Options for a Cruise Critic Meet & Greet?

[garagesalegran]

You guys have GOT to be kidding me.....Carnival charges for Cruise Critic Meet and Greets? I was just setting one up today for our 3/6 Conquest board - talked with the Event Coordinator today and she didn't mention anything about charging us for the get together - other than buying our drinks since they were having an open bar. More info please.

 

I've been spoiled by NCL - last year they set up a small area in one of their dining rooms, with non-alcoholic beverages, nice snacks and cruise staff present to greet us. They did NOT charge us anything for that Meet and Greet.

[mjrich73]

I hosted a meet and greet for my roll call in December. I did not tell Carnival that we were a CC group, just a group of friends. We did the 1 hr. open bar. Everyone left saying it was the BEST $12 they ever spent on a cruise!! :D The drinks were flowing, we were mingling...everyone had an amazing time. I collected the money through PayPal and the total was charged to my S&S card the day we held the event. Good Luck!!

[MagnoliaFly]

I hosted a meet and greet for my roll call in December. I did not tell Carnival that we were a CC group, just a group of friends. We did the 1 hr. open bar. Everyone left saying it was the BEST $12 they ever spent on a cruise!! :D The drinks were flowing, we were mingling...everyone had an amazing time. I collected the money through PayPal and the total was charged to my S&S card the day we held the event. Good Luck!!

 

That is what we're doing - got 40 people signed up so far and still growing. Seems like it'll be a blast. :) So glad I'm arranging it.

[DEBnGAB]

That is what we're doing - got 40 people signed up so far and still growing. Seems like it'll be a blast. :) So glad I'm arranging it.

 

Hi magnolia...so it worked out after all then? Thats great!!

[DEBnGAB]

You guys have GOT to be kidding me.....Carnival charges for Cruise Critic Meet and Greets? I was just setting one up today for our 3/6 Conquest board - talked with the Event Coordinator today and she didn't mention anything about charging us for the get together - other than buying our drinks since they were having an open bar. More info please.

 

I've been spoiled by NCL - last year they set up a small area in one of their dining rooms, with non-alcoholic beverages, nice snacks and cruise staff present to greet us. They did NOT charge us anything for that Meet and Greet.

 

 

Hi...The charge is for the open bar..$12/pp. As far as CCL hosting a get together with no drink service, not sure they do that.

[Grits53]

You guys have GOT to be kidding me.....Carnival charges for Cruise Critic Meet and Greets? I was just setting one up today for our 3/6 Conquest board - talked with the Event Coordinator today and she didn't mention anything about charging us for the get together - other than buying our drinks since they were having an open bar. More info please.

 

I've been spoiled by NCL - last year they set up a small area in one of their dining rooms, with non-alcoholic beverages, nice snacks and cruise staff present to greet us. They did NOT charge us anything for that Meet and Greet.

 

The discussion here is about a Cocktail Party, which is being used as a Meet & Greet. The charge is for "all you can drink" during that hour, plus some dry snacks like chips, Chex mix, & nuts. I have done one for a roll call, and everyone loved it. I don't drink alcohol, but for my money, I enjoyed a few non-alcoholic beverages like fruit punch. However, it seems that on some ships, they are requiring a group booking number now. I'm thinking this might vary from ship to ship. For our cocktail party, I collected all the money through my PayPal account and then paid for it with my PayPal debit card. It went smoothly but involved a lot of "book keeping" on my part.

Your roll call can have an informal Meet & Greet at a specified place and time, and there is no charge for that. Mach, are you still able to arrange for a M&G in a lounge, with a visit from the CD? On many cruises, our roll calls have met near the aft bar, where there are plenty of tables. I've found that more people will show up if you have it after muster drill on embarkation day.

[MagnoliaFly]

Hi magnolia...so it worked out after all then? Thats great!!

 

Yep and my roll call is buzzing about it! I'm sure we'll have some interesting photos when it is over.

 

I've been perusing wrist bands online to see which ones to bring. Not sure how the mail system works on the ship since I'd like to hand the Guest Services people envelopes with the wristbands the day we board so they get delivered to the cabins before the open bar the next day.

 

Any ideas on that?

[Grits53]

Yep and my roll call is buzzing about it! I'm sure we'll have some interesting photos when it is over.

