Meet and Greet

[paul8]

We are on the 11/22/09 cruise for 14 days (btb with 11/29/09). I inquired about a room for a M&G and was told by the HAL office that we could rent a room. This is in contradiciton to what I have seen in CC. Are there alternatives?

[IRL_Joanie]

We are on the 11/22/09 cruise for 14 days (btb with 11/29/09). I inquired about a room for a M&G and was told by the HAL office that we could rent a room. This is in contradiciton to what I have seen in CC. Are there alternatives?

 

My expert on M&G's is Serendipity 1499

 

Here is the info she sent me (Within 10 minutes of calling HAL I had 2 M&G's set up for our B2B cruise in February 2010) FREE.

 

All of the information came from Serendipity 1499 and other Cruise Critic Members (listed in their documentation below)

 

I had to mention I was a member of Cruise Critic in order to get someone who knew what was to be done. So mention CC!!

 

Quote:

 

Originally Posted by mamaofami

We had over 75 people in the Crow's Nest at 10am the first sea day on the Eurodam Inagural out of New York last Labor Day. They gave us drinks and appetizers and Stan Kuppens joined us and answered all our questions. Not at all crowded since it was reserved for our group.And as I recall it was Arica Hawley who set this up for us.

 

Per Serendipity1499

 

I've set up a few meet & greets on Hal & other ships & completely agree with Mamaofami..It's best to set up an OFFICIAL meet & greet for 10:00 or 10:30 a.m. on the first sea day in the Crows Nest, in order to avoid games etc..I would recommend the following:

 

1) Before you contact the Ships Coordinator, set up a special e-mail (such as on Yahoo) for all the participants to contact you with their full names & cabin Numbers..Then when you call the coordinator you will have an idea of about how many will participate: Some may not have cabin No's yet but, should let you know that they intend to participate.. Eventually you should have them all in order to give the cabin No's to the ships Beverage Mgr..Don't believe that it is a good idea to post cabin No's on-line in the roll call..You can use this e-mail to correspond with your group..

 

2) Approx, 3-4 weeks before departure call or e-mail the On board Event Services Number.. Phone: 1-877-885-4259...At the prompt click on the Ship you want...

 

3) The coordinator will e-mail you a form to fill out..It's not perfect, as it's actually geared to Travel agents who are paying for a Hosted Party, but you can work with it..

 

4) When you fill it out just be sure to ask for a NO HOST get-together, which means you will not be responsible for payment..Indicate what you would like them to serve, such as Coffee, tea, pastries or a NO HOST Bar..Also it's nice to invite Officers, such as the Beverage Mgr., Hotel Mgr. CD, ., etc to attend your get together..I indicated this on the form & when I met with the Beverage. Mgr on Boarding..On one of our last cruises the Beverage Mgr. served Champagne & or Orange Juice .. Our group was invited later in the week to the Captains VIP Cocktail Party...

 

5) You can FAX the form back to the Ships On Board Coordinator & she/he will contact the ship & get back to you with your confirmation..

 

6) When you board you should immediately contact the Beverage Mgr or the Hotel Mgr.to be sure everything is in order.. Have a copy of your participants & cabin No's for him..

 

I made up Invitations for each Cruise Critic participant reminding them of time & date...The Beverage Mgr. offered to have them delivered to each Cabin....Also made up Name tags for everyone...I had their Cruise Critic Sign in Name, their full names, & the home city on them..All but one couple failed to show up for our get-together..

 

It's important for the Organizer to help make sure that everyone mixes..I asked each person to introduce themselves & tell us a little about themselves..

 

7) Also asked the group if they would like to have more get-together’s such as a luncheon & most of them agreed..

 

8) A short hand-written Thank you to those on-board who arranged your Meet & greet, such as the Bev.Mgr. is always appreciated..

 

I learned much of this from LocaLady..We attended our first Meet & Greet on the Amsterdam, years ago & Localady was the organizer...She did a bang up job, of getting us to Mingle & also arranged a future luncheon for all of us..

