What are your expectations when you attend a Meet and Mingle?

[BillOh]

 

2) The second factor seems to be having someone in the group willing to step up and help organize things.

 

That is a good point, but I would probably say a person or persons step up.

In my Freedom roll call, all we had was the raffle, but people stayed around and socialized and we had a great time. My 2013 Allure one, I started off with our trivia game that occurred before the ship sailed and had prizes. Another guy organized the beach visit to see Oasis leave, another person organized the pre-cruise get together dinner, another the hometown gift exchange, and still another(s) the cabin crawl.

[emski83]

Missed out on our planned meet and mingle cos rci arranged it for day 2 where most ppl were in port on excursions

 

 

Emily

[Desertbelle]

Was that a long cruise such as a re-positioning? Where there a lot of Diamond and above cruisers? I've never seen a Captain or CD show up, but have heard many reports of that.

 

 

It was a long cruise, San Diego to Hawaii. Though we have been on very long and transAtlantic cruises since and not as nice a M&M.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[EatonDoolittle]

The best one I attended was on HAL. It was in their version of the Viking Crown lounge.

 

The organizer made name tags, and each person had a little sticker on their name tag (palm tree, flower, etc.)

 

After the intro, she had all the palm trees etc. meet for 15 minutes or so, then had everybody switch, and meet by home area. Then all the excursions got together.

 

At first my group said "What?? This is to much organization for vacation..". But we all participated, met new friends, and agreed it was the best ever. We had no choice but to mingle.

 

Plus, HAL provides coffee, snacks and Mimosas :), that always makes it easier to chat up strangers.

I do like RCI's little note pads that they give us, but I have quite a collection now.

[Paulette3028]

I'm enjoying this thread a lot, I'm glad you started it. I might fall into this category to some extent, but the roll calls have really changed that.

 

I am glad you like this thread.....when we read so many 'negative' or problem threads, it is time to put up a FUN thread, since that is what cruising is all about 'in the end' -- we are on vacation.

 

I let people know what I will be wearing on embarkation day, and where they can find me in the few hours before the muster drill. If they see me, I tell them to 'stop by and say hi'. It breaks the ice, even before the M&M. I let Royal do their thing...and all the AM's who do the M&M really should take a lesson from Elvis about running them -- he is great.

 

We had Zach on Allure and it was definitely 'a lot less mingle' and a lot more 'Royal commercial'. But since some of us had big enough personalities on the Roll Call, we mingled regardless.

[Desert Cruizers]

One of our cruises, the CD asked everyone to introduce themselves, which broke the ice and got everyone moving around to Mingle. Others we have been on people are standing around talking in small groups so we walk around and introduce ourselves. I think members of your Roll Call can also step up and get things moving. We had one young lady hiding in the corner by herself, had I noticed her early on I would have gone over and ask that she join in, but now we were breaking up and going our separate ways.

[LA_CA_GAL]

Here is what I do. First, get on the roll call.

 

I suggest that anyone that would like to meet me, I choose a pool bar, and tell them I will be there two hours before sail away.

 

I tell them what I will be wearing, so they can easily see who I am.

 

I get to the bar a half hour early, and introduce myself to the bartender, who will become my best and dearest friend throughout the cruise. I tell him that about 10 to 30 people will be joining me soon, and I give him a nice tip.

 

When folks start arriving, we meet, introduce ourselves, and I introduce them to my new dearest friend by name.

 

You cannot believe the "special service" I get throughout the remainder of the cruise.

[ryano]

My first two RCI cruises were not 7 nights so there was no "official" Meet and Mingle. We did however set up a time to meet on boarding day to have a drink and talk and get to know each other. I actually enjoyed that much more than the "official" Meet and Mingle on Freedom. While everyone was nice and I made a few friends, there was really nothing special about it at all. There were no great prizes I heard about like free specialty dining, bottle of wine etc and very little in the way of refreshments. No Cruise Director, No Captain visit etc. I also agree that it seemed cliquish. Maybe that was just me though. It wasnt bad, it was just "meh".

 

I plan on attending ours in April though.

