Princess "Meet & Mingle"

[Northumberland]

Our first experience with a "Meet & Mingle" party was on the MSC Divina in September. MSC sponsor the event, provide accommodations for the event and supply snacks, drinks and have officers of the ship join in, including the captain. I was disappointed to learn that Princess isn't as accommodating. I was told that they will supply a meeting place, but that's about it. Are other cruise lines as indifferent as I'm told Princess is?

[satxdiver]

Carnival does not even seem to do the little Princess does. Officers will come to your M&G if you invite them personally.

[paul929207]

Our first experience with a "Meet & Mingle" party was on the MSC Divina in September. MSC sponsor the event, provide accommodations for the event and supply snacks, drinks and have officers of the ship join in, including the captain. I was disappointed to learn that Princess isn't as accommodating. I was told that they will supply a meeting place, but that's about it. Are other cruise lines as indifferent as I'm told Princess is?

With Princess, if the officers are invited, most will attend.

[paul929207]

Our first experience with a "Meet & Mingle" party was on the MSC Divina in September. MSC sponsor the event, provide accommodations for the event and supply snacks, drinks and have officers of the ship join in, including the captain. I was disappointed to learn that Princess isn't as accommodating. I was told that they will supply a meeting place, but that's about it. Are other cruise lines as indifferent as I'm told Princess is?

 

 

With Princess, if the officers are invited, most will attend.

[Northumberland]

It's unfortunate that other cruise lines don't see the value of "Meet & Mingle" as MSC does. It's not a great deal of work or expense for the cruise lines and it creates some good will and as a former salesman, I believe it great PR. Meeting the officers is a wonderful experience and getting to know other cruise critic members that are sharing the same cruise is great.

[Montanagirlalways]

It's unfortunate that other cruise lines don't see the value of "Meet & Mingle" as MSC does. It's not a great deal of work or expense for the cruise lines and it creates some good will and as a former salesman, I believe it great PR. Meeting the officers is a wonderful experience and getting to know other cruise critic members that are sharing the same cruise is great.

 

I usually cruise NCL and also enjoy the meet and mingle times. I am also disappointed to learn Princess is not as supporting. Have a cruise with Princess in March and was hoping to be involved with meet and mingle but guess not

[tip]

We have cruised several lines in addition to Princess.

 

Holland America provides a room and refreshments. I can remember the cruise director being present.

 

Royal Caribbean provides a room, snacks, some limited drinks (at least once) , and great raffle prizes. A member of the cruise director's staff is always present.

 

I have only been on Celebrity once, but do remember several officers being present.

[Northumberland]

We'll be on the Royal Princess for the March 30th cruise. It was explained to me that there isn't an online registry. All who are interested get together on board and appoint a representative to approach the Princess staff in order to arrange a meeting place. Here is the explanation from Cruise Critic.

 

Hi there,

For Princess cruises, there is no automated web-based sign up. The members on the roll call discuss and decide if they want to have a meet and mingle, and if so, one member contacts Princess to set it up. I have a lot more information on this if your roll call needs it, but didn't want to send an overwhelming reply if this one will suffice to explain. Just let me know.

JoanP

Community Support Specialist

CruiseCritic.com, A Tripadvisor Media Group site

[Pam in CA]

As officers explained to me multiple times, there are usually a number of groups on Princess ships. What is provided to one must be provided to all.

[reallyhooked]

I usually cruise NCL and also enjoy the meet and mingle times. I am also disappointed to learn Princess is not as supporting. Have a cruise with Princess in March and was hoping to be involved with meet and mingle but guess not

We're going on our 1st Princess Curse in March to the Panama Canal. Like meeting new people who enjoy cruising. Didn't know Princess doesn't have meet & mingle. Will just hope to meet others around the ship.

[Cruise Raider]

We have cruised several lines in addition to Princess.

 

Holland America provides a room and refreshments. I can remember the cruise director being present.

 

Royal Caribbean provides a room, snacks, some limited drinks (at least once) , and great raffle prizes. A member of the cruise director's staff is always present.

 

I have only been on Celebrity once, but do remember several officers being present.

 

The officers have been present for the meet and greet on Celebrity for the meetings I've attended in the past few years. They also provide refreshments (OJ, coffee, water and sometimes, even mimosas) but no snacks.

Royal Caribbean is definitely impressive when it comes to their meet and greet meetings, though with their games and raffles and such.

