Would you be comfortable with...

Hello,

I have participated in many roll calls where roll call lists with basic information were kept on Cruise Critic or in a spreadsheet.

Would you be comfortable with someone on a roll call asking everyone to go to a website to 'sign up' for the roll call using a web form, asking for personal information like your LCV loyalty level, the hotel you're staying at before/after the cruise, your cabin number, how many in your cabin, your email address, etc. etc.? It's probably done with the very best intentions, but somehow it doesn't feel right. That's a lot of information that would be very valuable to Tavel Agents. Thoughts?

Best,

Floris

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I know some people keep very detailed roll call spreadsheets, but personally, I wouldn't do it. I don't like giving out that much private information.

No, I most definitely would not be comfortable with giving out that information.

I had a look at the roll call and the person calls themself a "travel professional" so they are probably a TA.

I had a look at the roll call and the person calls themself a "travel professional" so they are probably a TA.

Ah - I hadn't picked up on that. Good spot. That probably explains why he/she wants to capture all those items :( I'll ask one of the moderators whether or not that's appropriate.

Floris

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Hello,

 

I have participated in many roll calls where roll call lists with basic information were kept on Cruise Critic or in a spreadsheet.

Would you be comfortable with someone on a roll call asking everyone to go to a website to 'sign up' for the roll call using a web form, asking for personal information like your LCV loyalty level, the hotel you're staying at before/after the cruise, your cabin number, how many in your cabin, your email address, etc. etc.? It's probably done with the very best intentions, but somehow it doesn't feel right. That's a lot of information that would be very valuable to Tavel Agents. Thoughts?

 

Best,

Floris

 

Absolutely not. I am uncomfortable with anything other than information of screen name, own name and if the person wishes to share it town they live in. I will not even share cabin number, there is no need, guest relations can put a call through to you if need be. We have had our privacy violated the one time we shared cabin number so never again! (albeit that was on another line, the lesson was learned).

No way would I be happy about this and if someone asked me to add details to a website in this way I too would have reported it to the moderators. Best intentions maybe, but not something I deem as necessary. I only share a few personal details on a roll call and never disclose my cabin number. To be honest my input on roll calls seems to be less and less now.

I am willing to give our Christian names but not our cabin number. I am happy for people to know which country we come from. I feel any other information can be shared personally at the CC meeting if necessary.

I have posted about our hotel choice in Singapore on the Rollcall simply to help others. This was a personal choice.

Indeed I choose the hotel after a thread here on CC which I found very helpful as we have never visited Singapore before and hadn't a clue where to stay.

Not at all. First names and hometown only and maybe reveal our choice of hotel in cases where it seems appropriate to be of help. I see that this can get out of control if people start sharing too much info in the Roll Calls.

Hi Floris, did you notify the moderator? Any action taken yet?

P.s. To the new readers on this board, notifying the moderator is easy. You click on the exclamation triangle in the top right corner of the post and a message box will open up.

I almost always post my email addy on the roll call since we are usually asking to see if there are any geocachers aboard or if there is anyone who would like to tour with us.

I have also occasionally shared a precruise hotel if there is a precruise dinner planned.

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I have noticed this on a couple of roll calls and agree I felt it was strange and I would be uncomfortable with it.

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Hi Floris, did you notify the moderator? Any action taken yet?

 

 

 

P.s. To the new readers on this board, notifying the moderator is easy. You click on the exclamation triangle in the top right corner of the post and a message box will open up.

Hi Bonnie,

Yes I did!

Thanks everyone - it's good to know that I'm not the only one who felt this is awkward...

Floris

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Hi Floris, did you notify the moderator? Any action taken yet?

 

 

 

P.s. To the new readers on this board, notifying the moderator is easy. You click on the exclamation triangle in the top right corner of the post and a message box will open up.

I've used the triangle twice now but nothing but silence from the moderators.

Floris

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I've used the triangle twice now but nothing but silence from the moderators.

 

Floris

You may eventually see the post disappear.

They certainly won't contact you, but may contact the person who has posted inappropriately to warn them.

I have waited till now to enter this thread but now feelI have to because I think there has been a misunderstanding.

The two people I know who do these elaborate spreadsheets have always seemed totally altruistic in their work, never make a profit that I have seen, and always tell those on the roll call not to enter more information than they are comfortable with, as the OP here was told when she enquired of the person working on a cruise for next year that we are all on apparently. The document in question is only available to those on the trip and not to cruise critic members on the public forum.

Hope this helps. Safe travels all.

Hi Floris, did you notify the moderator? Any action taken yet?

 

P.s. To the new readers on this board, notifying the moderator is easy. You click on the exclamation triangle in the top right corner of the post and a message box will open up.

Has this board got a moderator at the moment? None are currently listed.

Florid,

If I were you I would just enter the information I feel comfortable sharing and leave the other questions blank.

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Thanks Laura!

Viv0828 - Good advice, but I'll share what I'm comfortable with sharing on the roll call, not on a different website someone else has set up. Not just for privacy reasons, but also because I find it odd that a travel agent can use Cruise Critic to encourage people to share their cruising history and contact information with them... that seems against forum rules to me.

Anyway, Laura has spotted it, case closed :)

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Hello,

 

I have participated in many roll calls where roll call lists with basic information were kept on Cruise Critic or in a spreadsheet.

Would you be comfortable with someone on a roll call asking everyone to go to a website to 'sign up' for the roll call using a web form, asking for personal information like your LCV loyalty level, the hotel you're staying at before/after the cruise, your cabin number, how many in your cabin, your email address, etc. etc.? It's probably done with the very best intentions, but somehow it doesn't feel right. That's a lot of information that would be very valuable to Tavel Agents. Thoughts?

