Meet & Mingle - Ups & Downs?

[photopro2]

I have been following the reports on Meet & Mingle events in advance of our upcoming trip on Viking Sea and thought it might be helpful to start this thread to gather experiences together.

 

If you are wondering what a Meet & Mingle is (which might account for why some have been poorly attended) it’s a “private” reception held on board at an early stage of the cruise which is not publicly announced on the ship.

Only users who have filled in the free booking form for their sailing on the Cruise Critic website ( see http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/rollcall/ ) are invited to join with officers (sometimes including The Captain) for drinks and canapés and the opportunity to chat with them and fellow users of this forum.

 

You may have noticed that Viking, to their great credit, monitor our posts and occasionally respond directly or (I suspect) sometimes make adjustments in the background to address issues raised. I am sure they would find your input, both positive and negative, useful in refining their systems.

 

With any luck this thread will raise the profile of Meet & Mingle parties a little in general, as well as possibly improving the way they are operated. They seem to me to potentially be a significant free “perk” from Viking to the Cruise Critic community.

 

I hope they will continue and I that might even get to meet you at an M&M one day :)

 

So, how was the M&M on your trip?

[CharTrav]

I thought it was quite good. Allowed me to put faces to the names of all the CC folks I'd been chatting with in the months (nearly a year) leading up to our cruise last July using the CC roll call.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited January 17, 2017 by CharTrav

[Lottie A]

On our Meet&Mingle last week it was nice to meet the people we had chatted to on our roll call....although some did not turn up.

 

However, Viking need to organise these meetings a little better as it needs someone to act as a Host. There were a few officers there, but they milled around and randomly talked to people for a few minutes. No intro's were done. There were some canapés and wine. It sort of fizzled out from lack of organisation and people drifted away.

 

On Azamara it is handled very well. The CD acts as the host, introduces the officers attending, usually the Captain, Hotel Director and Loyalty Hostess and then hands the microphone to the guests attending. They introduce themselves with their CC name, where they are from and how many AZ cruises they have done. This gets the ice broken and people can identify who is who and join them for a chat. This is particularly useful if you have arranged private tours with people on your roll call. Azamara really value it's CC posters as they know we love their product and actively promote their brand and I'm sure with a little more input from Viking, the same could be said of them.

[CharTrav]

Good point. I made an effort (not my usual modus operandi btw) to go around introducing myself. But it would have been nice if the CD (or somebody) had assumed the role of host and facilitated the ice breaking process.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Helen-Miami]

The Meet and Mingle on the Serenade last March was ridiculous. Invitation we all received showed date but not location or time. Guest services had no information on it. Needless to say our group missed it along with others we "met" online before the cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited January 17, 2017 by Helen-Miami

[garycarla]

The Meet and Mingle on the Serenade last March was ridiculous. Invitation we all received showed date but not location or time. Guest services had no information on it. ...

 

Guessing that is a different cruise line? Serenade?

[garycarla]

This link goes direct to Viking ships.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcall/cruiselinel2.cfm?cruiselineid=203

 

 

Question - it says they must have __ number signed up to have one. Anyone know what the number is? It does not show the number online.

[CharTrav]

If they have just one person sign up, it's held. At least that's what it said last year. At the link you gave. Odd.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited January 17, 2017 by CharTrav

[Peregrina651]

This link goes direct to Viking ships.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcall/cruiselinel2.cfm?cruiselineid=203

 

 

Question - it says they must have __ number signed up to have one. Anyone know what the number is? It does not show the number online.

 

Are you kidding me!?!? They haven't fixed that yet. :eek:

 

I wrote CC over a month ago and said there was a problem on the new ships that had just been added to the sign up. If it hasn't been fixed on those ships, it's time to let them know. Whoever set up the M&M sign up for the new ships forgot to fill in that little bit of information and what will happen is that no matter how many people sign up for the M&M the automated processes will always show that the minimum number has not been reached. It is a Cruise Critic problem and not a Viking problem and the place to write is community@cruisecritic.com. If your roll call is effected, write to CC to get it fixed.

 

 

As CharTrav said, the number that should be there is a "1." Unlike some of the other cruise lines that require 25 people to sign up, Viking will hold the reception even if just one person signs up. However, unless it actually says says one in the line below all the names of those who have signed up, there won't be an M&M no matter how many people actually do sign up.

 

Here is what else I learned about the sign up process when the sign-up went down just a couple of weeks before our sailing and new members of the roll call could not sign up. The sail dates are generated by an outside source. If your sail-date does not appear on the drop-down for your ship. Contact CC and tell them there is a problem--and then keep at them until they fix it.

