Meet & Greet

[buggins0402]

I tried a search and went through the sticky on the top of this board and couldn’t find how many people need to sign up for NCL to host an official meet & greet.  Anyone know?

[fabnfortysomething]

there isn't an official minimum number

 

however check interest level on your roll call and allow 20-50 % drop out rate when contacting ship with final numers

 

it can be very embarrassing when officers outnumber guests

[CruisinHarvey]

It's 25 signed up before you can contact NCL.

[buggins0402]

Thanks...I’ll see if 25 are interested.

[cdanger]

I would be interested..just say where and when..

Edited January 10, 2019 by cdanger

[CruisinHarvey]

Just now, buggins0402 said:

Thanks...I’ll see if 25 are interested.

 

BTW don't pay any attention to the meet and mingle information for NCL on cruise critic.  It's way old. I've told them about it several times, but nothings changed. To contact NCL the email address is specialeventsxxxxx@NCL.com where xxxxx is your ship name.  The old one doesn't get a failure, but no one responds to it. 

[newmexicoNita]

2 minutes ago, CruisinHarvey said:

 

BTW don't pay any attention to the meet and mingle information for NCL on cruise critic.  It's way old. I've told them about it several times, but nothings changed. To contact NCL the email address is specialeventsxxxxx@NCL.com where xxxxx is your ship name.  The old one doesn't get a failure, but no one responds to it. 

Very true and the advise not to contact the ship for a M&G until just prior to sailing is crazy I have reserved space as much as 6 months out. I do agree with less than 25 it isn't fair to the crew that takes time to meet the group and it doesn't make for a very fun meet. Also agree with the 25 to 50% that sign up won't show. That is not a very responsible thing to do, but there are exceptions to every rule. plans do change.

[CruisinHarvey]

3 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

Very true and the advise not to contact the ship for a M&G until just prior to sailing is crazy I have reserved space as much as 6 months out. I do agree with less than 25 it isn't fair to the crew that takes time to meet the group and it doesn't make for a very fun meet. Also agree with the 25 to 50% that sign up won't show. That is not a very responsible thing to do, but there are exceptions to every rule. plans do change.

 

I've got a few tips to help lower the percentage of no shows. I'm at 75% percent attendance at mine now.  First offer to deliver reminder to everyone who gives you their cabin number. I create an email address for the meet and greet, so they email me, without giving out their cabin number to everyone.  Usually, guest services will be happy to actually deliver them. You just need to provide the flier and the cabin numbers. Second, have other activities planned to the for it.  With a gift exchange, they 're committed because they've bought something.  Run a slot pull where the only place you'll take sign ups and money is at the meet and greet.   Hopefully this helps a little. Running another one in just about one month on the Epic. We've got 107 signed up for the M&G, 40 for the gift exchange, and 70 for the slot pull.  I'm sure we'll get 80 to show up. The last one on the Bliss in November we had 115 signed up and 90 attend.   Hope this helps.   

[fabnfortysomething]

31 minutes ago, CruisinHarvey said:

It's 25 signed up before you can contact NCL.

no that's RCCL not NCL

[buggins0402]

We are only 5 weeks away from sailing.  If we just get to 25, what would the experienced planners say to do....should we request a M & G, but ask NCL to keep it down to maybe just someone from the hotel side, or do an informal sail away gathering in the Great Outdoors on our own? 

 

Roll Call activity has been light, despite the fact that this is an Around the Horn, South America cruise.  If everyone who has posted on the board were to show interest in a M & G(unlikely),  I think we’d only be at 40.  Then factor in no shows. As others have pointed out, I would hate to take officers away from their busy schedule for a poorly attended gathering.  

[buggins0402]

On 1/10/2019 at 2:07 PM, CruisinHarvey said:

 

BTW don't pay any attention to the meet and mingle information for NCL on cruise critic.  It's way old. I've told them about it several times, but nothings changed. To contact NCL the email address is specialeventsxxxxx@NCL.com where xxxxx is your ship name.  The old one doesn't get a failure, but no one responds to it. 

We now have enough people interested.

 

So for the Sun, would the email address be specialeventsnorwegiansun@NCL.com or do I just replace the XXXXX with sun?

