Star officers refuse to attend CC Meet and Greet

[DrSea]

Honestly, I am only there for the free drinks. haha. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 8/29/2022 at 3:47 PM, complawyer said:

after almost 20 ncl cruises, ive never attended a meet and greet

I've "attended" one.  Actually, it's more like I crashed it.  DW, DD and I were heading to the Food Republic for lunch (great way to maximize FAS specialty dining btw).  It was the Encore and the Brew House is right next door.  I proclaimed that I was going to grab my beer of choice to take with me to lunch.  Drats!!  Closed for a private event.  Seems it was a CC meet and greet.  Thinking quickly, we marched right in and grabbed some name tags (Mine literally was filled out to read "Hi.  I'm ChiefMateJRK".)  I said hi to the guy who seemed to be trying to organize things, grabbed my favorite ale and slipped out for a nice lunch with a delicious Guinness.

On 8/29/2022 at 5:55 PM, Yesimapirate said:

I asked thr Captain about the ship jail.  He offered to have the head of security personally show me.

Did you take him up on it?  I would have!

[ChiefMateJRK]

55 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Honestly, I am only there for the free drinks. haha. 

No beverage package??  Yikes!!

[Oxo]

58 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Honestly, I am only there for the free drinks. haha. 

At least you are honest! LOL

[kirtihk]

On 8/29/2022 at 11:10 AM, SeaShark said:

 

Cruise Critic members on a cruise have the opportunity to interact with each other prior to the cruise on the Roll Call. Some participate for many weeks...even many months. These interactions are done from behind CC screen names.

 

The whole point of the Meet & Greet is to allow the Cruise Critic members an opportunity to meet and greet each other. We have to remember that this is not a "mingle with the officers" event. It is nice when officers can attend, but it is certainly not a requirement for the event.

 

As long as the CC members could meet and greet each other, then you have to be happy with a successful event.

Most refer to it a tradition, that's all.

[kirtihk]

On 8/29/2022 at 11:18 AM, Yesimapirate said:

I don't get the cruisers need to interact with officers like they're celebrities.  I've spent over 2,000 nights in hotels and I've never seen anyone complain they didn't get a picture with the housekeeping or food and beverage manager. 

As I wrote, most refer to it a tradition, and to review your comment: I spent some nights in hotels, too, and I've never seen anyone complaining they didn't get a picture with the entertaining crew, chocolate extravaganza, master chef,  .... Different experiences, different expectations...

[aubreyc1988]

I mean, beyond it being about health and safety, the officers could have just been busy.  While it is nice when they come, I understand having duties and other things to do besides go to the MM

[PATRLR]

17 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

DW, DD and I were heading to the Food Republic for lunch (great way to maximize FAS specialty dining btw). 

How does having lunch at Food Republic maximize FAS specialty dining?  Or, is my sarcasm meter in need of tuning?

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 minute ago, PATRLR said:

How does having lunch at Food Republic maximize FAS specialty dining?  Or, is my sarcasm meter in need of tuning?

No sarcasm at all.  Food Republic provides four menu items per specialty dining credit.  Four items are WAY too much for many, so they use less dining credits than heads at the table.  We have actually split one credit amongst three of us for lunch on several occasions.  I just want a bowl of that fancy soup stuff and DW and DD split three other items between them.😎

[PATRLR]

2 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

No sarcasm at all.  Food Republic provides four menu items per specialty dining credit.  Four items are WAY too much for many, so they use less dining credits than heads at the table.  We have actually split one credit amongst three of us for lunch on several occasions.  I just want a bowl of that fancy soup stuff and DW and DD split three other items between them.😎

Interesting.  I'm surprised they allow that.  I assume that if DW and I went into Cagneys and opted to split the entrée and accompaniments, that wouldn't be allowed.  Maybe my assumption is wrong?

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 minute ago, PATRLR said:

Interesting.  I'm surprised they allow that.  I assume that if DW and I went into Cagneys and opted to split the entrée and accompaniments, that wouldn't be allowed.  Maybe my assumption is wrong?

 

Why don't you try it and let us know?  I haven't heard of anybody trying that, and Cagneys at dinner is really not the same as Food Republic at lunch (or dinner).  I'm not the first person to post about using Food Republic in that manner.  It has been discussed many times.  I thought it was fairly common knowledge, but I may be mistaken.

[PATRLR]

7 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Why don't you try it and let us know?  I haven't heard of anybody trying that, and Cagneys at dinner is really not the same as Food Republic at lunch (or dinner).  I'm not the first person to post about using Food Republic in that manner.  It has been discussed many times.  I thought it was fairly common knowledge, but I may be mistaken.

