Comparing Carnival, Celebrity, and NCL w/regard to CC Meet-n-Greet's

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

This topic came up in another thread, and I thought it had merit enough on its own to be discussed separately.

 

Can I make a request here at the start? How about we all just read this, and add constructive input. Let's not get into any "bashing" of the various cruise lines or get snippy at each other. We are adults... right? :) This is for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as slighting Carnival (REALLY) - it's "just the facts"! Since this is useful information, I request that if the moderators determine that the responses of some people get out of hand, to simply delete those comments or, if it becomes widespread, to delete the offending comments, and LOCK the thread down - at least it can then remain as a reference source... THANKS

 

I have attended Cruise Critic "Meet-n-Greets" on 3 different cruise lines, and would like to compare/contrast what I have seen.

 

 

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CARNIVAL:

Since Carnival was our "first" cruise line, let's start with them. I have, on numerous occasions, contacted the Groups Department at Carnival prior to sailings when it became apparent that we had enough people on a roll call here to justify a more formal meeting place than the "aft bar at sail-away" or similar. They have always been quick to reply and quite helpful in finding a location which did not conflict with planned shipboard activities. Typically it has been in the disco, once or twice in the piano bar. A bar is usually open, with a waiter working the crowd - though we have never gone with the open bar ($) option. Perhaps someone here can give more details on that, as I am not really familiar with how that works. The groups department lately has indicated that the time/place would be listed in the Funtimes. More often than not, such a mention is MIA. At a couple of the meetings there has been a small showing of Carnival staff. Once or twice a cruise director has made an appearance - most recently Todd Whitmer. Another time or two an "activities staff person" or similar has made an appearance. Other than that - we are pretty much on our own, and simply have the place to meet one another (kind of like the intent: "meet and mingle")! I appreciated the assistance from the groups department to set the area aside for us.

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CELEBRITY:

Celebrity does things a little differently - actually devoting a page on their website (LINK). There you can register for a line supported "Cruise Critic Connections" party. Once 25 people from any (7+night) sailing register, it becomes "official". They have another page which provides for FAQ (LINK) with the following topics:

Subject: Cruise Critic Connections

> How do I register for a party?

> Is there a maximum number of people who may register for the Celebrity Cruises/Cruise Critic Connection?

> How can I cancel my registration?

> Are children allowed at the party?

> How can we ask other questions about the party?

> How will I know when and where our Connections Party will be?

> What happens at the parties?

> What is served at the parties?

> What is the dress code for the parties?

> Why isn't my Booking ID/Reservation Number being accepted for registration?

> How can I find out how many people are in my party?

> Can I register other guests who do not have an email address?

> Are all Celebrity cruises eligible for a Celebrity Cruises/ Cruise Critic Connections Party?

> How do I add someone to my party?

> How do I register a large group for a party?

> How many people do we need to have a party?

> How will we know if we qualified for a party?

> I missed the registration deadline, can I still attend?

> Is there a charge for these parties?

> Who can attend the parties?

 

On our first qualifying sailing with Celebrity (Thanksgiving 2008 on the Constellation) we met the 25 headcount threshold, and they put together a nice meeting area complete with snacks/drinks (non-alcoholic), had name tags for all, and made a short presentation. After that we all got together for a photo:

 

 

This was new to me, having not seen this kind of interaction between the cruise line and Cruise Critic members previously. It was appreciated! I have already registered online for our Eclipse sailing next January - though we have not yet met the "critical mass" number... we have plenty of time though!

