Meet & Mingle

[Host Jazzbeau]

Three threads with identical titles merged

[vnb2003]

We have 47 as of now on our cruise this June.

Somehow I didn’t get notification nor email about our M&M last year. There were at least 28 signed up. I did receive email from CC AFTER the cruise asking how was it :(

[Clay Clayton]

On our TA from Sa Juan in early March 2018 it was held in a winter Garden. Usual officers and CD there but no official program, introductions. I think I prefer having a portion of the event open for speaking as opposed to just the cocktail party (albeit a very nice one) that Viking has as their standard. We had a large group and it made it difficult to meet everyone...perhaps name tags would have helped but I think 10 minutes of round robin intros would have been a good thing.

[Peregrina651]

Since we know that Viking has no planned agenda, there is nothing stopping any roll call from planning its own and including in the plan some arrangement for name tags, an emcee and anything else they would like to do.

[Clay Clayton]

Since we know that Viking has no planned agenda, there is nothing stopping any roll call from planning its own and including in the plan some arrangement for name tags, an emcee and anything else they would like to do.

 

 

 

You would think but when I spoke with the CD about it during ours, it was pretty clear it was their party and they didn’t want any group conversation.

 

 

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[lackcreativity]

You would think but when I spoke with the CD about it during ours, it was pretty clear it was their party and they didn’t want any group conversation.

 

 

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Speaking on behalf of introverts everywhere, not everyone wants to have to speak in front of an entire group. For some people, person to person connections (even in a bigger group) are preferable. In addition, if I am introduced to too many people at once, chances that I will remember individuals are slim. Just "mingling" suits me just fine.

[Peregrina651]

You would think but when I spoke with the CD about it during ours, it was pretty clear it was their party and they didn’t want any group conversation.

 

 

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I've been to four M&M's so far and I honestly did not get the impression that any attempt by a guest to speak to the group as a whole would have been halted nor did I get the feeling that Viking felt it was their party.

[Clay Clayton]

Glad to hear your experience was different. I can only report what I experienced last month when I spoke with the CD during the M&M on Sky.

 

 

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[Peregrina651]

Speaking on behalf of introverts everywhere, not everyone wants to have to speak in front of an entire group. For some people, person to person connections (even in a bigger group) are preferable. In addition, if I am introduced to too many people at once, chances that I will remember individuals are slim. Just "mingling" suits me just fine.

 

Saying my name is along the lines of answering"here" when attendance is called but I wouldn't have wanted to say more than my CC handle and my name. For this introvert, the mingling is harder than the speaking in front of strangers, especially when there is a large group.

[Geosez]

Count me among the introverts although I wouldn’t object to name tags. I really dislike “mingling” but sometimes you want to find someone you’ve been having exchanges with here —- or maybe not! :D

Seems to me the CD had a few words at ours last fall but nobody from the roll call. Also seems to me that it IS Viking’s party — CC is just the middle man - person - whatever! Too bad you encountered an “attitude”, Clay.

[Cyber Kat]

I've been to four M&M's so far and I honestly did not get the impression that any attempt by a guest to speak to the group as a whole would have been halted nor did I get the feeling that Viking felt it was their party.

 

This was my impression as well - the Viking people who were at ours, acted like guests invited to our party. It was lovely. People were mingling. Probably would have continued on longer, but some of us did have dinner reservations, so it kind of broke up at the appointed ending time.

 

We had reservations at the Chef's Table or I would have found out what everyone else was doing and suggest we just move the party to dinner.

[Senior Gators]

Since we know that Viking has no planned agenda, there is nothing stopping any roll call from planning its own and including in the plan some arrangement for name tags, an emcee and anything else they would like to do.

 

Perigrina, your advice is dead on. We have attended a couple of Viking Ocean M & M's where there was low attendance and very little intermingling. Cruise Critic is providing the resources to set up the gathering and Viking hosts it by providing the location, food and drink. But, the M & M is ours, those who are on the cruise. How it turns out is up to us.

 

Cruise Critic provides a running list of those who have signed up for the M & M once a CC member establishes it and even provides a template for Cruise Critic/Viking name tags that allow you to put your Cruise Critic handle first and your real name second. They print out on a standard 8 1/2 x 11 (6 per page) label sheets.

 

We are currently on the Viking Sea TA cruise from San Juan to Barcelona. We have a total of 8 sea days on our 15 day cruise, so there are many opportunities to socialize with our fellow cruisers.