Edited February 4, 2015 by ryano

[CookieDiva]

I too am enjoying thread. DH and I are new cruisers and I would love to make friends with our Roll Call. We are still almost 14 months out so we have time - but there are only about a dozen signed up on our Roll Call so far. :-( Do we still have a chance for having an active Roll Call and successful M&M?

We have one of CC's and the RCI board's "stars" on our cruise - clarea (Bob) - so I'm hopeful that he'll help get things rolling.

I'd love to set up an activity or game -but since I am so new to cruising - I feel like that's rather forward. Thoughts?

I think that a game on our Roll Call thread could be fun and it would encourage people to visit the Roll Call regularly. Any ideas of something to do for that?

I also like the idea of meeting somewhere at before (or for?) Sail Away.

And a Slot Pull sounds like fun since we and our friends like to play slots.

(Yes, I AM excited for this cruise. 😁)

Edited February 4, 2015 by CookieDiva

[bigque]

The Meet & Mingle is all what you make of it. I think it depends on how active the roll call was on how people will actually mingle with each other. My first roll call meet & mingle was very good as the roll call was very active so folks really wanted to meet the people behind the CC name. We even had pre meet & greet the day before the cruise at a restaurant in San Juan for the people who were arriving early and also had a meet & greet at the sky bar on sail-a-way day to meet everybody else that wasn't there the day before. At the official meet & mingle everybody now already knew each other so mingling was no problem.

On my last cruise the roll call was active but you had a lot of people that already knew each other from previous cruises and would chat a lot of times among each other. I did put together a meet & greet the day before the cruise by making a reservation a Rusty's in Port Canaveral and we had abouth 35 people there and had a blast. We connected real well with two other couples from the roll call at this meet & greet and we decided to get a table for 6 in the MDR so that we could sit together every night. This was done as soon as we boarded the ship and it was no problem. This roll call also did a meet & greet at the sky bar on sail-a-way day also which once again made veryone feel comfortable with each other at the official meet & mingle!

At both meet and mingles we did a gift exchange with an agreed upon min & max price for the gifts. The gifts were some associated with each persons hometown and each gift was numbered and you drew a number at the door. You did not have to participate in the gift exchange but I think everybody did. You can decide on if there would be one gift per room or one gift per person. It is usually one gift per person as everybody usually wants their own gift and not have to share one. The fiirst M&M we had the CD there and the 2nd we had the Activities Manager. Both were good at making the occasion good and funny as well! :cool:

[George C]

Really liked the one we did last year, some of us had a pre-meet and a hotel in Galveston the night before the cruise, RCCL gave out some gifts, then we did the cabin crawl, again its a little better when you have been active on the roll call before.

[BillOh]

Another thing I like about the roll calls relates to the Windjammer. On 7 of our 10 cruises it was just my wife and I. At the busier times in the WJ, I either can't find a table, or can only find a table for 10. Numerous times, someone I've know from the roll call invites you to join them of I do the same.

[stones902]

Have to admit I'm not much of a fan of the M & M's (although we have met a number of great people at them).

 

I've always found them to be a bit awkward and scheduled during inconvenient times. Much prefer meeting people we have been communicating with on these boards at the Pool Bar or Skybar at sailaway.

 

Just my humble opinion.

[BillOh]

I'd love to set up an activity or game -but since I am so new to cruising - I feel like that's rather forward. Thoughts?

 

 

I would say as of today, the majority of people in your roll call may not have even joined yet. Get a feel for the people involved and suggest as the date gets closer. Sometimes people want to participate, but don't want to volunteer.

[LMaxwell]

Have to admit I'm not much of a fan of the M & M's (although we have met a number of great people at them).

 

I've always found them to be a bit awkward and scheduled during inconvenient times. Much prefer meeting people we have been communicating with on these boards at the Pool Bar or Skybar at sailaway.

 

Just my humble opinion.

 

Pretty much exactly how I feel about it. Prefer a casual name to the face, say hi, have a drink up on the pool deck or schooner bar either before muster or sailaway.

[alaska_planner]

Like anything, business networking or evening cocktail parties -- it can be uncomfortable for some and a ball for others. Key is the staff member getting it started well.

