Worthwhile Meet & Mingle?

Most of the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle get togethers I have attended have been pretty boring and not really something I thought was worth my time. Have you ever attended one that you thought was great? If so, what made it memorable?

Vickie

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Most of the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle get togethers I have attended have been pretty boring and not really something I thought was worth my time. Have you ever attended one that you thought was great? If so, what made it memorable?

 

Vickie

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Honestly, our best ones were ones where there had been pre-cruise function, whether be it a dinner, drinks, whatever. Some type of gathering before the meet and Mingle. Once we had that on Sunday evening on the ship.

What really helps us if people have been really active on the Roll call, and whether the group has other events planned.

On stateside seven night cruises, our M and Ms haven't been as good. Some social media cruise pages and some TAs point people to join CC, register for the Meet and Mingle and that RC gives away prizes. We have had people show up at a M and M not even knowing what nor where the Roll Call was.

Just my thoughts.

We go on longer cruises which frequently have multiple sea days. Therefore there are usually a number of onboard activities planned during the cruise. These are in addition to the private tours that are planned.

This causes a lot of discussion during the run up to the cruise, so we are getting to know others. Often we have a dinner the night before boarding

Once on NCL's Majesty- a small 1200 passenger ship- a bunch of us met before dinner each night at the piano bar for a drink. Then on the last night we decided to have dinner together. I went to the Maitre'd and said there would be 10 of us. The hostess came and got us when they had our table.

12 of us chartered our own sunset snorkeling trip in Aruba. Also been to a gift giving one.

But for the most of the time they are boring, you don't get to know anyone- especially when it is a 'lets go see everyone's cabin". Most of the time now I don't go, my husband never goes.

The best one that I attended was just that - a non-organized 45min gathering where we got to meet one another and put a face to the screen name. I won't attend anything run by a Superorganizer where signups are required and multiple activities are planned. Slot pulls and cabin crawls? Have fun but I'm out.

We used to enjoy Meet and Mingles as it was a chance to meet other Cruise Critic folks, socialize, talk about the cruise, ports, etc. But then a few years ago we began to see some changes. A few folks wanted to do Elementary School Activities (no longer permitted in schools) such as gift exchanges, skits, etc. And a few others decided it was their job to limit speech and would say things like, "nobody is allowed to discuss private tours," or "nobody should ever criticize the cruise line," etc. etc. At a few M&Gs we felt like we were back in Elementary School (DW is a retired teacher). So finally, we just stopped attending. If we have some business with another CC member we might stick our head into the M&G just to meet the relevant person and arrange a future personal get together when we can socialize without "rules."

To be honest, we have no issue with folks deciding to have their skits, rules, and gift exchanges and we do hope that all who attend have a great time. And usually, they will find us (if they care) on deck in a lounger reading our Kindles :).

Hank

On our last sailing, the roll call on social media used the CC roll call as a platform and piggybacked on it. In the meet & mingle we determined there were 3 people there who actually used CC and the other 27 were from social media. If you're looking to meet more people, I would definitely explore all your options. ;)

They should be an opportunity for people who have been involved in the roll call to get together, meet each other, possibly share info on ports and excursions, find people who want to play bridge, mah Jong, etc. Most of the time they turn out to be an event where people sit in their own little groups, and wait around for the activities staff to show up and hand out a few prizes. I think the staff should take a more active role, and encourage people to get up out of their seats and meet new people. I used to organize conventions and workshops, and there are simple, non-threatening "icebreaker" activities to get this happening.

I think the staff should take a more active role, and encourage people to get up out of their seats and meet new people. I used to organize conventions and workshops, and there are simple, non-threatening "icebreaker" activities to get this happening.

If you were organizing the M&M and 130+ were signed up, what type of icebreaker activity would you plan?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Most of the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle get togethers I have attended have been pretty boring and not really something I thought was worth my time. Have you ever attended one that you thought was great? If so, what made it memorable?

 

Vickie. Sent from my iPad using Forums

It depends on organizer and on cruise line.

