Roll Call Expectations

[Bridge Maven]

What do you expect from a roll call? Ideally, I would like one that merely sets up a meet and mingle party at the beginning of the cruise, and provides a venue for sharing helpful information, while having an opportunity to find other passengers who share a similar interest, such as bridge. Then after you meet each other in person during the cruise, you can decide how much time you wish to spend with each other, and how much personal information you want to share.

 

However, it appears that I am in the minority because on most roll calls people share personal information on a very public message board, and schedule many different activities with people they haven't even met yet.

[Pilot70D]

I see nothing worng with scheduling activities and so forth on Roll Calls. I think they are a great forums for so doing.

We're both divers and have been going on Caribbean cruises for twelve years now. We have considerable experience with the ports and the dive operators within each port. We invite other CC folks that are divers to tag along with us on our privately arranged dive trips. The same goes for a really fun day sail we know about in Barbados. Over the years we have had several individuals and/or couples join us and we hooked up on the Roll Call for each cruise.

The same goes for on-board activities. Like many cruises we will have a cabin crawl on our upcoming cruise. This is a great way to look at a variety of cabins in the real world. The Roll Calls are a good place to get this sort of activity arranged and publicized.

As far as perosnal information though I don't disclose anything more than CC members would be able to find out by reading posts here on any part of CC.

Just my $0.02 worth.

:):):)

[julia]

What do you expect from a roll call? Ideally, I would like one that merely sets up a meet and mingle party at the beginning of the cruise, and provides a venue for sharing helpful information, while having an opportunity to find other passengers who share a similar interest, such as bridge. Then after you meet each other in person during the cruise, you can decide how much time you wish to spend with each other, and how much personal information you want to share.

 

However, it appears that I am in the minority because on most roll calls people share personal information on a very public message board, and schedule many different activities with people they haven't even met yet.

 

 

And so those folks have a different expectation of their roll call then yourself. It's just a reflection of society as a whole... some are more outgoing and open, while others are quieter and more conservative. I usually have no expectations of a roll call, and have enjoyed sharing tours and meeting many interesting and fun people over the years. :)

[Orator]

What do you expect from a roll call? Ideally, I would like one that merely sets up a meet and mingle party at the beginning of the cruise, and provides a venue for sharing helpful information, while having an opportunity to find other passengers who share a similar interest, such as bridge. Then after you meet each other in person during the cruise, you can decide how much time you wish to spend with each other, and how much personal information you want to share.

 

However, it appears that I am in the minority because on most roll calls people share personal information on a very public message board, and schedule many different activities with people they haven't even met yet.

 

I find myself largely agreeing with you. However, as long as posting rules aren't violated a Roll Call is whatever the participants want it to be. Personally I don't give my cabin number to people I don't know. Perhaps I'm a bit paranoid, but crimes are committed on ships. I also don't post my e-mail since it may be abused by others who are not even on the cruise. Remember, one can retrieve past posts for any member and they never (well hardly ever) vanish. I don't know what other "personal information" you may be concerned about.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I see nothing worng with scheduling activities and so forth on Roll Calls. I think they are a great forums for so doing.

We're both divers and have been going on Caribbean cruises for twelve years now. We have considerable experience with the ports and the dive operators within each port. We invite other CC folks that are divers to tag along with us on our privately arranged dive trips. The same goes for a really fun day sail we know about in Barbados. Over the years we have had several individuals and/or couples join us and we hooked up on the Roll Call for each cruise.

The same goes for on-board activities. Like many cruises we will have a cabin crawl on our upcoming cruise. This is a great way to look at a variety of cabins in the real world. The Roll Calls are a good place to get this sort of activity arranged and publicized.

As far as perosnal information though I don't disclose anything more than CC members would be able to find out by reading posts here on any part of CC.

Just my $0.02 worth.

:):):)

 

I'm with you, Pilot! Don't know you yet, but will enjoy meeting you on our cruise in 90 days.

