Top 40 Captain's Circle lunch vs. cocktail party?

[1 HappyCruiser]

Any cocktail party I've ever attended was always held around 7-7:30 PM which is after our dinner & we could hardly eat any of the great food presented vs. the lunch which done to perfection on our last trip.

At this point I'm happy to just get an invitation to either but if I had a choice it would have to be the lunch.

[cruiseron36]

We attended about two or three cocktail parties in the past and they are usually held about 7 or 7:30 which is the tail end of out dinner, so we were too full to eat the delicious appetizers they have and were only interested in after dinner drinks, which they did make for us.

 

Also, we found that most people will gather around the Captain, MaitrDe or CD which is OK. I find it more interesting talking to the Chief Engineer. Usually nobody even knows who he is or what questions to ask him.

[earljr]

We have only been to two cocktail parties and at both found little, if any, mingling.

Folks arrived, took seats, and that was it. The officers pretty much found a group and

stayed with that group. The Capitan never made it over to our group. If you wanted to

talk to the PSD or other officers you would have to basically intrude on whatever group

held their attention. They did not try to roam, and if they did they were hung onto by

a group. So our experience is that a officer would join a group and that was that.

Bottom line -- we, both times, ended up with one officer -- just like we would have

at a luncheon. (but without the super meal:))

Earl, although we have only attended one cocktail party, this was a perfect description of what we found also. ;)

 

Hey Toto -- we are doing Waynes tour again on our Grand cruise on Oct 11

We will say hello from you.

Do you believe that I wont have any Rum drinks?

[Toto2Kansas]

[

Hey Toto -- we are doing Waynes tour again on our Grand cruise on Oct 11

We will say hello from you. Do you believe that I wont have any Rum drinks?

 

Oh please do Earl, I would love to visit St. Vincent again to see Wayne and Troy. But Tahiti keeps calling us back right now..........so it might be awhile before we get down there again. Tell him we sure do miss our visits to St. Vincent if you get a chance. And have a wonderful time! :)

 

Edited-NO RUM DRINKS? Now I am not buying that one. lol

[pris993]

We will be on our 19th cruise with Princess this month, we have never made the cut. Probably just as well because my husband is a very fussy eater and probably would not like the lunch menu. So I guess a cocktail party would be better for us, if we ever get invited.

[paul929207]

We will be on our 19th cruise with Princess this month, we have never made the cut. Probably just as well because my husband is a very fussy eater and probably would not like the lunch menu. So I guess a cocktail party would be better for us, if we ever get invited.

We have completed 18 cruises and have 278 days on Princess and we have not made the cut yet.

[cruiseron36]

WE have 28 cruises and over 300 days and have made the cut before becoming elite. However, recently, the cut has been in the 500 plus range.

[johnmik1]

We were on the Emerald the last 2 weeks and it was a coctail party both weeks from 7:30 till 8:15.

[gooch47]

The cut totally depends on the cruise. We have missed the cut on a recent cruise and were the #3 most travelled passengers on another.

 

I have mixed feelings about the luncheon. At a recent luncheon the officer at our table decided to start preaching about God. Made us very uncomfortable. And a previous poster is right. Some people love to brag about all their cruises especially the ones NOT on Princess.

 

But we aren't very outgoing people and at the cocktail parties we often find ourselves standing alone.

[spyro1952]

We are always in the top 40 as my Mom has over 700 days on Princess so I am her guest at these events. She loves to go to both as this is her glory. I am now leaning more toward the cocktail party as I have to get "dressed" in the middle of the day for the luncheon. Seems like I spend my whole day in the shower and changing clothes if it happens to be a luncheon. I do like the food, wine, and presentation at both.:)

[bjcanady]

We were on the Emerald the last 2 weeks and it was a coctail party both weeks from 7:30 till 8:15.

 

Hi and welcome home.....we sailed with u last week.......i am the tall sequin gal, was nice to meet you both....am sure we will meet on another Princess cruise.......

 

and we prefer the cocktail parties over the luncheons!!

