On our last cruise, there were a handful of Cruise Critic members that wanted to get together and meet. So, two times were set up, one on on embarkation day at one of the bars just after muster drill and another on the next day at 10:30 at the library. The reason for two times and locations was because many thought they would not be able to make the first due to dining arrangements, which made sense. Some jokes were made, like wearing Groucho glasses so we would know who everyone was. Keep in mind, this was not a group that booked together, just a few members of a site that wanted to meet in person. We were among the early dining group that could not make the first get together. And well, the second get together happened to be at a bad time for us as well after seeing the "capers". I managed to show up a few minutes early and meet a couple of members of the site before being pulled away by my group to get to BINGO of all things. Well, I guess the group meet on day two was no better than on day one. Some of the people were waiting in the library, and others outside, people had plans so did not stay around long (me) etc.... The moral of this story: if you plan on having a get together on board with people you have never met before, plan it out well.
Here are some suggestions that I got AFTER the cruise:
- Everyone wear the same color shirt
- Everyone wear a hat, or other item of distinguishing (scarf, towel to wave?)
- Trade pictures online first
- Plan the meeting at lunch and meet at the formal dining room
I personally like the meeting for lunch idea combined with some way to distinguish who all is part of the group. Almost everyone does lunch, it give some who normally don't eat in the formal dining room a chance to, not as many activities will be going on to have a reason to miss the meeting, and (personal favorite) most of our best conversations with fellow cruisers has been during meals.
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