 

I've been perusing wrist bands online to see which ones to bring. Not sure how the mail system works on the ship since I'd like to hand the Guest Services people envelopes with the wristbands the day we board so they get delivered to the cabins before the open bar the next day.

 

Any ideas on that?

 

At our cocktail party, I sat at a table near the door, where everyone came to "check in" and get a name tag that I had pre-printed for them. If you are having wristbands, you could do the same...set up at a table for people to come directly to you at the cocktail party for their band. I would be nervous about leaving it up to the cabin stewards to deliver everyone's wristband. Too much margin for error to suit me.

[DEBnGAB]

Yep and my roll call is buzzing about it! I'm sure we'll have some interesting photos when it is over.

 

I've been perusing wrist bands online to see which ones to bring. Not sure how the mail system works on the ship since I'd like to hand the Guest Services people envelopes with the wristbands the day we board so they get delivered to the cabins before the open bar the next day.

 

Any ideas on that?

 

Id do the check-in table suggested by Grits53. Either that, or get everyones cabin number and go slip the envelopes under the doors. Might be a good chance to meet a few people ahead of time as well ;)

[jmps]

This is an interesting thread. It seems Carnival is SO different than RCI or HAL. I have set up M&Gs on both and we got an area reserved with cookes/coffee for free (as others have said). Drinks were buy your own. But given the time of day (late morning) most did not buy drinks. HAL has been very gracious and also served mimosas at the M&G at times. A mix of CDs, Hotel Directors, and Captains have attended and given a short talk. RCI even has an online system to set this up.

 

To summarize my understanding, it sounds like this kind of event is not supported on Carnival. You either have to have an informal event or pay for a cocktail party. Either way it doesn't sound like any officers usually attend. This is dissappointing, we will be on the Legend in January and always enjoy these events includiing the officers.

 

It seems HAL and RCI realize the marketing power of such CC events and Carnival doesn't.

[FrogFritter]

I organized the cocktail party for my roll call last week. I had to have my TA book it through Carnival and I did not have to pay ahead of time. There was a head count at the party and that amount was charged to my S&S account. I did have people send money to me through PayPal because I thought the money was required prior to sailing. The girl told me they didn't do it like that anymore in case people didn't show up. I believe she waited until 45 minutes in to the 2 hour party to count people.

 

It was a success and I would do it again. Good luck!!

[MagnoliaFly]

At our cocktail party, I sat at a table near the door, where everyone came to "check in" and get a name tag that I had pre-printed for them. If you are having wristbands, you could do the same...set up at a table for people to come directly to you at the cocktail party for their band. I would be nervous about leaving it up to the cabin stewards to deliver everyone's wristband. Too much margin for error to suit me.

 

Id do the check-in table suggested by Grits53. Either that, or get everyones cabin number and go slip the envelopes under the doors. Might be a good chance to meet a few people ahead of time as well ;)

 

Both good ideas. I was hoping I wouldn't have to hang around a check in table so I could go enjoy the cocktail party myself - I may do what DEBnGAB suggested and just slip the wristbands in envelopes myself under the cabin doors.

 

Nametags might simplify things. I was going to do both but I wanna keep it as simple for me as possible.

 

I would assume everyone would show up on time to get the full worth of the cocktail hour!

[katiel53]

The r/c member that set this up with Carnival did NOT tell them that we were a Cruise Critic group. I am not totally sure of the reason. She just said that we were a group of friends that were all sailing together which was esentially true. You need a min. of 20 people to set this up and one payment needs to be made to Carnival for the 20 people. You can add more people later if you wish but you do need 20 to schedule the party. Our roll call member collected payments by using a pay-pal account or US mail to collect the funds form anyone interested.

 

 

If you tell Carnival you are a cruise critic group, they won't offer the $11.45 per hour cocktail party. They will offer a room and open bar where you pay for every drink. When I called to arrange a cocktail party for CC members, that is what I was told.

 

When I questioned the reasoning, I was told that too many times people have shown up and they hadn't paid. So, it's almost like the cocktail party was taken advantage of as happens with lots of good things. They do allow the cocktail party with the $11.45 per hour rate, if you are a group and are all booked together. I'm sure there are exceptions, as our group is an exception, but it's going to be more difficult for cc members to get this discounted rate.