[Mandarine Bleue]

I also prefer the cocktail party, but not when they have it in Skywalker. Some years back they use to do it in smaller rooms, (the wedding chapel for instance) were people would stand and mingle.Much nicer than sitting down in Skywalker. Last time I attended, the captain was at the door with the hostess, and stayed there talking with her long after all guests were there. He did not say a word (the sales consultant did all the talking), some other officers were there (few), standing and not talking to guests, probably because the guests had all been invited to sit, tightly packed in a small area, give the number of guests.

 

We tried to remain standing up, but it was ackward and the staff were clearly trying to get us to sit down, which we did after a while. The funny part was that we could not splip out early without being impolite, because the captain was standing by the door.

[Druke I]

I've been to both Cocktail Parties and Lunches as a Most Frequent Traveler; some ships do the Lunch and other do the Cocktail Party. I supposed it might have to do with the numbers of Elite aboard, or perhaps the wishes of the Captain or Captain's Circle Representative.

 

Frankly, I don't really care which they do; although I do find the recognition a nice touch.

[caribill]

I've been to both Cocktail Parties and Lunches as a Most Frequent Traveler; some ships do the Lunch and other do the Cocktail Party. I supposed it might have to do with the numbers of Elite aboard.

 

No connection to number of eleite. Top 40 passengers in number of days, no matter what their status.

 

Number attending will be the same on every cruise.

[donna5]

I also prefer the cocktail party, but not when they have it in Skywalker. Some years back they use to do it in smaller rooms, (the wedding chapel for instance) were people would stand and mingle.Much nicer than sitting down in Skywalker. Last time I attended, the captain was at the door with the hostess, and stayed there talking with her long after all guests were there. He did not say a word (the sales consultant did all the talking), some other officers were there (few), standing and not talking to guests, probably because the guests had all been invited to sit, tightly packed in a small area, give the number of guests.

 

We tried to remain standing up, but it was ackward and the staff were clearly trying to get us to sit down, which we did after a while. The funny part was that we could not splip out early without being impolite, because the captain was standing by the door.

 

We have only been to two luncheons and one cocktail party. Having the Cocktail party in skywalkers is better than a venue where you cannot sit down to eat. When we were invited to the cocktail pary the CC Host said don't eat before coming, we are having a nice buffet. But it must not have been that good cause I can't even remember what we had.

[1 HappyCruiser]

We have only been to two luncheons and one cocktail party. Having the Cocktail party in skywalkers is better than a venue where you cannot sit down to eat. When we were invited to the cocktail pary the CC Host said don't eat before coming, we are having a nice buffet. But it must not have been that good cause I can't even remember what we had.

 

The one cocktail party we went to had nice finger food but I wouldn't want to miss dinner over it. Anywho I fine it hard to eat a full dinner standing around at a cocktail party.

[PrincessNancy]

I have done both and enjoy each venue.

We had a chatty and personable officer at our table for the elegant lunch with wine that we enjoyed on our Caribbean cruise last April. Really enjoyed the company, customized menu, and food. Others are correct when they say there are top shelf drinks and great hor'dourves at the cocktail party.

So, I guess it depends on what you enjoy more. For us...we enjoyed both!;)

[itslin561]

We've been to both and we prefer the lunch. It is more intimate and special. I got the feeling that when there are lots of Elite members onboard they do the cocktail party. The cocktail party on our July Emerald cruise wasn't all that good - the food was limited - just being passed around on trays by servers rather that on a buffet as in the past.

[caribill]

We've been to both and we prefer the lunch. It is more intimate and special. I got the feeling that when there are lots of Elite members onboard they do the cocktail party. The cocktail party on our July Emerald cruise wasn't all that good - the food was limited - just being passed around on trays by servers rather that on a buffet as in the past.

 

Only 40 people are invited, so it is the same number at either the lunch or the cocktail party.

 

(Does not matter how many elite are on board. Actually, on some voyages the 40 most traveled passengers may include some below the elite level.)

