VIP/Who's Who Parties

[HeatherInFlorida]

I completely agree that HAL should recognize their long time cruise passengers with parties and, frankly, much more than that. I would never disagree with that and always enjoy attending the Mariner's Party and seeing all the people get up when they are acknowledged for the number of days they have been loyal to HAL.

 

I totally support that recognition and it was never the issue. I was talking about singling out people who choose to spend more money and book a suite whether it's their first time or their 100th time. To single out first time cruisers based on how much they have spent on their cruise is just wrong in my opinion. In other words, to award people for their financial choices makes no sense to me. If they don't do that, then my entire argument was based on incorrect information I gleaned from this thread.

To single out individuals because they have cruised on HAL for many years is a totally different thing. I think loyalists deserve discounts, parties, dinner at the Captain's table and more. No question about it.

My opinion was formed based on the description "VIP" (which stands for Very Important Persons) and it is only my opinion and I don't ask that anyone share it. I do, however, suggest that I should be given the right to have that opinion just as everyone else has the right to have theirs.

[Charliesmom]

I think who is invited has to do with how many cruises you have taken with Carnival Corp. ships. We were invited to a VIP party on Princess (we had had 12 cruises with them and were on a back to back) and then we were invited to the VIP party last year on HAL, even though it was our first cruise with HAL. We were in a suite and we usually book mini-suites or suites when we cruise. I have no idea of whether or not our past cruises on other Carnival lines has counted or not. Our table mates who also were in a suite did not get invited.

 

I do know that when we are on a cruise that is very popular with old-timers on the line that we don't get invited. We are relative newcomers to cruising and can't compete with those who have 500 or so days.

 

Roberta

[ekerr19]

The invitation does NOT referr to it as a VIP party. The people on this board decided to call it that and the beat goes on...........

 

 

Well, I am sitting here looking at one we received and guess what? It does say "VIP" party...

[LAFFNVEGAS]

First off, let me say this - I believe that people booked in Suites are always invited. If someone tells me they have booked an S category and didn't get an invite, I would be very surprised and would assume it was some type of oversight. I have been told by several Hotel Managers - Suites are always invited. The rest of the guest list is discretionary.

 

Laura, when we were on the Westerdam this past March we were in 7051 definitely a S Suite and WE WERE NOT INVITED, yes, we were invited to the Suite Reception but not the other. So NOT ALL Suite Passengers get invited. I frankly was disappointed because I wanted to talk to more of the Officers because when we went to the Suite Reception after our dinner at 6:15 everyone was gone. Except for just a few.

[ekerr19]

[The poster added the above underline for emphasis. It was not present in the original post.]

 

PLEASE do not take this as critism or argumentative because that is not my intention.

 

 

But, your saying that you think it common courtesy, at the Mariners Party, to recognize fellow pax with hundreds of days on HAL, may be ONE of the things that HAL is doing by running these parties. Perhaps part of its purpose is to recognize those passengers. (That is not discriminatory. It has nothing to do with Suites. It has everything to do with how many cruises/how many days someone has sailed with the company IF that is one of the reasons an invitation is extended. )

 

As I said, I do not know who or why or how someone is invited, but I think it quite reasonable to think in most cases, a passenger with over 300 days may be among those quests at the cocktail party.

 

IMO, HAL is extending 'common courtesy' to that segment of their customer base that is on the ship on that cruise and invites them to a party. Most of us would agree, that (if that is the case) someone who has sailed 300 with the line might be invited to a party

 

Also.....many folks who have traveled that many days know a great many ships officers/crew. If one has spent almost a year of their lives on the wonderful ships of HAL, it is reasonable to think that along the way, among the people they have met is someone who added their name to the guest list.

 

JMHO ......

 

Sail - I understand what you are saying. I don't have a problem with what HAL chooses to do to recognize their guests.

 

The point I've been trying to make is that I DO believe some people are hurt that they've not been invited - as evidenced by this thread.

 

I don't understand the selection process and it seems somewhat discriminatory - to me; but just my opinion.

 

I have looked at several invites that we've saved and I did notice the last one read "Who's Who" party, which I think is a better suited title, though I also have a couple that do read "VIP", so I guess at some point a decision was made to change it.

 

To all: I don't wish to be argumentative on this thread at all - obviously there are those that feel a certain way about the function and that's fine. I do hope that those wishing to attend get the opportunity at some point in the future. :)

 

Have a nice remaining weekend!

