Oasis in Feb. How do you find other couples to cruise with?

[screamin400]

Wife and I will be on the Oasis Feb. 6. I do not enjoy laying out in the sun all day and she does. I am not that big on pools and she is. I prefer to just walk around the ship and take in the sights. How do you folks find other couple to go with you on your cruise that have the same interests? None of our friends want to cruise. I did sign up on the roll call. I have not signed up for the meet and mingle yet. How do you other couples handle this?

[calypso73]

I'm not in a couple but will be travelling as a solo so will have similar issues. My plan is to check out the cruise compass for whats going on around the ship during the day and go along to what interests me. That way you have something to do and meet people with similar interests to you without having to be tied to the same person all the time :D You can then meet up with your partner for pre dinner drinks and have something interesting to discuss over dinner.

 

Have a fab cruise

[Nado44]

The roll call is a great first step. Participate and be active. We've seen roll calls where folks actually host their own meet-n-mingle event at their homes prior to their sailing dates.

 

Be friendly with others at check-in. Chat people up at the Champagne or Sky/Pool bars upon arrival. Attend the sail-away party.

 

Many others have the same predicament you do. You are not alone!

 

Good luck and have a great time!

[screamin400]

You folks are quick. Thanks for the response. That is along the way of my thinking also. We are cruising with another couple but the wife has way diff. interests than my wife. She is in the gym and sauna etc. I am fine with walking around the ship by myself. My wife is looking for someone to talk to while laying in the sun. We have never done a meet and mingle but just may this time. Are they fun? Do you make friends?

[molly361]

You folks are quick. Thanks for the response. That is along the way of my thinking also. We are cruising with another couple but the wife has way diff. interests than my wife. She is in the gym and sauna etc. I am fine with walking around the ship by myself. My wife is looking for someone to talk to while laying in the sun. We have never done a meet and mingle but just may this time. Are they fun? Do you make friends?

 

Meet and Mingles can vary a lot. The past few we attended had no meeting and mingling. Folks just showed up and listened to the spiel given by the staff member, they had the raffles and then everyone left.

 

I find the "unofficial" meets that the roll call organizes at a bar usually embarkation day to be more fun and more mingling.

Edited June 9, 2015 by molly361

[spookwife]

Wife and I will be on the Oasis Feb. 6. I do not enjoy laying out in the sun all day and she does. I am not that big on pools and she is. I prefer to just walk around the ship and take in the sights. How do you folks find other couple to go with you on your cruise that have the same interests? None of our friends want to cruise. I did sign up on the roll call. I have not signed up for the meet and mingle yet. How do you other couples handle this?

 

we don't. we are not joined at the hip and if he wants to go for a walk or hit trivia, he does. hell many times he goes off the ship in port and I stay put as I cannot handle too much much physical exertion since I do not bring my wheelchair on board.

 

you will find other like minded people and run into them while on board.

[WEGL81]

Like any other activity in life, you just find people you get along with and have common interests. On our last two cruises we just happened to sit with some folks who we hit it off with and are now in contact with. So skip the fixed dining and opt for Mytime and meet different people. Roll calls are good, I guess, but the people we have connected with were met at dinner or trivia or some other activity where time for talking and getting to know them was available. So you might not find anyone with common interests prior to your next cruise, but maybe during your cruise you will.

Edited June 9, 2015 by WEGL81

[Paulette3028]

Wife and I will be on the Oasis Feb. 6. I do not enjoy laying out in the sun all day and she does. I am not that big on pools and she is. I prefer to just walk around the ship and take in the sights. How do you folks find other couple to go with you on your cruise that have the same interests? None of our friends want to cruise. I did sign up on the roll call. I have not signed up for the meet and mingle yet. How do you other couples handle this?

 

There have been times that we have gone on a cruise with friends from home....a planned cruise so all of us can go on vacation together. There have been MANY MORE times we have set out on a cruise by ourselves, DH and I, and MET wonderful people to enjoy time on the ship with and even go on shore excursions together with.

