Organizing FE Groups Advice, size and participation

[professorandmom]

I am organizing the FE groups on the 12/3 Fantasy. I need some advice. Should I expect that a DISer who asked to participate, may not? Does that happen? The FB group is 200+ so I know some folks have moved over to the "cool kids table"...(sure, flame away)
I am struggling with group size since I worry one or two cabins may not "really" be planning to participate (with DISers) even though they asked to be included months ago
Please help me successfully set group size to have an enjoyable exchange (or is this more about monitoring posts on DIS boards as an indicator of participation...if so, we are doomed, as almost no one posts except to ask to be on the FE list)
Recommendations from those who have successfully navigated this.....
Thanks!

 

[dcassetta]

If people sign up, I would anticipate they're going to participate. However, there isn't really anything you can do about that. I've done 2 FE groups, where someone in our group said that they accidentally left their FE gifts at home.

I think groups of 10 or 15 are the optimal size. And if peple would like larger groups they can just participate in more than one. Did an FE group in the fall where they were 50 cabins total, divided into 5 groups of 10s. Some people were in one group of 10 some people did two groups, and one of the people participated in all 5. They must of had a whole extra suitcase just for FEs!

 

[Shanti]

I am organizing the FE groups on the 12/3 Fantasy. I need some advice. Should I expect that a DISer who asked to participate, may not? Does that happen? The FB group is 200+ so I know some folks have moved over to the "cool kids table"...(sure, flame away)
I am struggling with group size since I worry one or two cabins may not "really" be planning to participate (with DISers) even though they asked to be included months ago
Please help me successfully set group size to have an enjoyable exchange (or is this more about monitoring posts on DIS boards as an indicator of participation...if so, we are doomed, as almost no one posts except to ask to be on the FE list)
Recommendations from those who have successfully navigated this.....
Thanks!

Have no recommendations, but just a comment that FE groups do seem to mostly be FB-based now. The Cruise Meets threads are pretty dead. A bummer as I'd like to participate but really dislike FB.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I've organized Candy/Snack exchanges. I keep the number between 6-11. Sometimes there's only 1 group, but I've had 4 groups of 8 once.

When I send the final rosters out, at least a month before the cruise, I ask for a confirmation response. If nothing comes, I do let the group know. It's up to the members if they want to have something on hand for the no responders.

Bobbi

 

[wcw57]

i think we kept the limit to 20 cabins years ago....most had just one child (adults didn't participate so much back then)...
we ended up with 2 groups and, last minute (like the last week) somebody threw together a third group with maybe 30 people in it.....
anyhow, limits are good 'cause who wants to spend their vacation going from deck to deck and cabin to cabin? I mean, it's nice to be nice, but.....
to your point, there WAS one cabin that didn't participate...even after we had demanded confirmations from everyone 2 weeks out before the "official" lists were closed and eleased.
who knows what happened?

 

[Huskiesrule]

For my DIS FE groups(last year and upcoming) I did groups of 10. At 1 month out a last minute group was started and I think there was 6 or 7 last year. I think a lot of people here are new and don't want to be overwhelmed so I keep the groups small, but that's me. I agree with the emailed lack of response means they are not participating. I require an email to send the list to and when I send out the final list I request at least a blank response so I know they are still participating. Not a guarantee but better than nothing.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If people sign up, I would anticipate they're going to participate. However, there isn't really anything you can do about that. I've done 2 FE groups, where someone in our group said that they accidentally left their FE gifts at home.

I think groups of 10 or 15 are the optimal size. And if peple would like larger groups they can just participate in more than one. Did an FE group in the fall where they were 50 cabins total, divided into 5 groups of 10s. Some people were in one group of 10 some people did two groups, and one of the people participated in all 5. They must of had a whole extra suitcase just for FEs!

Agreed. We did one cruise where there were something like 6 different lists of 15 rooms. Some people only were on one list, others were on multiple lists. Just depends on what each person/room wanted to do.

OP, even if you are the "organizer" (and I use that term loosely, you're really just maintaining the list), you shouldn't feel any responsibility as to whether people actually participate or not. That's one of the big reasons why I don't advocate putting the giver's name on the gifts. It's supposed to be a "pixie dust" sort of secret santa gift exchange. No one knows who gave what.

Have no recommendations, but just a comment that FE groups do seem to mostly be FB-based now. The Cruise Meets threads are pretty dead. A bummer as I'd like to participate but really dislike FB.

Not quite true. The cruise meet threads here are more in line of what they were when they first started. Smaller groups who get to know each other better. I find many cruise meet groups have a desire to have a DISboards specific FE group. Often there are people here who don't do FB and get left out of the big group.

There's no reason that FB can't have a FE group on the same cruise that a DISboard FE is running. It doesn't have to be only one FE group as "the only one".

 

[wcw57]

that being said, SO FAR:
the small amount of people on our meet thread have "jumped ship" for that other place and there is, as of now, nothing happening on the DIS

 

[Shanti]

Not quite true. The cruise meet threads here are more in line of what they were when they first started. Smaller groups who get to know each other better. I find many cruise meet groups have a desire to have a DISboards specific FE group. Often there are people here who don't do FB and get left out of the big group.

Have you participated in any Dis ones very recently? I wouldn't mind a small group. By "pretty dead", I mean that only a few people have posted that they're on the cruise, then silence.