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NCL:

 

Prior to our first sailing on the Epic earlier this year, I learned that to set up a CC meeting one needed to contact (via email) the Groups Coordinator for the ship you are sailing on. Since nobody in our roll call had taken the initiative, I decided "what the heck" and made contact. They replied very quickly. Everything was set up for an 11am meeting on the first sea day in the Bliss Lounge. They only asked that I get back with them shortly before the sail date to give them a headcount. I did, and what they put together was even more impressive than what Celebrity had done! We entered the lounge not knowing what to expect and found all their monitors around the bar (it's a disco at night) scrolling a Cruise Critic logo :cool::

 

 

They had refreshments set up (no photos of that, darn!) and several officers were mingling. Present was the Hotel Director, F&B Manager, Cruise Director, Chef, Captain, etc... They all took turns speaking to the crowd. The Captain even displayed a sense of humor, saying something along the lines of: "we at NCL do read your reviews, though sometimes I wonder if I was on the same ship"!

 

 

 

They handed out their cards, with their phone extensions listed there. They seemed genuinely interested in making sure that we had a good cruise experience - telling us to give them a call if we had any problems or questions. NICE TOUCH!

 

BTW - I have already set-up plans for a repeat CC meeting onboard for our 11/26/11 return to the Epic!!

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Well, there it is! If anyone cares to add anything, or has any question, don't hesitate to ask!

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

[LHP]

I know that recently Carnival decided to try "automatic" Cruise Critic Meet and Greets on every ship.

 

No one needed to make any arrangements....it was after the Muster Drill at a designated location.

 

Unfortunately, (from what I have heard) the turn out has been disappointing so they did away with the "automatic" meetings.

 

We have always found putting together a Meet and Greet on Carnival can easily be done on the Roll Call.

 

Just tell folks on the Roll Call, we are going to be meeting after the Muster Drill at a particular location.

 

You can't always make it the piano bar or disco because there may be weddings and receptions going on....but on the larger ships...we usually make it the AFT bar on Lido with great success.

 

On the Fantasy class ships....we usually made it by the pizza on Lido.

 

Some folks prefer to make the meet and greets on the first sea day....we have done that as well...meeting for breakfast on the larger ships at 9AM at the AFT bar on Lido....on the Fantasy class ships....again by the pizza at 9AM.

 

Results have been varied....depending on the crowd....

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I know that recently Carnival decided to try "automatic" Cruise Critic Meet and Greets on every ship.

 

No one needed to make any arrangements....it was after the Muster Drill at a designated location.

 

Unfortunately, (from what I have heard) the turn out has been disappointing so they did away with the "automatic" meetings.

 

We have always found putting together a Meet and Greet on Carnival can easily be done on the Roll Call.

 

Just tell folks on the Roll Call, we are going to be meeting after the Muster Drill at a particular location.

 

You can't always make it the piano bar or disco because there may be weddings and receptions going on....but on the larger ships...we usually make it the AFT bar on Lido with great success.

 

On the Fantasy class ships....we usually made it by the pizza on Lido.

 

Some folks prefer to make the meet and greets on the first sea day....we have done that as well...meeting for breakfast on the larger ships at 9AM at the AFT bar on Lido....on the Fantasy class ships....again by the pizza at 9AM.

 

Results have been varied....depending on the crowd....

 

I never heard of their attempt at "automatic meetings" - though I can see how that would FLOP - heck, on some roll calls I swear I can see tumbleweeds!! :eek:

 

(lol - 9 am is TOO EARLY for me on a sea day!) :D

 

Tom

[bptex]

On Carnival all it takes is someone to have the initiative to setup something with the event coordinator. As for the open bar it's very inexpensive but again someone has to be responsible for payment up front, I want to say it was about $230 for an hour for a group of 20. We had a waitress and a very good bartender and everyone had well more than their $12 worth! There wasn't any pressure to leave afterwards but the free booze was over after an hour.

 

I've never made the informal meet and greets on the aft deck after the muster drill, I always plan on it but never do. Now if there is an open bar I'd be there! Especially if I had to pay a little bit for it.

[kaleighsgram]

I've have started looking into a M&M on the Feb.25 sailing of the Dream. Chandra at Carnival answered my e-mail quickly, supplying this information:

 

We can setup a cash bar were anyone can purchase their own drinks on their sail & sign account or we can do the 1 hour open bar with dry snacks at $9.95 p/p + 15% X number of guests and charge to your sail & sign account prior to the event.