 

On another Meet & Greet the Organizer, asked the participants (2 per couple) to bring a small gift, not more than $5.00 or 10.00 for a future gift exchange..She then went on to organize a luncheon for us & we exchanged the gifts ..Each [erson drew & number & picked the gift they wanted..Most were wrapped..It helped to break the ice..

 

Hope this helps..Enjoy your cruise..Cheers Betty

 

2ND. POST-Forgot to mention that I downloaded a document: "TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL ROLL CALL" "written by Ann Garson and Jack Cummings after their “ms Amsterdam” 64 day Asia, Australia, and Polynesia cruise in September 2007. If shared with others please give appropriate credit."

 

I’s approx 3 pages long & is in Microsoft WORD...If you would like a copy of it e-mail me at:

 

Serendipity1499@yahoo.com

 

Just put in the subject line: Cruise Critic Meet & Greet, so I won't think it's SPAM...I'll be happy to send it to you..

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

EVENTS CO-ORDINATORS.. ON HOLLAND AMERICA Nov. 2008

 

 

 

Anna Babcock: Volendam & Rotterdam Coordinator, Onboard Event Services: ababcock@hollandamerica.com

PH: (877) 885-4259 xt. 66665 FAX: (206) 301-5579

 

Kat Bogath: Prinsendam, Coordinator onboard Events Services

Kbogath@Hollandamerican.com PH (877) 885-4259 xt. 29551

FAX: (206) 508-8525.

 

Karla Camp: Maasdam/Ryndam/Statendam Onboard Events Coordinator at KCamp@HollandAmerica.com.

 

Jennifer Smith: Veendam, Amsterdam, Zaandam Coordinator, Onboard Event Services jsmith3@hollandamerica.com

 

Arica Hawley: Noordam Coordinator, Onboard Event Services

AHawley@HollandAmerica.com

 

Tia Thomas Holland America Line Onboard Event Services Eurodam Coordinator ( 877-885-4259) 2 206.301.4451 tthomas@hollandamerica.com

 

Oosterdam &

 

Amanda Cummins Holland America Line Westerdam / Zaandam Coordinator, Onboard Event Services p: 877.885.4259 f: 206.270.6100 acummins@hollandamerica.com

 

 

Don’t have individual phone numbers for all the coordinators, but try these- Phone: (206) 262-5806 Fax: (206) 270-6052

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

http://www.wa70.com/meetandgreet.html

 

Tips for a Successful Cruise Critic Roll Call (R/C)

 

This document was written by Ann Garson and Jack Cummings after their “ms Amsterdam” 64 day Asia, Australia, and Polynesia cruise in September 2007. If shared with others please give appropriate credit. Introduction

 

Cruise Critic Roll Calls serve a wonderful forum for participants to share and obtain information and to become "acquainted" with fellow cruisers before a cruise. Roll Call experience will vary from cruise to cruise and individual to individual. Normally longer cruises or more At Sea days will provide more on-board time to build camaraderie. Roll Calls can be successful with minimal orchestrated direction but sometimes "behind the scenes" efforts can provide a more enjoyable experience. The following are suggestions that might optimize that experience.

 

Pre-cruise

 

Getting Started -- Establish one or preferably two members who will be moderating the Roll Call (R/C). This is not necessarily going to be the member who originates the R/C. It is advantageous to have at least two people from different CC Logons sharing this job. This enables two viewpoints in the planning process. As the R/C grows, one of the moderators can post a summary of participants providing minimal information, i.e. CC Logon and City/State information if known (this later can be expanded to include first names). On the public forum (Cruisecritic.com) establish some sort of protocol to protect member's personal information, i.e., last names, stateroom numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. On the public forum, one or both moderators will need to provide e-mail contact information (this can be a temporary or disposable account). Participants can then privately provide the moderator(s) personal information (e-mail address, last name, stateroom number, mailing address). This personal information should not be made public.

