Do you still go to Meet and Mingle gatherings?

[Whittyone]

We have never been to one, never really knew much about it until recently.

We have signed up for the M&M on Navigator, actually looking forward to putting names and faces together.

[14Terry]

We attend them. As has been said earlier, can be hit or miss. Always nice to meet other cruisers.

 

 

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[jaspercat]

I normally attend them all as have had pretty lively roll calls even for some 5 night Liberty where we organized our own. My next sailing is a mystery to me why both the thread is dead and they haven't reached the minimum 25. It is an Alaska cruise (which normally has active roll calls) thread was started 2014 and it has barely made 3 pages of posts. If it does succeed in mtg the 25 limit to be official I will probably not attend.

 

I have signed up for the Meet and Mingle but can't post to the thread in case people I'm surprising do finally sign up to CC and check it out. It really doesn't matter -- a "just reached 25" Meet and Mingle for a 7 night Alaskan cruise doesn't make sense to me.

Edited March 10, 2015 by jaspercat

[kandj05]

I normally attend them all as have had pretty lively roll calls even for some 5 night Liberty where we organized our own. My next sailing is a mystery to me why both the thread is dead and they haven't reached the minimum 25. It is an Alaska cruise (which normally has active roll calls) thread was started 2014 and it has barely made 3 pages of posts. If it does succeed in mtg the 25 limit to be official I will probably not attend.

 

I have signed up for the Meet and Mingle but can't post to the thread in case people I'm surprising do finally sign up to CC and check it out. It really doesn't matter -- a "just reached 25" Meet and Mingle for a 7 night Alaskan cruise doesn't make sense to me.

 

Jasper, sorry you are experiencing such a dead roll call. I am sure it must be frustrating. Remember though most people on the ship are not on CC. You will still meet great people

[Rancher Dave]

Only been on one RCI cruise, but we went to the M&M. Partially, I was hoping to put some names to faces, but I was also hoping that my kids would meet a kid or two around their age (there were a number of kids on the cruise - Thanksgiving week). Unfortunately, no other kids came to the M&M, just adults, so that part was a bust. :(

 

Have seen lots of families sign up in the past and only one adult showed up...very seldom have I seen kids show up. My DD usually goes with me. I set one up on an upcoming Princess cruise and have several kids signed up, so we will see if history repeats.

[Aussie FF]

We always go, unless it clashes with table tennis.

Then DH & DD will go and win the table tennis, while other DD & DMIL and I go.

Last cruise we won a handful of pens, and a handful of highlighters, both useful, a bottle of wine for me, and a coupon for 24 hours worth of free internet. The 5 of us shared it. :)

The cruise before that when it was only DD & DMIL, they were the only ones that turned up.:eek: They got to choose which wine they would like, for me.:eek:

Edited March 10, 2015 by Aussie FF

[kleo30]

We went the first two cruises but not the last one. The roll calls were very active on the first two cruises we took. We met many fabulous people on those. Some of which we've cruised with again, and many we are in contact with on FB or phone calls.

 

The 3rd cruise, I didn't feel it in the roll call thread, so we didn't make it a point to go.

 

This next cruise, the roll call is rather quiet, and we're unsure of what we'll do.

[Philly Steve]

We always attend. :)

 

After starting a number of Roll Calls and "hosting" some M&M events, it's always nice to see folks in the seats and put a face to the screen name. :cool:

[BillOh]

We went twice last year when we were on a B2B. Both times the CD took over and blah blah blahed the whole time so there was really no mingling. Kinda disappointing.

 

That is where the roll call is what you make it. They didn't use to even give you name tags. On our Freedom 2008 one on member volunteered to do so. It helped. I started our Allure 2013 roll call about 500 days ahead and it grew and grew. I ran a trivia game to help pass the time and even solicited a few of our own door prizes that were fought for as hard as a bronze medal at Quest! :) Another member organized a pre-cruise dinner which was certainy memorable. Another member volunteered to do a hometown gift exchange, which I didn't think I was interested in, but it turned out to be great fun. Another member(s) organized a really great cabin crawl. (Again something I didn't think I would be interested in, but the Oasis class has so many different types of cabins it was truly a fun experience.

[BillOh]

I generally do, but lately there doesn't seem to be much mingling going on. People keep to themselves and don't seem to be very social. In times past, the roll calls and the M&M seemed to be significantly more active and more fun.