It could be common knowledge, I have little interest in Food Republic, their menu items just don't appeal to me for a dinner and I'd never considered paying for lunch.  So I generally skip over anything that is said about Food Republic.  You comment caught my eye though, I'm always looking for ways to maximize my benefits onboard.

[ChiefMateJRK]

18 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

I have little interest in Food Republic

I don't personally have a great interest in Food Republic either, but DD likes it so we go there once or twice per cruise.  Our three specialty dining credits (DD, DW and myself) easily cover two meals (lunch and dinner).  We would still go for one dinner either way, but quickly discovered that 12 items amongst three of us were way too many.

[DrSea]

On 8/31/2022 at 4:47 PM, Oxo said:

At least you are honest! LOL

Only way I know how to be haha

 

On 8/31/2022 at 4:44 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

No beverage package??  Yikes!!

It's cuz I wanna save room to stuff more food in my face. 

[The Shrike]

On 8/31/2022 at 5:48 PM, DrSea said:

Honestly, I am only there for the free drinks. haha. 

LOL!  I'm the same with the Latitudes party.  "What?  Free rum punch and shampain, along with some cheese -n- crackers?  Heck yeah we'll be there!"

Meanwhile, DW is sitting there going "Um, dummy I mean love of my life, you realize we have the drink package and can pretty much get free food that's better than cheese -n- crackers anywhere, anytime?"

[DrSea]

2 minutes ago, The Shrike said:

LOL!  I'm the same with the Latitudes party.  "What?  Free rum punch and shampain, along with some cheese -n- crackers?  Heck yeah we'll be there!"

Meanwhile, DW is sitting there going "Um, dummy I mean love of my life, you realize we have the drink package and can pretty much get free food that's better than cheese -n- crackers anywhere, anytime?"

You see, what your DW doesn't understand is that NCL will win if you don't drink all of the free drinks and eat all the cheese and crackers at the lattitudes party. It's science.

 

Fight the power!

[The Shrike]

26 minutes ago, DrSea said:

You see, what your DW doesn't understand is that NCL will win if you don't drink all of the free drinks and eat all the cheese and crackers at the lattitudes party. It's science.

 

Fight the power!

[TrumpyNor]

On 8/31/2022 at 6:30 PM, KeithJenner said:

That is not just one persons experience. It was the case for many months on most (if not all) ships. However, from more recent reports it seems that the OBC is becoming rarer now that some things are restarting. I don't think that I've heard of the BTS tour being resumed anywhere yet though.

I actually specifically asked about OBC on our last cruise (Escape, beginning of August), and was told that as some of the perks were now back (eg. Latitude party and wine tasting), they don't give OBC for missed perks anymore.

[DCGuy64]

On 8/30/2022 at 4:20 PM, Goldconnection said:

G-A-L 😉

???

[ColeThornton]

5 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

???

 

It means "get a life".    🙂

[DCGuy64]

25 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

It means "get a life".    🙂

Ah, OK. Thanks. Odd, but OK.

[natefish95]

On 8/29/2022 at 9:33 AM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

If that was the rationale, then it should have been stated as such rather than blithely dismissing the opportunity to interact with guests.  May be the right protocol, but bad PR to have made the group feel dismissed.

They actually don't owe you an explanation for why they choose to do certain things. Just because you're on Cruise Critic, that doesn't make you some type of onboard VIP (no matter what people on these boards think(. If I was an Officer, I wouldn't want to be in a room with a bunch of self-entitled guests complaining about cutbacks or there being too many/too few COVID restrictions onboard. Did you go complain to guest services about this traumatic event you experienced onboard? 

[pickle11]

So the term for manager is officer?  And why not call the general manager "Chief of staff".   When you stay in a regular hotel do you request a meeting with their officers.  How about the restaurants?  Unless one of them gives me a freebie I am just another regular cruise passenger (nobody special).  Who really cares.  They are all just customer service representatives with experience.  Just show me my cabin, point me to the food and belly up to the bar.

[Georgia_Peaches]

I’ve never cruised so I could interact with the ship’s officers. I really don’t care if I was see them or interact with them TBH. I’d much rather they attend to the matter of operating the ship. 

[pghflyer]

Star was my last cruise before pandemic and their officers were the worst and most disrespectful we have encountered. Lied, yelled, and insulted guests at every interaction.  This thread doesn't surprise me at all, even if COVID was all resolved.