 

Having cruisers introduce themselves and get into the flow of games is great. The insider info, makes people feel 'in the know' while others not in attendance are missing out on something.....and FUN.

 

If a cruiser had a 'big' personality in the roll call, you might find them fun at the M&M or realize that their personality in life, isn't quite as 'big'.

 

I found it fun, at the good one, to meet the others....at the poorly run one, I just wanted to meet the people I had interacted with a lot in the roll call thread.

 

your comment about 'big' personality reminded me of our roll call thread leader...

online he had a HUGE personality. Very funny, outgoing, talkative person.

In person, he was soooooooooooooooooooo quiet and shy.

Still very funny and nice as nice can be. But sooooooooooooooooo quiet.

At the M&M i wasn't sure who he was until it came out.

It was so interesting how he was in writing vs in person.

But even though he's so quiet, he still LOVED to participate - in the sense of being with others.

So he made sure we all signed up for a few things together.

Though he didn't actively participate, he loved to be there with us.

I'm making him sound creepy, but he wasn't.

He was there with his very sweet and beautiful wife.

The two of them would participate together. Both so sweet and quiet.

A really really really really BIG LOUD personality online, but not in person. it's so interesting.

Edited February 4, 2015 by alaska_planner

[Paulette3028]

I've found most to be very "clique-y". I went to a couple by myself as DW wasn't keen after a few, but it was mostly the same each time.

 

Other people besides yourself have described them as 'clique-y' (to use your spelling) and I find that difficult to understand. I am sure some people come with their own 'groups of people' -- people who have booked the cruise and have planned to have dinner together (in MDR or specialty restaurants) and maybe even go on excursions together....but that can't possibly be all of the people in attendance.

 

I know my DH and I usually cruise by ourselves. 'Get acquainted' with some people on our roll call (some we would like to meet, others less so), but I have never left it was 'overly clique-y' from the start.

 

Or maybe, since I am so outgoing, I just don't notice it.

 

I believe in a 3 foot rule philosophy....if you are within 3 feet of me -- I will open up a conversation with you. So if you are on a cruise with me, be careful.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Here is what I do. First, get on the roll call.

 

I suggest that anyone that would like to meet me, I choose a pool bar, and tell them I will be there two hours before sail away.

 

I tell them what I will be wearing, so they can easily see who I am.

 

I get to the bar a half hour early, and introduce myself to the bartender, who will become my best and dearest friend throughout the cruise. I tell him that about 10 to 30 people will be joining me soon, and I give him a nice tip.

 

When folks start arriving, we meet, introduce ourselves, and I introduce them to my new dearest friend by name.

 

You cannot believe the "special service" I get throughout the remainder of the cruise.

 

Like!

[biomedbob]

We've been to all that have ranged from 0 on the scale to more than 100+.

 

There is no way of predicting. What's 45 minutes or more out of a usually dull time of the day? :)

 

Go and have fun! Or leave!

[Paulette3028]

your comment about 'big' personality reminded me of our roll call thread leader...

online he had a HUGE personality. Very funny, outgoing, talkative person.

In person, he was soooooooooooooooooooo quiet and shy.

Still very funny and nice as nice can be. But sooooooooooooooooo quiet.

At the M&M i wasn't sure who he was until it came out.

It was so interesting how he was in writing vs in person.

But even though he's so quiet, he still LOVED to participate - in the sense of being with others.

So he made sure we all signed up for a few things together.

Though he didn't actively participate, he loved to be there with us.

I'm making him sound creepy, but he wasn't.

He was there with his very sweet and beautiful wife.

The two of them would participate together. Both so sweet and quiet.

A really really really really BIG LOUD personality online, but not in person. it's so interesting.

 

By the way, you have not described him as 'creepy' -- I just remind people not to paint a picture after just interacting with someone in 'print form' like a message board. You need to hear and see them to get a much better overall understanding of them. As you learned....and it was FINE!

Edited February 4, 2015 by Paulette3028

[Paulette3028]

Here is what I do. First, get on the roll call.

 

I suggest that anyone that would like to meet me, I choose a pool bar, and tell them I will be there two hours before sail away.