 

Why do you think that is? I know prior to my last roll call the crew members did very little to create that kind of atmosphere. On Jewel in 2014 Elvis, our newest CD actually did get people to mingle. But I don't blame the crew its up to the members. I don't know if cruise critic monitors many stats, but it seems like roll call participation is down just a bit.

[BillOh]

My current roll call for my Adventure cruise has been the slowest I have ever been on. Sometimes it will go days without any activity. I have been use to in the past of chatting it up practically everyday in roll calls!

 

I have been saying the same thing for my current Freedom roll call, though once we hit 75 days out it has finally picked up.

[Paulette3028]

I normally attend them all as have had pretty lively roll calls even for some 5 night Liberty where we organized our own. My next sailing is a mystery to me why both the thread is dead and they haven't reached the minimum 25. It is an Alaska cruise (which normally has active roll calls) thread was started 2014 and it has barely made 3 pages of posts. If it does succeed in mtg the 25 limit to be official I will probably not attend.

 

I have signed up for the Meet and Mingle but can't post to the thread in case people I'm surprising do finally sign up to CC and check it out. It really doesn't matter -- a "just reached 25" Meet and Mingle for a 7 night Alaskan cruise doesn't make sense to me.

 

This may seen like an unethical suggestion -- but it is a suggestion. Create a new screen name on CC that your friends would not know, and use it to participate in the Roll Call under. Enjoy yourself participating in the Roll Call, and then hopefully have a good Meet N Mingle.

[jaspercat]

This may seen like an unethical suggestion -- but it is a suggestion. Create a new screen name on CC that your friends would not know, and use it to participate in the Roll Call under. Enjoy yourself participating in the Roll Call, and then hopefully have a good Meet N Mingle.

 

Interesting suggestion and must say never thought about it being an option maybe.

[Paulette3028]

Interesting suggestion and must say never thought about it being an option maybe.

 

I am here for you.....anything else you need an idea about, just ask! (LOL)

[reallyitsmema]

Interesting suggestion and must say never thought about it being an option maybe.

 

It is against cruise critic policy to have more than one screen name, so if you do decide to do this, you might want to see if the powers that be will give you permission. Otherwise, you could find yourself banned.

[kandj05]

Thank you all who have replied. I am currently involved in 2 roll calls. The one that is leaving in 1 month is not very active...bummer. The active roll calls sound like a blast!!! Maybe soon, I will be a part of one. I have to go to this M & M because our room is being used as part of the cabin crawl. Hopefully, once we meet in person, it will turn out to be great fun!

[Paulette3028]

Thank you all who have replied. I am currently involved in 2 roll calls. The one that is leaving in 1 month is not very active...bummer. The active roll calls sound like a blast!!! Maybe soon, I will be a part of one. I have to go to this M & M because our room is being used as part of the cabin crawl. Hopefully, once we meet in person, it will turn out to be great fun!

 

No one can say for sure what makes one roll call more active than another or 'more of a blast than another'.

 

So this leads to the question -- what would make for a good roll call to you, that you would consider 'a blast'?

[cjdixon4]

No one can say for sure what makes one roll call more active than another or 'more of a blast than another'.

 

So this leads to the question -- what would make for a good roll call to you, that you would consider 'a blast'?

 

Paulette3028-

I know that you weren't addressing your response to me, but I did have a thought about your question.

I've always enjoyed being on a Roll Call where folks don't mind sharing things about their hometown, or families. It's also fun to exchange with people who have sailed on a particular ship previously, 'cause they always have helpful hints about what to do/where to go, etc. It never fails with me that if I'm on a roll call where experienced cruisers are as "geeked" as they were on their first cruise...that's a BLAST for me!!!

[Paulette3028]

Paulette3028-

I know that you weren't addressing your response to me, but I did have a thought about your question.

I've always enjoyed being on a Roll Call where folks don't mind sharing things about their hometown, or families. It's also fun to exchange with people who have sailed on a particular ship previously, 'cause they always have helpful hints about what to do/where to go, etc. It never fails with me that if I'm on a roll call where experienced cruisers are as "geeked" as they were on their first cruise...that's a BLAST for me!!!