[ekerr19]

[quote name='LAFFNVEGAS']Laura, when we were on the Westerdam this past March we were in 7051 definitely a S Suite and WE WERE NOT INVITED, yes, we were invited to the Suite Reception but not the other. So NOT ALL Suite Passengers get invited. I frankly was disappointed because I wanted to talk to more of the Officers because when we went to the Suite Reception after our dinner at 6:15 everyone was gone. Except for just a few.[/QUOTE]

Lisa - I am surprised that you weren't. We've always received them when we've been in an S, I have been told by two different HM's that Suite pax are always invited. The reason I was told was because I asked. I didn't know why we had been invited, so when the opportunity presented itself, I inquired. What I was told was that S guests are always included on the guest list and that the remainder is usually comprised of certain friends, mariner's, etc. of some of the officers, social hostess, GRM, etc.

I hope you get the chance to go on your upcoming cruise on the Maasdam. :) Maybe you can mention it to your TA - she might be able to secure an invite for you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]Well - I spent some time going through scrap books. Back in 1998 when we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam, we got our first invitation and it did say "VIP" on it. That's where I got the idea that the party was called "VIP" and always referred to it as such. [/color][/font][/b]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff][/color][/font][/b]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff]The rest of our invitations (still looking at scrap books) read "the Captain and Hotel Manager", etc., etc.[/color][/font][/b]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff][/color][/font][/b]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff]It was when we were on the Westerdam this past January and we thanking the hotel manager for inviting us to the cocktail, that we learned the cocktail was not a "VIP" party. He referred it to as the "Who's Who" party. When we returned from our cruises, I reported the party as "VIP/Who's Who" party on my review. Thus that is where I got the "Who's Who" words.[/color][/font][/b]

[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff][/color][/font][/b]

[Krazy Kruizers]

[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]When we were on the Noordam in 2001, the "Captain's and Hotel Manager" party was mobbed! If any of you have been on either the Nieuw Amsterdam or the Noordam you will remember that the Explorer's Lounge was on the starboard side forward and the library was forward of that. At first the library was closed off. But as more and more began to arrive they opened the doors to the library, then the adjoining doors to the card room and finally had people sitting in the theatre. There was over 400 people invited. You couldn't more. Captain Leo van Lanschot Hubrecht, the hotel manager, and other officers couldn't even circulate among the passengers. They even had to call out extra bar tenders and wait staff to get drinks for everyone. That was some list everyone put together! [/color][/font][/b]

[Krazy Kruizers]

[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=blue]As to all the suite being invited to THAT party, Lisa is correct - they aren't. And I have reported many times over the last couple of years that all suite passengers were not invited. One time we were getting breakfast in the Neptune Lounge when a couple confronted the concierge and wanted to know why they had not been invited to the party. They explained in the past that they had always been invited. The concierge explained to them that she did not make up the list - the captain, hotel manager, and various officers and such make up their own lists of whom they wish to invite. Needless to say the couple was a little miffed. And as I have reported before, I have no idea of whose list we have included on.[/color][/font][/b]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff][/color][/font][/b]

[caribbean girl]

[quote name='jhannah']I really don't care who gets invited, or whether or not I do.[/QUOTE]

Ditto. There is simply enough to keep one happy, occupied, content....;) Rather than being a personal gathering, I view it as another marketing strategy which doesn't make or break our experience.

[HeatherInFlorida]

[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]Most of the recent posts support my original remarks. So I feel justified. I thought perhaps I had misinterpreted previous posts, but I see now I did not. Whether or not [b][i]ALL[/i][/b] suite passengers are invited isn't the point. It seems that most are and the only thing that differentiates these people from the rest of the passengers is $$$. Some others are included for various reasons, but that was never the part of the issue I was addressing.[/color][/size][/font]

[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]A wise person emailed me about this subject today and likened it to the purchase of a car. They stated that if they go into a dealership and buy a Ford, they expect the same service and perks they would receive if they purchase a Lincoln. Now we all know that will not be the case, but shouldn't it be? Unless there is a perk built into the cost of the car (such as OnStar, XMRadio, etc.), the person paying more deserves no better service.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]So that's really all this comes down to. Frequent flyers get perks and should. Frequent cruiseline passengers should get perks (though they don't get as many as I believe they should). [/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]But to receive special treatment because you spent more money on your cabin is a reinstatement of the class system that everyone seems so moved to get away from in this great land of ours. So why are we supporting it on a cruiseship as many posting here clearly are?[/color][/size][/font]

