Captain's Circle Cocktail Party

[chloedmom]

I'm Platinum with Princess but have never attended this event. What can you tell me about it?

[NSWP]

All Princess Circle members, Gold, Platinum, Elite are invited. On the big ships they have 2 or 3 parties to get everyone in, as there are hundreds of pax invited. You will get an invitation card from the Circle Host on board.

On the night, you line up..the Captain is at the door, shake hands, photo taken, in you go for the drinks and nibbles, then the most travelled pax are invited up to the Captain/CD and Circle Host, introduced and get usually a glass model of the ship. The band is there, so you can have a wee dance too. Then the Captain thanks everyone for being valued Princess guests, etc, etc.

Now, I still think the cocktails on those nights are watered down, so I ask for a beer and get it.

[bhopal21]

Originally Posted by chloedmom

I'm Platinum with Princess but have never attended this event. What can you tell me about it?

After attending the second one we decided not to waste our time.

Mike

[Toto2Kansas]

I have to admit, we rarely attend these get-togethers anymore. Especially on the larger ships. They are usually very overcrowded, and we would rather enjoy other things onboard.
BUT, if you have never attended one in the past, you really need to go and see for yourself if you like them. With us, it's just after so many princess cruises, they don't excite us anymore. Sorry, wish I could be more upbeat about them, but there are so many past passengers on most ships, that they give me cholesterophobia.

[rdsqrl]

The captain makes a little speech, and they draw three names out of a hat to win a bottle of champagne (each, not to share!). For that alone, I go -- the odds are better than you get in the casino! It's terribly cheesy but I like it anyway. Just one of those silly things you do only a cruise.

I don't think the pre-made drinks are deliberately watered down, but by the time they're walked around the room on the serving tray, the ice has melted. . . .! But I've never had a problem getting a waiter to bring me my preferred martini instead of what's on offer, most of which tend to come in garish colours not found in nature.

[cmarshall9]

There is also a raffle, for champagne mostly, which is pulled from the invitations of those attending that particular party - so each party has a raffle for it's attendees.

We order a specific drink at the bar on the way in. We've always received what was requested - wine, martini, etc.

[Oxo]

Originally Posted by NSWP

then the most travelled pax are invited up to the Captain/CD and Circle Host, introduced and get usually a glass model of the ship.

Don't remember seeing anyone during the past 5 years get a glass model of the ship?
I do remember the plates and now the crystal piece with the area of the cruise such as Caribbean, Mexico, etc., etched on it. Happy Cruising!

[tibmi]

Sorry to jump in on your post everyone but I wanted to thank Les for information that he provided in the Lima Peru post.

Les, thanks very much for the advise you posted. We live in Sydney and will be visiting Peru in Jan. on the Pacific Princess, so I got in touch with the company your son works for and spoke to Matt (is he your son?) who was very helpful and we will be taking advantage of some of the tours that he has found for us.

Best regards and thanks again,
Michaela

[Pia1913]

Originally Posted by NSWP

All Princess Circle members, Gold, Platinum, Elite are invited. On the big ships they have 2 or 3 parties to get everyone in, as there are hundreds of pax invited. You will get an invitation card from the Circle Host on board.

On the night, you line up..the Captain is at the door, shake hands, photo taken, in you go for the drinks and nibbles, then the most travelled pax are invited up to the Captain/CD and Circle Host, introduced and get usually a glass model of the ship. The band is there, so you can have a wee dance too. Then the Captain thanks everyone for being valued Princess guests, etc, etc.

Now, I still think the cocktails on those nights are watered down, so I ask for a beer and get it.

No ship. We get (if we are fortunate to be in the top 3) a cut glass paperweight engraved with the general location in which we are cruising. (Mediterranean, Caribbean, Asia, Europe, etc.)

[Toto2Kansas]

I just took a quick pic of what we received on our last cruise (card readers come in so handy when you're in a hurry).

[mr green]

If there is nothing better to do, go for it. One thing is for sure, the Captain will be late, and you may get to dinner late because of it. The snacks are not nearly as good as they used to be and the drinks? They are like having sex in a canoe, 'F-----g close to water'.

john

[billet]

It is highly unlikely the Captain will be late unless there is an emergency. This is his party , he is the host and I know that take the Captain's Circle party very seriously. The Captain's Circle hostess gets a very hard time from him if it does not flow smoothly and start on time. I have always asked for specific drinks from the steward and have never had a problem getting them nor could I tell that they were watered down.

