Meet & Greet No-Shows

[Chalker Guy]

Sorry for the double post. I got a "fatal error" message when I went to post the first time, so thought it didn't take.

[Snowrose]

We were supposed to have an M&G after the fire drill at the Biergarten on the Spirit on 1/23/07. We showed up and I had a Cruise Critic T-shirt on and only met one other member (luvs2cruise) and family. We stayed for a while and then went to watch the sail away from NYC. There was supposed to be around 23 people there. It's a good thing we didn't have a room schedualed.

 

Ummmm... I don't remember this many people confirming to meet and greet on the sailing day. I know I said that DH and I specifically would probably not attend this more ad-lib meeting as it was his first time cruising and I thought he'd be fascinated by the ship.

 

I don't know how you could say there was no room scheduled for the M&G, there was! The actual M&G was held on the first full day at sea on Spirit on 1/24/07 at Henry's Pub. I said DH and I would attend that and we did - and so did enough other people (including a few crew - Hotel Manager, Asst Hotel Manager and another officer or two) that Henry's Pub was just about packed! I remember DH and I commenting as we were leaving the Pub that the room was almost too small for so many people. It was definitely getting warm in there, even with drinks available (and cookies).

 

Edited to add that after reading a subsequent post by Beachbum1944, apparently they were talking about the 1/13/07 cruise on Spirit not the 1/23/07 cruise. The M&G on the 1/23 cruise was pretty much at capacity and great fun! Our thanks to those who organized it and participated!! :D

 

Teri

[pittipatga]

Chalker Guy - I see where you were the one who set up you "Meet" gathering. Would you mind sharing how you go about doing that?

Thanks:)

[pittipatga]

Chalker Guy - I see where you were the one who set up your "M & G" gathering. Would you mind sharing how you go about doing that?

Thanks:)

[wasup254]

MGutierrez@ncl.com - This is who we worked with for our Meet and Greet on 2-12...she has been very very responsive, even ordered a cake for a BD through her

 

Marlene

[pittipatga]

Is your cruise on the NCL Sun? - just wondering if MGutierrez @NCL.com is who to contact for our cruise.

Thanks.

[pittipatga]

Is your cruise on the NCL Sun - just wondering if this MGutierrez @NCL.com is who to contact for our cruise.

Thanks.

[Chalker Guy]

pittapatga,

I e-mailed the ship coordinator. For the Jewel, it is Mayra at MMateiro@ncl.com I think you can find contacts for other ships at NCL's website.

[wasup254]

MGutierrez is for the NCL Pearl, I didnt know that each ship had a coordinator

[SailorsMate]

Hi Carol,

Hope all is well with you. It sure was a great cruise. Have you been back on the Dawn since then? We went in November/December 2006 along with Cheryl & Al, who we met at the CC meeting on our October 2005 cruise.

 

Hi Jackie-

No, we haven't been on the Dawn since 10/05- Last year we took a few "land" vacations and then, unfortunately, my husband had a serious illness. He is recovering (yeah)- and I am thinking of trying for the last Dawn cruise out of NY before the repositioning- We will miss the Dawn, for sure, been on her several times-

[angeljt]

Hi Jackie-

No, we haven't been on the Dawn since 10/05- Last year we took a few "land" vacations and then, unfortunately, my husband had a serious illness. He is recovering (yeah)- and I am thinking of trying for the last Dawn cruise out of NY before the repositioning- We will miss the Dawn, for sure, been on her several times-

 

Hi Carol,

I'm sorry to hear about you DH's illness, but happy that he is recovering and you're thinking of going on the Dawn again. Who knows, maybe we'll see you onboard!