 

Roll calls offer whatever level of participation you choose. If you're not comfortable sharing information, then don't share. I've met some incredibly fun people on roll calls before cruises and all the chatting in advance added a lot to my cruise in my view. YMMV. Some of us from all over the world from a cruise about a year ago are still chatting and some of us will be cruising together again in December.

 

Have also shared private tours with people from the roll call with very good results. I guess I've never understood why people are reluctant to share their cabin numbers. It's not as if you are living there permanently. Basically, you get left out of impromptu events if people don't know how to contact you. But again, that's me. I'm pretty social.

 

Bottom line is: you can participate as much or as little as you want. There's no right or wrong way.

[Blazerboy]

Bridgemaven/Orator,

 

I ,too, am largely with you. I'm very social, but don't want to commit to marching in lockstep with 100 people of all stripes. That said, it's a nice way to get information about a cruise, nice to meet up on the first day, or at the mix and mingle, even if just to say hello.

 

We've actually made some of our dearest friendships with people we initially met on roll calls, however, and one even stood up for us at our wedding- we were able to return the favor two years later! So, while I don't assume everyone is my new best friend, I don't rule out socializing with fellow roll call folks. We take a wait and see approach, find common interests, shared humor, and "style of cruising" (ie, do they want to see every site available, or would they rather have an interesting meal in a local spot while discovering one off the beaten path attraction.?)

 

Sometimes, a rollcall seems like it's all about doing EVERYTHING together, but we often find, by partipating, that we meet a few kindred souls through the roll call, and have a good cruise with those folks and any others we meet on board.

 

Andrew

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Bridgemaven/Orator,

 

I ,too, am largely with you. I'm very social, but don't want to commit to marching in lockstep with 100 people of all stripes. That said, it's a nice way to get information about a cruise, nice to meet up on the first day, or at the mix and mingle, even if just to say hello.

 

We've actually made some of our dearest friendships with people we initially met on roll calls, however, and one even stood up for us at our wedding- we were able to return the favor two years later! So, while I don't assume everyone is my new best friend, I don't rule out socializing with fellow roll call folks. We take a wait and see approach, find common interests, shared humor, and "style of cruising" (ie, do they want to see every site available, or would they rather have an interesting meal in a local spot while discovering one off the beaten path attraction.?)

 

Sometimes, a rollcall seems like it's all about doing EVERYTHING together, but we often find, by partipating, that we meet a few kindred souls through the roll call, and have a good cruise with those folks and any others we meet on board.

 

Andrew

 

I've never committed to marching in lockstep with 100 people by participating in a roll call. Not my style at all. I get to choose who I'm going to interact with and which activities I'm going to attend. If I don't participate in the roll call, then the universe of new people I might meet on the ship is more limited.

[cruise kitty]

I think the most helpful functions of a roll call is sharing price drop notifications, & sharing private tours. On our current roll call we have a sail away party scheduled, which I prefer to attend over the connections party, X tends to schedule those at the worst possible time. I don't think giving out a cabin # is a big deal, but I definitely won't give out personal addresses, phone #'s & such.

[Blazerboy]

I've never committed to marching in lockstep with 100 people by participating in a roll call. Not my style at all. I get to choose who I'm going to interact with and which activities I'm going to attend. If I don't participate in the roll call, then the universe of new people I might meet on the ship is more limited.

 

Nor did I say you did! Some roll calls and groups ARE like that, which sounds like it wouldn't suit either of us. I agree with you that it's a way to meet more people, as evidenced by my post.:)

[bob278]

Interesting thread.

 

I guess we fit in the middle. My wife and I post independently and chat a good bit and pick and choose what activities that are being arranged we want to join.

 

If I were to have a complaint about a roll call, it's about the ones where there are 3-5 people who have cruised together and socialized between cruises who do too much talking about things that are not cruise related. However, I like to consider a roll call a party I have gone to. There are conversations all around the room and I can stop by or not as I choose.