The ones I've attended on Princess more recently have been decent, though. We had a couple of officers that attended our last meet and greet on them ... that was just a little over a year ago. They were there to answer questions and take suggestions. I think Princess has had more of a push to make their officers more accessible to the passengers.

Much of this may depend on the number of passengers that sign up for these meetings.

[myfuzzy]

I wouldn't say Princess is "indifferent", their priorities, I guess, are elsewhere, not thinking that the Meet and Mingles are the bread and butter with their meals.

 

I have been to many very successful M&M's, 150+ people attending, though they have been on longer cruises. 10 nights. I find that shorter cruises, the interest is not as strong, because there are fewer day for your vacation, and some folks feel that by attending the M&M, that bites into their pool time.

 

Just participating in the roll calls, people who have coordinated the M&M's will step forward offering to organize it for the group, contacting Princess periodically, with approximate number attending, so they can schedule a venue for the meeting. If someone hasn't done one, can offer to, with the more experienced person helping out along the way. Meanwhile any information communicated is posted, so everyone will know what's going on.

 

The main thing is that on the roll call, interest needs to be kept up, things such as a gift exchange are often held during the M&M as well, and activities such as a cabin crawl, door decorating contests during the holidays, slot pulls, as well as dinners in the paid venues as well as the MDR are discussed with the group. Someone, usually the M&M coordinator, gets the officers names and makes up personal invitations and presents them to the PSD sometime the first evening.

 

Regarding the group that has evolved over the years, was given a name the Retreaters. You can enter Regal Retreaters on Youtube and you will find videos that Princess had done for this group, in 2015,2016 and hopefully 2017 will be available soon...they went way above and beyond expectations.

 

I am sailing in June, and so far there is absolutely no activity on the roll call, so I'm not expecting much, hopefully I'm wrong, but its a seven day.....bummer

[earlydiner]

We were on a 15 day Panama Canal cruise on the Coral Princess three weeks ago. Someone in our roll call arranged our Meet and Greet which was attended by probably 50 or so of us. We had a good time meeting others on our ship. There were a few officers there to welcome us as well.

I will say that during the cruise on the Coral, the officers were somewhat invisible. In September we were on the Explorer of the Seas and every day there were officers, including the Captain, roaming the promenade.

[easyboy]

With Princess, if the officers are invited, most will attend.

 

 

 

Agree. Its just that its not Princess that organizes the Meet & Greet. The Roll Call members does.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Northumberland]

I can't speak to other cruise lines and how they arrange the "M&M" parties, but with MSC there was a link on the roll call which allowed you to register. MSC was sent the list and your invitation was sent to your stateroom upon arrival. I understand Princess is arranged by a Cruise Critic member after you get on board.

[Pam in CA]

I can't speak to other cruise lines and how they arrange the "M&M" parties, but with MSC there was a link on the roll call which allowed you to register. MSC was sent the list and your invitation was sent to your stateroom upon arrival. I understand Princess is arranged by a Cruise Critic member after you get on board.

The difference is that cruise lines that have a link on Cruise Critic roll calls pay to have those links there.

 

I’ve been to “Meet & Mingles” on other lines and felt that the interest was more to get a free drink than to meet and get to know other passengers.

 

I’ve been to, and arranged, many “Meet & Greet” (Meet & Mingle is the term used by cruise lines paying for the link) get-togethers on Princess ships, some with over 200 passengers. The focus is on getting to know each other... very different from other lines... because it’s the passengers themselves organizing the get-togethers and other activities. I’ve been to quite a few arranged lunches/brunches and other get-togethers on Princess ships and multiple get-togethers while on a cruise.

 

It’s nice if the officers can come but often, their presence is required on the bridge. That’s not why I attend the Meet & Greets. If they’re there, that’s icing on the cake and I don’t feel we’re so important that their presence is required for a successful M&G.

[paul929207]

I can't speak to other cruise lines and how they arrange the "M&M" parties, but with MSC there was a link on the roll call which allowed you to register. MSC was sent the list and your invitation was sent to your stateroom upon arrival. I understand Princess is arranged by a Cruise Critic member after you get on board.

Princess M&G are arranged on Cruise Critic on the Roll Call before the cruise. 1 or 2 months before sailing, the organizer will contact Princess to arrange a date, time and place for the get together. That info is posted on the Roll Call as well as the Shutterfly app. The organizer will send invites to the officers when they board. I get a couple of packs of party invites at the local dollar store. I fill them out in advance and just add the names to the outside of the envelope when I board.