 

It means that the person setting up the event would be responsible for paying for the get-together and collecting the money from everyone attending.

 

Hope this helps.

[kerrytens]

Tom, thanks for taking the time to post all of this information! All of my previous roll calls have made attempts at a meet and greet but they end up being 'meet at the aft pool' things for the most part. I will admit that I got lost on my first cruise and the party was over by the time I finally found our alloted place apres muster:o

 

I am excited (as you already know:D) about my upcoming cruise and what you have written above makes me even more excited. I seem to be the ring leader, so to speak, on our roll call and have been made the point person to contact NCL ... quite daunting to me but I'll manage (pointers welcome btw).

 

Again, I appreciate the time you took to write all of this up for us. Very important indeed!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

OK - Thanks! I see how the bar setup works now (hearing ringing bell in distance, LOL)!

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

Again, I appreciate the time you took to write all of this up for us. Very important indeed!

 

I enjoy doing this. There are many times I go searching for information, and it's often difficult to find it all in one spot. I posted this same info on the main boards off all 3 lines here on CC.

 

You'll LOVE the Epic, (almost wanted to quote the Men's Warehouse guy)! :D

 

Tom

[firefly333]

I was wondering why limit this thread to only 3 cruiselines you have been on?? Since Iv only done Princess, RCL and Carnival, nothing to add.

[westview1]

We were on the Glory in June and had a M&G set up for the sea day @ 12:30. We paid for our own drinks and some of the crew stopped by and spoke to us. It was set up by CraftyKitty and she let us know on the Roll Call. There was no mention of it that I recall in the Fun Times. This was before they tried the automatic meetings.

 

It seems that NCL and Celebrity do more for CC members. The TV screen was a nice touch. I like sailing with Carnival, but this is one area where they could improve their customer service.

[mommiemudd]

Our experience with Meet and Greet on NCL was much like yours. On both the Sun and the Spirit. We always had a designated place and the top officers came to the meeting. We were very impressed! For our Alaskan cruise, they also gave us access to the VIP lounge and we were the first to board the ship!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I was wondering why limit this thread to only 3 cruiselines you have been on?? Since Iv only done Princess, RCL and Carnival, nothing to add.

 

Add in anything that you've got for those additional ones - perhaps if people are searching, they will find it - and find it useful too!

 

Tom

[halos]

 

They handed out their cards, with their phone extensions listed there. They seemed genuinely interested in making sure that we had a good cruise experience - telling us to give them a call if we had any problems or questions. NICE TOUCH!

 

 

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Well, there it is! If anyone cares to add anything, or has any question, don't hesitate to ask!

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

 

I'd like to add, constructively, of course :)

My experience on all my NCL cruises (meet & greets) was the same. It may seem trivial...but all those nice, little touches do add up.

 

You can't help but be impressed when the captain, hotel director cruise director, head chef etc take the time out of their schedules to show up at these things. I am sure if on occasion they are called to something important, they may not be in attendance...but so far the captain not attending the meet and greet has only happened on one of out 5 of my cruises. Everyone else always showed up for at least 15 minutes to answer questions and introduce themselves.

Then you become even more impressed when you see them about the ship during your cruise and see how totally accessible they are.

The hotel directors especially WOW me.

 

I've never met a HD on a CCL cruise...never even knew who the HD was on any given sailing.

No...this doesn't ruin my cruise by any means...but having it the other way certainly enhances it.

 

Little things mean a lot.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Our experience with Meet and Greet on NCL was much like yours. On both the Sun and the Spirit. We always had a designated place and the top officers came to the meeting. We were very impressed! For our Alaskan cruise, they also gave us access to the VIP lounge and we were the first to board the ship!

 

Nice!

