VIP/Who's Who Parties

[ekerr19]

: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

 

gizmo - First off, let me say that I am sorry you've never been asked to attend one of these - this is precisely the reason why I think the premise causes problems for certain cruisers. The lack of invite is obviously upsetting to the point of you writing a letter to HAL. :( You have cruised (from my understanding) numerous times, perhaps even 10-15 cruises, yet you've never been invited...? how can this be fair? It bothers me that there is no rhyme or reason for the invites - the people protesting are obviously bothered by it - why else would they continue to say it doesn't effect them?

 

I think HAL should have this cocktail party for those people who have booked Suites - they have paid quite a bit extra for the perks - I really hope Lisa does receive an invite - she should have on her past cruises when she booked an S. I honestly wish HAL would consider my idea of having a party every night and invite everyone at least once during the cruise.

 

I think everyone would be happier that way. :)

[sail7seas]

Regarding being Mr. and Mrs ....Dam, I can tell you that I've been "selected" twice and DW once (no big deal) and that all three times we were asked by cruise staff members (CD & Social Hostess) whom we happened to know from prior cruises. I think that selection is totally random and up to the cruise staff.

 

Take care and be safe

 

John

 

Regretfully, Social Hostesses are another 'thing' now missing on HAL ships. They stopped having them several years ago. Too bad. They were all very lovely ladies and added a very nice touch IMO

I was once asked to be Ms Maasdam. I believe it is the CD and cruise staff who made the selection.

[Copper10-8]

Regretfully, Social Hostesses are another 'thing' now missing on HAL ships. They stopped having them several years ago. Too bad. They were all very lovely ladies and added a very nice touch IMO

 

You are partially correct, S7S. Those ladies used to be on all of HAL's ships however that was done away with. You will still find them on certain selective HAL cruises. We had Sheri Tousey on the Prinsendam last OCT and her title was once again Social Hostess for that cruise:) She was also a very nice lady!

 

Take care and be safe

 

John

[ekerr19]

I think the 'discrepancy' here may be that each HM and Captain may have their own different policy. It may not be a company policy but one made upon each ship by those in command. Maybe the HM's with whom you spoke, EKerr, always invite all "PS" and "S" pax while another HM does not. While much of what occurs on the ships is the same from ship to ship, there are variables that may change with who is in charge.

 

 

 

Sail - That is a very good point, one which I had not considered... thank you for pointing it out - I had not even given a thought that various HM's may do things differently, but that explains quite a bit.

 

As we all see by the various responses by gizmo, Oceanwench and a few others who I can't immediately recall, it is something that should perhaps be remedied so they may attend as well. :)

[caribbean girl]

gizmo - First off, let me say that I am sorry you've never been asked to attend one of these - this is precisely the reason why I think the premise causes problems for certain cruisers. The lack of invite is obviously upsetting to the point of you writing a letter to HAL. :( You have cruised (from my understanding) numerous times, perhaps even 10-15 cruises, yet you've never been invited...? how can this be fair? It bothers me that there is no rhyme or reason for the invites - the people protesting are obviously bothered by it - why else would they continue to say it doesn't effect them?

 

I think HAL should have this cocktail party for those people who have booked Suites - they have paid quite a bit extra for the perks - I really hope Lisa does receive an invite - she should have on her past cruises when she booked an S. I honestly wish HAL would consider my idea of having a party every night and invite everyone at least once during the cruise.

 

I think everyone would be happier that way. :)

 

Sooo:) characteristic of you to be kind and offer a palatable, happy alternative.

[HeatherInFlorida]

..........................

 

For the most part in our society, people who pay more, do get more. What would the point be to paying more, if they didn't? ....................

Linda

 

Linda, I agree with almost everything you said. But with regard to the above, when you pay more for a cruise, you get a better stateroom which is as it should be. If you are getting anything more than that, it should be listed as part of the price of the category. In Concierge Class on Celebrity all the perks are spelled out upfront.

Moving to JHannah's post: As far as the Captain's Table is concerned, I was told by an officer of one ship that the people are selected for various reasons. One being that they have often cruised with the line, one being if you "know" someone higher up the chain (many years ago this was the reason I was asked ... at that time you were there the entire week). But another way is various staff members talk with people as they make their way around the ship and find people who they think will be interesting and forthcoming at the Captain's table as well as blend well with other guests at the table.

I have spoken to a few passengers on ships who were "chosen" in this way. You'll be surprised to know that I have no problem with that selection process whatsoever. There is no way that everyone on a 7-day cruise can sit at the Captain's Table. So I think it's a fair and equitable method of selection. We can't let the Captain sit by himself so in this case people do need to be singled out for the honor.