[trbarton]

Our first experience with a "Meet & Mingle" party was on the MSC Divina in September. MSC sponsor the event, provide accommodations for the event and supply snacks, drinks and have officers of the ship join in, including the captain. I was disappointed to learn that Princess isn't as accommodating. I was told that they will supply a meeting place, but that's about it. Are other cruise lines as indifferent as I'm told Princess is?

 

FYI...Princess uses the term “Meet & Greet” so people know you’re talking about Princess. Other cruise use Meet & Mingle.

Tom😎

[Northumberland]

Hi Tom,

 

Thanks for the correction and thank you for your service,

 

Al Graham (Northumberland)

[gotta cruise again]

I've arranged a M&G for an upcoming cruise (12 days away!!) and expect it to be a lot of fun. This isn't the first time I've coordinated one of these. All have had 8+ officers/senior staff attend and there was much getting-to-know other RC members.

 

This past September 2017, DH and I attended a M&M on Liberty of the Seas. It was well attended by RC members but there was little to no mingling and getting-to-know you activity. It seemed most were interested in the MANY door prizes provided by RCCL; both DH and I each won something. There was only 1 person from staff present along with a helper; they did have coffee, water, juice, & cookies. As soon as prizes were gone, so were the 2 people and the snacks! As only that staff person was "in charge" of the M&M and not a roll call member, no one had those in attendance introduce themselves. A cabin crawl was planned so about a dozen folks went on that trek, which did allow some get-to-know you time as we prowled the hallways.

 

I'll take a Princess M&G over a RCCL M&M anytime as meeting people and hearing from officers/staff are more important than snacks and tchotchkes. I also enjoy planning a M&G and keeping the roll call active by being a cheerleader for the event. And by having a roll call member "in charge" of the event, they can keep things moving and interesting at the actual activity.

[richsea]

Meet and Mingle is the term used by Royal Caribbean, while Celebrity uses “Celebrity Connections”. On Celebrity, if a minimum of 25 register, they receive an invitation in their room with the time and date. We’ve attended some with well over 100 people, and almost always, some officers attend, including the Captain. Refreshments are provided and if enough attend, they serve coffee, tea, and danish. Oftentimes, an offficer will speak for a short time. I never had the impression that people attend just to get refreshment, but come to meet others from their roll call, or make arrangements for private excursions. Some parties last a long time, and some fizzle out rather quickly. Each sailing is different.

[Northumberland]

We've only been one the one M&M on the MSC Divina from September. It was very enjoyable and we met some wonderful fellow passengers and crew members. We even wound up sharing a dinner table for the majority of the cruise with 2 lovely ladies we met at the M&M. I don't have any experience setting one of these up, but Im giving it a try for our cruise on the Royal Princess in March. We have 16 groups in our roll call some have already shown an interest in attend. We're looking forward to it.

[myfuzzy]

Again if anyone has any questions about the Meet & Greet, check out the Regal Retreaters video on Youtube, it pretty much covers what it's all about

[Desert Cruizers]

With our few cruises with Princess, we usually plan our own M&M/M&G with our Roll Call but they never have had an organized one in which you sign up like Royal and other cruise lines. Since we have only cruised Royal & Princess I can't speak for the other lines. The M&M's we see on Royal can easily be arranged with a time & place and don't need the refreshments, it is all about getting to know your fellow CC Members and enjoying the time together.

[myfuzzy]

OK....on Princess this is how it needs to go. From your Roll Call, through out the duration, as people come together to discuss the cruise. Someone steps up and says, they will coordinate it. THAT person contacts Princess, where they will be put in touch with a representative who will coordinate the information from the Cruise Critic coordinator to the ship, there are certain people for certain ships, as the cruise gets closer, the Cruise Critic Coordinator will contact Princess with an approximate number of people attending, this will give the Princess representative an idea of what venue to use on board, and a time it would be available. The Cruise Critic Coordinator will (should) be given a name of an on board representative, so upon boarding, the CC Coordinator would contact them and let them know of any further needs such as wait service, maybe snacks, microphone, or other needs. Then the CC Coordinator would then present invitations to the Passenger Service Desk to be given to the officers to attend. Princess will only offer you a venue and such, but have no formal way of making a "list" on Cruise Critic