 

I tell them what I will be wearing, so they can easily see who I am.

 

I get to the bar a half hour early, and introduce myself to the bartender, who will become my best and dearest friend throughout the cruise. I tell him that about 10 to 30 people will be joining me soon, and I give him a nice tip.

 

When folks start arriving, we meet, introduce ourselves, and I introduce them to my new dearest friend by name.

 

You cannot believe the "special service" I get throughout the remainder of the cruise.

 

Here is a dangerous question.....but I will pose it anyway.....what exactly do you mean when you write:

 

"You cannot believe the "special service" I get throughout the remainder of the cruise." and BY WHOM?

[wannasail4ever]

We have been on many cruises and have attended the Meet & Mingles on most of them (except those scheduled when we were off in port). Some have been great fun and some were just cruise line upsells.

 

We have met so many nice people from all over the world and we continue to cruise with many of them. This October we are sailing with a couple that we met thru the roll call several years ago. On that same sailing, we already know many cruisers that we met thru previous roll calls over the years. I can't wait to see these people again. Everyone is so excited.

 

As for the M&M, I expect to be allowed to do just that. I want to know what screen name belongs to each person. Nametags certainly help with that. We have also done gift exchanges and that was fun but not expected. Some groups have done port parties, sail away parties, cabin crawls and slot pulls. I've not participated in all of these, but it is nice to have friends around the ship. Many of us have banded together and hired vans for excursions or gone on pub crawls in port.

 

I do not expect for the cruise line to take over the M&M and rush us out of the room after their speeches. This happened on either Allure or Oasis a couple of years ago. Everyone was really disappointed that no time was allowed to this huge group to mingle. They needed our venue and dismissed the M&M.

 

I think the M&M is an excellent idea. It will be what your roll call makes it if you help to preplan the activities.

 

I'm grinning because I'm clicking away with my RCCL coveted mouse. :D

[Paulette3028]

....... Some have been great fun and some were just cruise line upsells.......

 

:D

 

This line in your reply really got to me....the cruise line on Day 2 doesn't have to be upselling for those 45 minutes....they will have plenty of time to do that during the rest of the cruise....if they would just focus on the CRUISERS who are already captive and many of them 'not newbies' they would probably create better 'soft relationships with everyone'.

 

As I learned many years ago, as I began my professional sales career -- sometimes your clients need to know you 'aren't always selling' -- in the end, when your clients learn that about you....they actually buy more from you.

[chanat]

We have cruise 14 times but have only attended 3 or 4 the last few yrs since our kids are older and don't always go with us. Only one wAs really good and a couple fair but the last two were on Oasis and we didn't meet anyone. My husband did win the raffle in our first one on Oasis. The last one we went to we were 15 mins late and ppl were leaving. A couple we talked to as they were leaving said the person who ran it just handed out all the prizes to all who showed up then left. The oasis roll calls weren't nearly as active as the other roll calls I have been a part of in the past

[Paulette3028]

We have cruise 14 times but have only attended 3 or 4 the last few yrs since our kids are older and don't always go with us. Only one wAs really good and a couple fair but the last two were on Oasis and we didn't meet anyone. My husband did win the raffle in our first one on Oasis. The last one we went to we were 15 mins late and ppl were leaving. A couple we talked to as they were leaving said the person who ran it just handed out all the prizes to all who showed up then left. The oasis roll calls weren't nearly as active as the other roll calls I have been a part of in the past

 

I have only participated in 2 Meet N Mingles even though we have cruised 16 times. We did not even know about Cruise Critic until a little before our Jewel cruise in 2013.

 

Stating the above, I wonder out loud if because the Oasis and Allure ships are so big and perhaps attract so many people to there Meet N Mingle that they lose the 'potential intimacy' that a Meet N Mingle would have on a smaller ship.

 

I know the Meet N Minge on Jewel was outstanding. Only had maybe 35 people, but Elvis did a great job even getting the 'quieter ones' participating. At our Allure Meet N Mingle, there were probably over 100 people and Zach made no attempt to have cruisers do much cross talking besides a quick introduction by your Screen Name and then he went on the "Allure Pitch". Had he not already realized we were already ON the ship????