 

We have had a very active roll call with one of the largest participation rates of any recent Viking Sea cruise. Based on our previous experiences at Viking meet and mingles, we decided to be much more proactive and encouraged everyone on our roll call to sign up for and actively participate in the gathering in order to get the most out of it. This is not our normal practice (we tend to be participants, not leaders.)

 

With frequent reminders over the last 13 or 14 months and providing running totals of those who signed up, our M & M ended up with 68 folks plus another half dozen who notified us that they wanted to participate. They had missed that opportunity because Cruise Critic had closed the rolls shortly before our departure date and transmitted it to Viking so that they could prepare for us. We told them no worry, just show up at the designated time date and ship's location which we would post on our CC roll call once it was known. No one takes roll.

 

Between 50 and 55 participants showed up, filled out their name tags and proceeded to go forth and met and mingled all over the Wintergarden. From all accounts, everyone enjoyed themselves, met lots of fellow cruisers and crew members and enjoyed the plentiful drinks and food.

 

Several of the Viking hotel management staff including Mark, our cruise director, complimented us on how big and active the M & M was and expressed their pleasure at the enthusiasm displayed by our group.

 

The next night at dinner Tom Aberg, the hotel general manager, sought us out to express his delight at the size and success of the M & M. He volunteered that he would be HAPPY to hold another get together before the end of the cruise for our group. We graciously accepted after getting with our roll call members and receiving a unanimous and grateful response to the offer.

 

We received our new invitations today announcing that our second M & M will be held tomorrow night at the end of our last sea day before arriving in Barcelona. It will be an opportunity to share experiences and impressions of our cruise and thank our wonderful ship's crew for all they have done to make for a most memorable cruise.

 

Long story short, if one or more individuals will take some responsibility for setting up the Meet and Mingle early on, keep track of the participation, encourage roll call members to sign up AND go, provide name tag labels and perhaps act as an emcee, you too can have a fantastic Meet and Mingle.

 

Senior Gators (Richard and Margie)

[Twitchly]

Speaking on behalf of introverts everywhere, not everyone wants to have to speak in front of an entire group. For some people, person to person connections (even in a bigger group) are preferable. In addition, if I am introduced to too many people at once, chances that I will remember individuals are slim. Just "mingling" suits me just fine.

 

 

“Welcome to the party, everyone! Let’s each stand up and share the MOST EMBARRASSING THING THAT’S EVER HAPPENED TO YOU!”

 

(True story. In retrospect, I should have said “This moment.”)

[dln929]

“Welcome to the party, everyone! Let’s each stand up and share the MOST EMBARRASSING THING THAT’S EVER HAPPENED TO YOU!”

 

(True story. In retrospect, I should have said “This moment.”)

 

This kind of thing would never, ever, never happen at a Viking Meet & Mingle. :eek:

[Clay Clayton]

 

 

Oh it wasn’t an attitude at all, it was all very cordial. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression.

 

 

 

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[lackcreativity]

Saying my name is along the lines of answering"here" when attendance is called but I wouldn't have wanted to say more than my CC handle and my name. For this introvert, the mingling is harder than the speaking in front of strangers, especially when there is a large group.

 

I am certainly not too timid to introduce myself, even if in front of a crowd, and I really enjoy meeting new people. I have, however, been in those situations where it is "Tell us your name and a little bit about yourself". I would rather do that twenty times to two people than once to forty! But that's just me.

 

Also, before I would reveal my cruise critic name, I would have to mentally review all my entries and think whether I have ever actually posted some of the snarky things that have played in my head!

Edited April 7, 2018 by lackcreativity

[lackcreativity]

“Welcome to the party, everyone! Let’s each stand up and share the MOST EMBARRASSING THING THAT’S EVER HAPPENED TO YOU!”

 

(True story. In retrospect, I should have said “This moment.”)

 

Oh my goodness! How far was the nearest exit?

[Peregrina651]

I am certainly not too timid to introduce myself, even if in front of a crowd, and I really enjoy meeting new people. I have, however, been in those situations where it is "Tell us your name and a little bit about yourself". I would rather do that twenty times to two people than once to forty! But that's just me.

 

Also, before I would reveal my cruise critic name, I would have to mentally review all my entries and think whether I have ever actually posted some of the snarky things that have played in my head!

 

Unless the group is under 10 people, we will be there all night if people are asked to tell a little bit about themselves. Name, rank, serial number, next! is plenty for introductions, thank you very much.