AN ALT OVERSHOOT WHEN THE CLRED ALT IS NOT ARMED IN THE AUTOFLT SYS AND THE COCKPIT IS FULL OF OTHER SOCIAL DISTRACTIONS PROVIDED BY CABIN CREW MEMBERS.

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UNFORTUNATELY THIS IS A CASE OF TOO MANY DISTRACTIONS IN THE COCKPIT. A CLASSIC SET-UP. FORTUNATELY OUR ALT EXCURSION DID NOT CREATE A CONFLICT. NEARING THE END OF A SEA-DTW LEG WE WERE CLRED DIRECT GIBER INTXN AND THEN CLRED FROM FL330 TO FL280 WITH 'A GOOD RATE' OF DSCNT AS REQUESTED BY ATC. JUST PRIOR TO THIS; THE LEAD FLT ATTENDANT HAD FINISHED A BUSY SVC AND HAD JOINED US IN THE COCKPIT. HE HAD FLOWN WITH THE FO BEFORE; AND THEY WERE SHARING ANIMATED STORIES OF GOOD TIMES ON LAYOVERS. THE STORIES WERE INTERRUPTED BY THE DSCNT CLRNC TO FL280. I ACKNOWLEDGED THE CLRNC AND VERIFIED FL280 AS THE FO SET IT IN THE ALT WINDOW ON THE MODE CTL PANEL. QUICKLY BACK TO THE STORY; I FAILED TO ENSURE THAT THE NEW ALT WAS ARMED IN THE FLT MODE ANNUNCIATOR. IT WASN'T; THOUGH WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHY; EITHER THE FO DIDN'T PULL THE ALT SELECT KNOB TO ARM THE ALT CAPTURE; OR HE DIDN'T PULL IT HARD ENOUGH; OR IT DISARMED SOMEWHERE AND WE DIDN'T CATCH IT. THEN; MORE DISTRACTIONS; A SECOND FLT ATTENDANT CAME INTO THE COCKPIT APOLOGIZING PROFUSELY BECAUSE SHE HAD FAILED TO SHARE A HUGE BOX OF DONUTS THAT A PASS-RIDING FLT ATTENDANT HAD BROUGHT FOR THE CREW. WHILE CHKING OUT THE DONUTS AND RIBBING THE FLT ATTENDANT FOR EXCLUDING US; WE BOTH MISSED THE '2000 FT TO GO' AND '1 TO GO' CALLS AND WE WERE AT 27500 FT BEFORE THE FO CAUGHT IT AND CLBED US BACK TO FL280. CTR CALLED AS WE LEVELED AT THE ASSIGNED FL280 AND REMINDED US OF OUR CLRED ALT; ASKING US TO VERIFY LEVEL AT FL280. WE DID THAT AND BEGAN OUR CRITIQUE OF A BAD SIT. NOTE: THE SO WAS NOT INVOLVED IN ALL OF THIS AS HE WAS IN THE LAVATORY. TOO MUCH TALK; TOO MANY PEOPLE; TOO LITTLE SOP. TOO MUCH LEVITY; TOO LITTLE MONITORING OF DSCNT. TOO MUCH YAKIN' AND COMPLACENCY; TOO LITTLE FLYING; A DANGEROUS COMBINATION!