On NCL many of the ship's officers also attend, are introduced and give a card with their contact phone extension numbers on it. Sometimes even the captain attends.

I always appreciate the opportunity to meet and chat in person with Roll Call members I've "met" online.

Although I do not participate in gift exchange I enjoy seeing the different kinds of items chosen.

I agree with others who have said that the key to a great M&M -- unofficial or ship-sponsored -- is an active roll-call thread. It's always fun to put a face to the screen names you've been chatting with, for months. Just make sure that everyone knows when and where it will be held (ship-sponsored M&M's will have invitations in the cabins, on arrival). If it's an unofficial get-together in one of the bars or lounges, it's a good idea for someone to volunteer to bring a roll of stick-on name-tags and a couple of sharpies -- to put 'real names' with the 'screen names'. :cool:

We usually cruise on Windstar which doesn't do meet and mingles. With ships of 140 to 300 person capacity, the roll call thread can be pretty light (though it had reasonable activity discussing excursions for our Lisbon to Barcelona last spring). We had a Meet and Mingle on our Crystal cruise and I quite enjoyed it. It was pretty simple, drinks and hors d'oeuvres. There were around 8 passengers attending and quite a few officers attended so it was nice to meet them in a small group as well as the CC attendees.

I went to Mendenhall Glacier on a ship excursion. My husband and the other couple we were traveling with weren't interested in going. It turned out that one of the CC couples I met at the Meet and Mingle went too. We had a really nice time sharing the experience.

To all of the naysayers. Each and every one of us are cruising our own way. That being said,

I enjoy planning a party. Have put together several M&G's and is still a work in progress. Yes. First couple turned out to be rather boring. Continual tweaking has been working well.

Upcoming cruise in Nov. has 68 folks planning to be attending. Venue, cash bar and dry snacks provided by Princess for our private party.

Will have door prizes and two wireless microphones so all who wish will be able to join in with conversations. All ships officers have been invited to attend.

This is an added treat as we have always had an officer stop by to chat and answer questions.

The plum on the cake is if it happens to be the Captain. Never know.

Also a Slot Pull that looks like it will be well attended. No one has any other activity planned that I have seen, however, if something shows up, I will be posting it for our group.

Party, party for that one hour on a 10 day cruise. :D

We've stopped attending unless there's a really active and interesting roll-call (meaning some intelligent travel-related discussion rather than pages & pages of repeated roll call lists/slot-pull/cabin crawl info. and personal discussion of pets, operations, etc.!). Lately we seem to meet more people in the lounges before dinner - it's easy to greet those sitting nearby and, if conversations seems welcome, to progress to getting to know one another.

To all of the naysayers. Each and every one of us are cruising our own way. That being said,

 

 

 

I enjoy planning a party. Have put together several M&G's and is still a work in progress. Yes. First couple turned out to be rather boring. Continual tweaking has been working well.

 

 

 

Upcoming cruise in Nov. has 68 folks planning to be attending. Venue, cash bar and dry snacks provided by Princess for our private party.

 

 

 

Will have door prizes and two wireless microphones so all who wish will be able to join in with conversations. All ships officers have been invited to attend.

 

This is an added treat as we have always had an officer stop by to chat and answer questions.

 

 

 

The plum on the cake is if it happens to be the Captain. Never know.

 

 

 

Also a Slot Pull that looks like it will be well attended. No one has any other activity planned that I have seen, however, if something shows up, I will be posting it for our group.

 

 

 

Party, party for that one hour on a 10 day cruise. :D

What time of day does your M&G usually take place? What type of venue is it in? Who do you coordinate it with on the ship? We are cruising on the Celebrity Equinox Oct 6th. It's a 10 day southern Caribbean itinerary. Our roll call is very active. There are several additional events planned; pre-cruise dinner, sail away, cabin crawl, slot pull, gift exchange luncheon, some game nights, and of couple tours. Between 12 -130 people are signed up for each event. There are 130+ signed up for the meet & greet. Traditionally, Celebrity does not throw a memorable party. A couple of us on the roll call would like to make the event fun, or at least not a waste of our vacation time. Any suggestions you have for us would be appreciated. [emoji846]