 

The process is pretty much automated. A list of first and last names (not screen names) is generated from the information that we supply when we sign up and sent to the Viking ship in the week before sailing. If you don't fill in your correct names on the sign-up, you won't get an invite.

[Lottie A]

Azamara has a similar problem when signing up for the Meet&Mingles. It too says a minimum number of 25 pax has to sign up....but actually AZ will hold the meeting even if only one person turned up. It would probably be a brief meeting with not much mingling going on though! :)

[Peregrina651]

I just want to add to photopro2's description of the M&Ms that they are open to ALL Cruise Critic members. You don't have to participate in a roll call, you don't even need to follow the roll call, to be eligible to attend the M&M.

 

And I want to answer his question, how was the M&M on your trip? This was our second Viking M&M. All things considered (like we were on our way back to Barcelona having just been told that our cruise was being cancelled), our M&M was lovely. About half of the 33 people who signed up actually came.:( Only one crew member was able to attend; the rest of those who would have normally attended, including the Captain, were dealing with getting us back to Barcelona and getting ready for an unexpected 9 days in port with a ship full of passengers. Even the cruise director was busy with multiple events scheduled in the same time-slot.

 

Of course, the big topic of conversation was our cruise to nowhere and what people where planning to do. Most were staying on board for the duration. One couple was leaving just as soon as we docked that night to join the last river cruise of the year in the last cabin available sailing next evening day from Basel. Another couple was leaving just after NYE. All in all, it was an up-beat gathering considering that we were all still accustoming ourselves to the fact that we would not be going to all the ports we had all been looking so forward to.

 

Actually, I have only two 'criticism' to make. One is that I think that M&Ms should be a de rigeur menu item and the other is that I think that name tags and broad tip markers should be available. I know some people don't like name-tags but they sure do help break the ice (for me, more so than someone making an introduction where I have trouble catching the name let alone remembering it). CC does have a name tag template available and it is very pretty but figuring out how to wear them after printing them out is a problem. Those HELLO, MY NAME IS badges would do it for me.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Peregrina651

[Peregrina651]

Azamara has a similar problem when signing up for the Meet&Mingles. It too says a minimum number of 25 pax has to sign up....but actually AZ will hold the meeting even if only one person turned up. It would probably be a brief meeting with not much mingling going on though! :)

 

Well then why don't they change the minimum number on the sign up?

 

Save

[Lottie A]

Well then why don't they change the minimum number on the sign up?

 

Save

 

I don't know! They have been asked numerous times but they always say it requires an IT fix on their system, which never seems to get done. One of the very few negatives for me on Azamara is their rubbish IT system.

 

I have been doing a bit of networking with Azamara friends and we are definitely going to consider another Viking winter Med cruise next January. If there are a group of us then it won't matter about the quiet nightlife because we can make our own. :D

[Cyber Kat]

Our West Indies Explorer will be our first Viking Ocean cruise. We did the Rhine Getaway last August and there was no one from the big 2016 roll call group that was on our particular cruise. With only 190 people, it's kind of hard.

 

I do have experience with M&M/M&G on Carnival. We arranged them through CC or FB completely on our own. We pick a time and a place, and just get together. Most have been successful and I'm still in touch with many.

 

CC is doing them with Carnival as well, and they are supposed to be listed in the Carnival Fun Times - like the Viking Daily, but so far they haven't been - the last 2 cruises I was on.

 

I set up a roll call for our WEI cruise, and I added us to the M&M, so we'll see. So far there are only a few on our cruise, but it is March of 2018 - so far away ::sigh::

 

It sounds like the ones Viking does are nice, so I'm looking forward to it, but I did suggest to my roll call mates, that we set a time and place for the first day and have 2 M&Ms :)

[garycarla]

... I think that name tags and broad tip markers should be available. I know some people don't like name-tags but they sure do help break the ice (for me, more so than someone making an introduction where I have trouble catching the name let alone remembering it). CC does have a name tag template available and it is very pretty but figuring out how to wear them after printing them out is a problem. Those HELLO, MY NAME IS badges would do it for me.

 

 

This is an excellent idea. Yea, people hate them (or so they say), but it is the only way to really get to meet more people. They work great.

 

Side note: Plain name tags are fine. I sort of dislike "Hello, My Name Is" ones. I will wear them, but of course that is your name... LOL!

 

Either have them there for folks to write their name, or Viking could easily preprint on their laser printers.

[CharTrav]

Peregrina - name tags are a WONDERFUL idea!! A name tag with blanks for CCName and RealName. No need to waste time on ice breaker intros.

