their full names & cabin numbers... What will you do if the ship decides on a change your meet & greet, which could happen..Make sure you contact either the HM or Bar Mgr. when you board the ship..On cruises when I've planned the meet & greet, either the HM or Bar Mgr. has asked for a list ..

 

:)Betty

 

Please read above and see that they may be asking for this list to invite everyone to cocktails with the Captain. That may not mean much to some, but heck if they're giving me free drinks then I'll be there. ;) ;)

[serendipity1499]

Please read above and see that they may be asking for this list to invite everyone to cocktails with the Captain. That may not mean much to some, but heck if they're giving me free drinks then I'll be there. ;) ;)

 

I agree..:):):) I gave them the list on the Veendam in Aug & everyone in our meet & greet was invited to the Captain's VIP party later in the week..