 

[Shanti]

that being said, SO FAR:
the small amount of people on our meet thread have "jumped ship" for that other place and there is, as of now, nothing happening on the DIS

This has been my experience, unfortunately, as well. I'm pretty sure I'll have to reactivate my FB account in order to participate in a FE group for our 2017 cruises.

 

[Deb T.]

I've organized about a dozen FE Exchanges, all through these boards on the Meets threads. I've noticed that the number of participants are definitely dwindling, though, due to the other social media sites.

I've learned the hard way that it's best to set up smaller groups, or at least the option of smaller groups, instead of one big exchange. Everyone needs to feel comfortable with the number of cabins they’ll be exchanging with. Otherwise, the exchange goes from something fun to something they're anxious about. I now break the groups down to a choice of 10, 20, or “Sky’s the Limit” for those who believe the more the merrier (like me). It takes more work on my end to set up the groups, but it seems that everyone has been grateful for the option of choosing how many cabins to participate with. I don't set any rules to the exchange such as themes or assigned delivery days or how much to spend or if they give one surprise per person or per cabin. I leave it all completely up to the participants. I also set a firm cut-off date for joining, usually 3 weeks before the cruise. There are ALWAYS cruisers who find the Meets thread closer to sailing time that want to join at the last minute. I used to try to accommodate these cruisers, but it's very difficult to manage.

I do believe there are always one or two who don't end up giving out gifts. It's unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do about that. One thing I usually stress is for everyone to be sure to print out and pack the list of cabins participating in your FE Exchange since there are always other groups doing exchanges onboard, as well. After one cruise, a participant PM'd me saying she had started passing out her gifts on the highest deck and was working her way down when she ran out of gifts after a couple of decks. Turned out, she was just plopping gifts into every FE she saw instead of going by our list. I felt badly for the other participants who never received a surprise from her.

Good luck!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Just be wary of anyone who has posted once saying "My kids want to be in the FE" and never returned. To me, they are the highest risk of not participating. They could just be looking for their kids to get and not realizing that they need to give as well.

 

[professorandmom]

They could just be looking for their kids to get and not realizing that they need to give as well.

OP here...thanks for all the advice...and to PrincessTrisha, this is exactly my worry since, if the statistics for DIS boards show they haven't logged in to the boards in months, how could they possibly know to whom they are supposed to exchange?

My other fear is that, if I set the groups too small and some folks aren't actually participating, people may only get a couple of surprises...

When all this started it never occurred to me that folks would add their name to the FE as a method to receive gifts...and not exchange gifts...but I suppose I should have guessed

 

[SpaceSquirrel]

I know we're not allowed to give links or direct traffic away from DIS but are there other cruise groups aside from the meet threads here and FB?
Just a simple yes or no please

 

[wilkeliza]

I personally never understood the multiple groups in one FE. It was much easier back when the groups either stopped at a number and then the group was closed and you could only be in one with the option to pixie dust other groups or if you gave to everyone. Of course when I started 22 was everyone and that was considered big. Now you get groups of hundreds so it has to be split down.

 

[To the honeypots]

I know we're not allowed to give links or direct traffic away from DIS but are there other cruise groups aside from the meet threads here and FB?
Just a simple yes or no please

This is my question too. I can't find a group with more than two other people in it.

 

[Madzac]

I managed our fantasy list this summer. We had a very active group and capped each list at 10 families and people had the option to be in more than one. I like the smaller size as it's easier with flying and I feel I can do a little more. We ended up with four lists of 10 and cut off was a month before. We had a few other families want to join after and I put them on a pixie dust list and told them no guarantees. Our cruise also had a FB group with two groups of 10. It really depends on interest in your group.

As for people not participating it's certainly a risk. I have seen other groups where you were required 10 posts on the thread first. I think the idea of an email sent is a great one then if people disappear you have a contact. I was initially concerned about this but later decided I couldn't take that on and just assumed people would follow through. Ymmv.

 

[AquaDame]

I know we're not allowed to give links or direct traffic away from DIS but are there other cruise groups aside from the meet threads here and FB?
Just a simple yes or no please

I bet there are... there are other forums than the DIS who may be running their own and I've heard cruisers in FEs for both places say they have seen yet more groups on the ship when they sail.

As you yourself have seen a lot of people want a large group to exchange with and FB is certainly larger than our little community. I've found happiness in groups of 10 or so myself, so I am not sure how little yours is..? People absolutely do back out but even then the last group I organized for had two groups, one of 12 cabins (which several people complained was getting too large) and the other at 8 that was the last minute peeps.

 

[diznymom]

I have organized FE groups before. I have had a few that signed up, read the first page, and that was all they did before the cruise. They were definitely participating in the FE group. Not everyone is very active online. (My mother does not even own a computer) I would assume they were sailing and participating unless they tell you they are not.

Another thing to consider: There will be more and more activity as we get closer to the cruise date. I have always created "Pixie Dust" groups for the late-comers. I have read so many stories about people that just found out about the FE exchange at the last minute and want to participate. I've always tried to let everyone that wants to participate, be in at least a "Pixie Dust" group.

 

[Stratus22]

I currently have an FE group started for our upcoming January cruise. I have no rules except to have fun. I kept it at a room of 10 and everyone seems to be happy with that number. I also have an Ornament exchange and that is at 5 rooms as well as a Mixology Group. I've gotten a better response out of the Mixology group!