 

TIA

Edited January 15, 2019 by buggins0402

[Sauer-kraut]

SpecialEventsSUN@NCL.com

[buggins0402]

Just now, Sauer-kraut said:

SpecialEventsSUN@NCL.com

Thank you so much!!,

[alwalaska]

On 1/10/2019 at 1:59 PM, CruisinHarvey said:

It's 25 signed up before you can contact NCL.

 

On 1/10/2019 at 2:31 PM, fabnfortysomething said:

no that's RCCL not NCL

I just set up a M&G on the POA with only 20 people and no problems at all.  But, now all of a sudden more people are signing up.  I may have to contact them back if we outgrow the room.

 

Also for the timing, I emailed around 6 weeks out and our preferred time was already gone, so maybe contacting a bit earlier would be good. 

[CruisinHarvey]

30 minutes ago, alwalaska said:

 

I just set up a M&G on the POA with only 20 people and no problems at all.  But, now all of a sudden more people are signing up.  I may have to contact them back if we outgrow the room.

 

Also for the timing, I emailed around 6 weeks out and our preferred time was already gone, so maybe contacting a bit earlier would be good. 

They have a standard time set aside every week for meet and greets, and all the officers already have it on their calendar. It just whether someone conjtacts them to have one or not. They never change it. Good to know that 20 is fine, although if you have 20 singed up, generally that means 10 will show up. Personally, I'd be embarrassed  if more NCL officers showed up than passengers. I've attended one like that. I felt really sorry for the host. Anyway, let them know within 2 weeks of the cruise your new number. Probably, unless you go over 100 mark, you'll be in the same venue.   

[alwalaska]

1 hour ago, CruisinHarvey said:

They have a standard time set aside every week for meet and greets, and all the officers already have it on their calendar. It just whether someone conjtacts them to have one or not. They never change it. Good to know that 20 is fine, although if you have 20 singed up, generally that means 10 will show up. Personally, I'd be embarrassed  if more NCL officers showed up than passengers. I've attended one like that. I felt really sorry for the host. Anyway, let them know within 2 weeks of the cruise your new number. Probably, unless you go over 100 mark, you'll be in the same venue.   

 

Thanks for the info.  Not many people do a M&G on the POA since it is so port intensive.  We are in the card room, so if we grow above 30 or 40, I'd hope they would move us.  I got a weird place and time one other time and the person on the land must have been new because they neglected to tell the ship we were from Cruise Critic. The group coordinator explained that she was surprised when she found out we were CC and she went out of her way to be helpful and try to help us out.

[CruisinHarvey]

3 minutes ago, alwalaska said:

 

Thanks for the info.  Not many people do a M&G on the POA since it is so port intensive.  We are in the card room, so if we grow above 30 or 40, I'd hope they would move us.  I got a weird place and time one other time and the person on the land must have been new because they neglected to tell the ship we were from Cruise Critic. The group coordinator explained that she was surprised when she found out we were CC and she went out of her way to be helpful and try to help us out.

I understand about the POA. The card room though. That couldn't hold many. I'm sure they have enough experience to know most people don't attend those on that cruise.  Good Luck with it. 

[JustAllie]

On 1/10/2019 at 2:35 PM, buggins0402 said:

We are only 5 weeks away from sailing.  If we just get to 25, what would the experienced planners say to do....should we request a M & G, but ask NCL to keep it down to maybe just someone from the hotel side, or do an informal sail away gathering in the Great Outdoors on our own? 

 

Roll Call activity has been light, despite the fact that this is an Around the Horn, South America cruise.  If everyone who has posted on the board were to show interest in a M & G(unlikely),  I think we’d only be at 40.  Then factor in no shows. As others have pointed out, I would hate to take officers away from their busy schedule for a poorly attended gathering.  

I had trouble with the last Meet & Greet I organized, on a Norwegian fjords cruise from Hamburg.  I suspect one of the big issues was a lot of Europeans on the ship meant a lot of people never heard of CruiseCritic.com.  Yes we have a lot of British members here, but not a lot from Germany or Spain or France or Russia, and there was quite a diverse group of people on that ship.  

 

Still, among those who signed up, we had very good participation.  We had a good Meet & Greet, but no slot pull.  We ran into folks from the M&G multiple times during the cruise, both on the ship and on shore, and it was great to have a connection with someone.  It was well worth the effort to arrange the event.  I hope the ship's officers were happy despite the small crowd -- people were quite engaged during the Q&A.