 

Things we have done that would not have happened without roll calls include:

 

• Saving a ton of money on transfers and excursions

• Seeing cabins we would never know about on cabin crawls

• Taking part in slot pulls (over about 5 of them, I think I am about even, but have several hours of fun that was worth more than the total cost if we hadn't gotten a dime back)

• Shared joys and sorrows with people we didn't know (but in several cases are now friends)

• Dinners/meetings long before before the cruise or the night before in great places like Barcelona or London

 

While it is possible that there can be more (or longer) posts than you are interested in, it doesn't take long to figure out who on the roll call fits into categories of those you don't need to read and those you do.

 

But as a couple of people have said, your expectations are what you want them to be and you control how much or how little you choose to participate.

 

Cruise Critic has definitely enhanced our cruising experience over the years. Our cruises before we discovered CC were very good. Since CC, they have been better every time.

[Mr&MrsBee]

Basically we have stopped commenting. In my opinion the posts have turned into a conversation between a few people and their personalities. e.g I gave an opinion and was flamed and basically told my comments were not welcome. When we have asked questions about the cruises they have gone unanswered and the select just converse between themselves about personal matters. Does this stop us from cruising? No. But we do not attend the meet and mingle as I have the attitudes that are portrayed and do not wish to be a part of the group. I do have to say that on earlier cruises we have met have gotten some good friendly info and had a good time on the ships with some of the folks. Maybe it is just my luck that it seems there are too many pompous a**** who want to have a one up man ship. Sorry for the length. Have good cruises.

[candbgirl]

I guess I'm not much of a joiner. I do read the Roll Calls for any cruises I take and based on the ongoing conversations I decide if I want to jump in. I usually don't. I'm not comfortable having strangers come to my cabin on a Cabin Crawl and I'm not comfortable going to stranger's cabins. The latest activity seems to be a gift exchange. I can't even imagine what that is all about. Maybe if I was on a cruise that last 30+ days I might see the benefit of these activities but I never have a hard time filling my days(or nights) when I am cruising. I meet and converse with people if I want to. I do see the benefit for Sail Away parties or if people want to arrange private tours but I'll depend on the cruise line staff and myself for picking entertainment.

[BellKat]

You never know who you are going to meet on a roll call. We met our best friends in 2005 on a roll call. One set lives in Canada and the other in Florida. We see our Canadian friends several times a year and our Floridian friends visited us and the Canadians just last year. We visited them a couple of years and all six of us cruised together. We tweet, email, call, etc all the time. We have traveled together on numerous occasions.

 

We also met Andrew (BlazerBoy) on that same cruise and visited with him a couple of times while in San Francisco. Hey Andrew!

 

Some roll calls have been duds & some have been great fun. So participate a little or a lot - just do what is right for you.

[Cruiser Susie]

You never know who you are going to meet on a roll call. We met our best friends in 2005 on a roll call. One set lives in Canada and the other in Florida. We see our Canadian friends several times a year and our Floridian friends visited us and the Canadians just last year. We visited them a couple of years and all six of us cruised together. We tweet, email, call, etc all the time. We have traveled together on numerous occasions.

 

We also met Andrew (BlazerBoy) on that same cruise and visited with him a couple of times while in San Francisco. Hey Andrew!

 

Some roll calls have been duds & some have been great fun. So participate a little or a lot - just do what is right for you.

 

2005 must have been a banner year for meeting and making great friends. We met a lot of great people on our second Celebrity cruise (after my husband discovered CC and started posting here) through our roll call. We had such fun with two other couples that we have been in touch (thank goodness for Skype, as one couple is from Scotland!) ever since. Like you, we have been to each other's houses, gone on cruises together and just visited each other. We have often commented that we were a) lucky to have all picked that same cruise b) posted on CC and c) quickly became friends and also had someone nickname us " the Martini Gang!" We feel fortunate to continue to meet and make more friends with each cruise; some roll calls are phenomenal, and others, well, we enjoy the group but don't do much after the cruise is over. All in all, I would say that roll calls have been a positive experience... some better than others, but no bad experiences yet!

