Day 1 of a meeting at sea
Day 1 of our convention is coming to a close. It has been a whirlwind day of networking, making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. Just walking through the ship throughout the day, you find yourself running into some of the same people again and again. It could be sitting at a blackjack table, sucking down a favorite beverage in the Schooner Bar or even taking a quick snooze in the cover Solarium.
A meeting at sea allows all of this. While most conventions tend to have captive audiences, a meeting at sea keeps your audiences captivated. A meeting at sea also keeps the budget in check as the per person costs can be 1/3 the expense of holding a meeting at a land based resort.
Our day on board started with a general boarding around noon. We had time to grab a bit of lunch and then get into our staterooms. From then, our time was free to explore, take pictures, sit down at a bar or even lounge by the pool. Just before we sailed away, we took part in the mandatory life boat drill. At the sound of the alarm, we all went to our assigned muster stations (for me this was in the main theatre). No longer does Royal Caribbean require the passengers to go to our staterooms, grab our life vests and then wear them to our station. We watched a demonstration on how to don a vest and hear a bit from the captain.
After we were released, we headed to a conference room that had been reserved for the distribution of our name badge which held the schedule of meetings, workshops and rotations for the week. I am on the Red and B rotation for workshops and roundtables. I also received a spiral notebook, a bag of goodies from the various vendors on board, as well as from the parent company. Besides the general session, workshops and roundtables, there will also be a trade show featuring many of the vendors and suppliers for our industry including other cruise lines. I will be very interested in participating and reporting how this takes place.
From there it was off to our stateroom to shower and get ready for the welcome aboard cocktail private party sponsored by Royal Caribbean who for this conference is listed as a Diamond Sponsor. This particular class of ship, the Radiance Class, has a lounge that is at the aft of the ship and quite secluded from the other guests on board.
From cocktails it was off to dinner in the main dining room. We have quite a large section, as you might imagine with the number of owners and guests as well as vendors, reserved just for us. We ate at our assigned table this evening, but in the coming evenings we will participate in round robin dining in an effort to connect with people we have never met to learn from those who have been more successful than us or perhaps to share with others who are experiencing the same struggles as you.
Today brings our first round of a general sessions for about 9-12:30. I will share more in the coming days. Thanks for cruising along with me.
Visit www.theflaggagency.com when you are ready to hold your next meeting at sea!
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