[caribbean girl]

Perhaps is just simpy amounts to having an opinion, to which everyone is certainly entitled. Life is not perfect, fair, etc. and the business world is not exempt from this tenet. There are plenty of instances where people who spend more money (or have more money) are treated with kid gloves just by virtue of that fact. I doubt that every car dealership offers its customers complementary refreshements and massage, as does the Mercedes dealership where our cars are serviced. Is it fair, equitable or do we feel particularly VIP'd because of this...no. Perhaps some customers thrive on those perks. The perks mean zilch if the service is bad and the establishment is run by dishonest people. I could care less, about the so called VIP parties...as someone mentioned, who really IS a VIP on these ships anyhow? I've yet to see one and wouldn't really care if I did.

[Oceanwench]

[quote name='caribbean girl']Perhaps is just simpy amounts to having an opinion, to which everyone is certainly entitled. Life is not perfect, fair, etc. and the business world is not exempt from this tenet. There are plenty of instances where people who spend more money (or have more money) are treated with kid gloves just by virtue of that fact. I doubt that every car dealership offers its customers complementary refreshements and massage, as does the Mercedes dealership where our cars are serviced. Is it fair, equitable or do we feel particularly VIP'd because of this...no. Perhaps some customers thrive on those perks. The perks mean zilch if the service is bad and the establishment is run by dishonest people. I could care less, about the so called VIP parties...as someone mentioned, who really IS a VIP on these ships anyhow? I've yet to see one and wouldn't really care if I did.[/QUOTE]

A massage! :p
Having driven everything from a Dodge minivan to a BMW Z-4, I have seen a big difference in the dealership "perks" that come with owning a higher-end vehicle.

It's the same way when you shop: Look at the way you're treated when you go into a discount department store, vs. shopping on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach!

And aren't high rollers treated differently from the common, ordinary gamblers in Las Vegas?

So if HAL wants to roll out the crystal-studded red carpet for its high paying guests, let them. As has been said before, there's plenty of things I can be doing to amuse myself [think: ice cream] during that 45-minute cokctail party.

My invitation, btw, reads Captain and Hotel Manager's cocktail party.
No mention of VIP ... so I guess that was another night, and I wasn't invited!

:eek:

[gizmo]

[quote name='ekerr19']Well, I am sitting here looking at one we received and guess what? It does say "VIP" party...[/QUOTE]

:eek: Oh no !!!! I didn't get invited to the VIP party. I only got invited to another party with no name. Waaaaaaaaaa, I am going to cry, throw a fit, and write letters protesting. :D

[Oceanwench]

[quote name='gizmo']:eek: Oh no !!!! I didn't get invited to the VIP party. I only got invited to another party with no name. Waaaaaaaaaa, I am going to cry, throw a fit, and write letters protesting. :D[/QUOTE]


You can throw your own pity party! ;)
Don't forget to invite me.

[gizmo]

I do have a serious question for those that feel this "VIP" party is for most suite pax and related to them having $$$.


Is it fair to throw a cocktail party for those in a Group Cruise? What about all those pax who may have paid more $$$ than the group paid?

[gizmo]

[quote name='Oceanwench']You can throw your own pity party! ;)
Don't forget to invite me.[/QUOTE]

Pity Party I love it. :D Your invited !!

[Oceanwench]

[quote name='gizmo']I do have a serious question for those that feel this "VIP" party is for most suite pax and related to them having $$$.


Is it fair to throw a cocktail party for those in a Group Cruise? What about all those pax who may have paid more $$$ than the group paid?[/QUOTE]

At the "private cocktail party" [also known as the PCP] on our 5/14 cruise, the Red Hat ladies were present.
They were part of a group cruise, advertised through the society's Web site. It did not seem there were many of them, probably a small group. I have no idea what they paid, vs. what I paid. I did not get a group rate, as our CC'ers were an informal group, and we all booked separately.

I think HAL can thrown a party for whomever they *dam* well please!
:D

[HeatherInFlorida]

[quote name='gizmo']I do have a serious question for those that feel this "VIP" party is for most suite pax and related to them having $$$.

