How can one keep a Meet & Greet to it's original purpose?

[mafig]

Well, what if a person is having a legitimate complaint? Shouldn't the HAL person welcome the opportunity to make it right? Isn't that part of their job?

 

Now I'm not saying that someone should monopolize the entire function with little piddly complaints (like my steak was over-cooked last night), but what about if they are having major problems with their stateroom? Why not quietly bring it to the attention of the HAL person there?

 

I recall being at a HAL meet n greet where Mr. Deering was Hotel Director and he went around to everyone, asking if everything was OK, and he had with him a pad and pencil and a phone to rectify any situation on the spot.

[Wakepatrol]

Have you ever gone to a M&G, or are 50-60 people from CC not worth your time?

 

For officers, it's good PR. That's part of the officers' jobs. Some do it more often/happily than others, but they all know they have to meet passengers. And if they'd rather meet an NFL team or bikini babes than a bunch of people from cruise critic, they never show it.

 

A woman at our dinner table on one cruise met the Staff Captain after he did the Sunday service. She kept saying that she had met "the captain," and nobody could get her to understand that she didn't meet THE captain (as in the Master of the ship), but she went on and on and on about it. For days. Like they were BFFs. So you have to figure she told everyone she knew about this great honor and how special the cruise was. Word of mouth helps sell cruises and other products.

 

 

Ships officers and crew are all different. Some captains are seen all over the ship,some never come down from the bridge. Don't know if it's part of the crews job to show their mugs at meet and greets?

 

It's part of the crews job to be friendly and smile at ALL passengers they might encounter roaming the ship (this includes the other 1,465 others that aren't at the meet and greet.

 

If 60 CC members can organize their own shore excursions then why not organize their own meet and greet? They don't need HAL or ships officers.

Just meet at the pool bar for drinks or whatever.

 

There's a major decline in staff and now I've read the wine guys are going to be going away. How can they tie up staff at meet and greets?

 

No- I haven't been to meet and greets, but I've been a fly on the wall at some. It's usually one person "Holding Court" and everybody just sits there and listens.

 

It appears once upon a time a meet and greet was a wonderful bonding sesion with fellow cruise ship enthusiasts. Once in awhile a ships officer would show up to the surprise of the group.

 

Now it's expected,and frowned upon in a bummer dude mentality when none show up. The meet and greets have turned into complain sessions and people booking excursions on their own. When no ships officers turn up,they're simply having more fun (even if it's cleaning the bilges)

Edited April 1, 2012 by Wakepatrol

[kazu]

Well, what if a person is having a legitimate complaint? Shouldn't the HAL person welcome the opportunity to make it right? Isn't that part of their job?

 

Now I'm not saying that someone should monopolize the entire function with little piddly complaints (like my steak was over-cooked last night), but what about if they are having major problems with their stateroom? Why not quietly bring it to the attention of the HAL person there?

 

I recall being at a HAL meet n greet where Mr. Deering was Hotel Director and he went around to everyone, asking if everything was OK, and he had with him a pad and pencil and a phone to rectify any situation on the spot.

 

 

Yes - your last paragraph just said it - if you have an issue - ask to speak to them at another time or for them to call. some people complain in front of everyone and grill the HM or whomever. That to me is inappropriate.

 

The appropriate thing to do is to say you have a problem and need a couple minutes LATER. JMHO

[serendipity1499]

I've been to meet & greets on several lines. I always say that HALs is one of the nicer.

 

However, NCL also has a nice one with many officers in attendance. Sometimes the Captain, but almost always the hotel director, cruise director, etc. They all pass out their cards with their phone numbers on them and seem to want to hear complaints. They say that they would rather have the chance to fix any problems while on board rather than reading about them on Cruise Critic.:)

 

You are completely missing the point of this thread..A Meet & Greet is not the place to voice complaints..

That is precisely why the officers are handing out their cards..They want the person who has a problem to come to their office to see or call them privately....

Think about it..Suppose you were a Mgr. & someone in your Dept. did something against rules & you did not know about it....Then at a meeting where your boss was present another person brought the problem to your attention in the meeting rather than coming to you in private..Wouldn't you be embarrassed & annoyed ?