 

Administrative Tips -- With advance approval participants can then, outside the public forum, contact each other for advanced cruise planning, i.e. trivia team participation, bridge partners, advice from someone who has been to a port before, private group tour planning, etc. One or both of the moderators should establish some method of keeping track of members as they join and when they last posted. Experience has shown that a spreadsheet is an effective method, as the data can be easily sorted, and easily printed. As a roll call e-mail list is developed, one of the moderators should take the responsibility of contacting members who have not posted in a while. Usually active members will post at least weekly, others may be content to just read the posts and not add that much to the roll call. Others may just leave the roll call due to personal reasons, and not post that they are dropping out.

E-mail correspondence between members and moderator should be copied to the co-moderator. When the list of members reaches a substantial number, additional participant summary lists should be posted on the public R/C forum, limited again to CC Logon, First Names, and City/State of Residence. The co-moderators might monitor the postings providing some guidance as to its content. This might be as a "jump start" when the postings might be lagging, change of direction if postings possibly take a negative direction, compliments to someone who has posted a valuable trip planning contribution or a question trying to get feedback from multiple participants. .

 

Pre-Planning - First Meeting -- If the R/C seems to be moving in a positive direction, and members are bonding (this will be apparent with their postings to each other on the R/C), encourage and find out how many members would like to have one or more meetings once onboard the cruise. Twenty or more people are sufficient to start contacting the Guest Relations Coordinator for the ship. One of the co-moderators should establish a line of e-mail communication with the ship's Guest Relations Coordinator, requesting that they arrange a meeting date, time and location. Cruise lines are usually cooperative in this area and some have a form that can be used for this purpose. A meeting place reservation can usually be arranged 60-90 days before the departure date. A suggested time for a meeting is mid-morning of the first At Sea day. Try to avoid any ship-wide activity such as lifeboat drill. (Note: If a cruise contains multi-segments, a meeting per segment is encouraged to help integrate new members.) A placard made of a laminated 8 X 11 ½ sheet of paper with bold lettering is helpful in identifying a meeting place onboard. A suggested title could be "CC or CRUISE CRITIC ROLL CALL MEETING". This could also encourage passengers who have been "lurking" on the R/C board to join meetings onboard.

 

On-Board Ship

 

First Meeting -- Pre-printed name tags for the first meeting are helpful in getting acquainted. Have some blank name tags on hand. At the meeting, possibly have each participant introduce themselves and share a brief comment (why they choose this itinerary, how they derived their CC Logon name, etc.). One "ice breaker" idea is to have individuals or couples bring a gift (maximum $10 value) from their locality for a gift exchange.

 

Staying in Contact Onboard -- If the group is to continue to bond, they need a way to contact each other while on board. One way to accomplish this is to use the data collected prior to boarding and put it in a mini-directory which includes each members CC logon, full name, stateroom number, and home city. Prior to sailing, R/C members should give the moderator's permission to use their personal information in this directory. Make sure there are enough copies of this directory to hand out for each person attending the initial meeting.

 

Administrative Tips -- On especially long cruises it is helpful for one of the moderators to have a laptop onboard, and an external USB drive. This will facilitate printing memos to distribute to the group. Usually the department on board who assists with group functions will print up courtesy copies from the USB drive. The appropriate ship personnel should be copied (CC) on such communications. Co-moderators may also need to divide the directory list to make phone calls advising members of changes (meeting time, etc.).

 

Onboard Gatherings -- Additional camaraderie may be achieved by scheduling voluntary on-board get-togethers. The R/C co-moderators can meet with the appropriate ship personnel to set up date, time, meeting place. The day before entry into a new port works well, and gives everyone an opportunity to share information about that port, as well as experiences in the previous port. Ship personnel can also be invited to provide an overview of their position and answer questions. Additional get-togethers can be individuals pre-arranging lunch together with fellow CCers.

