anyone been to the cruisecritic party ?

[EL]

I just came across the cruisecritic party thing on this board and I'd like to know if anyone has any experiences they want to share?

We have a group of 8 and 4 cabins, I know it needs to have 25 ppl before RCCL will host this party, so may be I can start posting to urge ppl to sign up for it?

Thanks

EL

[Marla]

Yes, we did last year on our first cruise (Rhapsody, 9/29/02). It was a 7 day cruise with a Sunday departure and the party wasn't held until Wednesday. There were some hors d'oevres (sp?) and a cash bar. The officer in charge of the hotel and somebody else on staff made an appearance, but there was not really anything done to break the ice to get people talking to each other, so it was rather awkward in my opinion. I've also heard that many times people do not receive their invitations to the CC party (a steward problem I would guess). I did meet one person at the party with whom I had chatted on the CC thread on Thursday or Friday night, I happened to meet another. We are actually having a "reunion" cruise on 9/29/03 along with several others they met on last year's cruise. Others who have signed up for the party (over 30?) have sent me a SASE and I have made a ribbon to wear on our lapels so we can recognize each other on board before half way through the cruise. Some of them are also meeting in Galveston Saturday night for a pre-cruise dinner, and then we are all meeting at the pool bar on Sunday. In other words, we have taken matters into our own hands rather than waiting on the "official" party, and by the time they actually throw the party, we will be READY to party!

[marshe]

We were on the Millie in June. A critic party was arranged pre-cruise and we eagerly looked forward to it. On our first full day aboard (an at sea day) we received our invitation in our cabin. We were thrilled only to be greatly disappointed when we discovered that the 'party' wwas planned for the next day at 11:00 a.m. The ship was due in port, after 32 hrs at sea in Villefrance! So you can imagine our choice. Party or Nice, Monaco, Cannes? Needless to say, not many people attended the party.
Although it's a great idea to have a cruise-critic party, the execution from the ship's staff is defintely lacking. To hold the party on an at sea day afternoon would be the way to go, but in talking with others, apparently our experience is quite often the norm.

[paljoeysmom]

We had over 100 people in attendance at our CC party in May on a 14 day cruise on the NCL DAWN. It was a total blast and we ended up doing something with at least a few people from the group everyday. We all wore ribbons the day of embarkation, and yelled Cruise Critic everytime we saw someone wearing the ribbons. We met in the morning the next day after sail in one of the lounges. It took us forever to try and get someone to help us find a venue. No free drinks or pastries. We were told if we wanted them we had to pay.