[Copper10-8]

Moving to JHannah's post: As far as the Captain's Table is concerned, I was told by an officer of one ship that the people are selected for various reasons. One being that they have often cruised with the line, one being if you "know" someone higher up the chain (many years ago this was the reason I was asked ... at that time you were there the entire week). But another way is various staff members talk with people as they make their way around the ship and find people who they think will be interesting and forthcoming at the Captain's table as well as blend well with other guests at the table.

 

I'm with you on that one. That's exactly what we were told by various officers as to the selection process of being invited to sit and break bread with el hefe

[caribbean girl]

Copper10-8, I love ya, but I've gotta tell you, it's spelled 'jefe' with a 'j'. Sorry, languages are my thing!!:)

[Copper10-8]

Copper10-8, I love ya, but I've gotta tell you, it's spelled 'jefe' with a 'j'. Sorry, languages are my thing!!:)

 

You are 100% correct! I realized it after I saw it in print. I'm doing 40 push-ups as we speak;) Muchas gracias!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Copper10-8, I love ya, but I've gotta tell you, it's spelled 'jefe' with a 'j'. Sorry, languages are my thing!!:)

 

But at least we know he is pronouncing it right:D

[caribbean girl]

You are 100% correct! I realized it after I saw it in print. I'm doing 40 push-ups as we speak;) Muchas gracias!

 

40 is enough!!:)

[gizmo]

gizmo - First off, let me say that I am sorry you've never been asked to attend one of these - this is precisely the reason why I think the premise causes problems for certain cruisers. The lack of invite is obviously upsetting to the point of you writing a letter to HAL. :( You have cruised (from my understanding) numerous times, perhaps even 10-15 cruises, yet you've never been invited...? how can this be fair? It bothers me that there is no rhyme or reason for the invites - the people protesting are obviously bothered by it - why else would they continue to say it doesn't effect them?

 

I think HAL should have this cocktail party for those people who have booked Suites - they have paid quite a bit extra for the perks - I really hope Lisa does receive an invite - she should have on her past cruises when she booked an S. I honestly wish HAL would consider my idea of having a party every night and invite everyone at least once during the cruise.

 

I think everyone would be happier that way. :)

 

: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

 

Did you really think I was serious? I am sorry you missed the humor in my post. I did use the laughing smilie. Most posters "got it".

 

There is no way on earth I would be writing a letter to Hal over a "VIP" or "Whatever" party.

 

I thought you understood my stand on this but for the record:

 

• I don't think it is a class system.
  
• Hal/the Captain/ the HM/ can have a party and call it whatever they want.
  
• They can invite whom ever they want.
  
• Hal already has a party for everyone on the ship, The Captain's Party or whatever it is they call it.
  
• I am not protesting since I don't see anything wrong.
  

 

I guess another horse has arrived. :rolleyes:

[caribbean girl]

For the record, I got it.;) ekerr19 is just a sweet person who is naturally inclined to root for the 'underdog', real or implied. I think she meant well.

[adamsmark]

Regretfully, Social Hostesses are another 'thing' now missing on HAL ships. They stopped having them several years ago. Too bad. They were all very lovely ladies and added a very nice touch IMO

 

I was once asked to be Ms Maasdam. I believe it is the CD and cruise staff who made the selection.

 

SAIL7SEAS: What did you do as Ms Maasdam?? I think it would be so much fun to have people looking aorund for the right person and know it was me. It would make my cruise really really special and I'm sure it would be an honor for anyone. You must have loved it. :D

 

Mark

[Krazy Kruizers]

Done with pulling out scrap books.

Now going through new brochures.

FamilyofFourtoAlaska is right. On page 94 of the 2005 Alaskan under suite amenities, it does say that PS and S passengers are invited to a VIP party with the captain.

I began checking the Caribbean brochure for 2005 - April 2007, and in the back before the description of each ship, there is the same wording.

BUT it no longer lists suite luncheon/buffet anymore.

SO - this "VIP" party can be taken to mean either the extra cocktail party where not only suite passengers are inivited but it could refer to the buffet that is held on the last sea day.

[peaches from georgia]

FamilyofFourtoAlaska is right. On page 94 of the 2005 Alaskan under suite amenities, it does say that PS and S passengers are invited to a VIP party with the captain. I began checking the Caribbean brochure for 2005 - April 2007, and in the back before the description of each ship, there is the same wording.[/color][/font][/b]

BUT it no longer lists suite luncheon/buffet anymore.

SO - this "VIP" party can be taken to mean either the extra cocktail party where not only suite passengers are inivited but it could refer to the buffet that is held on the last sea day.

It CAN'T mean the mid-week VIP/Who's Who Cocktail Party we are talking about on this thread, because NOT ALL suite pax are invited to that. Some are, but some are not. Therefore, it has to been the Suite Only Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party with the Captain and HM (if that is not mentioned separately in your brochures) and/or the end-of-cruise Suite Buffet Brunch/Luncheon.