[Times Prince]

We've been at one where the Captain was busy on the bridge because of sea conditions, and another where none of the officers shook hands due to Norovirus. But most of the time the Captain is there, and if there is any news about new ships, it will be shared with pride.

We've never had a picture taken with the Captain at one of these parties.

The drinks are OK, and if you get there early enough there is an opportunity to dance to the whole show band, which is an awesome experience! People clap but seldom join in, which to us is a waste of a perfectly good dance venue.

Bob

[LETS PARTY]

Originally Posted by NSWP

All Princess Circle members, Gold, Platinum, Elite are invited. On the big ships they have 2 or 3 parties to get everyone in, as there are hundreds of pax invited. You will get an invitation card from the Circle Host on board.

On the night, you line up..the Captain is at the door, shake hands, photo taken, in you go for the drinks and nibbles, then the most travelled pax are invited up to the Captain/CD and Circle Host, introduced and get usually a glass model of the ship. The band is there, so you can have a wee dance too. Then the Captain thanks everyone for being valued Princess guests, etc, etc.

Now, I still think the cocktails on those nights are watered down, so I ask for a beer and get it.

sit at the bar...I get as many johnny walker blacks as I want.....

[Oxo]

Originally Posted by Toto2Kansas

I just took a quick pic of what we received on our last cruise (card readers come in so handy when you're in a hurry).

That is the latest award they are giving out. Thanks for the pic.

[Pia1913]

Originally Posted by Oxo

That is the latest award they are giving out. Thanks for the pic.

And they never gave ships. They used to give plates, which I'm sorry to say I never got. Those were given during the times we didn't yet have the "numbers."

[donna5]

Originally Posted by Toto2Kansas

I have to admit, we rarely attend these get-togethers anymore. Especially on the larger ships. They are usually very overcrowded, and we would rather enjoy other things onboard.
BUT, if you have never attended one in the past, you really need to go and see for yourself if you like them. With us, it's just after so many princess cruises, they don't excite us anymore. Sorry, wish I could be more upbeat about them, but there are so many past passengers on most ships, that they give me cholesterophobia.

I But we all know that you went to the party on your most recent cruise

Originally Posted by billet

It is highly unlikely the Captain will be late unless there is an emergency. This is his party , he is the host and I know that take the Captain's Circle party very seriously. The Captain's Circle hostess gets a very hard time from him if it does not flow smoothly and start on time. I have always asked for specific drinks from the steward and have never had a problem getting them nor could I tell that they were watered down.

On the Golden in Sept. The Captain was busy on the bridge and did his talk over the P.A. system.

[Toto2Kansas]

Originally Posted by donna5

I But we all know that you went to the party on your most recent cruise

Yea, that was a rare occasion. But Jennifer (future cruise consultant) insisted when I told her we don't do these anymore. But, she assured me that we had reserved seating up front, so the only crowd I would have to deal with was when we were standing on the stage facing them.

[Dorset Cruiser]

Originally Posted by NSWP

All Princess Circle members, Gold, Platinum, Elite are invited. On the big ships they have 2 or 3 parties to get everyone in, as there are hundreds of pax invited. You will get an invitation card from the Circle Host on board.

On the night, you line up..the Captain is at the door, shake hands, photo taken, in you go for the drinks and nibbles, then the most travelled pax are invited up to the Captain/CD and Circle Host, introduced and get usually a glass model of the ship. The band is there, so you can have a wee dance too. Then the Captain thanks everyone for being valued Princess guests, etc, etc.

Now, I still think the cocktails on those nights are watered down, so I ask for a beer and get it.

We had stopped going to them but on Dawn Princess in September we thought we would drop by. We noticed that the Captain did not shake hands and, in fact, when he was doing the passenger photographs, he obviously avoided shaking anyone's hand. We thought he had OCD but someone else said that the Captains were now encouraged not to shake hands with anyone in order to minimise the chances of any cross-contamination. Don't know how true that was but it does make sense. He only has to shake hands with one person with noro-virus and it can spread rapidly.

We never have the mixed drinks but always ask for a glass of wine (have never noticed that that has been watered down) The 'nibbles' on Dawn Princess were very basic

[englishbird]

I am a platinum member but next time I travel it will be my friends first Princess Cruise.

My question is, Will she be able to come to the captains party with me or will I have to go alone?

Thanks

Tracey