Orlando Sentinel Article: Meet & Mingles

[LauraS]

Take a peek.....

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/printedition/orl-cruiseviews1105sep11,0,2089450.story?coll=orl-travel-headlines-print

[Alexis]

What a wonderful article about the Meet and Mingles, Cruise Critic and of course, last but not least, our own LauraS. :D

Thank you for sharing that with us. ;)

[Pumbaamd]

Great article. Thanks.

[srlucado]

Cool!

 

I certainly enjoyed the Meet & Mingle event my wife and I attended aboard Rhapsody in 2003.

[cbtravel1]

I read it in Sunday's paper, it was a really good and timing couldn't have been any better with our leaving this weekend.

[dashton]

Great article. :)

[gailc]

Glad you put the article on here or I never would have seen it. I didn't realize M & M's have been around for 4 years. I was thinking it had been about 2 years. It was fun to read about the M & M's.

 

Gail

[jagsfan]

It will be great to have a chance to meet people, since my husband and I are traveling

alone. On a large ship you can go days without seeing the same people twice.

Everyone on the boards is so outgoing and loves cruising, so they're bound to be the

kind of new friends you want.

[fuehpat]

I read this article in the newspaper that Sunday and signed my husband and I up immediately for the M&M, in fact we put us over the minimum 25 people for our cruise. We've read all the posts on our roll call and now we really can't wait till December. Thanks, you did a Great Job.

[que sarah sarah]

when I clicked on web page today it it said page unavailable ,so I couldn't take a peek .:(

[Dolphin-dan]

The page you requested was not found

You may have found an outdated link or typed in a non-existing web address.

Please try again, or review this list of main OrlandoSentinel.com channels to find your way.

[Noillid2]

The article, titled: "Online and onboard, Web site helps this community stick together ; Through CruiseCritic.com, travelers plan holidays, exchange information and connect with each other." has been placed in the Orlando Sentinel archives. It can be purchased for $3.95.

 

LauraS, is there anyway you can get permission to reprint the article here so everyone can read it? :confused:

[scrapycruiser]

Laura S ...thanks for the article. BTW , I was told that you might could help me change my log in name .When I registered I thought they were asking for my email . Could I change it to Scrapycruiser or Magicruiser ?? ( instead of

bmacdoc2003@yahoo.com...don't want the whole world being able to reach me.Thanks...GINA

[Suzy B]

FALL CRUISES 2005

Online and onboard, Web site helps this community stick together

Through CruiseCritic.com, travelers plan holidays, exchange information and connect with each other.

 

Melissa Mayntz | Special to the Sentinel

Posted September 11, 2005</SPAN>

 

The lounge may be packed with strangers, but it echoes with laughter and the greetings of old friends.

No, this isn't a comedy show or corporate mixer. It's the highlight of a cruise vacation for avid Internet users: the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle.

 

CruiseCritic.com, one of the world's largest cruise-oriented Web sites, began in 1995 as a place for novice cruisers to seek information about ships, cruise lines and other aspects of cruise vacations.

 

Today, the site boasts more than 140,000 members from around the globe, welcoming them with ship reviews, planning tools and port highlights. The message boards, however, are the hottest area of the site.

 

With a total of more than 2 million posts, these boards discuss every aspect of cruising from the viewpoints of experienced travelers. Members can learn tips and tricks, plan shore excursions, discuss cruise rituals and discover hidden treasures for every port of call.

 

For some members, though, the highlight of Cruise Critic never happens online: It's the formal Meet & Mingle on the high seas, when friends from around the world finally come face to face.

 

Laura Sterling, Cruise Critic's community manager, has been involved with Meet & Mingles from the outset.

 

"Born of a grass-roots effort by our members approximately four years ago, these gatherings were called Rubberband Parties," says Sterling. "The very first one, where over 100 members met, was noticed by Royal Caribbean and voila, Meet & Mingles were born."

 

Cruise Critic has an exclusive partnership with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises to host member parties. More than 500 annual Meet & Mingles take place on seven-day and longer sailings, with many gatherings attended by 100 members or more.

 

Trans-Atlantic sailings in particular feature large groups, often hosting 300 or more Cruise Critic friends.

 

But what is a Meet & Mingle?

 

The name says it all: Cruise Critic members register for the event before sailing, often exchanging message-board posts and e-mails for weeks or months before arriving at the port.

 

Once on board, Royal Caribbean issues an invitation to registered members detailing the event's time and location. Events are typically scheduled during the first sea day to allow participants plenty of time later in their vacation to cement relationships.

 

In the appointed lounge, members meet, mingle and make lasting friendships.

 

A Meet & Mingle is not a typical party. There is no formal entertainment, no schedule of events and very little moderation.

 

"It is their party," says Barbara Shrut, Royal Caribbean's vice president of customer loyalty and e-marketing, "not the company's party."

 

A cruise representative may invite the unofficial forum leader to take charge and encourage everyone to participate. Complimentary refreshments are served, and a door-prize raffle is often used to encourage members to introduce themselves.

 

The whole point of the party is to mingle.

 

Shirlaine McArthur, a 38-year-old administration manager from Auckland, New Zealand, emphasizes the importance of mingling throughout the party.

 

"Try to speak to all those people you had already been in communication with, even if only briefly," says McArthur, thinking back to her first Meet & Mingle, which she attended with her husband, Craig, aboard the Mariner of the Seas in May 2004. "There were so many we didn't get to speak to, and before we knew it the party was over."

 

Above is page 1 of 2 for everyone. Couldn’t get access to page 2 so if someone else can, please post for all to enjoy. Thanks.

Happy Cruisin'

Suzy B

[QueensChick]

Thanks for that Suzy. :)

 

It's a cool article.