 

You are so right... participating in a roll call and the extent of that participation is different for each person. But I, for one, am very glad that we have had the chance to do so.

[pasto5]

We are still in touch with 5 other couples from our 2006 cruise. Some of us have been able to get together in person since then. We have supported each other through loss of spouses and other family members, joy at special events and just sharing of life's adventures. We have a CC thread that celebrated it's 5th anniversary in May. We did have over 40 people on our pre cruise chat but the 6 women have kept it going since then. We have talked about cruising together again and still hope it will happen. My DH and I have cruised twice more since then and have not had the same kind of connection again. I don't expect it but do enjoy discussing the trip with others going on it. I have learned a lot each time. But I can also understand why others would choose not to participate.

[Muushka]

It's sad, but it only takes one or 2 people to dampen the spirits of a roll call.

 

But conversly, it just takes one or 2 people to make it a very pleasant experience.

 

We have happily attended a few and sadly not bothered with a few.

[Mr&MrsBee]

You and your hubby have always responded on cruise questions and are very positive. Just wanted to add that input.

[Gonzo70]

I have formed some lasting friendships through people I have met via the Roll Calls and also have gleaned invaluable information for the planning of my cruises and enjoyed some fun activities with people from the Roll Calls during sea days. I have also benefiited from some amazing private tours organized by people on prior Roll Calls and reduced costs via shared transportation to/from the ship.

 

What is great about the Roll Calls is you can participate as much or as little as you desire (both in the Roll Call itself and in any activities proposed and organized by members of the Roll Call). You also can choose to share as little or as much personal information as you desire. There is no "right" or "wrong" amount of participation - everybody is able to choose this.

[bighairtexan]

I've had some very VERY active roll calls. But for those that ever post, it seems perhaps half of them post often. We'll had ppl come on and just post who they are and that they'd be sailing and we never hear from them again (and we always welcome newcomers).

Others come on for the first time and want to organize a tour. I've rarely seen a good response to a person who comes on and says "Hi I'm so and so. There's a catamaran trip which holds 6, does anyone want to come along?" I think a lot of think "wow, we don't even KNOW this person.' Funny, but we also don't "KNOW" the person who posts several times a day but it feels more comfortable.

I'm not sure I understand the people that post once just to say they're cruising and never come back. If they were ignored or made to feel like an intruder, but I've seen them warmly welcomed and POOF. Gone.

[Project_gal]

I think each cruise has its own style for its Roll Call. None of ours has been the same as another because the itinerary and people vary from cruise to cruise. Our most useful Roll Call was that for our Singapore to Athens cruise on Azamara.

 

India had recently changed their process for obtaining visas and it was extremely useful for sharing information and assisting each other. Quest experienced a really long norovirus update leading up to our cruise AND we were travelling to India so we also shared information on the avoidance of disease [especially as the professional advice each of us was receiving only helped add to the confusion!]. We also had the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and pirates in the Gulf leading up to our cruise.

 

We got to know each other quite well before sailing BUT we shared very little personal information. With such a long trip planned [most had pre- or post-cruise arrangements as well] we were extremely conscious about the risks of providing anything that may enable us to be identified on a public forum.

 

Of course, our Roll Call party organised by Azamara gave us an early opportunity to meet the Captain and senior officers who we would get to know well on such a long cruise [24 nights].

 

Sue

[J.E.C]

I think it is very much go with the flow, I have been on active roll calls, and I have joined private tours and had fantastic experiences, and I have been on other roll calls that were so quiet that there was no interst in anythignbeignarragned via the roll call and thre was nothing arranged by the ship. In that instance and I and another couple of us met for coffee one morning, and from then on we would bump into each other throughout the ship and catch up with our experiences, and rounded the hoilday off sharing a formal afternoon tea together, all of which added to the holiday experience.