 

First thing, is sign up for the Roll Call -- which you have done. Then be active on the Roll Call. I always talk about my interests, and ask questions about what others are planning to do when in port. When I see a person that I have some common interests with, I try to bring up more topics that we might have in common.

 

I have almost always found people from the Roll Call that will be fun to be with on the cruise. We even met one of the couples the night before our sailing, to almost start our vacation with them....it was fun. We prior to sailing arranged to sit with them at dinner....it was fabulous.

 

You get out of your Roll Call, proportionally to what you put into the Roll Call is my feeling.

 

But even without the Roll Call -- I talk to people around me all the time. What I have learned is this.....there could be 4000 people on a ship, and I will keep passing the same 100 people over the course of a cruise....why, because we have the same interests....so therefore, I introduce myself, and have some fun.

 

Worry not...you will meet people who have the same interests as you.

[Nado44]

We have never done a meet and mingle but just may this time. Are they fun? Do you make friends?

 

As another poster stated, meet and mingles can be hit or miss. The unofficial meet and mingle sail-away event is usually best. Check your roll call.

 

We've met others who have become lifelong friends. We befriended one couple right at check-in after noticing that they had luggage tags indicating they were practically neighbors. Another couple fluently greeted us in the native language they overheard us using.

 

There's something about being at sea and away from it all that allows one to lower his/her introversions and become less inhibited!

[screamin400]

All suggestions are pretty much what I was thinking. Seems like some folks like the meet and mingle and most skip it which is what we have always done. We usually do cruise meetings (excuse to get together) during the summer to get ready for the cruise except this year there is just one other couple. I am hoping with a ship this size there will be some folks from our area that we can meet before the cruise. Thanks all for your ideas.

[ccletzgo]

I learned my lesson, if someone has never cruised and is really not interested in cruising, dont talk them into going with you. UGH.. stressed me to no end all week then all they did is complain to our other friends just how much they hated it when they got home. :mad: Hubby and I have a blast on our own. Have always met new friends..:D

[RSLeesburg]

I found that I made more friends doing slot pull and cabin crawl after M&M, so definitely do those.

[George C]

I agree on meet and greet , we never really try to meet other couples but normally do, fun going to shows together and having dinner with others. I liked when we had smaller meet and greet last 2 there was over 100 people so you do not get a chance t talk to many. We have meet many people playing trivia since we need a team of 6. Or any other activity

[Ohiocruiser]

My daughter and myself met a wonderful couple @our M&M. We became cruise friends, and had a great time with them. When we were at different activities we always found each other and sat by them. We did the wine tasting together and had a very fun time. We would share stories about what we had planned for the next port, and when we got back on board we would meet and share what we did that day. On the Allure we never thought with all of the many people that we would make such good friends...but we did! I say just by saying hello to someone new may be the start of a wonderful friendship . Also come with an open mind when meeting someone new, from past cruises I spoke to people whom I would have just past on the street and found that this is truly a small world that we live in. Have fun!!!

[h20skibum]

Agree that participating in a slot pull or pub crawl is a good way, and you may have more interaction than at a Royal Meet and Greet.

 

On Princess, they do it differently in that someone from the roll call has to set up a meet and greet. It is a little more work, but on our last one I set up the meet and greet as well as the pub crawl and slot pull. Had much more interaction with everyone, including many of the crew members.

[screamin400]

I found that I made more friends doing slot pull and cabin crawl after M&M, so definitely do those.

 

I had to search to see what a slot pull was and it could be fun. I take it the cabin crawl is from room to room?

[Clarea]

I had to search to see what a slot pull was and it could be fun. I take it the cabin crawl is from room to room?

Correct, they try to have at least one type of each stateroom category.

[cb at sea]

TABLEMATES!!!!! Sit with others at dinner...make friends....they already enjoy cruising, since they're on the ship!

