Meet and Mingle

[Twinkd]

My hubby and I are going on our first cruise on Radiance of the Seas next month and we have registered for the M&M. We are just wondering what actually happens at these. Does the Cruiseline put on free drinks and snacks?? Is there somebody who meets us and coordinates this - I realise that the purpose is to meet the people you have been chatting with online but just wondering how it actually works. Thanks.

[Pumbaamd]

There will a member of the staff there as a host. The host can range from the cruise director to a very low level assistant. We have some great M&M's, and some not so good.

You will have maybe iced tea, coffee, lemonade and a small snack. If a very large crowd is expected (we had 150 on a recent cruise) a nearby bar may open. It is a low budget affair. They will raffle off a few trinkets and answer any questions.

Enjoy your cruise!

Rick and Deirdra

[Chuggiebug]

We even had the Captain attend one. There has also been a small gift for everyone up til now. With the recent cut backs that may no longer be the case.

 

We have always enjoyed them.

[linkerbink]

You'll get a card in your cabin telling you where and when to meet. You present the card when you arrive. If you have a VERY active roll call group (as we did on our April cruise) there may be activities which have been organized by the group. We had a gift exchange (for those who chose to participate), and had set up a cabin crawl, pub crawl, and slot pull.

 

On our April cruise everyone received a small gift...it was a combination note pad and Sea Pass holder.

[wraithe]

Expect about 1/4 to 1/2 of the folks who signed up to actually show up. They are usually pretty fun, they'll do a couple of giveaways, and have coffee, hot tea, water and cookies/canapes. I've never seen alcoholic drinks at one of these.

[camofwilliamsburg]

Nothing worth missing something else for. Many people you have spoken to just never show up. They talk to you and then it is left up to the people to mingle and talk to one another. A small gift of a notepad is given out and you write your screen name on that and you then are suppose to mingle to meet the people you have communicated with. This has only worked out for one of our 8 RCI cruises where we actually found the person we were suppose to find. But then again, if you really are interested in meeting someone exchange cabin numbers with them and arrange a time to get together.

They serve very light stuff...fruit platter and cookies and some hot and cold drinks. Nothing more than lemonade or something. I find they are always at a bad time.

[cruisenfever]

On our recent consecutive cruise on Radiance this past April we had a great turnout for both M&Ms. They were both held in the Starquest Lounge on Deck 13 and the Assistant Cruise Director and the Event Coordinator held the drawings for the door prizes.

 

We had lemonade and iced tea and there was a wonderful table set up with finger foods. Even with the large crowd, there was no alcohol available.

 

You will get the invitation in your cabin with all the things you need to fill out and bring with you. The gift you receive is a lanyard that has a notepad and pen and a place to put your tag with your screen name on it.

[linkerbink]

Nothing worth missing something else for.

 

I think the success of the gathering depends on how active your roll call was. Our Panama Canal cruise roll call group was VERY active and it was great to finally meet so many of the people we had been "corresponding" with on this site. I had only been at one other M&M and that was frankly a waste of time. I guess you just have to decide if you think you might enjoy it. Unfortunately, you won't know until you go!

[Pumbaamd]

Our M&M on Voyager from Galveston in February had about 150 people. We had a very lively, fun group. It was in a section of the Viking Crown lounge. There was a bar set up there for our M&M. Knowing our crowd, we are sure that there was more then one pre- request for bar service!

We've been to many very nice M&M's. It's what you and others make of it.

Rick and Deirdra

[negc]

As others have said, the success of a M&M depends on the people in the roll call and their interest in finally meeting the people that they have been corresponding with for so long. On most of our cruises the turnout has been extremely good and gift exchanges, slot pulls, golf tourneys and other activities have been organized and planned. If you have signed up but aren't an active participant in the Roll Call you probably won't miss much by not attending, but if you are active online, you may find that it is nice to know a number of people who you are sailing with and who you will see around and about the ship. On our roll calls, someone usually organizes a photo album so we can recognize many of our fellow cruisers even before the M&M is held. Prior to some of our cruises (TAs and repos especially) we have frequently met some of our fellow cruisers prior to boarding the ship.

[cb at sea]

We had food and non-alcoholic drinks avail....since food is included in your fare, "free" isn't a big deal! Food's avail. everywhere!

We had a door prize drawing and some "favors"...it wasn't a huge M&M, but it was nice to meet those we'd been chatting with. A few of us couples did meet for drinks and chats many times during the cruise--so that was very nice!