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JUST TO CLARIFY...
Q: You have a cap of 300. Isn’t that going to
mean that some people don’t get to go?
A: It could, but probably not. After C14 and knowing
the state of the economy, we’re planning to hit 150 and would be
happy to see 200 of you guys. If we exceed expectations, we do have the
ability to move into a larger room – provided one is still available.
The best thing we can recommend is that if you want to attend C15 in Long
Beach, buy your laminate early. The earlier we know what sales will be
like, the more likely it is that we’ll be able to upgrade to a larger
room.
If sales are closer to what we expect and people wait to buy tickets at
the last minute, it is possible that we’ll hit our cap and won’t
be able to accommodate everyone. We’ll absolutely still try, but
it may happen. This is why we suggest buying your tickets early.
Q: How will we know if you guys are close to or at the
cap?
A: The C15 committee will keep you all in the loop so
that number of laminates sold will not be a surprise. Announcements will
be made on our website, on Alt.Gothic, and on LiveJournal.
Q: The hotel rate for $149 is for single or double occupancy.
Does that mean there are no triples or quads? Will I have a window or
is $149 for an inside cabin?
A: The rate is $149.00 for single or double occupancy,
run of house. Run of house means that you call in your reservation and
can reserve any room that is available, whether it be an outside stateroom
(meaning you have a porthole to see out) or inside (meaning you have no
view). The earlier you book your room, the better choice of rooms you
will have.
Rooms have king beds or two twins. When you make your reservation, you
will want to specify which arrangement you want.
The ship has a limited number of rooms with two queen beds. These rooms
may be booked for an additional $30.00 a night. Again, if you want to
secure a two-queen room, you will want to book early.
Q: The hotel website says that rooms are $149 right
now. Don’t we get a discount?
A: Yes, current room rates indicate that we are not receiving
a discount, but our discount is based on what rack rates will be NEXT
SUMMER. Rates *will* rise, and $149 will definitely be a better rate.
It is important to keep in mind that the Queen Mary is not a standard
business class hotel. She is an ocean liner, and spending the night on
board is a unique experience. While all the staterooms have the amenities
that you would expect at a standard hotel (wifi, TV, refrigerator, etc),
they are definitely former first class staterooms on a ship and maintain
the character and feel of the grandness of a transatlantic voyage. If
you book your stay thinking that your experience on the Queen will be
like staying at a Hyatt, you will be
disappointed. If you book with the mindset that you are going to have
a special weekend on an historic ship, you will be quite pleased.
Q: Can I stay on the Queen without buying a Convergence
laminate?
A: Sure. We have plenty of room, and if you mention Convergence
15, they’ll include you in our room block. However, we do hope that
you will choose to buy a laminate so you can join in the revelry with
us!
Q: I don’t want to pay extra for the food that’s
included in your bid. Why are you making us pay for meals we don’t
want?
A: We're not going to force you to show up and eat at
the banquet, or drink the beer at the beach party... but on the Queen,
we *have* to buy food. That's how they charge for the use of their space.
How does this compare to rates for other venues?
Let's pick an obscene number out of the air (that's not even close to
real). Conference Center A charges $50,000 to rent their ballroom for
the night. This is the standard rate, and you get nothing for it other
than a physical area to host your event.
The Queen Mary charges a fee for the food and beverage based on room capacity.
Let's say we're in a room that holds 500 people and they're charging $100
per person to use the space on a food/bev guarantee basis. This equals
$50,000 - the same amount of money as Conference Center A, but the Queen’s
rate *includes* food and drink for the attendees. What you're being locked
into is paying for the use of the space with the added bonus of food being
provided.
We're not paying any more for the room rental fees with the guarantee
than we would for a plain rental. Hell, the rental fees are cheaper on
Friday and Sunday than what we had in Vegas for C9, which was basically
a modified warehouse.
Saturday is a different story. Saturday nights on the Queen are prohibitively
expensive for our budget which is why we opted for the beach party. We'd
venture to say that most C* attendees don't live by a beach and would
kinda like the ability to party on the beach for a night, maybe take a
dip if they want to.
The drawback to a beach party is that there's no bar, so we're taking
a small percentage of what we would have paid for a facility rental and
putting that toward alcohol for everyone to enjoy. For now, we're talking
kegs of beer. Depending on how the budget shakes out, we may be able to
provide a few bottles of booze to contribute to the BYOB aspect of anything
other than beer. (And bringing your own booze, whether just some because
you plan to partake in the beer or all of it because you hate beer, it's
still going to be a LOT cheaper than buying $6 mixed drinks from a bar
all night.)