 

Sharing Contact Information -- Toward the end of the cruise, participants should be contacted and asked for permission to provide personal e-mail contact information to continue friendships established on the cruise. This information would be made available after the cruise. Participants may also wish to post information on the Cruise Critic R/C public forum to share reflections on the cruise.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

If you email her at: Serendipity1499@yahoo.com

 

Just put in the subject line: Cruise Critic Meet & Greet so she does not think it is SPAM.

 

Joanie

[sail7seas]

To sum it up....... :)

 

No. You do not have to 'rent a room'. :eek:

 

[serendipity1499]

We are on the 11/22/09 cruise for 14 days (btb with 11/29/09). I inquired about a room for a M&G and was told by the HAL office that we could rent a room. This is in contradiciton to what I have seen in CC. Are there alternatives?

 

Paul...Send me an e-mail at serendipity1499@yahoo.com...Put in the subject line CC Meet & Greet...I'll send you all the info I have on setting up your meet & greet..

You don't have to rent a room...

All the info is in Microsoft WORD..

Thanks Joanie..We'll be leaving Nov 13 & back Dec 11, so if any one else needs info either request it now or wait till we get back..

Cheers..Betty

[pipedreams62]

[paul8]

My expert on M&G's is Serendipity 1499

 

Thanks for the information. Our cruise leaves 11/20/09, about 3 weeks but I will email Serendipity.

 

Thanks again.

[serendipity1499]

Paul..You've got mail..Good luck

Betty

[IRL_Joanie]

Paul...Send me an e-mail at serendipity1499@yahoo.com...Put in the subject line CC Meet & Greet...I'll send you all the info I have on setting up your meet & greet..

 

You don't have to rent a room...

 

All the info is in Microsoft WORD..

 

Thanks Joanie..We'll be leaving Nov 13 & back Dec 11, so if any one else needs info either request it now or wait till we get back..

 

Cheers..Betty

 

 

You are welcome Betty! I thought you were already on your cruise, otherwise I'd have waited to post the info.

 

Joanie

[serendipity1499]

You are welcome Betty! I thought you were already on your cruise, otherwise I'd have waited to post the info.

 

Joanie

 

Joannie...No problem...We are leaving Nov. 13 & will be back Dec. 11, but telling all my friends Dec 13..I need two days at least to catch up before preparing for Christmas...

Thanks again

Betty

[m steve]

since so many are frequent cruisers the attendance is usually low. I've had 30 names and 4 show up.

[serendipity1499]

since so many are frequent cruisers the attendance is usually low. I've had 30 names and 4 show up.

 

I've heard that before...We try not to plan it when other functions are going on..We plan ours for 10 a.m. in the Crows nest..I also send them all a reminder on board..I make up reminders & the Bar Mgrs or HM will usually volunteer their Staff put them in the cabins..On one cruise, we had two that No-showed, but the majority usually show up...

Betty

[sail7seas]

Sending reminder is a good idea. I have forgotten to go a few times. I get on board and forget when the M & G is set up for. :o I know it makes work for the organizer and they are already being generous about doing the 'leg work' but if it isn't really a lot of trouble, a reminder is good IMO

 

 

 

 

[serendipity1499]

Thanks Sail..Believe people only forget, because they are so excited to finally be on board the ship..I know I'm going to be excited to be on the ship after all these months..:):D

A short reminder helps & all the Bar Mgr's or HM's have always offered to have their staff distribute them..They also like to have the list of those who belong to CC.. Occassionally a CC group is invited to other functions..

 

Cheers...:) Betty

[TSC]

We just got back today from the Ryndam. I was the one who set up the meet and greet and it was as easy as the other posters say it is.

 

HOWEVER!! Don't forget to confirm the time and date once you get on board. I'd never set one up before and I wanted it to be early in our cruise, so I chose the Monday morning (sailed Sunday pm - and were docking in Key West Monday at 11:30.)