 

Btw - here's hoping that CC fixes the online site quickly. It can't be that hard to do especially since I know it used to work just fine.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited January 17, 2017 by CharTrav

[Mrs Miggins]

Our meet and mingle was a bit of a damp squib. My understanding was that Viking thought that one of the cruise critic partipants should take the lead as it was'their' meeting and that Viking was just facilitating it.

 

All it needs is for someone from Viking to introduce themselves and the other members of the crew that are present, and then invite the guests to introduce themselves. This is just as Lottie said in an earlier post. Viking appear not to have taken heed of my complaints (and many others) from our cruise last September. It is a really an easy fix. Not sure why Viking are going through the motions and putting on the meeting without getting the invitations and minimal formalities correctly carried out.

[mort&fran]

The M&M sign-up has been working for the past couple weeks at least. The required minimum of attendees is "1"; at the moment 15 have signed up.

 

As for the M&M/M&G on prior cruises, this is our first Viking Ocean cruise. On both HAL and Celebrity they were unstructured. One or two crew members were in attendance, however there were no introductions while we were there.

[garycarla]

It would be so very, very, very simple for one member of the staff to

 

a) Welcome Aboard

b) Introduce the staff in attendance

c) Few comments if there is anything unique to the current cruise

d) Maybe open for any questions

e) Thanks for coming. Use this time to meet your fellow travelers and we hope to see you again onboard Viking.

 

No fuss. No muss.

[PatriciaF]

We didn't realize that the little card sitting on our dresser was an invitation to the meet and mingle until 3 days after it happened. We were travelling with friends who had also signed up but didn't realize it too.

 

I really wanted to meet the people we had been discussing the cruise with too!

[CharTrav]

We didn't realize that the little card sitting on our dresser was an invitation to the meet and mingle until 3 days after it happened. We were travelling with friends who had also signed up but didn't realize it too.

 

 

 

I really wanted to meet the people we had been discussing the cruise with too!

 

 

Last Summer I almost missed ours. It was a near thing. Did miss the notice in the Daily about the Explorer reception. [emoji5]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Peregrina651]

We didn't realize that the little card sitting on our dresser was an invitation to the meet and mingle until 3 days after it happened. We were travelling with friends who had also signed up but didn't realize it too.

 

I really wanted to meet the people we had been discussing the cruise with too!

 

My gut says that you aren't the only one this has happened to and I wander what can be changed to make sure that we all see the invitation when it is delivered.

 

Would putting the note card into an envelope help? Would leaving it at the door instead of on the desk with other papers make a difference?

[PROCRUISE]

Well, I won't be on the Viking Star, West Indies, until January 6, 2018 since I had to cancel the same cruise this just past January 6th. That being said, I have noticed that the roll calls on Viking are usually not used much compared to other cruise lines. However, I will sign up for the M & M later for my 2018 cruise.

 

Probably the best organized M & M's I've attended were on Celebrity and also the largest attended. I remember when we cruised with Celebrity out of Singapore there were 112 fellow passengers that came to the M & M. Celebrity usually has the ship CD act as host, introduces other staff members, gives passengers a chance to ask the staff questions, and has everyone attending introduce themselves and serves beverages and cookies/cakes. If a M & M's are not organized, it's a waste of time and no one sticks around.

[CharTrav]

Viking Ocean is a relatively new cruise line. Thus, there are a number of folks who may not have even joined CC until after VO was launched. For me, I didn't join CC until after we booked on Star in 2015 for Viking Homelands last Summer. Even then, I didn't discover the phenomenon of roll calls and then start one up until a few months afterwards. I predict that in a few years Viking roll calls will be just as well known and active as the others. And that VO's handling of M&Ms will also evolve...in a good way.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited January 18, 2017 by CharTrav

[Krisval]

I agree with Peregrina's suggestion to provide name tags- we can write our own names. I miss the name badges with the lanyards that we had on the Viking river cruises long ago. I may find my lanyard and make my own name tag and use that on our Biking Homelands cruise in September.

I also agree that having th CD introduce the cruise staff and, if possible, have each attendee introduce themselves, would move the conversations forward. Our small group, with Peregrina, on the cancelled Med cruise basically all sat down and that pretty much ended conversation except for those sitting in the group of couches and chairs.

One way to make the invitation more noticeable would be to put both the Viking logo and the Cruise Critic logo on the paper- in large, bold, colored type. Maybe even use a magnet (With Viking logo would be cool) and have the staff person put it on the wall next to the mirror.

I'm looking forward to our next opportunity to attend the M&M on theSea and introduce the new cruisers in our group to the smart and entertaining Cruise Critic cruisers.