[color=black]Is it fair to throw a cocktail party for those in a Group Cruise? What about all those pax who may have paid more $$$ than the group paid?[/QUOTE][/color]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]Absolutely fair question, Gizmo. But that is something that has been negotiated at the time a person books a group cruise so it is supposedly built into the price. We all know the huge range that each individual pays for cabins right next door to each other so in this case it has nothing to do with the price each person paid. Also, I've been informed that particularly on HAL the group prices are not really any lower than one might negotiate with their own TA. [/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]I would liken it to my former analogy about a car that includes XM Radio or OnStar. It's negotiated upfront. Whole 'nother story.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]Look, I am completely aware that we are all treated differently when we're in pricey shops vs. a discount store. But any of us can go to either one whether we buy something or not. We don't have to be invited.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]I was just using the car thing as an analogy. My point was that cruiselines had come away from this way of thinking when they eliminated the class system on their ships. We are slowly getting back to that with the Neptune Lounge, etc. It's perfectly okay with me, frankly, because none of this has ever mattered. That's a lie:o ... it mattered when I was younger. But I've come to know what's really important now and being singled out for a party isn't important in my life. It is in some of yours and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. [/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]But there are people who are left out and feel they shouldn't have been. And that's why my opinion remains that if nothing else it gives the impression of division along class/$$$ lines and in my view, that's simply not right.[/color][/size][/font]

[caribbean girl]

Yes, yes, we can talk this into the ground, too. In the end, the world will keep turning, the VIPs will keep partying, the massages will go on, people will shop at Bloomingdale's and K-mart. Oceanwench and gizmo, I would like to join you both in the un-VIP party!;) But, let's definetely not call it a Pity Party!!

[FamilyofFourtoAlaska]

I don't have an opinion at all, but did note that my 2005 "Alaska & the Yukon Cruises and Cruisetours" lists "VIP party with the Captain" as an amenity for category S and PS passengers. I assume that, in this case, you have actually paid for this amenity.

[Copper10-8]

IMHO;) :

[b][font=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=2][color=#800000]"[i]beating a dead horse[/i]"[/color][/size][/font][/b][left][img]http://www.goenglish.com/GoEnglish_com_BeatADeadHorse.gif[/img] [font=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=2][color=#000080][color=#000080]You are [i][b]beating a dead horse[/b][/i] when you insist on talking about something that cannot be changed. [/color][color=#800000]Example: "I'd like to talk with you again about what happened." Reply: "Oh, come on. Let's not [b]beat a dead horse[/b]."

[/color][color=#000080][i][b]Beating a dead horse[/b][/i] is an action that has no purpose, because no matter how hard or how long you [b]beat a dead horse[/b], it is not going to get up and run. [/color][color=#800000]Example: "Let's not talk about it any more. Okay?" Reply: "You're right. We're just [b]beating a dead horse[/b]."

[/color][/color][/size][/font][color=#000080]Take care and be safe![/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=#000080]John[/color][/left]

[jan7487]

Heather, do you think that perhaps we see situations as WE are, rather than as THEY are? We book verandahs and above, have many,many days with HA and sometimes we are invited and sometimes not. We simply don't let it concern us either way, and have never once considered it a "class" thing.

My very simplistic view of this is that a host is entitled to invite whoever suits him(or her) to a party. I'm not sure that "fairness" or "right" enter into this at all. Nor should they, IMO.

[trubey]

Many posts ago, I made a comment about feeling inferior in that I wasn't invited.

Indeed, I did not know such parties even existed. And I was always taught that it was in very poor taste to discuss a party, affair, etc. around individuals who had not been invited. Do any of you remember that rule?

That being said, during the cruise, the maitre d' kept coming up to me and chitchating as he led me to my table. I kept blowing him off, wondering why he [i]kept[/i] approaching [i]me[/i]. Next time I'll know.

s.

[Oceanwench]

John: If we couldn't beat dead horses around here, there would be very few threads! ;)

Jan4787: Very well stated.

Caribbean girl: You're invited! Un-VIP party sounds like a good name!

As far as a class system ... it seems to me there is one among cruisers and their favorite cruise lines.
When someone posts here that he/she wants to smuggle alcohol or dress in jeans and T-shirts in the dining room, someone else will post, "Why don't you sail on Carnival?"