 

One difference between the two types of event. At the luncheon, you really only get to converse with the one staff member at your table. At the cocktail party, you can meet and talk with several of the staff.

[Colo Cruiser]

We've been to both and we prefer the lunch. It is more intimate and special. I got the feeling that when there are lots of Elite members onboard they do the cocktail party. The cocktail party on our July Emerald cruise wasn't all that good - the food was limited - just being passed around on trays by servers rather that on a buffet as in the past.

 

We love the lunch too. ;)

[Astro Flyer]

Only 40 people are invited, so it is the same number at either the lunch or the cocktail party.

 

(Does not matter how many elite are on board. Actually, on some voyages the 40 most traveled passengers may include some below the elite level.)

 

One difference between the two types of event. At the luncheon, you really only get to converse with the one staff member at your table. At the cocktail party, you can meet and talk with several of the staff.

I read a recent post saying on a long cruise (Pacific?) you'd have to have over 400 days to make the top 40 cut...WOW!

 

I know this happens & that I got lucky on a shorter 7 day Alaskan cruise in early June this year...my rookie Elite status of 179 days was good enough to rank #7. I realize the odds of that happening again is slim & none but enjoyed my good luck...even though I was disappointed it was the cocktail party after hearing so much about the luncheon. :(

 

Not complaining...had a good time! :D

[Pam in CA]

Astro, my sister has about 375 days on Princess and didn't make the cut on our Crown cruise in September. That was the first time in years for her. We will probably be invited to the luncheon on our Sapphire cruise in January. I don't have as many as she does, though.

[Times Prince]

I read a recent post saying on a long cruise (Pacific?) you'd have to have over 400 days to make the top 40 cut...WOW!

 

I know this happens & that I got lucky on a shorter 7 day Alaskan cruise in early June this year...my rookie Elite status of 179 days was good enough to rank #7. I realize the odds of that happening again is slim & none but enjoyed my good luck...even though I was disappointed it was the cocktail party after hearing so much about the luncheon. :(

 

Not complaining...had a good time! :D

It must be something about Alaska cruises. We were invited to the Most Travelled cocktail party as Platinum cruisers with only 99 days at sea. We couldn't believe our luck. That cruise on the Island Princess had only 15 cabins that were Platinum/Elite. The Captain did say some words of welcome, and invited us to sit at tables for the best hors'douvres (or however you spell it..) I've ever had onboard. We were joined by the Hotel Manager and seeing as this was at the advent of the auto-tip, learned a lot of information about it, much of which I've shared in other CC posts.

 

Maybe some day we'll be invited to another party. Probably not soon.

[Astro Flyer]

It must be something about Alaska cruises. We were invited to the Most Travelled cocktail party as Platinum cruisers with only 99 days at sea. We couldn't believe our luck. That cruise on the Island Princess had only 15 cabins that were Platinum/Elite. The Captain did say some words of welcome, and invited us to sit at tables for the best hors'douvres (or however you spell it..) I've ever had onboard. We were joined by the Hotel Manager and seeing as this was at the advent of the auto-tip, learned a lot of information about it, much of which I've shared in other CC posts.

 

Maybe some day we'll be invited to another party. Probably not soon.

I think it was the 30 day Sydney to LA last fall where there were over 300 Elites & a lot of Platinum (600 or was it 1000...don't quite recall :confused:).

 

Our next cruise is to Hawaii & I've read that I'd be dreaming thinking there was a chance on this cruise also.:(

 

Maybe it's a selling point to cruise to Alaska? LOL :rolleyes:

[Nancyquilts]

Any cocktail party I've ever attended was always held around 7-7:30 PM which is after our dinner & we could hardly eat any of the great food presented vs. the lunch which done to perfection on our last trip.

At this point I'm happy to just get an invitation to either but if I had a choice it would have to be the lunch.

I agree with this. The cocktail party is always after our dinner and crowded with people who eat later. The one time we went, there was no place to sit down. We've found the lunch to be just what we like.