 

Once on board, I got busy and forgot to confirm the date and time. So, the next day, 28 cc members showed up in the Crows Nest - but HAL did not. We called and they sent up some coffee and cookies about 40 minutes later. No one on board seemed to have any idea that the Seattle Office had confirmed this time and date for our meet and greet. Our cc group had never exchanged room numbers before, but just in case HAL decided to offer us another option, we all wrote down our room numbers. (good advice from cruise critic)

 

I later learned that that time I selected was absolutely terrible time for the ship because everyone was very busy getting ready for our first port of call. (Seattle didn't make any comments about the time and deate selected - they just emailed me a confirmation of my request)

 

But - the good news is that Matt the cruise director called me to apologize and to set something else up. He got all the cabin numbers from me and arranged for us all to be invited to a cocktail event. It was lovely.

 

So - first sea day -is good. Confirming your time and date - is even better.

Getting your cruise director involved - is the BEST!:D

 

Thanks a ton - Matt. We really appreciated your efforts and loved the party! :p

[LuAnn]

called the number listed for the On Board Event person for the Oosterdam and reached Josselyn. That number was 1 877 885 4259. The was very helpful and is setting up our Meet and Greet for the 1st at sea day. Thank you for posting the contact numbers! LuAnn

[JudeeJim]

since so many are frequent cruisers the attendance is usually low. I've had 30 names and 4 show up.

On our cruise to Hawaii on the Zaandam we had about 30 people signed up for a Meet and Greet. I took the time to make everyone a name tag with a picture of the ship glued on the name tag. I wrote everyone's names on them and packed them for the cruise. A lot of time went into making them. At the Crow's Nest there were maybe 8 people who attended. I was needless to say disappointed and I am sure HAL was not too thrilled either as they provided a beautiful platter of appetizers and beverage. :mad:

[fuzzywuzzy]

since so many are frequent cruisers the attendance is usually low. I've had 30 names and 4 show up.

 

I have set up a Meet and Greet for our cruise on the Ryndham for Nov. 17th. I have never done one before and I didn't go to the trouble of making tags etc. There aren't a huge number of people on the Roll Call so I am hoping that people remember to go. I did not set up goodies either as it is for mid morning and everyone will have had breakfast by then I imagine. I am hoping for Mimosas though.

 

It IS good advice though for me to confirm the Meet and Greet once onboard with HAL. I'll let everyone know how it goes. :o

[LuAnn]

Just a suggestion...I usually take blank, stick-on name tags with me and bring them to the M&G so that CCers, who want to, can fill out their own.They are not as nice as the computer generated ones, but certainly easier on me! ;) LuAnn (I also bring them along even if there are pre-generated ones because you usually have "lurkers" who come to the party who have not asked for a name tag on the thread :rolleyes:)

[momofmeg]

My expert on M&G's is Serendipity 1499

 

Here is the info she sent me (Within 10 minutes of calling HAL I had 2 M&G's set up for our B2B cruise in February 2010) FREE.

 

All of the information came from Serendipity 1499 and other Cruise Critic Members (listed in their documentation below)

 

I had to mention I was a member of Cruise Critic in order to get someone who knew what was to be done. So mention CC!!

 

Quote:

 

Originally Posted by mamaofami

We had over 75 people in the Crow's Nest at 10am the first sea day on the Eurodam Inagural out of New York last Labor Day. They gave us drinks and appetizers and Stan Kuppens joined us and answered all our questions. Not at all crowded since it was reserved for our group.And as I recall it was Arica Hawley who set this up for us.

 

Per Serendipity1499

 

I've set up a few meet & greets on Hal & other ships & completely agree with Mamaofami..It's best to set up an OFFICIAL meet & greet for 10:00 or 10:30 a.m. on the first sea day in the Crows Nest, in order to avoid games etc..I would recommend the following:

 

1) Before you contact the Ships Coordinator, set up a special e-mail (such as on Yahoo) for all the participants to contact you with their full names & cabin Numbers..Then when you call the coordinator you will have an idea of about how many will participate: Some may not have cabin No's yet but, should let you know that they intend to participate.. Eventually you should have them all in order to give the cabin No's to the ships Beverage Mgr..Don't believe that it is a good idea to post cabin No's on-line in the roll call..You can use this e-mail to correspond with your group..

