Met and Greet

[bob brown]

Hi Jan...

Betsy says 'hi', and wishes you and Stu a Happy New Year, and agrees with what you said.  We are  looking forward to meeting with you in Los Angeles in January....🙂❤️

[Jancruz]

1 hour ago, bob brown said:

Hi Jan...

Betsy says 'hi', and wishes you and Stu a Happy New Year, and agrees with what you said.  We are  looking forward to meeting with you in Los Angeles in January....🙂❤️

 

1 hour ago, bob brown said:

Hi Jan...

Betsy says 'hi', and wishes you and Stu a Happy New Year, and agrees with what you said.  We are  looking forward to meeting with you in Los Angeles in January....🙂❤️

Cant wait..to meet you!!

Be sure and email me dates..

Thanks

Jancruz1

[Queen of DaNile]

On 10/14/2019 at 5:55 PM, Mura said:

Mia,

 

Actually, I'm not sure!  I don't think I ever got a specific email address to use.  I probably asked my TA to forward the request to the ship.  It does depend, I'm sure, in how far in advance you are trying to contact them.  One approach might be to call Oceania and ask for contact information for the concierge onboard.  Good luck!

This is the response I got for a M & G for a November 2019 (Mrs. f's)  Marina sailing:

 

Greetings,

 

Thank you for contacting the Special Services Department.

 

Kindly be advised Meet and Greet will need to be arranged once on board. I have notated your reservation so the ship is aware you will be contacting them.

 

Warmest Regards,

 

Kelly Castro | Special Services Coordinator – Marina

[Queen of DaNile]

On 10/14/2019 at 5:55 PM, Mura said:

 

 

Edited October 31, 2019 by Queen of DaNile
duplicate post

[LHT28]

50 minutes ago, Queen of DaNile said:

This is the response I got for a M & G for a November 2019 (Mrs. f's)  Marina sailing:

 

Greetings,

 

Thank you for contacting the Special Services Department.

 

Kindly be advised Meet and Greet will need to be arranged once on board. I have notated your reservation so the ship is aware you will be contacting them.

 

Some TA's  have  better contacts  than others 😉

 

[Mura]

How odd!  It was a few years ago when someone who was setting up an M&G was informed by Oceania that they now wanted people to contact the concierge on board by email prior to boarding!  Maybe they've gone back to the old system?

 

Mura

[bitob]

We have set up more than 10 M &G's on O -- on one TA we had 150 plus!.

 

The best way to do it (IMO) is to collect (private email - not for publication) full names and cabin numbers of those on the roll call who want to participate and make 2 copies of the list. Perhaps you will find a volunteer to make name tags.   See the Concierge immediately when you board, choose a convenient date and time that does not conflict with ship activities, and have the Concierge send out invitations (give him or her a copy of your list).  Ask the Concierge to invite the CD, Officers, GM, Captain.  You may be surprised who attends.   If you know the F & B manager from past cruises, you might even get some hor's d'oeuvres.

 

Horizons is not the only venue that works.  We have had M & G's in the theater as well.

[pinotlover]

10 minutes ago, bitob said:

 

 

Horizons is not the only venue that works.  We have had M & G's in the theater as well.

Since participation levels on the Roll Calls have diminished so much of late, I have found, that on the O ships, Martinis is an excellent place to hold a M&G. Lots of space away from the actual bar where bar service is still good. 

 

Outside of the regular bar chips and nuts I’ve never seen any use in arranging for any food. There is food all over the ships and most leave for dinner afterwards anyway. Arranging for food means more space and more preparation! KISS should be the by word!

[jprich4432]

12 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Since participation levels on the Roll Calls have diminished so much of late, I have found, that on the O ships, Martinis is an excellent place to hold a M&G. Lots of space away from the actual bar where bar service is still good. 

 

Outside of the regular bar chips and nuts I’ve never seen any use in arranging for any food. There is food all over the ships and most leave for dinner afterwards anyway. Arranging for food means more space and more preparation! KISS should be the by word!