Bottom line: We're not charging extra for the food and beer involved with
the event. In fact, providing the beer is a lot cheaper than renting a
facility for Saturday night.
Q: A keg party? For Convergence? Surely you jest!
A: Did you really expect anything different from a subset
of the group of people calling themselves the “Kegger Contingent?"
Seriously though, as explained above, doing the beach party is much less
expensive than renting space on the Queen Mary for the night. Since a
beach doesn’t come with a bar, we decided that we needed to do *something*
for all of you. Have you seen a gaggle of goths at a “dry”
event? Neither have we… and we don’t want to!
Q: Alcohol on the beach??!? Can you do that???!?!?!
A: We sure can. We are working with Bolsa Chica State
Beach to secure permits that will allow us to A) make loud noises and
B) be boozy.
Q: What kind of beer are you going to give us?
A: Good stuff! There will be wine as well. We are working
with Bolsa Chica's official caterer to provide the highest quality of
beer that we can.
Q: I’m vegetarian/vegan/kosher! Will I starve
at your BBQ and banquet?
A: Certainly not! Vegetarian options will be available
at both the BBQ and the banquet (and by “vegetarian options,”
we don’t mean just a veggie tray – we’ve got your back,
vegetarians!). You
may specify special dietary needs when you register for the
weekend.
(this one blatantly stolen from a.g)
Q: "The increasing casualness of Convergence does
make me a bit wistful for a time when we'd strut our stuff..."
A: "It's a luxury liner. Dressing for dinner is
what people DO." (Thanks, Peter!)
Q: I'm a vendor. Will the vendors' room be open to the
public or just C15 attendees?
A: We love our vendors and want their time at C15 to
be well worth their effort and expense! The vendors' room WILL be open
to the public, and we will publicize the bazaar in Long Beach so that
the locals know you're coming.
NOTE: We will advertise publicly ONLY for our vendors' room. We are committed
to keeping all other C15 events a party for alt.gothic family and friends, so if you go looking through
the OC Weekly for a C15 ad, you'll be looking a long time, indeed.
Q: I’m driving in. Where can I put my car?
A: There is a parking lot directly in front of where
the ship is docked, so your car will always be close at hand. For hotel
guests, parking costs $15 per day with in and out privileges.
Q: It's on a ship. Am I going to get seasick?
A: If you can ride a merry-go-round, you'll be absolutely
fine. The Queen Mary is permanently moored in Long Beach's Queensway Bay.
There is no discernable movement on the ship, although it does rise and
fall with the tides. Most of the sense of movement will be “optical
illusion” as you walk through the ship. The hallways are narrow
and are higher at the ends of the ship than they are in the middle.
Q: “How permanent can those moorings possibly
be?”
A: Very. Mac, don’t even think about it.
Q: So…about this afterparty space…
A: We have a hospitality room secured for the weekend.
We’re calling it Steerage, but we promise that these accommodations
will be much nicer than Third Class. This room will be available to Convergence
15 guests 24 hours a day and will be a lively place to schmooze, chill,
leave messages for friends on our bulletin board, and booze it up.
Q: I’m under 21. Can I come to your party?
A: Yes. Convergence 15 in Long Beach will be a friendly
event to the under-21 set, but you won’t be able to drink alcoholic
beverages. The bars on the Queen do check I.D.s, and we’ll be wristbanding
people of legal drinking age at the beach party.
Q: You've mentioned that C15 Long Beach will be "family
friendly." What does that mean?
A: Don't get us wrong, this is still a grown up party
. However, we understand that some members of our Convergence family have
gothlets, and not everyone can drop them off at Grandma's for the weekend.
Both the Friday night event and the Saturday night beach party will be
open to the whole family. Parents must be responsible for their own children,
but we don't want anyone to miss out on the fun. Sunday night's dinner
is a more formal affair, and not appropriate for young children, but baby
bats age 13 and up are welcome if accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Remember though...this IS Convergence. There will be drinking, salty language,
possible nudity, and behaviors you may not want your child to emulate.
Q: Does this mean that my preschooler needs a laminate?
A: No. There will, however, be a small charge for children
ages 5-12 who will be eating at the Saturday night BBQ. Teens who plan
to attend the Sunday night event will need to be ticketed attendees and
accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Q: Is it true that Fross is going to dress as Annette
Funicello?
A: You'll have to ask him, but anything is possible.
Q: I'd pay good money to see that!
A: So would we.
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