 

2) Approx, 3-4 weeks before departure call or e-mail the On board Event Services Number.. Phone: 1-877-885-4259...At the prompt click on the Ship you want...

 

3) The coordinator will e-mail you a form to fill out..It's not perfect, as it's actually geared to Travel agents who are paying for a Hosted Party, but you can work with it..

 

4) When you fill it out just be sure to ask for a NO HOST get-together, which means you will not be responsible for payment..Indicate what you would like them to serve, such as Coffee, tea, pastries or a NO HOST Bar..Also it's nice to invite Officers, such as the Beverage Mgr., Hotel Mgr. CD, ., etc to attend your get together..I indicated this on the form & when I met with the Beverage. Mgr on Boarding..On one of our last cruises the Beverage Mgr. served Champagne & or Orange Juice .. Our group was invited later in the week to the Captains VIP Cocktail Party...

 

5) You can FAX the form back to the Ships On Board Coordinator & she/he will contact the ship & get back to you with your confirmation..

 

6) When you board you should immediately contact the Beverage Mgr or the Hotel Mgr.to be sure everything is in order.. Have a copy of your participants & cabin No's for him..

 

I made up Invitations for each Cruise Critic participant reminding them of time & date...The Beverage Mgr. offered to have them delivered to each Cabin....Also made up Name tags for everyone...I had their Cruise Critic Sign in Name, their full names, & the home city on them..All but one couple failed to show up for our get-together..

 

It's important for the Organizer to help make sure that everyone mixes..I asked each person to introduce themselves & tell us a little about themselves..

 

7) Also asked the group if they would like to have more get-together’s such as a luncheon & most of them agreed..

 

8) A short hand-written Thank you to those on-board who arranged your Meet & greet, such as the Bev.Mgr. is always appreciated..

 

I learned much of this from LocaLady..We attended our first Meet & Greet on the Amsterdam, years ago & Localady was the organizer...She did a bang up job, of getting us to Mingle & also arranged a future luncheon for all of us..

 

On another Meet & Greet the Organizer, asked the participants (2 per couple) to bring a small gift, not more than $5.00 or 10.00 for a future gift exchange..She then went on to organize a luncheon for us & we exchanged the gifts ..Each [erson drew & number & picked the gift they wanted..Most were wrapped..It helped to break the ice..

 

Hope this helps..Enjoy your cruise..Cheers Betty

 

2ND. POST-Forgot to mention that I downloaded a document: "TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL ROLL CALL" "written by Ann Garson and Jack Cummings after their “ms Amsterdam” 64 day Asia, Australia, and Polynesia cruise in September 2007. If shared with others please give appropriate credit."

 

I’s approx 3 pages long & is in Microsoft WORD...If you would like a copy of it e-mail me at:

 

Serendipity1499@yahoo.com

 

Just put in the subject line: Cruise Critic Meet & Greet, so I won't think it's SPAM...I'll be happy to send it to you..

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

EVENTS CO-ORDINATORS.. ON HOLLAND AMERICA Nov. 2008

 

 

 

Anna Babcock: Volendam & Rotterdam Coordinator, Onboard Event Services: ababcock@hollandamerica.com

PH: (877) 885-4259 xt. 66665 FAX: (206) 301-5579

 

Kat Bogath: Prinsendam, Coordinator onboard Events Services

Kbogath@Hollandamerican.com PH (877) 885-4259 xt. 29551

FAX: (206) 508-8525.

 

Karla Camp: Maasdam/Ryndam/Statendam Onboard Events Coordinator at KCamp@HollandAmerica.com.