[MagnoliaFly]

I asked my group events coordinator at Carnival about delivering wristbands to the cabins prior to the event and here was her reply:

 

I think is perfect that you bring wristbands. If you want them deliver before the event, you will have to arrange this with the Guests Service Desk and there will be a charge of $1.00 per cabin.

I had no idea they would charge for that service. The more you know!

[stitchnfool]

Regarding children - we just had a cocktail party on the Ecstasy this week. We added a few folks on board, including a child - the fee was the same as adults...$11.44 per person.

[MagnoliaFly]

Regarding children - we just had a cocktail party on the Ecstasy this week. We added a few folks on board, including a child - the fee was the same as adults...$11.44 per person.

 

Mine is charging me differently - not sure why. I'll have different wristbands for the minors to identify them. When I put in my numbers for final payment I'll post another update.

 

She told me:

If you have children in your group, ages 5 to 20 will have to purchase the 1 hour non alcoholic party @ $5.00 per person plus 15% service charge.

[Jabee]

Dave (Jetskier) dud a Cocktail party on a cruise I went on with him...

and then the next cruise I did one, following his example (he was a proud Papa)

as a result of how well ours went (over 50 guests) Grits learned about them and asked me how to do one...and now she has done several...

 

and now I see her sharing what she has learned...

 

that is what makes CC so great that we can help each other...

 

but on the other hand...if I was Carnival, and I heard a CC member was

wanting help, I would probably run the other way because of all the false rumors that have been sprouted here on CC...seems every day that John Heald and Host Mach are quieting another rumor.

 

But, I do not think the changes in parties was just for CC. I suspect that many others have taken advantage also.

[MagnoliaFly]

Thought I'd post an update on our meet and greet now that I'm back from the cruise.

 

The day of embarkation I got a letter from the group coordinator on board thanking me for my reservation of the open bar party and giving me instructions on how to pay. She also called to follow up and make sure I'd received the letter and asked me to pay that evening before the party the next day. I went to the guest services area before being told I'd have to pay upstairs at Formalities for the party. One there they rang me up and realized we were still in a zone that charged state taxes so they told me to come back a few hours later and pay after we were out of the taxation zone. I did and it went faster that time (saved $46 in taxes). She then called down to the group coordinator and told her I'd pay the party cost.

 

Everything went pretty well. I passed out wristbands and nametags (only messed up nametags for one family which I felt terrible about but what can you do when you've got 54 people attending) about 15 minutes before the event started. Everyone showed up on time.

 

Once we figured out to PUSH the door open we all got into the bar area and sat down. The waitresses already had trays with drinks and started coming around. They had two waitresses and one bartender for a group of 54. It was a bit of a rough start, the bartender had a long line to begin with and was a bit slow at serving but everything worked out in the end. Most people ended up ordering two drinks at a time to save themselves another long wait.

 

Everyone I spoke to afterwards had a wonderful time. I think if I did it over again I might do it for 1.5 hours instead of an hour. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get drinks in everyones hand for a party of that size so for the larger parties a longer amount of time would be ideal.

 

I recommend it for a meet and greet though! Worth the trouble of planning and collecting money. Great bargain too if you can do 2-3+ drinks in the amount of time you are given.

[DVC Sadie]

Thought I'd post an update on our meet and greet now that I'm back from the cruise.

 

The day of embarkation I got a letter from the group coordinator on board thanking me for my reservation of the open bar party and giving me instructions on how to pay.

 

Everything went pretty well. I passed out wristbands and nametags (only messed up nametags for one family which I felt terrible about but what can you do when you've got 54 people attending) about 15 minutes before the event started. Everyone showed up on time.

 

 

Everyone I spoke to afterwards had a wonderful time. I think if I did it over again I might do it for 1.5 hours instead of an hour. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get drinks in everyones hand for a party of that size so for the larger parties a longer amount of time would be ideal.

 

I recommend it for a meet and greet though! Worth the trouble of planning and collecting money. Great bargain too if you can do 2-3+ drinks in the amount of time you are given.

 

 

I'm glad that everyone had a great time!

 

Thank you so much for the update and all of the information you provided. Much appreciated.

 

I look forward to attending a cocktail party to meet other people in our RC. and hope we have enough time to meet everyone.

[crusinpsychRN]

What did you do for a group booking number?

[DEBnGAB]

Thanks for the update!

[MagnoliaFly]

What did you do for a group booking number?

 

Didn't need one. Just gave them my personal booking number.