What did everyone else think of the Castaway Cay Club Cocktail Party?

[Alex]

I was a little dissapointed to be honest. They Captain stood at the front with a microphone, there were way too many people for him to really meet everyone. The other people that were introduced were the onboard DVC sales reps and the onboard rebooking person!! It was almost like a sales pitch.

 

[AnnMorin]

My thoughts exactly Alex! And this year you could not get wine, only the premixed drinks, that was a dissapointment to me.

 

[havinfun1093]

Hey, but the shrimp was great and there were free drinks. For any business it is always about the sales pitch, some may just dress it up a bit better.

 

[Alex]

Maybe that's it havinfun... they didn't wrap it up at all!!!

 

[havinfun1093]

What Disney seems to fail to realize is that if you are hooked you are hooked and if you are not no amount of sales pitching will change that. They should just appreciate that all those people are back for second, third, fourth and so on times!!!!

 

[kcashner]

On our last cruise, I felt that the "party" had gone downhill. It sounds like it's getting worse instead of better. At our party, at least they introduced the senior officers. And there is the coconut shrimp.....

 

[Alex]

ok the coconut shrimp was good!
Thinking back you know what really bugged me? When they introduced the sales reps they tried to make it sound like we had been begging to meet them!!
"Because SO many of you have requested.... "
somehow I doubt there were that many requests

 

[AnnMorin]

yeah that lady who we rebooked on board was one of them. She had no clue (or did not want to admit it about the reclassified cabins, and we were kept waiting forever by her, I'd rather she skip the parties and be at her desk
the coconut shrimp was good I agree...

 

[rae519]

The CC parties have gone downhill since the beginning - they used to be a whole lot better. We skipped them this year completely.

We also aren't very impressed with the DVC parties since they are always during something else that's important. Again, why bother missing out on something just for a "sales pitch".

Rae

 

[jwann]

I guess we're just cheap -
free cocktails are free cocktails
We had a nice time.

 

[gonna go cruising]

It was nice, it was free, the cocktail was good as well as the finger foods. I didnt know what to expect and when it was over, our table looked at one another like..."is that it? Do we leave now?" It was a nice gesture though, and the captain did come around to the tables and had pictures taken if asked.

 

[AnnMorin]

Rae we dont' bother with the DVC parties either. Went to one and that was more than enough

 

[inkkognito]

On the Wonder, I haven't noticed the change to a sales pitch. They did the introductions, but it was all pretty low key and very enjoyable.
I do miss the old days where you had more of a chance to chat with the captain and officers, but the reason that has changed is that the number of returning cruisers is getting so large. If you happen to be on a cruise with a smaller number, it's more like it was in the old days. I've seen parties on the Magic so large that they had to take over the entire Beat Street area...no way to make that an intimate gathering!
It's not just Disney...if you've ever sailed RCCL, you'll know what I mean. Their parties are HUGE because most of the people on the ship are repeaters, and the only staff member at ours was the Captain.
And there may be some truth to the number of people wanting to meet the onboard booking agent, at least on the Wonder. Often when we try to visit her, the number of people waiting is astronomical!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by inkkognito
I do miss the old days where you had more of a chance to chat with the captain and officers, but the reason that has changed is that the number of returning cruisers is getting so large. Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

Maybe there should be a special Platinum Castaway Club Party for those with over say a "zillion cruises", ehhhhh, Barb! Hey, we'd have smaller numbers there!

Yes, I think it's the personal time with the Captain that I miss the most - for the first time party goer, it's a HUGE thrill to talk with and get a photo op with him. For the rest of us, well, same old, same old!!!

So Barb, what could the magic number be for the repeat cruisers special Platiminum Castaway Club Party....a dozen?????

Rae

 

[inkkognito]

A dozen sounds good to me!
We do have one advantage, even when it comes to the regular party. We've gotten to know the captains, so usually if we can catch the captain's eye when he comes in, he'll stop by to say hello.
If we can convince DCL to do a Platinum party, I'm hoping we can also convince them to serve the items that I miss due to being discontinued as snacks...they already do the coconut shrimp, so I'd love some of that avocado soup from Parrot Cay, and I know hubby would go for the ORIGINAL (I'm talking 1998) Animators Palate appetizer.
And let's hold it at the crew pool, with full open bar! (Hee hee, I know I'm getting greedy here).
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Alex]

I miss the original Animator's Palate Deserts, the paint your own thing and the baked alaska. Always wondered why they did away with that it made the show so much better!

 

[dzneprincess]

I thought it was a nice gesture, however we were disappointed with the availability of the free "cocktails". We were only able to get once drink after waiting for a good 10 minutes.

 

[Alex]

Thinking about this... I wonder if they have "outgrown" these parties. They made sense when there were 100 or 200 people on a cruise, now with 700 or 800 not being uncommon I wonder if they shouldn't do something a bit different.

 

[inkkognito]

Hey, Alex, remember the fiber optic paint brushes and the sparklers they used to have in AP, too?
And I remember our second cruise, in Feb. of 1999. They had advertised that you get a returning cruisers gift, but when we asked about it, no one had a clue! Definitely no parties back in those days.
Ah, memories!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Alex]

YES!! The servers would come marching in with Baked Alaska's... sparkler's throwing sparks.. it was SO cool!!!