 

Jennifer Smith: Veendam, Amsterdam, Zaandam Coordinator, Onboard Event Services jsmith3@hollandamerica.com

 

Arica Hawley: Noordam Coordinator, Onboard Event Services

AHawley@HollandAmerica.com

 

Tia Thomas Holland America Line Onboard Event Services Eurodam Coordinator ( 877-885-4259) 2 206.301.4451 tthomas@hollandamerica.com

 

Oosterdam &

 

Amanda Cummins Holland America Line Westerdam / Zaandam Coordinator, Onboard Event Services p: 877.885.4259 f: 206.270.6100 acummins@hollandamerica.com

 

 

Don’t have individual phone numbers for all the coordinators, but try these- Phone: (206) 262-5806 Fax: (206) 270-6052

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

http://www.wa70.com/meetandgreet.html

 

Tips for a Successful Cruise Critic Roll Call (R/C)

 

This document was written by Ann Garson and Jack Cummings after their “ms Amsterdam” 64 day Asia, Australia, and Polynesia cruise in September 2007. If shared with others please give appropriate credit. Introduction

 

Cruise Critic Roll Calls serve a wonderful forum for participants to share and obtain information and to become "acquainted" with fellow cruisers before a cruise. Roll Call experience will vary from cruise to cruise and individual to individual. Normally longer cruises or more At Sea days will provide more on-board time to build camaraderie. Roll Calls can be successful with minimal orchestrated direction but sometimes "behind the scenes" efforts can provide a more enjoyable experience. The following are suggestions that might optimize that experience.

 

Pre-cruise

 

Getting Started -- Establish one or preferably two members who will be moderating the Roll Call (R/C). This is not necessarily going to be the member who originates the R/C. It is advantageous to have at least two people from different CC Logons sharing this job. This enables two viewpoints in the planning process. As the R/C grows, one of the moderators can post a summary of participants providing minimal information, i.e. CC Logon and City/State information if known (this later can be expanded to include first names). On the public forum (Cruisecritic.com) establish some sort of protocol to protect member's personal information, i.e., last names, stateroom numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. On the public forum, one or both moderators will need to provide e-mail contact information (this can be a temporary or disposable account). Participants can then privately provide the moderator(s) personal information (e-mail address, last name, stateroom number, mailing address). This personal information should not be made public.

 

Administrative Tips -- With advance approval participants can then, outside the public forum, contact each other for advanced cruise planning, i.e. trivia team participation, bridge partners, advice from someone who has been to a port before, private group tour planning, etc. One or both of the moderators should establish some method of keeping track of members as they join and when they last posted. Experience has shown that a spreadsheet is an effective method, as the data can be easily sorted, and easily printed. As a roll call e-mail list is developed, one of the moderators should take the responsibility of contacting members who have not posted in a while. Usually active members will post at least weekly, others may be content to just read the posts and not add that much to the roll call. Others may just leave the roll call due to personal reasons, and not post that they are dropping out.

E-mail correspondence between members and moderator should be copied to the co-moderator. When the list of members reaches a substantial number, additional participant summary lists should be posted on the public R/C forum, limited again to CC Logon, First Names, and City/State of Residence. The co-moderators might monitor the postings providing some guidance as to its content. This might be as a "jump start" when the postings might be lagging, change of direction if postings possibly take a negative direction, compliments to someone who has posted a valuable trip planning contribution or a question trying to get feedback from multiple participants. .

 

Pre-Planning - First Meeting -- If the R/C seems to be moving in a positive direction, and members are bonding (this will be apparent with their postings to each other on the R/C), encourage and find out how many members would like to have one or more meetings once onboard the cruise. Twenty or more people are sufficient to start contacting the Guest Relations Coordinator for the ship. One of the co-moderators should establish a line of e-mail communication with the ship's Guest Relations Coordinator, requesting that they arrange a meeting date, time and location. Cruise lines are usually cooperative in this area and some have a form that can be used for this purpose. A meeting place reservation can usually be arranged 60-90 days before the departure date. A suggested time for a meeting is mid-morning of the first At Sea day. Try to avoid any ship-wide activity such as lifeboat drill. (Note: If a cruise contains multi-segments, a meeting per segment is encouraged to help integrate new members.) A placard made of a laminated 8 X 11 ½ sheet of paper with bold lettering is helpful in identifying a meeting place onboard. A suggested title could be "CC or CRUISE CRITIC ROLL CALL MEETING". This could also encourage passengers who have been "lurking" on the R/C board to join meetings onboard.

