Why Little Response to HAL Roll Calls?

[teacherman]

We have done many cruises and try to use the Roll Calls to get information others may wish to share concerning cruise preparations. We have always had a lot of Roll Call "action", but now that we have scheduled a HAL Alaska cruise for next September, there has been NO response to this trip on the Roll Call. I also notice that there is very little rsponse to most of the HAL Roll Calls. I was just wondering why, as most of the other cruise line Roll Calls have much chatter. Any thoughts on this?

[alpal1993]

This is going to be my first cruise on HAL so I can't comment on HAL Rollcalls,but it is the same on all the other lines I have cruised .Some are very busy with many posts and friendships made others are slow and uneventful.

For Our Alaska cruise 14 Night Amsterdam we have a post for generalized questions and tips and then one for individual cruise dates.

On Explorer of The Seas New England Canada cruise 2008 we had a fantastic Roll Call and we planned many activities together throughout the cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

It has been that way for years for the HAL Roll Calls.

 

Some are very active -- others are duds.

 

Some plan Meet & Greets.

 

And some just talk.

[Randyk47]

Five years ago a fellow HAL CC'er and I crossed to the "dark side" and booked a Celebrity cruise and started a roll call on the Celebrity part of Cruise Critic. Over the next few months a few more HAL CC'ers booked the cruise and joined the roll call but the majority of participants were regular Celebrity cruisers. The roll call was very active and over the year from start to the cruise over 60 people became involved. That resulted in few hundred posts over the months. Some of it was information, some of it just introductions, and some of it was a long running comedy-like exchange between myself and another participant. In the end we all met on the Galaxy for a Celebrity sponsored and supported meet and mingle. Over 100 people showed up! I've often wondered why the difference between that group and HAL roll calls and quite frankly I haven't come up with any answers.

[eldercruser]

Sometimes it is just not smart to generalize too much.

 

Check out this roll call: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=937161

 

Over 830 posts, 13,000 views for Noordam's Feb 13 cruise.

 

Obviously, it depends on who your fellow cruisers may be.

[bonsat]

obviously, HAL cruisers are just not into cruise critic that much. the people you will meet on your cruise are nothing like the people who post here.

 

enjoy!

[mr green]

I think that one reason that we do not use CCs a much, is that HAL cruisers tend to be a little older than persons on other lines, so, overall HAL cruisers may not use computers as much as others.

 

john

[fgrsk8r]

This is going to be my first Cruise on HAL as well and overall (don't count a 4 day one on Carnival) using this board. My personal view is also that, even though these Roll Calls are great to get a feel who's going to be on board with you, it's still the internet. Don't get me wrong... I have made great friendships through the years online, but I have also learned some valuable lessons on how little you know a person until you meet them - even if you get along great on a board.

 

That said, for me personally I'd like to get to know people on board when I meet them, as I feel that i want to keep my guard up online. It's unfortunate that we live in a day and age when one needs to be smart about that.

 

so I think it's just a combination of many things that cause some role calls to be more active than others.... just throwing my 5 cents in :-)

 

That said - I am excited for our cruise in March to the Mexican Riviera and I have posted on my Role Call about that!

 

fgrsk8r

 

[sail7seas]

I am very active poster on CC and have been for ten years. I almost never participate in Roll Calls. Very rarely.

 

We have six booked cruises and I think I may have mentioned on only one of those Roll Calls that we are booked for that cruise.

 

Some like to particpate in roll calls and some do not.

I don't think age has much if anything to do with that. It's an easy 'catch all' to describe any unexplainable tidbit having to do with HAL. :rolleyes: This whole age thing with HAL is really getting OLD. (pun intended).

 

[NMLady]

We have done many cruises and try to use the Roll Calls to get information others may wish to share concerning cruise preparations. We have always had a lot of Roll Call "action", but now that we have scheduled a HAL Alaska cruise for next September, there has been NO response to this trip on the Roll Call. I also notice that there is very little rsponse to most of the HAL Roll Calls. I was just wondering why, as most of the other cruise line Roll Calls have much chatter. Any thoughts on this?

 

I don't know which Alaska Roll Call you're on, but most of the 14 day Amsterdam roll calls are very active.

[kakalina]

Sometimes it is just not smart to generalize too much.

 

Check out this roll call: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=937161

 

Over 830 posts, 13,000 views for Noordam's Feb 13 cruise.

 

Obviously, it depends on who your fellow cruisers may be.

 

 

And ours on the Rotterdam March 8, 2010 with 1494 posts and 21543 views.

Virgil

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=915046

[Mary Ellen]

I'm another who isn't a big participant of roll calls. I manage to stay in hotels without knowing others who are also there at the same time. I'm fine on ships too. Maybe the typical HAL cruiser is a bit more independent.

[kakalina]

Plus we have 74 people currently signed up for the meet and greet.

[sail7seas]

I'm another who isn't a big participant of roll calls. I manage to stay in hotels without knowing others who are also there at the same time. I'm fine on ships too. Maybe the typical HAL cruiser is a bit more independent.

 

 

That's it, Mary Ellen. That is the word I was looking for:

 

Independent

[BlueCat1105]

I don't see participation in the Roll Calls as a matter of dependency at all. And it does appear to me too that the HAL boards are GENERALLY a bit slower than other lines' boards.

