On Board Photo Ops

[Shelley Chiarats]

My husband and I are going on the Nov PC cruise. This will be our fifth DCL cruise. One of our favorite things to do are to visit all the Character Meet & Greets and Photo Ops. We enjoy being friendly with the folks standing in line with us and with the Handlers. On our last cruise I remember someone else made a point to do something special with the handlers at each meet.

We get the all inclusive package and visit many of the different times. We have it down to a quick science when it is our turn. I go up first and say hello and get my solo shot taken then my husband steps in and we get a couple shot and then I quickly step out to allow him a solo shot.

So my question is how many like to participate and visit all the varying meet & greets. I have read that on the PC cruise the characters come out in different combinations. And have you done or seen anything done at these meetings that involves the handlers. I want to make them feel as if they are as much a draw as the characters.

On our last Halloween cruise, we did MNSSHP before the cruise and brought baggies and make goodie bags to hand out at the end of the week. I know lots of people talk about their room attendant and MDR servers. So I decided to make it a point to pick out the folks who work the lines for the meet & greets and others around who tend to get less attention online.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I have never heard of this before, interesting. The only thing is, from my observation, the handlers also take turns being characters. We met Captain Marvel one night, and two days later she was a handler for Minnie. Another handler was most definitely Captain America.

I mostly said thank you and tried to get out of the way quickly so as not to hold up the lines.

 

[monarchsfan16]

I think being polite, and, if you find they do something particularly customer service oriented, mentioning them on the comment card is the way to go.

On our most recent cruise, many of the character attendants were facilitating the autograph process. If they are doing that, I'm not sure how they would hold on to treats gifted to them.

 

[Rob1872]

Not sure I understand the rationale of saying, "I want the handlers to feel that they are as much of a draw as the characters." That sounds like someone who wants to take the culture of "participation trophies" and making sure that everyone feels like a winner to the final insane extreme.

Do you REALLY expect people to bring their small children up to Cinderella and say, "Oh my gosh, look. Not only is it Cinderella, but you get to have "Becky" from England hold on to your autograph book and pass it to her. Make sure that you give Becky a big hug!!! Hey, photographer, don't forget to get a picture of my little angel with Becky too!!!

If the handler is doing their job correctly, they should be ensuring that their customer is getting a good experience with the character. There should be absolutely no attention drawn to the handler that would take away the magic from Captain Mickey or whoever.