 

On-Board Ship

 

First Meeting -- Pre-printed name tags for the first meeting are helpful in getting acquainted. Have some blank name tags on hand. At the meeting, possibly have each participant introduce themselves and share a brief comment (why they choose this itinerary, how they derived their CC Logon name, etc.). One "ice breaker" idea is to have individuals or couples bring a gift (maximum $10 value) from their locality for a gift exchange.

 

Staying in Contact Onboard -- If the group is to continue to bond, they need a way to contact each other while on board. One way to accomplish this is to use the data collected prior to boarding and put it in a mini-directory which includes each members CC logon, full name, stateroom number, and home city. Prior to sailing, R/C members should give the moderator's permission to use their personal information in this directory. Make sure there are enough copies of this directory to hand out for each person attending the initial meeting.

 

Administrative Tips -- On especially long cruises it is helpful for one of the moderators to have a laptop onboard, and an external USB drive. This will facilitate printing memos to distribute to the group. Usually the department on board who assists with group functions will print up courtesy copies from the USB drive. The appropriate ship personnel should be copied (CC) on such communications. Co-moderators may also need to divide the directory list to make phone calls advising members of changes (meeting time, etc.).

 

Onboard Gatherings -- Additional camaraderie may be achieved by scheduling voluntary on-board get-togethers. The R/C co-moderators can meet with the appropriate ship personnel to set up date, time, meeting place. The day before entry into a new port works well, and gives everyone an opportunity to share information about that port, as well as experiences in the previous port. Ship personnel can also be invited to provide an overview of their position and answer questions. Additional get-togethers can be individuals pre-arranging lunch together with fellow CCers.

 

Sharing Contact Information -- Toward the end of the cruise, participants should be contacted and asked for permission to provide personal e-mail contact information to continue friendships established on the cruise. This information would be made available after the cruise. Participants may also wish to post information on the Cruise Critic R/C public forum to share reflections on the cruise.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

If you email her at: Serendipity1499@yahoo.com

 

Just put in the subject line: Cruise Critic Meet & Greet so she does not think it is SPAM.

 

Joanie

 

thanks

[IRL_Joanie]

You are quite welcome!!

 

If you need any help before the 13th of December, when Serendipity1499 (Betty) gets home from her cruise, just holler at me. I have all the forms needed also, thank to her:).

 

Joanis

 

 

[momofmeg]

This IS free-right? Only a dozen of us have committed to come.

[onthegogirl]

I just volunteered to set up a M&G, my first. The timing of this thread could not have come at a better time. Thanks for all the great information. The idea of a separate e-mail address is an especially good one for confidential information.

 

Have some "name tag" skills to learn:).

 

Carole

[IRL_Joanie]

This IS free-right? Only a dozen of us have committed to come.

 

Yes it is free if you mention it is for a Cruise Critic Meet & Greet. If you need help before Serendipity1499 returns (on or around 13 December) just holler at me and I willsend you everything she sent me.

 

Joanie

[LuAnn]

I just volunteered to set up a M&G, my first. The timing of this thread could not have come at a better time. Thanks for all the great information. The idea of a separate e-mail address is an especially good one for confidential information.

 

Have some "name tag" skills to learn:).

 

Carole

 

for name tags is to just buy the plain, stick on "Hello" ones and let the CC members fill them out when they arrive. Not as fancy...but a lot easier and less expensive...:D LuAnn

[Koshlong]

This is the best detailed information I've seen on the subject! Thanks.