 

I'd like to add, constructively, of course :)

My experience on all my NCL cruises (meet & greets) was the same. It may seem trivial...but all those nice, little touches do add up.

 

You can't help but be impressed when the captain, hotel director cruise director, head chef etc take the time out of their schedules to show up at these things. I am sure if on occasion they are called to something important, they may not be in attendance...but so far the captain not attending the meet and greet has only happened on one of out 5 of my cruises. Everyone else always showed up for at least 15 minutes to answer questions and introduce themselves.

Then you become even more impressed when you see them about the ship during your cruise and see how totally accessible they are.

The hotel directors especially WOW me.

 

I've never met a HD on a CCL cruise...never even knew who the HD was on any given sailing.

No...this doesn't ruin my cruise by any means...but having it the other way certainly enhances it.

Little things mean a lot.

 

Yes... they... do !!!

 

Tom

[Silverman]

Thanks for doing this Tom. It has a lot of helpful information. It should be made a sticky on all the Cruise Line forums. As Im not loyal to any brand and have read many different threads on this. RCCL does this too. Not sure about the bar thing though. After reading the threads on NCL they really do read these forums. I also agree. 9am is to early. No way would I want to go to a meet on Sail Away either. I would love to go to a meet but it would have to be the first sea day and about 11am or later. Thats my nickle!

[jetskier]

You can setup an one-hour open bar on NCL also by contacting the Groups Coordinator. It runs about $18 or $19 per person. We had several of the ship's staff attend it as well as the M&G we had setup. They were not stingy on the drinks as mine was double shotted. At one open bar, a person had to order a Coke to go along with his rum and a splash of Coke.

 

The way the NCL staff make themselves accessable has always been a positive on my sailings. On our NCL Spirit sailing, I went scuba diving with the Hotel Director and the Head Chief in Aruba.

Dave

[iluvdoxies]

Thanks for the info Tom. The more "comparisons" you do make me want to try NCL even more.

[pe4all]

We have been to every "organized" meet and greet that our roll calls offered on CCL. Recently they seem to have changed from "open bar" - get whatever alcohol you wanted, within reason - to a kind of "past guest" party attitude - servers come around with the same drinks on trays (melon balls,sours, beers, punch, wine) as the past guest party has. (though I found out you can still order from a waiter, and they will grudgingly bring you what you requested) They had some munchies out, (dry snack mix) and for $11.44 (we had to send checks to whoever organized it on our roll calls by a certain date) we had one hour of free drinks. On our last one (Glory in Feb) Jorge the CD stopped by - was really nice. It was held in the piano bar. The cruise before that Butch B. the CD stopped by- it was also held in the piano bar. It was a nice thing for them to do, with their busy schedule and all. I like the way Celebrity sets up a link for a meet and greet - takes the pressure off someone to actually organize the whole thing, but I really like the way NCL had the staff there- makes CC seem important!

[halos]

but I really like the way NCL had the staff there- makes CC seem important!

 

What's said on these boards means quite a lot to them, however, they treat all passengers as if they are important. Their accessibility is proof of that. The hotel director is running around the ship all week talking to people getting feedback and if he or she hears anything that isn't positive, they immediately take care of it.

[Nanatravel]

Thanks to everyone who posted to date about their "Meet & Mingle" experiences. I started the "unofficial" Meet & Mingle before I even joined Cruise Critic following the example set by another group leader. It is so much easier now, that the majority of cruise lines have a "dedicated" group organizer to contact or like RCCL and Celebrity, they even offer a link on Cruise Critic to register. (Thanks to Laura Sterling and her crew, who set that up.) I would really appreciate it if the other cruise lines followed suit.

 

RCCL & Celebrity: automatic registration on CC, specific lounge & time. As long as everyone checks the roll call and the registration site for the time & place positing, things have really worked out well. Last really large M&M was on the Jewel repositioning cruise with more than 200 people. Since we had many days at sea, attendance was great including the CD and other staff members. Canape's, cookies, snacks, iced tea and bar service was available. I really commend RCI & Celebrity for keeping its loyal passengers happy.