 

As we always go for select dinig this is a great why of meeting up with people (in the ether) before you actually board as you dont get to meet folk in the same way that traditional dining allows where you build a relationship.

 

Once on board you take and leave it, I see nothing wrong with sharing my cabin number - after all its only a temporary home and share my email with those that I enjoy the company of and wish to maintain contact with.

 

I see it as a real win win and it helps build the anticipation of the holiday.

[Sail Girl]

Basically we have stopped commenting. In my opinion the posts have turned into a conversation between a few people and their personalities. e.g I gave an opinion and was flamed and basically told my comments were not welcome. When we have asked questions about the cruises they have gone unanswered and the select just converse between themselves about personal matters. Does this stop us from cruising? No. But we do not attend the meet and mingle as I have the attitudes that are portrayed and do not wish to be a part of the group. I do have to say that on earlier cruises we have met have gotten some good friendly info and had a good time on the ships with some of the folks. Maybe it is just my luck that it seems there are too many pompous a**** who want to have a one up man ship. Sorry for the length. Have good cruises.

 

Mr&MrsBee,

I believe you and I have been part of a previousConnie Roll Call together although unfortunately we never got to meet. DH and I cancelled that cruise and did the Baltic cruise on the Connie instead. Hope to sail with you in the future.

 

BTW, I've met many great people through CC and gotten valuable info through the various threads. IMO, it's a great tool for us cruisers in many ways!

[Blazerboy]

::D

You never know who you are going to meet on a roll call. We met our best friends in 2005 on a roll call. One set lives in Canada and the other in Florida. We see our Canadian friends several times a year and our Floridian friends visited us and the Canadians just last year. We visited them a couple of years and all six of us cruised together. We tweet, email, call, etc all the time. We have traveled together on numerous occasions.

 

We also met Andrew (BlazerBoy) on that same cruise and visited with him a couple of times while in San Francisco. Hey Andrew!

 

Some roll calls have been duds & some have been great fun. So participate a little or a lot - just do what is right for you.

Hey, yourself!:D

We, too, have had great rollcalls, and stayed in touch with many couples, but we don't tend to do a lot of group things like slot pulls, shore excursions, or cabin crawls. As I've said before, it's like a cocktail party...with some folks you'll have a brief pleasant conversation, and with others, you'll really bond...and drink Martinis together!;)

 

Andrew

[Blazerboy]

2005 must have been a banner year for meeting and making great friends. We met a lot of great people on our second Celebrity cruise (after my husband discovered CC and started posting here) through our roll call. We had such fun with two other couples that we have been in touch (thank goodness for Skype, as one couple is from Scotland!) ever since. Like you, we have been to each other's houses, gone on cruises together and just visited each other. We have often commented that we were a) lucky to have all picked that same cruise b) posted on CC and c) quickly became friends and also had someone nickname us " the Martini Gang!" We feel fortunate to continue to meet and make more friends with each cruise; some roll calls are phenomenal, and others, well, we enjoy the group but don't do much after the cruise is over. All in all, I would say that roll calls have been a positive experience... some better than others, but no bad experiences yet!

 

You are so right... participating in a roll call and the extent of that participation is different for each person. But I, for one, am very glad that we have had the chance to do so.

See, that's why we need to cruise with you and Larry! With BelllKat, we were known as the Martini Mates!:)

[CruisingChick]

I don't have expectations any longer. The roll call for my upcoming 10/9/2011 Summit Cruise is so quiet you can hear the crickets chirping. It says we have 54 people signed up for the meet and greet, but no one is posting.

 

I have been on some fantastic roll calls where everyone just seems to be in sync and I've meet some great people, who I am still friends with today.

 

It would be nice if the roll calls could be balanced between sharing cruise and itinerary information and getting to know one another.

 

Met Mr&MrsBee on Constellation Cruise 2 years ago and had fantastic time with them.

 

Still dying to meet Andrew (Blazerboy) and Sue and Larry (even though I feel like I know them already).

 

Anne Maria