That my be a bit too friendly for an initial Meet & Greet! (;>))

[ORV]

11 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Since participation levels on the Roll Calls have diminished so much of late, I have found, that on the O ships, Martinis is an excellent place to hold a M&G. Lots of space away from the actual bar where bar service is still good. 

 

Outside of the regular bar chips and nuts I’ve never seen any use in arranging for any food. There is food all over the ships and most leave for dinner afterwards anyway. Arranging for food means more space and more preparation! KISS should be the by word!

Yeah, I know what you mean, we only had 163 on our Roll Call for our most recent cruise and over half showed up for the M & G. 🤨

 

I miss the old days when there was more participation. 🤠

[keithm]

On ‎10‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 10:56 PM, bob brown said:

On our ATW cruise, we had a CC M&G on the first sea day of each segment.

I will say that unlike NCL, Oceania support for CC is non-existant.  We were entirely on our own, trying to set up a corner of the Horizon Lounge, with no area blocked off to accommodate us. Nor did O provide any officer’s introductions or speeches.

I was told by a very high level Oceania Club member, that the Chairman of the corporation is “not a fan” of CC...

On our Jan. trip, we had an area set aside in Horizon. They don't do too much for you. I'm fine with that. Quite often we don't bother with the meet & greets any more.

[clo]

3 hours ago, keithm said:

we don't bother with the meet & greets any more.

I read these threads and wonder why anyone does them.  I'm sure I've said this before but it seems so artificial, strained, what's the word.  I thoroughly enjoy meeting people in a casual setting ( you should see me in Costco!), chatting a bit and going our separate ways.  If I see them again it' "hi, how are you?  Having a good time.  Sure hope so. We are. Etc.'  What more do people want?  I'm not trying to be mean.  I sincerely don't get it.

[Mrs f.]

7 hours ago, clo said:

I read these threads and wonder why anyone does them.  I'm sure I've said this before but it seems so artificial, strained, what's the word.  I thoroughly enjoy meeting people in a casual setting ( you should see me in Costco!), chatting a bit and going our separate ways.  If I see them again it' "hi, how are you?  Having a good time.  Sure hope so. We are. Etc.'  What more do people want?  I'm not trying to be mean.  I sincerely don't get it.

Feel free not to go. It's optional. We have 40 people who DO want it.

[Mura]

Clo, it's often because people have set up private tours with others on the Roll Call and want to meet them first.  I haven't found it artificial at all, and have enjoyed meeting others early on.  We meet others at dinners when we say we want to share.  Sometimes we've had a lemon there, but almost never, and also never really awful -- although we've all seen stories here for very bad "match ups".

 

It's definitely your choice whether to participate or not!  No one will judge you either way.

 

 

[PaulMCO]

Some cruise lines actively support these M&G events and some (Royal Caribbean surprisingly so) even have door prizes.

Sadly Oceania with as much attention this site gives them in publicity does not.  However there other corporate brands NCL and Regent are.

[pinotlover]

Clo;

 

I 2nd Mura’s comments! For those of us setting up private tours or participating in other’s tour, it is an excellent to meet the other participants and to give out or receive additional tour information.

[clo]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

I 2nd Mura’s comments! For those of us setting up private tours or participating in other’s tour, it is an excellent to meet the other participants and to give out or receive additional tour information.

Now THAT I understand.  But I honestly can't imagine our ever joining tours like that.  We're very much DIY and actually it was a major reason we stopped doing escorted land tours.

 

4 hours ago, Mrs f. said:

Feel free not to go. It's optional. We have 40 people who DO want it.

I was asking why and that's a reason.  I don't care IF.

 

[bbqoug]

2 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

Some cruise lines actively support these M&G events and some (Royal Caribbean surprisingly so) even have door prizes.

Sadly Oceania with as much attention this site gives them in publicity does not.  However there other corporate brands NCL and Regent are.

I also wish Oceania supported the M&G more like other cruise lines.

On Azamara they set the time & place, have invitations in attendees cabins on embarkation day, and have the CD and often top officers attend.

Sometimes they pass around a microphone for us to introduce ourselves. I get a bit of stage fright when I have to do that but it is a great way to break the ice and meet others on your roll call.