Well think about it, if the Captain of the ship is present & you complained to the Hotel Mgr. about something in his Dept. instead of going to him directly & privately..You are embarrassing the HM in front of his boss & also jeopardizing future Meet & Greets..

If I was the organizer, I would have to try to diffuse the situation by interrupting the complainer & suggest that they should take care of it privately with the appropriate Dept. Head..

Cheers...Betty

Edited April 1, 2012 by serendipity1499

[Wakepatrol]

 

Sorry if I misspoke!

 

How are the M&G's hotbeds of complaints if they only ever happen on the first sea day or on embarkation day? What is there to complain about already? Thankfully I have only ever experienced nice people getting to know each other- never any complaints. And yes, as someone just posted, I have had an NCL Hotel Director at every M&G.

 

Seriously?- The complaining starts on these boards 3 months before they even get to the ship. They packed up my HMC cabana at 2:30 they sold my cruise as a charter I had booked for Jan 2017

 

They complain at the parking garage,they complain waiting to get on the ship. It's endless. I realize you're an eternal optimist but this isn't real life.

[NMLady]

You can't predict what other people will do, especially people you don't know well. So it's impossible to be prepared for awkward situations. ...

 

The CC roll call allows plenty of time to discuss tours and make those arrangements. It might be a good idea to say on the roll call that the M&G should not focus too much on private tour arrangements, as HAL has been kind enough to host the M&G, and it doesn't seem right to discuss ways to avoid paying for something they provide while they're giving you a party.

...

 

Let people mingle and introduce themselves, and people can talk quietly about their tours if they want to. ...

 

 

I think making a statement, and reminders, in the Roll Call is excellent advice. We did all of our tour planning in the Roll Call so our M&G was what it should have been -- meeting each other.

 

I think if the Roll Call members do their planning ahead of time, and then wait until the end of the M&G for some tour members to meet if that's necessary, that would work out. So, I agree wholeheartedly that something should be said in the Roll Call about it.

Edited April 1, 2012 by NMLady

[Mary Ellen]

....some people complain in front of everyone and grill the HM or whomever. That to me is inappropriate.

 

The appropriate thing to do is to say you have a problem and need a couple minutes LATER. JMHO

We had this happen at the first M&G we ever attended. I know we felt very uncomfortable. Petty much turned us off of M&G. I don't remember what their problem was, but it seemed they were making a mountain out of a molehill.

[Krazy Kruizers]

It has been a few years since I have attended a Meet & Greet -- winter 2009 was the last one I attended.

It was a big one -- well organized -- entire Crow's Nest. Only offerings were coffee, tea, water and cookies. Since all these items are available in the Lido -- very little cost to HAL on the waste that there may be.

I had attended several before this -- same offerings -- no free drinks -- no appetizers.

And the majority of them - no officers of any sort - not even at the large one.

BUT -- I can understand how some of the hotel managers and captains may feel about them if all the people are only going to turn it into a complaint session and for some to complete their final private shore excursions.

I am like Kakalina -- if someone started to complain about this and that -- I would ask them to go down to the guest relations manager and talk to that person. If others want to talk about their private tour arrangements -- I would ask them to go to another part of the ship or to one of their cabins.

Donna -- I can't but wonder if you will continue to host the Meet & Greets. Maybe you should just be the guest there.

[cruz chic]

No- I haven't been to meet and greets, but I've been a fly on the wall at some. It's usually one person "Holding Court" and everybody just sits there and listens.

 

Would you mind explaining this comment? Usually the m&g are in the Crow's nest and sort of away from the rest of it. How can you be a fly on the wall? How would you know what time the m&g was happening and what as being said?

[jaspersmycat]

On our last cruise the organizer of the M&G was the complainer. He wanted to know why a certain brand of Rum wasn't stocked at the bars. (The beverage Manager was on of the officers). He also wanted to know why the itinerary stopped at one place and not another. Many people left because he was monopolizing the meeting with inappropriate questions.