 

Best,

Floris

 

 

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I can't help but put my "thoughts" on what is being said here. Let me start from the top.

I saw the website. Where is the personal information? It is all generic port and cruise ship information that someone has spent hours accumulating for the convenience of the fellow cruisers.

Travel Agent: Someone inferred the person was a "travel professional". Where did that come from? The signature is quite clear, "(not a TA but have a travel email)". So the person has a CC name and an email address with the word "travel" in it. Does this make them "professionals", no. It's the email they use for doing personal travel related activities.

Using a Form to enter data: Welcome to 2016. People have less time and we are collecting more info (will cover info below). Are you too good to enter your data on a form that auto populates the spreadsheet for the person doing all the work to organize the sharing of tours, M&Gs, Sailaways, etc. Instead you want to email them the info so they can move it field by field into the spreadsheet! And I almost forgot, you can put in just the information you are comfortable with in the form.

Email address: I love this one. Person wants to signup and have everything sent to them, but don’t want to provide an email address to do all of this. In the Form collection mentioned above, there are only a few required fields, two of them are email address and a question, do you want to share it. Just click “do not share”. It is that simple. You get the private information and only the person organizing has your email address. Don't include the email address, no private information, only the generic website. Your choice!

Why collect all this information: Let’s look at the history. Before CC we had no idea as to who we will be sailing with. So along comes CC. We start to introduce ourselves, then, we started planning tours, sharing rides to the port, meeting up on flights and at hotels, etc. What made this possible, someone collecting the info and sharing it!

Info, Cabin number: Let’s say a tour company for a private tour you signed up for with a CC member sends out a last minute email to the person who organized it moving up the start time and location. Now that person needs to contact those 6 other people on the tour with them. How do they get a hold of you? Answer, cabin number so they can leave a polite note on the changes, or by your choice, you can stand around in the wrong place after the tour has left. And if you are not going on any private organized tour, three simple letters, "TBA".

Info Hotel: Someone who has been to the embarkation port before knows of a great hotel where the cruise company hasn’t already reserved all the rooms. Without having to say where they are staying, they can simply post I found a great hotel, see my info on the spreadsheet. Some people like to get together ahead of time with the other cruisers. If they see you are at the same hotel, they might post a get together. But hey, you didn’t have to enter the hotel name if you didn’t want to, you don't have to go to the get together, and you don’t have share the inexpensive transport to the port someone arranged.

Info City and Country and flight info: Allows you to see who might be in your area or possibly traveling with you. Maybe share a shuttle to or from the airport. Maybe as I have done before, meet up with 20 people who live in my area a few months ahead of a cruise. Not comfortable with putting down a city, put down Bay Area or near Dallas.

The list goes on and on of what some people want collected and what some don’t care about. If you are in the latter group, don’t complain about what the former group would like to meet up with people to do. Just leave the fields blank! Now we have slot pulls, magnet share, Mah Jongg, canasta, photo sharing on Flickr, and the list goes on. None of this would have been possible if we didn’t start on CC.

Call me weird, but I would just send information that I am comfortable sharing. Let the spreadsheet have a few blank cells!

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Call me weird, but I would just send information that I am comfortable sharing. Let the spreadsheet have a few blank cells!

 

 

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I agree with you and The Rabbit. This has been going on for several years as far as I know, for Azamara and other cruise lines as well. Some I've provided all information, others I've not given all they asked for. I'm not sure what has suddenly caused the commotion.

I agree with you and The Rabbit. This has been going on for several years as far as I know, for Azamara and other cruise lines as well. Some I've provided all information, others I've not given all they asked for. I'm not sure what has suddenly caused the commotion.

The "commotion" as you unnecessarily call it is partially privacy and partially the fact that the information isn't captured on the roll call but on a third party website from a travel professional who asks for a lot more than the usual name and where you're from, specifically hotel information, cruising history, contact information, etc. The last time I checked promoting travel professionals or travel professionals promoting themselves was against forum rules. And if I was Azamara, I wouldn't want a travel professional soliciting my customers' information in such a way either.

Anyway, Laura responded a few posts back that she is looking into it and whatever she decides / does, I'm sure it will be the right outcome. Moving on :)

Floris

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The "commotion" as you unnecessarily call it is partially privacy and partially the fact that the information isn't captured on the roll call but on a third party website from a travel professional who asks for a lot more than the usual name and where you're from, specifically hotel information, cruising history, contact information, etc. The last time I checked promoting travel professionals or travel professionals promoting themselves was against forum rules. And if I was Azamara, I wouldn't want a travel professional soliciting my customers' information in such a way either.

 

Anyway, Laura responded a few posts back that she is looking into it and whatever she decides / does, I'm sure it will be the right outcome. Moving on :)

 

Floris

 

 

 

 

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I can understand that you are not comfortable.

In fairness to the poor soul who is trying to organise that roll call, (as mentioned by others) her signature states clearly that she isn't a TA, it's just that her screen name is named after their email account used whilst travelling. She has also stated in that roll call that she and her DH are retired, so I can't imagine why she's been labelled a 'travel professional'.

It seems to me that she just likes organising things, and may be a bit too thorough. As you say, Laura has been made aware.

It seems to me that she just likes organising things, and may be a bit too thorough. As you say, Laura has been made aware.

I mean, just today:

"Remember, if you want the roll call documents, you MUST give me your email address."

Yes, he/she capitalized "MUST".

What's suddenly wrong with posting on Cruise Critic as opposed to one person monopolizing information and distributing it?

Anyway, yes, Laura is on it. Really moving on now :)

Floris