Sent from my iPad using Forums

What time of day does your M&G usually take place? What type of venue is it in? Who do you coordinate it with on the ship? We are cruising on the Celebrity Equinox Oct 6th. It's a 10 day southern Caribbean itinerary. Our roll call is very active. There are several additional events planned; pre-cruise dinner, sail away, cabin crawl, slot pull, gift exchange luncheon, some game nights, and of couple tours. Between 12 -130 people are signed up for each event. There are 130+ signed up for the meet & greet. Traditionally, Celebrity does not throw a memorable party. A couple of us on the roll call would like to make the event fun, or at least not a waste of our vacation time. Any suggestions you have for us would be appreciated. [emoji846]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Princess has a coordinator for onboard activities. Set up everything with her. The time usually from 10 to 11 am. on our first sea day. Work with your coordinator. Tell them what you will be doing and they will place your group in a venue based on number of people. Princess is very open to working with Cruise Critic groups. Venue, cash bar and dry snacks provided. Everything else is planned by the group for our private party. Good luck there.

Princess has a coordinator for onboard activities. Set up everything with her. The time usually from 10 to 11 am. on our first sea day. Work with your coordinator. Tell them what you will be doing and they will place your group in a venue based on number of people. Princess is very open to working with Cruise Critic groups. Venue, cash bar and dry snacks provided. Everything else is planned by the group for our private party. Good luck there.

Thanks for the information.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

To all of the naysayers. Each and every one of us are cruising our own way....

Superorganizers such as yourself really enjoy planning and running these events. What I have seen, at least on the line that I sail, is a complete disconnect between the Superorganizer and regular board contributors. Maybe they lurk, but their names rarely if ever appear in posts outside of the roll call. They then connect on outside social media and the participants are regulars on that social media forum but not on CC. Instead of connecting CC names and faces it's like crashing a family reunion.

The problem I have is when a Superorganizer swoops in and hijacks the M&G. The members may have already mutually agreed to informally meet at such and such time and place. Now Superorganizer has set up something with the ship and has a whole set of planned activities. When that happens I just leave it and let people have their fun but I'm out.

One really cannot opt out of certain activities without appearing to be the party pooper at best or appearing to disapprove of those who enjoy them at worst.

Most not really that good--if they get to big, why? The best one we had included a slot pull and a few other things.

Superorganizers such as yourself really enjoy planning and running these events. What I have seen, at least on the line that I sail, is a complete disconnect between the Superorganizer and regular board contributors. Maybe they lurk, but their names rarely if ever appear in posts outside of the roll call. They then connect on outside social media and the participants are regulars on that social media forum but not on CC. Instead of connecting CC names and faces it's like crashing a family reunion.

 

The problem I have is when a Superorganizer swoops in and hijacks the M&G. The members may have already mutually agreed to informally meet at such and such time and place. Now Superorganizer has set up something with the ship and has a whole set of planned activities. When that happens I just leave it and let people have their fun but I'm out..

I wouldn't consider myself a "super organizer", but there definitely are a couple pretty good ones on our roll call. I think there are 4 different people/couples organizing 5 or 6 different events. Our cabin crawl follows our M&M, the M&Ms I have attended have been a complete waste of time. Since I have to attend this one because I volunteered our suite for viewing, I prefer it isn't an event I would have rather skipped.

Some one currently on the Equinox, which I will be boarding in 2 weeks posted this...

When I & one other person on our roll call read it, we decided to try to do something to improve the experience. I did some research, didn't find anything too current, then started this topic.

I appreciate the super organizers efforts, I am not that social of a person. I don't "do" FB or similar social media sites. Attending an event that is planned & isn't chaotic is more pleasant for me. Also, the organizers are usually pretty good at explaining what they are planning, this gives me the information I need to make a decision of whether or not I want to attend the event. For instance, someone has planned a snorkeling excursion that over 100 people are going on -- there is zero chance I am going on that. I prefer 10 or less in an excursion group.

