Chiming in a bit late in this thread...
I've been attending MACNA since 2002. It is the highlight of the year for me year after year. MACNA is about the speakers, the vendors, the raffle, and the venue.
Alcohol has no bearing on MACNA, unless someone gets drunk and does something stupid. Complaining about pricing is like complaining about taxes, gravity, or gasoline prices. If you can't afford it, don't buy it. Last year spoiled many of us with free liquor and plenty of goodies at the reception and Gala. I had no reason to believe that would happen again this year.
I was very excited, as usual. When I arrived Thursday afternoon, I checked into my room. I had a roommate that arrived earlier in the day, and she told me the first room was bad, so she had us moved to the current room. The view was nice (floor 39), I could see the G.A. out my window. It seemed a bit small, but I only had to shower and sleep there. The internet connection was flakey. The room was cleaned daily, and always looked good. The coffee supplies were stocked to keep up with my demand.
I start my day later than most, and the shower felt fine, nice and hot. Remember: none of this is controlled by the Atlanta Reef Club. That's between me and the Westin.
The check in area for MACNA was easy to find, and I got my packet quickly. I was pointed toward the vendors area, but already knew where it was since I'd been there the night before. I was surprised to hear the vendors had only daytime hours to set up their booths on Thursday, as I would expect they need every single minute because issues arise unexpectedly. When I entered the hall on Friday around 12:00 or so, everything looked right. There was no mad dash to set up booths, I didn't see anyone topping off their tanks or piles of boxes that needed to be carted off. The layout was a little different, surely because of the shape of the room. Unlike others, I didn't walk the entire thing quickly to get oriented. I just started working my way from booth to booth, talking to people I knew and didn't know.
My buddies tried to invite me to eat out a few dozen times, which is now almost a practical joke. I pay to attend MACNA to enjoy the conference, and wasting a couple of hours deciding upon a eatery, waiting for a table to hold a large group, ordering, drinks, appetizers, meal, the eventual dividing up & paying of the checks, and the walk back to the hotel - I'll pass. I can do that when I'm home. When you think about it, MACNA is about 18 hours of browse & learn time. So I refuse those pesky calls, invites, and text messages. :lol: And they all think I'm nuts and never eat.
All three days, I visited various booths and yet felt I didn't see enough or missed/overlooked something. I couldn't figure out what it was, but Hahnmeister did a great job of pointing out many things I didn't note. I figured out why, after I got home. I have everything I need for my tank, and had zero desire to bring anything home (drygoods or livestock) on the plane. So without that urge to get this or that, nor without the need to obtain better equipment for my reef, I simply didn't dig like I usually do.
This year, I missed a bunch of talks again. I don't know if I'll ever get better at that. Finding the presentation wasn't hard, but I did arrive early and had to wait a bit for it to begin. I was excited to hear Matt's presentation on baby Mandarins, and to hear Eric's talk about Bangaiis. Mission accomplished - did both.
The reception on Friday evening wasn't what most people would have wanted. When I walked in, the room was dark with a scattering of tables, and a lot of standing room. The hotel staff made the rounds with trays of food, and not once was I wishing they'd come around sooner. Like clockwork, they arrived with a tasty snack (*note: I did not say dinner), and everything offered was hot and good. The drinks were expensive, but I chose to buy a soda instead. Big deal. I was there for the people. Evan and I set up in the corner and roped in Bob Fenner, and we had a fun discussion for about 20 minutes. Due to that, I didn't hear the presentation about Japanese tanks that probably was quite interesting. The room was full of people, and there were several times when people belted out in laughter. We decided to get something to eat, and walked down the street to Metro Diner. The food was okay, but it was a little odd eating dinner while staring at strawberry jelly packets stacked before me. Oh well, I made due.
Saturday evening's Gala was what I anticipated the most. Getting into the G.A. two hours early for free was a treat. Since that was negotiated by ARC, they get :thumbsup: :thumbsup: from me. Not only did I get to revisit the beautiful Ocean Voyager exhibit, but I took 30 minutes to peruse the Titanic exhibit.