 

On the prior cruise, which was the second section of a Collector's cruise, people who had been on the first segment came to have all their complaints addressed and (I think) to get the newbies riled up. Unfortunately for them, we had no complaints during our segment and disagreed with their opinion of the CD.

[Wakepatrol]

Would you mind explaining this comment? Usually the m&g are in the Crow's nest and sort of away from the rest of it. How can you be a fly on the wall? How would you know what time the m&g was happening and what as being said?

 

Yes- Just happened to be sitting within 5 feet of one,with fresh batteries in my hearing aid.

[cruz chic]

Yes- Just happened to be sitting within 5 feet of one,with fresh batteries in my hearing aid.

I thought maybe a whisper 2000.......thx for the answer.

[PathfinderEss]

My DH and I wondered when this was going to happen. We were on a 30 cruise and they had a very active meet and greet. Mostly about all the private tours they were going to do, how reasonable priced they were, etc. Well I did not get involved. I thought everything I read on Hal site about tours and stuff sounded very much like the same thing and prices were very similar. So what was the big deal. Now I like people and like to meet new people but I'm not going to be tied at the hip for 30 days with people I barely know.

At our first M&G there was a very nice Bar Manager who went beyond the call of duty and got a glass of Champagne for all our members. It was very nice of him to do that. Well our, lets call her 'the leader of the pack', never mention him or Hal for doing any of this. She then went on talking about all the tours and stuff they had planned. What a slap in the face to Hal, I couldn't believed what I was hearing it was so blatant. I was so embarrassed for this young man and myself and Cruise Critic. I have been to many M&G over the years and really thought they were kind of nice, getting to meet all these people that you talked to on the roll call but never did I think they were there to take over the tour business, etc.. Maybe a little naive......on my part, I don't know, but I'm seeing more and more of them being hijacked. I would not blame Hal or the other cruise lines from dropping doing anything for M&G.

Maybe the person that takes on the M&G has something to do with the way it runs. We had a women who really wanted to be 'THE LEADER OF THE PACK'. I know you need someone who can be incharge but....not driven.

Thanks Donna for bringing this very important subject up.

[GmaPajama]

... Donna -- I can't but wonder if you will continue to host the Meet & Greets. Maybe you should just be the guest there.

I actually did relegate myself to the background for a while ... but I totally enjoy the "busy part" of putting together a Meet & Greet and will often volunteer if no one else does. I have a great deal of fun with Invitations, Name Tags, Thank You notes, and more importantly - with getting to know the people on the Roll Call. I would not, and did not, let one bad experience totally spoil things for me. I just need to learn to speak up if a situation requires it.

 

The vast majority of Meet & Greets are exactly what they are supposed to be. An opportunity to visit with new (and old) friends and to meet a couple of the Ship's Officers.

 

As for Henk's comment to the dinner group on the World Cruise ... though it may have not been the perfect time or place, I commend him for saying what needed to be said. Sometimes we need to be reminded just how much HAL goes out of their way to please us, and certainly their hosting of our Meet & Greets is one of those times. The officers I've encountered at them have always made it a point to say how much they appreciate Cruise Critic - it's only right that we show our appreciation of them as well. We can do that by remaining cordial and respectful. And, almost ALL of us do exactly that.

Edited April 1, 2012 by GmaPajama

[cruisemom42]

My goodness, there must be some roll calls out there that are unlike the one I've attended on Westerdam. There were no refreshments that I recall, and no ships officers attended. No one "spoke" or acted as leader. We all just conversed and "met and greeted" each other. Yes, some private tours were discussed, but it didn't seem inappropriate as a place to put faces to names of those who were going to be sharing tours with you.

 

Are there really M&Gs so large that microphones are used? And does HAL normally provide refreshments and officers who attend?

[innlady1]

My goodness, there must be some roll calls out there that are unlike the one I've attended on Westerdam. There were no refreshments that I recall, and no ships officers attended. No one "spoke" or acted as leader. We all just conversed and "met and greeted" each other. Yes, some private tours were discussed, but it didn't seem inappropriate as a place to put faces to names of those who were going to be sharing tours with you.

 

Are there really M&Gs so large that microphones are used? And does HAL normally provide refreshments and officers who attend?