 

Princess: Someone still needs to contact the Groups coordinator. They still ask even though you state your trying to organize a Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle, if you want an Open Bar. I/we have always asked for bar service but paid as you go. Only once did they "start" to charge the Organzier's sail & sign account for everyone's drinks. Luckily and I wasn't the organizer, I caught them when I went to pay, and they reversed the charges. I don't recall any snacks on our last 3 Princess M&M's. Often if schedule allows but not always, staff members including the captain will attend if they are sent Personal Invitations by the organizer. This takes time & effort, especially if your party is on the next day after embarkation. Our last Crown Princess cruise was very port intensive; first sea day was on day 8. Our party was on the 2nd night, a formal night, at the Dinner hour, which limited many from attending. It was nice to get to meet people at the beginning of a long cruise but timing was optimal. We also had a Sail Away gathering on embarkation day. About 60% of the 200+ people came to one or more of these events.

 

Carnival: I've organized and attended Meet & Mingles but never had any help from CCL other than giving a Time & Place. As an agent, I did not even know they had tried an "Automatic Meet & Mingle". I never saw it announced, read on the roll calls that my friends and family have sailed upon, or even on the Carnival forum that CCL was trying out an Automatic M&M party. I know they have had lots of changes with policies this past year. Carnival needs to step up and react to their loyal passengers; providing a bartender for Cash purchases is additional revenue for them.

 

NCL: no M&M experience here. Nice to know they are providing great response to a request. I may have a group on the Epic in 2012.

 

Thanks for starting this thread.

[mafig]

I want to add that NCL sometimes (depending on HD or Captain) bestows VIP status on the organizer, and sometimes gives bridge tours to attendees.

 

I understand they don't do this all the time, but speaking of HAL, on my two out of two cruises with them they had a no-charge open bar, and one of the cruises also had a chocolate fountain with fresh fruit and pound cake.:D

[Shelli]

I wanted to add something to the info about NCL's version of a meet and greet. On my Norwegian Jewel cruise last November, not only were lots of officers/important people there, but they offered us a free bridge tour, which we all got invitations to later in the week. It was really nice touch that makes the passengers feel important to the staff!

[Sargent_Schultz]

I think accessibility depends on timing. Groups who choose a time and date might not have the same luck as those who follow proper channels and let the group planner for the ship schedule the meetings. YMMV.

 

CD Stu Dunn and HD Ron Ness at a CCL Meet and Greet. They do exist.

 

 

and more

 

 

We've never had any problem meeting any of the officers of our choosing. We leave a note with Guest Services requesting to meet them and they get back to us with a time and a place.

 

In general, I think Carnival tends to treat all passengers equally and not cater to special interest groups. I prefer this approach.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

 

CD Stu Dunn and HD Ron Ness at a CCL Meet and Greet. They do exist.

 

...

 

I have sailed with Ron a few times. He is super nice fellow, even taking Cheryl and I on a couple of private "behind the scenes" tours. He has a foundation/free clinic in the Philippines (adding in a Dr. there a couple of years ago). I was sad to see him leave the Florida ports, but I know being on the west coast, with his family in Seattle, certainly is better for him.

 

Carnival needs to clone this guy!!

 

Tom

[Mikel1733]

We participated in a M & G on RCCL Mariner of the Seas this year and you simply signed up before the cruise on the RCCL site. It was very well attended with very nice snacks both hot and cold and non alcoholic drinks. You could purchase drinks from the bar. They had nice name tags for everyone and had numerous prize giveaways such as tee shirts, hats, etc. On Carnival we attended a M&G on the Freedom and there were dry snacks with a cash bar. The CD did make a stop to greet everyone. It was simple but very nice. We are going to attend the M & G on our upcoming Dream cruise and the roll call has set up the 1 hour of drinks for $11.