 

[KS&JW]

1 hour ago, bbqoug said:

 

Sometimes they pass around a microphone for us to introduce ourselves. I get a bit of stage fright when I have to do that but it is a great way to break the ice and meet others on your roll call.

 

 

I would never go to a M&G if this was standard.   It always takes forever if everyone has a turn at the mic. These are often held after life boat drill and before dinner so there is only an hour for those who have early dinner reservations. I prefer to mingle and you can't do that if a mic is being passed around.  

Edited November 1, 2019 by KS&JW

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, bbqoug said:

Sometimes they pass around a microphone for us to introduce ourselves. I get a bit of stage fright when I have to do that but it is a great way to break the ice and meet others on your roll call.

 

I cannot imagine that with  100+  attendees  😲

[bbqoug]

5 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I cannot imagine that with  100+  attendees  😲

On our 2 Azamara cruises there have been about 40-50 attendees, with usually only half of them being the CC member that participated in the roll call. Sometimes they hold it the first evening after muster drill, but other times it is on the first sea day.

 

It is nice though that Azamara values the Cruise Critic community enough to routinely set up the M&G along with snacks, drinks, and a welcome from top officers.

Of course one of the top selling points of Azamara is the friendliness and visibility of the officers about the ship.

 

Having said all that, we are really looking forward to our Oceania cruise. We will have to decide whether to sign up for the M&G if there is one offered for our particular cruise.

[LHT28]

15 minutes ago, bbqoug said:

On our 2 Azamara cruises there have been about 40-50 attendees, with usually only half of them being the CC member that participated in the roll call. Sometimes they hold it the first evening after muster drill, but other times it is on the first sea day.

 

It is nice though that Azamara values the Cruise Critic community enough to routinely set up the M&G along with snacks, drinks, and a welcome from top officers.

Of course one of the top selling points of Azamara is the friendliness and visibility of the officers about the ship.

 

Well  correct me if wrong but doesn't Azamara  include drinks in it's fare??

 

We have had some snacks usually nuts/preztels/chips   but usually  the  M & G is after muster  (when I have arranged it)  or a sea day 

If not the first night   Then invites have been delivered  to those that were on the list provided to the Concierge 

 

Yes people would have to buy  their alcohol   but we have had  the GM & CD  show up   as well

I think it may depend on when the  M & G is held

I find the  top officers  friendly  enough  but some we know from sailing with them before  so they do stop  & chat  others  a Hello  is just fine  with me

Enjoy the cruise

[bbqoug]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Well  correct me if wrong but doesn't Azamara  include drinks in it's fare??

 

Yes they do include a standard assortment of wine & mixed drinks as part of their fare.

It's still nice to have servers circulate with trays of drinks & hors d'oeuvres during the M&G (in my opinion).

 

The main difference I come away with after reading this thread is that Azamara (and Celebrity when we last sailed them) takes the initiative to set up the M&G on every cruise as a consistent experience. 

Whereas with Oceania a passenger has to take the initiative to set up the M&G with the assistance of the concierge or other person on the ship. The O M&G experience also varies widely depending on who is asking for assistance and who is providing the assistance.

 

I'm not saying Oceania is wrong, just that they have chosen to not support CC as much as other cruise lines.

 

Edited November 1, 2019 by bbqoug

[LHT28]

well I would base cruising on O  just for the  M & G  participation

 

Maybe someday they will organize them   I am surprised they do them for NCL though

 

[Mura]

My NCL experience goes back nearly 10 years but we did have a large group there .. however,  it was "organized" by a fellow passenger.  That being said, top staff attended and gave brief talks.  There were drinks and snacks (this was a morning event).  I have seen people who set up M&Gs on Oceania say that officers attended, but I don't remember that in MY experience.

 

I should correct that.  On our May 2018 cruise there was a mixup and one of the members of my group went and found a couple of officers who came up to our venue, spoke with all of us and even sent me a lovely bottle of wine as an apology -- which was NOT needed.

 

Not that I require participations by officers, I'm more interested in meeting my fellow passengers, many of whom I have been corresponding with for some time.

 

JMO

 

Mura