 

The confusion is just semantics. I think it is agreed that the only parties given that all suite pax are invited to are the Welcome Cktl Party and the Suite Luncheon, both with the Captain and HM. That seems very generous to me and the 'VIP Party' serves an entirely different purpose, with some suite pax invited and others not.

[Esme]

You are partially correct, S7S. Those ladies used to be on all of HAL's ships however that was done away with. You will still find them on certain selective HAL cruises. We had Sheri Tousey on the Prinsendam last OCT and her title was once again Social Hostess for that cruise:) She was also a very nice lady!

 

Take care and be safe

 

John

 

Glad to hear that Sheri is still around - she is a very nice lady. Have sailed with her a couple of times. I believe they still have a Hostess on the World Cruise also.

 

The 3 times I have been Mrs ***dam and DH Mr.***dam (1x), was back in the "old" days and each time it was the Hostess who asked us. I have no idea who does the asking now. It was fun and we received some very nice gifts.

 

We didn't have a Mr & Mrs. ***dam on our Dec. Westerdam cruise. Anyone know if they have stopped this.

[xpcdoojk]

Heather - where every did you get this idea????? HAL handpicks people who have booked more expensive cabins and places them together at a party so they can mingle with their own and with the officers of the ship.

 

The most expensive cabin we have ever booked is a B cat or SS on Vista and sometimes we have even taken an Inside cabin, when we book late, and yet we usually are invited to the party. Maybe it's because out TA has asked that we be invited or because we have sailed HAL for 24 years, but to say what you did, is absolutely ridiculous. :rolleyes:

 

I have met people at these parties who can't figure out why they were invited because it's their first HAL cruise and others who are not in Suites or Mini-suites.

 

As I said in a previous post I believe they pick a cross section of passengers and NOT only those in higher priced cabins, like Suites.

 

I think it is completely wrong for you, ESME, to only quote part of the statement of Heathers!:mad:

 

Here is the entire statement...

 

"But it is what it is ... no question about it. HAL handpicks people who have booked more expensive cabins and places them together at a party so they can mingle with their own and with the officers of the ship. I used the word "class" for lack of a better term, but the fact is that HAL is singling out people who either travel with them on a constant basis or are willing to spend the most money. Your case is a perfect example."

 

I think that is a little clearer about Heather's opinion than what you chose to quote her and to attack her, don't you? IE you fit the second part of her theory to a T... since you have stated that you have travelled with them for 24 years. Sounds like you have paid HAL a lot of money over the years.....:eek: :D

 

Me thinks you are trying way to hard to be offended by Heather.:p

 

jc

 

[xpcdoojk]

I have attended some of these "cocktails with the captain" affairs. I have never seen a class system. We met a couple on board that we eventually became very good friends with and still keep in touch. They were at this "cocktails with the captain", "vip" or whatever one chooses to call it.

They had an inside guarantee cabin.

 

I will put your "theory" to the test in November, Gizmo. I am booked in an inside cabin on a 16 day SA cruise. I have never sailed with HAL, but I am a platinum C&A member with RCI. I am not a famous millionaire, nor a movie star, race driver, or even giant in the travel business. So, if I get invited then it will prove your point. Wanna make a bet about whether I get invited?:D :p I think it is pretty obvious that they want to reward past customers and people paying big bucks to stay in the best cabins. Believing your "theory" implies a level of naïveté, that I don't believe you possess.

 

No, I won't tell you my TA so you can win the bet by getting my booking ID on the VIP list!:D :rolleyes:

 

jc

[xpcdoojk]

Heather, I'm sorry, but in my opinion (and I bet others') you owe HAL and the officers who make out the guest list for these parties one big apology for making the statement you did about their party. That is absolutely NOT true. We have mingled at several of these parties and at each and every one we have met pax from all over the ship, oldertimes to HAL and first time cruisers. At the last party we attended we spent most of our time with a young couple in their 20s, inside cabin lowest deck, not honeymooners or celebrating anything special, and first time cruisers. Believe it or not they were just a nice couple who some officer must have met and liked.

 

I have no idea what has you in such a twit, but what you are saying just is not correct. And don't now start the 'I'm being personally attacked again' routine. No, you are not; your post is being disputed by someone who knows as a fact what you are saying is incorrect. No more no less. You really are libeling HAL and I hope they are reading this nonsense.