The rush of people trying to get to get tables wasn't all that surprising. In the past, people have always wanted to sit with their group, and thus they rush in to get a whole table to themselves, and hope their friends will find them. Also, in the past the dinner was for maybe 500 people, not 1100. So the rush must have felt pretty big to some. I entered with the group, and within a minute found a table with some of my friends whom had got there first. It was nice. Every chair had a packaged t-shirt on it (I'm actually wearing it right now) with GA on the back, and Instant Ocean mentioned as well. Boxes of salt mix were on every table for anyone that wanted to take some home.
The food was by Wolfgang Puck's catering service. Since I've never tried any of his food in the past, and only know his name by reputation only, I planned to eat everything offered to me. And I did.
I had to buy a couple of drinks to go with my dinner, and for some reason I didn't get a cup of coffee at the end. Not a big deal. The presentation this year was by a woman that was associated or worked for the BBC - Blue Planet series. She showed a total of 8 clips from upcoming DVD episodes. They were short, and she gave us the back story before each one was played. It was interesting, but I think I would have preferred less clips that ran longer, rather than the short clips we actually saw. She shared a few funny personal experiences she had, which I liked. In one scene, she was caught on film acting silly when she'd discovered something during a SCUBA dive, and made sure to point it out when it ran.
Throughout the meal, the Beluga Whales and the Whale Sharks as well as the new Sting Ray were easily visible across the entire room. The Gala could not have been at a better place, in my opinion. ARC made a great decision making that happen.
Both Friday night and Saturday night, there was a party on my floor, mere rooms away. Rock Band and alcohol - fun stuff! Glad I was included in the fun until the very late night hours. Again, this was not anything planned by ARC, nor would it have been at any other MACNA.
Sunday morning approached far too quickly, and again I didn't hear any talks. I was checking out more vendor's booths that I'd not crossed yet. It was nice to find out small details, and new products. I was happy to buy a number of minor drygoods at show pricing. In the past, vendors gave away tons of minor goodies (shirts, bags, pins, pens, fish food samples, cups or cup holders, etc). This year, there may have been less freebies. I wasn't really looking for any.
I enjoyed the diversity of the booths this year. The french painter Pascal had some gorgeous SCUBA-based paintings, and the girls that started a Reefers line-of-clothing - great idea. Several booths were dedicated to a single product. One booth was barren because UPS dropped the ball and lost all of the booth materials.
Several booths were very well-designed. Others not as beautiful yet still functional for us hobbyists. That comes down to what the vendors choose to do, not something ARC controls.
I didn't bother with the raffle this year. If there was any drama, I never heard about it. I saw the different priced bins, but I've seen that ever since Boston, so that was no surprise. Since I didn't need anything and didn't feel like trying to gamble any cash, I ignored it. For those that won goodies, I bet none are complaining.
When it was time to check out, it was easy. The hotel was happy to hold my luggage until later in the day in a secure location. When it was time, I took the MARTA back to the airport and flew home on an earlier flight. Originally, I booked it for 8:30pm, but I really wanted to get back to my tank.
So how did MACNA do this year? Let's see:
Overall: 4 out of 5
Comfort level: 4 out of 5
Out of pocket expense: 4 out of 5
Vendors area: 4 out of 5
Talks (the ones I heard): 4 out of 5
Gala dinner & venue: 5 out of 5
Hotel: 4 out of 5
Nothing really wow'd me this year, other than the expected G.A. I knew going in I'd love it, and it continued to meet my expection. The hotel was good to me. The vendors were helpful and happy. The talks were easy to hear, but I wish the light had been out over the screen (washed it out a bit) and that the screen was 2' higher off the floor. The room was too warm, but I heard the hotel controlled that, not ARC.
I didn't have any questions, so I wasn't seeking ARC members to help me much. The rare occasions I needed to talk to one, they were within earshot in no time. Could have been coincidence - I don't know. I have no reason to complain about this conference. It was what I expected, and I had a very good time.
Food, liquor, and other outside entertainment, that is really up to each person that attends. Choose what you like to do, or stick to the program. If you blow off those extras, you can get more rest and glean more from the conference. Or be like me and just get what you can from it, and try to be judicious with your time and money.