 

I posed the question within this thread for everyone's response....it was just as a specific reply to a post already made.

 

I agree, that I love when people are willing to share things about themselves....and what they are hoping to do on the cruise, as well as questions that previous cruisers on that ship or itinerary could answer.

 

Some people take over a rollcall and that can sometimes be difficult to handle, but most I believe are just trying to 'engage as much chatter in the thread as possible'.

 

We have come across some people we ended up meeting even before we got on the ship....and arranged to have dinner with when on board. All makes for a much more fun cruise, in my mind.

[SnowBird Cruzer]

although if my current cruise doesn't have M&M til sea day, that will be day 3 of the cruise.

 

For NO cruise, we organized a dinner out on Thursday and that was a blast. We all went to Pat O'Brien's afterward. And we saw some of the others at local bars the next night (after some Roll Callers gave me good suggestions).

 

We also met on our own for a 5 day Liberty at the Pool Bar. We are doing the same this time too. And a group is meeting at a bar/restaurant in San Juan for this cruise. I won't have arrived yet, so I can't go to that.

 

We done our own gift exchanges and organized Cabin Crawls on other ones.

 

I will say my Alaskan cruise had a boring roll call for a long time, but it really perked up within the last couple of months.

 

I agree, hard to say what makes one better than others.

[ryano]

I have been saying the same thing for my current Freedom roll call, though once we hit 75 days out it has finally picked up.

 

My April 12 sailing roll call was terribly slow for months. I agree that about the 75 day mark or so it started picking up. Now there are cabin crawls, bar hops, slot pulls and all kinds of stuff being organized.

Edited March 11, 2015 by ryano

[BillOh]

 

So this leads to the question -- what would make for a good roll call to you, that you would consider 'a blast'?

 

For me, it is is something other people do not like, but I like a lot of back and forth as people get to know each other and sometimes not all the conversation is directly related to the cruise. I've spent 5 and 600 days in roll calls and related several seasons and holidays with other members.

[stripe]

We cruised for a lot of years now and still go to the M&M. Like others, it's a good way to put faces to screen names.

I think you get out of a M&M what you put in it. If I sit off by myself, expecting someone to come talk to me, that's pretty boring. But if I get up and go meet others, then that's the way we make new friends. You have to make the first move.

At a couple of recent M&M's someone has created a fun "bingo" type card that gets everyone up and meeting. That was great!

[kakennedy@me]

The title pretty much says it all. Do you still go to the Meet and Mingle Gatherings? Yes or no, and what helps make your decision?

Most of the time yes or I create an informal one at one of the bars. If I host one, I bring door prizes too.

 

It is wonderful to meet the people who provided me with such great information! You can never have enough friends or fellow cruise mates.

 

Cheers

[marquisite]

Out of three RCI cruises, I've attended two meet and mingles, once on Voyager (2013) and then on Rhapsody (2014).

 

The Voyager M&M was hosted by the cruise director (Graham Seymour) in the Cleopatra's Needle lounge 11am-noon and wasn't bad. For the time that he was there it it was at least a little bit lively. There were I think five prizes, and each winner would be asked their name, where they are from. I did win a prize pack :D (pens, mug). Unfortunately as soon as the raffle was over the atmosphere fell flat. Perhaps because nobody (or very few) people could connect cruise critic usernames to faces? I did have every intention of being more social but once the atmosphere went flat it just felt awkward. If Graham could have briefly went around the lounge asking who the remaining CC members were, I think this would have finished off an otherwise great M&M format and everyone present would have been able to connect faces and screen names.

 

The Rhapsody M&M was hosted by one of the cruise director's staff in the Viking Crown Lounge, but this time it wasn't as good. The VCL layout didn't feel appropriate as with the split-level and hidden areas (obstructed by elevator shaft) the M&M was segregated. One positive with this M&M, however, was the invitations doubled as name tags (including actual name cruise critic username...great idea!). There were prizes, but there wasn't as much of an effort by the host to ask each winner anything relevant like screen names. If the hosting crew member just went around and introduced each person by username to break the ice, it could've been a cracker (no pun intended).

 

Having said this, I still plan to attend the M&M on Legend (over a year away and the roll call has a little bit of life which is promising). :) I just hope it will be held away from the VCL (maybe Anchors Aweigh) to avoid a repeat of the segregation.