 

Good grief, the expression is in a snit, a twit is something else altogether, and not a nice something else. :D Good grief, indeed, libeling HAL because Heather believes that it is likely to not be an accident to be invited to the party. If they are, indeed, called VIP parties, then by definition would not the implication be that someone for some reason thought some passengers to be more of a VIP than others. Isn't that the assumption that a reasonable person would draw from the name of the party. To accuse someone of libel based on common sense seems to be putting out a brush fire, by busting a dam... What the heck are you so in a snit about?:p

 

jc

[adamsmark]

I will put your "theory" to the test in November, Gizmo. I am booked in an inside cabin on a 16 day SA cruise. I have never sailed with HAL, but I am a platinum C&A member with RCI. I am not a famous millionaire, nor a movie star, race driver, or even giant in the travel business. So, if I get invited then it will prove your point. Wanna make a bet about whether I get invited?:D :p

jc

Sorry, xpcdoojk, but your 'logic' is all wrong. Gizmo only said that they met a couple at the VIP Party who were in an inside guarantee. Didn't many other posters say that they also met many pax at the party who were in categories lower than a suite and also many pax who were first time HAL cruisers??? It wasn't just gizmo who said this.

 

BUT NO ONE said that ALL inside cabin pax or ALL first time HAL cruisers get invited. So if YOU don't get invited it proves absolutely nothing, except that you did not get an invitation. Other inside cabin first time cruisers may have been iinvited; your being excluded proves nothing. And opposite is also true- Gizmo's point can be proved (and has been proved by others on this thread) without you even being on the cruise you are talking about. :rolleyes:

[xpcdoojk]

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

 

Theirs probably doesn't say VIP party because they are not VIPs and don't have a clue about the party invites you have received!:D :D ;)

 

Go to one Captain's welcome party, and suddenly you think you are a VIP. Snort.... ;)

 

jc

[xpcdoojk]

Sorry, xpcdoojk, but your 'logic' is all wrong. Gizmo only said that they met a couple at the VIP Party who were in an inside guarantee. Didn't many other posters say that they also met many pax at the party who were in categories lower than a suite and also many pax who were first time HAL cruisers??? It wasn't just gizmo who said this.

 

BUT NO ONE said that ALL inside cabin pax or ALL first time HAL cruisers get invited. So if YOU don't get invited it proves absolutely nothing, except that you did not get an invitation. Other inside cabin first time cruisers may have been iinvited; your being excluded proves nothing. And opposite is also true- Gizmo's point can be proved (and has been proved by others on this thread) without you even being on the cruise you are talking about. :rolleyes:

 

Ahh, a true scientist is in our midst. I do love requiring proof, but then with proof their would be no dead horses to whack, would there. I was offering, Gizmo, a wagering oppurtunity. If invites to the VIP party are so common then Gizmo would have an excellent chance to win a wager with me. I on the other hand will depend of the logic of my arguement, and I bet I will win the bet. See how it works. I am willing to bet that Gizmo's theory is wrong, not prove that it wrong. Proof is a mighty big task for this forum!:D :p

 

jc

[adamsmark]

Ahh, a true scientist is in our midst. I do love requiring proof, but then with proof their would be no dead horses to whack, would there. I was offering, Gizmo, a wagering oppurtunity. If invites to the VIP party are so common then Gizmo would have an excellent chance to win a wager with me. I on the other hand will depend of the logic of my arguement, and I bet I will win the bet. See how it works. I am willing to bet that Gizmo's theory is wrong, not prove that it wrong. Proof is a mighty big task for this forum!:D :p

 

jc

No doubt gizmo will answer for himself, but his theory has already been proved. All he said was that not everyone invited is a suite passenger and he knows that to be a fact as he met a couple in an inside cabin at the party. Therefore Gizmo's theory is not only correct, but has been proved so every time a non-suite pax is invited which many posters here have agreed is true.

 

There is no logic to your arguement at all because you don't have an arguement. Your not being invited means absolutely nothing.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I have grown weary of all this;) .

 

I do want to thank all those who take the time to read my entire posts rather than just scan them. It's obvious from this thread that I am not alone in my assumptions and I find vindication in that, if indeed I was looking for it at all:) .

 

I do find it so interesting that some express shock that their "humor" is missed (it isn't) while more subtle, yet obvious, humor seems to go unnoticed and unappreciated.;)

 

I still believe that everyone should go and enjoy any parties they're invited to. I think they're fine if you enjoy them. But call them what they are as the OP did. Even the term "Who's Who" always refers to "important people" as in Who's Who in American Politics, Who's Who in Business, etc. So while none of these people are truly "important people" to the world, they are "important" to HAL for one reason or another.

 

There is a reason for for every invitation to these parties ... it can be the TA has some "perks" coming, it may be the couple is on their honeymoon, or having an anniversary. And it may just be they're the "token" invite to make it all look like a randomly chosen guest list (have we not seen this someowhere before:rolleyes: ?).

 

But there is absolutely no question that the parties are discriminatory. HAL does not put all the cabin #'s in a box and pick out 30 or 40 names to attend. To believe that is terribly naive.

 

But it's fruitless to try to make this point with people who will simply continue to insist what they want to believe or come up with ways to support the stand they've decided to take.