I appreciate the positive suggestions several people have contributed to this thread. The negative reminds me you can't please all the people all the time!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We had one good one several years back. Met up for drinks. Did a cabin crawl. Met up for afternoon tea several port days to compare notes on what we did ashore. Lots of fun! Seems like all the roll calls after that just fizzled out. I honestly doubt I'll even sign up for these anymore.

If you were organizing the M&M and 130+ were signed up, what type of icebreaker activity would you plan?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Here's one that's great with a big group, called Find Someone Who. Pre-cruise prep: come up with a list of five questions that are not threatening or too personal, e.g., Find Someon Who:

Was born in a month with no 'r' in it.

Drives a red car or truck.

Knows how to cook an artichoke.

Can play a musical instrument (even a little bit).

Goes by their middle name.

I can fit three sets of these five questions on one page. Cut them up into sets. Hand one set of questions to people as they come in (if people want to do it as a couple, fine, whatever). Tell them they have till the proceedings start, to move around the room meeting people to complete the questions. This gets even the wall flowers involved, as they will have people coming up to them asking what color vehicle they drive! If somebody asks if there is a prize, tell them the prize was all the great people they met.

I've used this a lot. Never fails in my experience. Always gets the room buzzing.

Lindy

Here's one that's great with a big group, called Find Someone Who. Pre-cruise prep: come up with a list of five questions that are not threatening or too personal, e.g., Find Someon Who:

 

Was born in a month with no 'r' in it.

 

Drives a red car or truck.

 

Knows how to cook an artichoke.

 

Can play a musical instrument (even a little bit).

 

Goes by their middle name.

 

 

 

I can fit three sets of these five questions on one page. Cut them up into sets. Hand one set of questions to people as they come in (if people want to do it as a couple, fine, whatever). Tell them they have till the proceedings start, to move around the room meeting people to complete the questions. This gets even the wall flowers involved, as they will have people coming up to them asking what color vehicle they drive! If somebody asks if there is a prize, tell them the prize was all the great people they met.

 

 

 

I've used this a lot. Never fails in my experience. Always gets the room buzzing.

 

 

 

Lindy

Thanks, that sounds fun & easy. It also has a built in stop time which is appealing to me!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Not so much that it was great but have met people we have remained good friends with.

I wouldn't consider myself a "super organizer", but there definitely are a couple pretty good ones on our roll call. I think there are 4 different people/couples organizing 5 or 6 different events. Our cabin crawl follows our M&M, the M&Ms I have attended have been a complete waste of time. Since I have to attend this one because I volunteered our suite for viewing, I prefer it isn't an event I would have rather skipped.

 

Some one currently on the Equinox, which I will be boarding in 2 weeks posted this...

 

When I & one other person on our roll call read it, we decided to try to do something to improve the experience. I did some research, didn't find anything too current, then started this topic.

 

I appreciate the super organizers efforts, I am not that social of a person. I don't "do" FB or similar social media sites. Attending an event that is planned & isn't chaotic is more pleasant for me. Also, the organizers are usually pretty good at explaining what they are planning, this gives me the information I need to make a decision of whether or not I want to attend the event. For instance, someone has planned a snorkeling excursion that over 100 people are going on -- there is zero chance I am going on that. I prefer 10 or less in an excursion group.

 

I appreciate the positive suggestions several people have contributed to this thread. The negative reminds me you can't please all the people all the time!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Well said. I guess I could be classed as a super organizer. Don't like that title tho. I enjoy planning a party. Don't like to party by myself. I am only one other person aboard that big floating steel can sailing around in my own way. Folks are all different. To each their own. Attend or not, makes no difference to me. For those who show up, I try to provide a one hour of festive meeting and chatting with others going the same way for those travel days.

If someone choses not to attend? Oh well. For those who become snarky??? Hope you are not on my cruise. I don't need your drama.

We also like a private tour rather than a large bus filled with folks and the rushed trips here and there according to the script. Locals give a more intimate and personal view of their lives. Their knowledge is of great value for us.