 

Yes, ours last year on the Maasdam was quite large...as were ones on the Noordam Collector Cruises. Microphones and all!

[kakalina]

Cynthia, yes there really are. The M&G of 2010 for our 30 day Hawaii/Tahiti had 94 people in the CN. The Hotman finally sent for a microphone as no one could hear when anyone else spoke. I have a link to pix of that one.

 

At all but one of the M&G's I've organized HAL has graciously provided mimosas, champagne and appetizers. I do not expect this and am always grateful for anything they provide. I never fail to send a bread and butter note regardless of what, if anything, they provide. We appreciate the time and effort of the staff just to provide the meeting space.

[kazu]

My DH and I wondered when this was going to happen. We were on a 30 cruise and they had a very active meet and greet. Mostly about all the private tours they were going to do, how reasonable priced they were, etc. Well I did not get involved. I thought everything I read on Hal site about tours and stuff sounded very much like the same thing and prices were very similar. So what was the big deal. Now I like people and like to meet new people but I'm not going to be tied at the hip for 30 days with people I barely know.

At our first M&G there was a very nice Bar Manager who went beyond the call of duty and got a glass of Champagne for all our members. It was very nice of him to do that. Well our, lets call her 'the leader of the pack', never mention him or Hal for doing any of this. She then went on talking about all the tours and stuff they had planned. What a slap in the face to Hal, I couldn't believed what I was hearing it was so blatant. I was so embarrassed for this young man and myself and Cruise Critic. I have been to many M&G over the years and really thought they were kind of nice, getting to meet all these people that you talked to on the roll call but never did I think they were there to take over the tour business, etc.. Maybe a little naive......on my part, I don't know, but I'm seeing more and more of them being hijacked. I would not blame Hal or the other cruise lines from dropping doing anything for M&G.

Maybe the person that takes on the M&G has something to do with the way it runs. We had a women who really wanted to be 'THE LEADER OF THE PACK'. I know you need someone who can be incharge but....not driven.

Thanks Donna for bringing this very important subject up.

 

WOW!:eek: At the very least HAL should always be thanked for hosting the meet and greet. if there are free drinks then definitely there should be special recognition of this. Any staff member there should be introduced and thanked for coming and invited to speak. What every happened to plain old good manners?:confused:

[teachermandoug]

CC and M&G's are for networking, meeting new friends, and making the overall cruise

experience better. That's why HAL supports them. Those I've attended have been just that. If any had turned into bitch sessions, I would leave.

[startwin]

WOW!:eek: At the very least HAL should always be thanked for hosting the meet and greet. if there are free drinks then definitely there should be special recognition of this. Any staff member there should be introduced and thanked for coming and invited to speak. What every happened to plain old good manners?:confused:

 

Absolutely. I have to say, though, that the best M&Gs I've attended have been on RCI - where they are called Meet & Mingles. The cruise line does all the organising, once you get to 25 pax registered. They set the date, time and location, provide pastries, tea, coffee and soft drinks, and a couple of officers and/or the cruise director attends. They have little give-aways (lanyard, pen, etc) for everyone too. They've always been very happy events.

 

Sometimes people who organise M&Gs get carried away and I can certainly imagine that anyone who grandstands or makes demands of the officers, or airs complaints, would be enough to put them off attending them altogether.

[SilvertoGold]

My DH and I wondered when this was going to happen. We were on a 30 cruise and they had a very active meet and greet. Mostly about all the private tours they were going to do, how reasonable priced they were, etc. Well I did not get involved. I thought everything I read on Hal site about tours and stuff sounded very much like the same thing and prices were very similar. So what was the big deal. Now I like people and like to meet new people but I'm not going to be tied at the hip for 30 days with people I barely know.

At our first M&G there was a very nice Bar Manager who went beyond the call of duty and got a glass of Champagne for all our members. It was very nice of him to do that. Well our, lets call her 'the leader of the pack', never mention him or Hal for doing any of this. She then went on talking about all the tours and stuff they had planned. What a slap in the face to Hal, I couldn't believed what I was hearing it was so blatant. I was so embarrassed for this young man and myself and Cruise Critic. I have been to many M&G over the years and really thought they were kind of nice, getting to meet all these people that you talked to on the roll call but never did I think they were there to take over the tour business, etc.. Maybe a little naive......on my part, I don't know, but I'm seeing more and more of them being hijacked. I would not blame Hal or the other cruise lines from dropping doing anything for M&G.