 

BC

[jtl513]

... now that we have scheduled a HAL Alaska cruise for next September, there has been NO response to this trip on the Roll Call.

It could be the fact it is September. In '07 on a late-Sep AK cruise the entire roll call was me, my DW, and one other couple on their first HAL cruise. We did run into one mother/daughter who were aware of Cruise Critic - IIRC the daughter was a member, and the mother just read - but as far as I know there simply weren't CCers aboard.

[mr green]

To those who don't attend roll calls much, you may be missing out.

A few years ago we went on was was to be our 'Last Cruise', however I met up with, and made friends with so many people on line, that we had our best cruise ever, and as you can see, we are still cruising.

 

john

[treasure4two]

We did a roll call on Azamara and it was great! Meet two groups of people to do private tours on and they were great people and we had a ball. We ate dinner with one foursome the last night and ran into them on the cruise, but did not feel any obligation. It was just nice for this couple traveling to have people felt like we knew a little better. On RCCL, on a 5 day cruise(took my 80 year old mother-in-law on her first cruise ever), the people on the roll call and at the M&G were totally opposite of the Azamara people and not in a good way. We made fast friends with two great guys but the others were actually pretty snobby with no class and they acted like teenagers playing games and excluding many which actually hurt feelings of others. I am too old for those games so we avoided them. I think RCCL offers a different feel than HAL, Azamara, and Oceania(we went on them in 2006), so I am looking forward to HAL! Great thing about roll call, is you have a chance to find others who want to take private tours. Everyone has a different way to view roll calls and M&G-but difference makes the world go round!!

[Johanna7]

To those who don't attend roll calls much, you may be missing out.

A few years ago we went on was was to be our 'Last Cruise', however I met up with, and made friends with so many people on line, that we had our best cruise ever, and as you can see, we are still cruising.

 

john

 

On our 2008 Princess cruise around the British Isles, we had a great roll call and as a result, I found out about 2 of the best shore excursions (private, not Princess) and booked them and it was super.

 

Also met 2 couples, one who needed another couple to get from the Queensferry tender port to Edinburgh and share a car there and back which worked out great and another couple who wanted to share a private large vehicle from Southampton to Gatwick area. It drove us right to our hotel and they to their guesthouse in Gatwick. The driver was most interesting as well.

[liketraveling]

I have done 2 Hal cruises and getting ready to do a 3rd.

 

The first one to Alaska there were 4 of us and last year to the Sea of Crotez there were maybe six.

 

The one I am on now has appox 34 cruisers but I think allot of them have made friendships over the years. They are giving me good useful information but i don't like to intrude. I share information I have.

 

Like another poster said, until you meet someone you just don't know.

 

Gail

[ginder11]

First Time Cruiser

Amsterdam 8/23/2010 Alaska

So far 3 groups, total 10 people??

I used to travel a lot and love to talk to others, hope our roll call picks up more members.

[LindaM]

To me, the "roll call" is part of the precruise experience. I enjoy chatting with other like minded people, comparing notes or planning independant excursions. To me, it adds to the excitement of the trip. On our last cruise, there was a group of 8 or 10 who planned independant tours in many of the ports. Others booked vans together instead of using transfers to get to the airport. We did our own thing, but it was still nice to have a group of people onboard that we were friendly with. I consider myself independant, but I am a "people person". Others may not be interested in meeting others, and some are just shy!! That would be my opinion as to why anyone wouldn't be interested in their rollcall. Most people we met on HAL didn't know anything about Cruise Critic---they thought we were there to find issues with the ship!!

[BlueCat1105]

That is exactly our experience too, Linda. It was absolutely terrific for our Med cruise, and last year, on an Eastern Caribbean, it was just fun to share a cab here or a drink there. We certainly didn't feel joined at the hip to anyone. I don't feel that I'm dependent on anyone - and I'm trying not to take exception to the thought that communicating on a roll call would be seen that way. There are people who seek out and follow every word of some of the frequent posters here like their word is gospel - and yet a person who posts a message on a roll call is not independent?

 

BC

[Krazy Kruizers]

To those who don't attend roll calls much, you may be missing out.

A few years ago we went on was was to be our 'Last Cruise', however I met up with, and made friends with so many people on line, that we had our best cruise ever, and as you can see, we are still cruising.

 

john

 

I signed up for both Roll Calls for our upcoming cruises -- never even got a "welcome" from anyone -- and others who joined after me were welcomed by various posters on the threads. Now the original person who started both roll calls has cancelled the cruises. A new person took over the first one -- I have never bothered to go back -- figure they don't want me there. The second cruise -- it has died as no one is taking it over.

For our 2 previous cruises -- first one -- they finalized plans for a Meet Greet after we had left for Florida. Second one -- it was nothing more than just a chat room.

Haven't been to a Meet & Greet since our Noordam cruises in 2009.

[bbwex]

I started a roll call for our late-June cruise to Alaska on Statendam, and so far there is only one person on the roll call! The variation of numbers on different roll calls is interesting, surprising, and at times annoying. I have put out a request for people for some tours, and with nobody on the roll call, that is pretty useless. There is still time, and I hope things will improve.

 

Is an active roll call necessary for a good cruise? No, I will meet lots of people when I get on board. Would it help get us excited, get things planned, and give us a nucleus of people to Meet and Greet -- Yes.

 

As for not being welcomed, I am sure it was an oversight, and everyone is welcome to any roll call.