Jackie

[kdzgon]

Steve, from the 1/14/07 Jewel Roll-Call, was kind enough to coordinate a Meet & Greet for CC members. Prior to the sailing, he polled for the best date/time and several CC members responded. He confirmed the date/time/location & there were several responses from roll-call participants that they would attend. The Meet & Greet was held in the Star Bar on the 1st sea day from 11A-12N- NCL provided refreshments (coffee, juice, tea & cookies- nothing fancy but a nice gesture) and the Captain was there with most of his front-line staff. Unfortunately, only 6 people showed up even though others said they would attend- there were more officers present than there were CC members... If someone from your roll-call sets up a Meet & Greet, please try to attend if you say you'll be there- even for a few minutes especially at the beginning to meet the Captain & his officers as they took the time to be there from their busy schedules- Freestyle doesn't mean flaking out when you say you're going to attend. :(

 

Guilty as charged, but we were dealing with a number of ill individuals in our party (some seasick, some ill with cold-type symptoms). I do apologize (although it is really too late, I acknowledge) - at a minimum I should have stopped by myself to offer our apologies and reason in person. (I was also unprepared for the coordination necessary traveling with a larger party and three toddlers - everything took much longer than anticipated, especially the first couple of days with the seasick travelers in our party.)

 

BTW, it was not just the "meet and greet" that was poorly attended. We had 5 vets/active duty members in our party that attended a Vet's group, and other than my family members there was only one other individual there.

[swmrgrl]

 

I arranged a M&G on the Jewel (October). We had an informal meeting of 3 tables of 10 in the main dining room, then did a full buffet and open bar in the Garden Villa a few days later. Again everyone showed up except one husband who wasn't feeling well. We all brought chocolate and did a gift exchange.

 

We had quite a few officers and the captain show up on the Jewel and the several officers showed up on the Pacific coastal cruise.

 

Have always had very successful M&G. Now, for south america, I can't even get a roll call started! Makes for less work for a M&G.

 

I even created a website for the Jewel CC gathering.

:)

The first M & G I wanted to attend, I was sick, the second one had about 15 people and I felt a bit lost and left after 20 minutes, so I decided to offer our Garden Villa on a back to back cruise last fall. I allowed 2 hours to give everyone a chance to sit back and enjoy meeting each other in a more informal situation. Ginny (Seven Seas) had set up a website ahead of time and was instrumental in coordinating the many events that were happening on that particular cruise. We had a very yummy chocolate exchange and some really cool gifts for the echange. It was a very good turnout with 35 people and officers attending. We had our cc picture done in the Courtyard pool area. On the second one, Gary and Sandy stepped forward with arranging the gift exchange and setting up an incredible website. There were approx 90 people (give or take a few) with lots of hot/cold food and a gift exhange.

 

Pulling off a larger M & G like this I had to work closely with the Food and Beverage Director, Hotel Director, our concierge and butler otherwise this wouldn't have been as successful as it was. Would I do this again? Positively. Problem is, I haven't booked a cruise yet with NCL - maybe the fall.

 

Thanks, Ginny, Gary and Sandy if you catch this thread.

[coka]

So that was the party they were all talking about (Swmrgrl's)! Well Swmrgrl and the other cruisecritics who attended...the officers were still raving about your meet and greet in the garven villa! They were impressed and they had fun too! How do I know this? Because I asked them at my meet and greet in November what they thought about meet and greet's.

 

Coka

[swmrgrl]

So that was the party they were all talking about (Swmrgrl's)! Well Swmrgrl and the other cruisecritics who attended...the officers were still raving about your meet and greet in the garven villa! They were impressed and they had fun too! How do I know this? Because I asked them at my meet and greet in November what they thought about meet and greet's.

 

Coka

 

Wow, thanks for letting me know the positive compliments.

[angeljt]

Wow, thanks for letting me know the positive compliments.

 

Swmrgrl,

We weren't there, but it was so nice of you to host the CC party, and very nice that Coka gave you that feedback. Sure must make you feel good that everyone had such a good time.

Jackie

[mlbcruiser]

Zeno, I'm kind of w/you re: the luck of the draw.

 

I'm sure many of the posters on this thread have set up or participated in meet & greets on other lines. But I will say that in my experience, having an informal get together sometime shortly after sailaway has generally resulted in the best attendances in most cases. Sure, there are always many excuses why people change their minds and don't come at the last min. But I think most of the time they either chicken out due to shyness or the uncertainty of what to expect, or weren't that interested in the first place. Most people who post a LOT on their roll call threads do seem to show up. Sometimes people think that a clique has formed just because they notice certain people posting frequently. That is not usually the case. You might meet delightful people who hardly ever posted simply because they didn't have the time! I can say, however, that even times when only a few people showed up for a meet & greet, I have been happy that I went.