Maybe the person that takes on the M&G has something to do with the way it runs. We had a women who really wanted to be 'THE LEADER OF THE PACK'. I know you need someone who can be incharge but....not driven.

Thanks Donna for bringing this very important subject up.

 

PathfinderEss

 

We were on your cruise and did not sign up for the Roll Call because we had experienced your "Leader of the Pack" on a previous cruise. When I read the above description of your Meet and Greet, I was really glad we weren't there! I would have been mortified.

 

I am sorry to say this, but I feel "Drill Sargent" or "Prima Donna" would be a better moniker for this lady. I am not surprised that your Meet and Greet was such an embarrassment for you and the Bar Manager, who I know was a really helpful and sincere guy.

 

I find that by reading the Roll Call for a while you can see if anyone is the complainer type, or just not very well-orientated towards what a Meet and Greet should be like. Not a fool-proof way to go, but this can be helpful.

 

Thanks to Donna for starting this thread.

[Seago2]

How come I have never seen any of this? And how come I have to do the arranging half the time, and I never, EVER pull off anything so cool or (thank God) so awful?

 

Never have seen anyone complain. Never have had anyone higher than the HD (Andrea, NCL Spirit- she was a great gal and had been watching our RC), never have had anything more spectacular than cookies, and while there may have been chit chat about ports (what else do strangers talk about on a cruise?) as I recall, everyone knew what they were going to do already.

 

All it has ever been for me is a way to kill time for 3-6 months, share port info or ship info or just get to meet people, and then put faces to names so we have people to eat with or say hi to for a week.

 

There was one woman who was "in charge" during one M&G but she was an absolute sweetheart for bringing the name tags, etc. it's not easy! You are "on the hook" for the guesstimated number of people and you look like a compete idiot if half that number shows up! I told myself last time- I am never doing it again.

[DFD1]

Too much politics!

 

All this could turn a cruise into work...or worse yet, cause some poor orgainzer or participant to have an emotional breakdown. (LOL)

 

No Thanks.

[brainyblonde]

While I do not condone "complaining", HAL should have a healthy respect for Cruise Critic. We are the consumers, they are the suppliers. Econ 101. Of course HAL would rather not have a "cruise critic": forum, they have their Facebook page. With that in mind, the Meet and Greet is their way of "showing their best face", cookies and coffee cost them NOTHING.

 

Checks and balances, the American way.

 

Brainyblonde

[hal lover]

I think I have a pretty good handle on how to prevent it. Here is what I do for the numerous M&G's I've set up.

 

I always say on the roll call and when handing out name tags at the M&G that it is not a complaint fest. I further say that I will interrupt and prevent this from happening. On larger M&G's where they bring a microphone I just walk away with it if someone starts in.

 

On longer cruises I set up 3 M&G's. The first is for getting to know one another and enjoying the presence of the staff and/or crew. The second one half way through the cruise if for finalizing details for private tours and just visiting with each other. The 3rd and final one is a luncheon farewell near the end of the cruise. By this time we are usually set with new friends and having a wonderful time.

 

That said, I have run into the odd obnoxious person and have sent out my own "apology" notes. And one does feel responsible in some fashion. Good old fashioned guilt I guess. The above guidelines have helped me.

 

I hope this helps somewhat.

 

DH & I attended a M&G arranged by you on the MS Maasdam and it was a fine one! The very best that I have ever attended. Last year I saw what was going on with a MS Eurodam roll call and decided this was not for me to attend. It was all about someone making plans for themselves and others and nothing about just getting together to say hello and talk about "positive" cruising. It's always nice to get with other cruiser's and chat it up for a while. It's nice when someone who is employed by HA shows up but I don't feel that they are there to hear negative's. Why what could ever be negative about a HA cruise??? A few minor things will happen now and then and its about how you chose to let it affect you.