[screamin400]

TABLEMATES!!!!! Sit with others at dinner...make friends....they already enjoy cruising, since they're on the ship!

 

Makes perfect sense to me. Our other cruises had at least 6 of us and up to 15 of us. I think dining with other folks will be fun.

[Ourusualbeach]

Meet and Mingles can vary a lot. The past few we attended had no meeting and mingling. Folks just showed up and listened to the spiel given by the staff member, they had the raffles and then everyone left.

 

I find the "unofficial" meets that the roll call organizes at a bar usually embarkation day to be more fun and more mingling.

 

Absolutely better.:)

[Rocketlady]

We met a couple just standing in line to eat one year on the ship from our state. Then we kept in contact with each other and booked a cruise together the following year. We didn't do things together during the day but ate meals and went to shows together.

 

My husband and I also met people in the casinos or bingo to talk to. During the day my husband likes the pools and prefer walking the track or back to the casino. So most of the days we do our own thing. Both of us have no problem talking to people.

 

I have heard of couples going with several other couples. Then planning out their whole day with all of them together . I couldn't handle that. I think some of them would be on that ship all week not being able to do what they prefer to do but to keep the group happy they would go with the flow. To me that is just crazy. Plus a lot of hurt feelings by the time they get home.

[legaljen1969]

I learned my lesson, if someone has never cruised and is really not interested in cruising, dont talk them into going with you. UGH.. stressed me to no end all week then all they did is complain to our other friends just how much they hated it when they got home. :mad: Hubby and I have a blast on our own. Have always met new friends..:D

 

We always end up meeting interesting people when we cruise. Sometimes we cruise with my family and we all have dinner together. Otherwise, everyone sort of does their own thing. This past April we took our first cruise since our honeymoon as just a couple. We had a great time, and made lots of new friends.

 

As to the stress of cruising with friends or neighbors, I wouldn't dare take that chance. My husband thinks our neighbors would be great to cruise with. I do not think that at all. They love to party, but everything has to be on their terms. We did a weekend trip with another couple in our neighborhood. It was a disaster due to the fact we did not want to eat when they wanted to eat. The guys wanted to play golf (that was the entire point of the package- a GOLF package), and she wanted it to be romance. I will never go anywhere with them again.

 

We have other friends we considered cruising with. They didn't seem thrilled at the outset, so I have never mentioned it again.

 

Anyhow, if you do have friends with similar interests- talk to them about it and assure them that you don't have to be joined at the hip. Maybe you will find someone before you leave.

 

If not, joining the roll call and meet and mingle are great ideas. Just be sure to participate. Ours was great. Lots of fun people.

[alocsin]

Our Roll Call has been very active and I'm looking forward to meeting many of the folks there. We've already planned several activities including an unofficial meet-and-greet before the official Meet-and-Mingle.

[BillOh]

Wife and I will be on the Oasis Feb. 6. I do not enjoy laying out in the sun all day and she does. I am not that big on pools and she is. I prefer to just walk around the ship and take in the sights. How do you folks find other couple to go with you on your cruise that have the same interests? None of our friends want to cruise. I did sign up on the roll call. I have not signed up for the meet and mingle yet. How do you other couples handle this?

 

Interesting thread. The first couple of sentences could describe us perfectly. Of 11 cruises so far, we took 3 with another couple, one with my sister and husband, but 7 just the two of us including two on Allure, Oasis' sister ship. I enjoy both scenarios. I would do my walking around, but come back and visit her at the pool so she can use the restroom or get something to eat, or bring her something. I would spent an hour or two with her at the pool and then give up my seat to someone else.

 

I also heavily participate in the roll calls and usually make a few good friends that I see around.

Edited June 16, 2015 by BillOh

[screamin400]

All good ideas. The couple we cruise with now many times we do not see them until dinner. Sometimes we have excursions together but many times just bump into each other time to time. They are great friends just with diff. tastes. We fly together and will stay in the same hotels as them so it is fun from start to finish.