 

To those of you out there who are considering attending a meet & greet but might be timid about it, push yourself and just go! If you don't like the people or don't feel comfortable, there are a million excuses you can use and just leave. There is no minimum time you MUST stay.

[jetskier]

To setup a M&G, contact the shipcoordinatorxxx@ncl.com Change the XXX to the ships name.

On our 1/23/07 sailing on the Sun, I set up the meeting. We ended up having the Le Bistro for one hour on the first sea day. We setup an email account where we could be sent cabin numbers for those who wished to have an invitation delivered to their cabin. I printed out the invitations and delivered them on the evening of embarkation. We had another person print out name tags. Of the 70 people on the rollcall, we had 35 show up. NCL had a bingo game at the same time. Plus they left a free bingo card in the cabin for all passengers so that pulled a few people away from the M&G.

 

We did have the Captain, CD, HD, and ship coordinator showup. I do have to hand it to the CD, HD and SC. You actually see them about the ship a great deal. On most of my Carnival sailings, you rarely see them.

 

Dave

[Jabee]

I e-mailed shipcoordinatorsun@ncl.com and requested a place and time for a Meet and Greet. I suggested either a time after the Life Boat Drill or else before lunch on Monday.

 

After having Carnival crew look at me like I was crazy when I set up a banner and had people meet, it was exciting to actually get assisance.

 

Below is the answer....

 

A Cruise Critics Roll Call Meet and Greet has been scheduled for Monday, March 12th, 11am to 12pm in Las Ramblas. Please provide a final head count no later than March 5th so the ship will know if it is necessary to change the location.

 

I will bring a home made Banner and nametags for all who attend. I have requested them to e-mail me their first name, but will have blank name tags available also!!

 

My tradition is to have everyone sign the banner, and get a photo of the entire group!

 

We have a great roll call going with this cruise, so I hope we have a great group actually show up.

[jetskier]

Jabee,

Can you do me a favor? When I was on the Sun Jan 23rd, I had wanted to buy a ship model that is resin cast. They are about 10"-12" in length. They were out of them. The gift shop lady said she would email me when they came in but I have not heard from her. If they are in, would it be possible for you to buy one and I can send you a check, money order or Paypal for the amount.

 

Thanks,

Dave

[Jabee]

Jabee,

Can you do me a favor? When I was on the Sun Jan 23rd, I had wanted to buy a ship model that is resin cast. They are about 10"-12" in length. They were out of them. The gift shop lady said she would email me when they came in but I have not heard from her. If they are in, would it be possible for you to buy one and I can send you a check, money order or Paypal for the amount.

 

Dave...

Just today I asked a friend to pick me up a similar ship of the Conquest, because my wife and I now have a collection of every ship we have been on, except for it.

 

I am glad you asked, because we wanted to know if NCL had something similar.

 

Consider it done....I will be glad to get one for you, and get it to you. We will handle payment after I get back, yes, Paypal will do just fine.

 

BTW...we are planning on spending the night between Hattiesburg and Picayune...any suggestions for a Motel in that area??

 

JB

[jetskier]

Hi Jabee,

When you get into Hattiesburg on I-59, the first exit is for Hwy 49. You want to go south. You will want to stay in any of the hotels on the RIGHT side of the road right past the McDonalds. The hotels on the left side are dumps.

 

You can also take the next exit off of I-59, which is for Hwy 98 West. Turn right and go to the first red light. Turn right. Right before you get to Wendys on the right there is a road that will take you down to a couple of motels.

 

If your friend cannot get the one for you on the Conquest let me know as I will be on her on Sept 2nd. The NCL ones are at a different scale than the Carnival ones. My model of the Dream towers over my Fantasy and Holiday models. I have King Bob of the North getting me one from the Elation. So once I have it and the one from the Sun, I will have our collection completed. I had to scrounge for the past guest pins but I finally have one for each sailing of all the ships we have been on. It looks great to have my neck lanyard full.

Dave