Pros/ Cons of the Roll call...

[jpg1747]

On my last roll call everyone was very nice on line. However, I ended up sitting with a group of them at an 8-top in the MDE and it was a bit of a different experience. There was one person who, for a reason I never discovered (and didn't really care about), decided she didn't like some of us. Every night she would order a bottle of wine and only share with those she liked (and talked to). The rest of us she pointedly ignored. We just shrugged, chatted with everyone else and ignored her right back.

[hannahsmomtoo]

I agree! I don't want people knowing "everything" I am doing and certainly don't want uninvited knocks at the door either.:)

 

Well good - since you and I are on the SAME sailing... we shall officially agree to NOT knock on each other's door !!! :D

[Wildgrits]

 

Some can be regular chatty cathy's on roll call but then don't show up at all or don't have anything to say in person.

 

 

I am totally guilty of this myself.:(

 

I love meeting people and have enjoyed both roll calls we have been in. But when a group of people is bigger than 4 folks, I am really shy and uncomfortable.

 

So we don't do the Meet & Greets for very long. Just long enough to get a glimpse of our fellow roll call memebers so that when we see them around we can say "Hey".

 

That being said, everyone we have met from roll call have been a lot of fun.

[MrPatches]

I join the roll calls but I never saw anyone there (from what they write anyway) that I would befriend on land. Most are younger, most are too excited about the DOD, most have little kids etc, so really, nothing in common.

 

Therefore I don't go to the M&Gs.

 

But, there are many other venues to meet people. Do things that interest you, and you'll find people that interest you.

[Banditswife]

Two words: Introverted Claustrophobic:)

LOL, I am shy too. But seem to come out of my shell on CC & onboard.

[drosphot]

The one and only M&G I went to was in Thanksgiving 2010 on the Miracle. At least 10x the number of people that were on the Roll Call showed up to the M&G and it was a giant complaint session about smokers. 8 of the 12 at the Chef's Table were on the Roll Call so that was a nice dinner with folks we knew a little about. Any other Roll Call I have been on has been pretty inactive so I don't get hopes up for anything.

[tammi0916]

We have always had good experience with our roll calls. We enjoy meeting everyone and seeing them around the ship. We have also been to a couple of the paid meet and greets and always brought our daughter with us as well as any other children that want to attend. It is a good opportunity for the kids to meet as well as the adults.

 

We have stayed in touch with a lot of the great people we met at M&G's and even cruised with groups again that we met on roll calls.

 

We also did a cabin crawl on our last cruise 2 weeks ago - it was a ton of fun and would do it again.

 

Tam

[near the beach]

Before the cruise we had about twenty five people signed up for a meet and greet. It was set up on the ship. We had the club, a bartender, a waiter and a DJ. The problem. Only five people showed up. We were calling people who walked by seeing the private function sign out front to come in and party. After the cruise no one posted on the roll call again.

 

If we hang out with people we meet on a cruise it is usually the people from our main dining room table at dinner.

 

Roll calls are great to just have someone to chat with while you are waiting hundreds of days to sail. Most people on roll calls I will not ever have any contact with again. I have received much useful information that came in handy on some cruises.

[jsjjkelly]

For my last 2 cruises, my roll calls were active and we "talked" online before getting there. Each one had a meeting place, but no group activities like everyone went in together for an excursion or what not. And each time, well, I forgot about the meeting until it was too late. For my first, I forgot when it was and didn't write it down. And I didn't have a smart phone then

 

My second, well I wrote that one down and was doing so much I realized about 2 hours too late that I missed it!!!

 

My cruise coming up in November doesn't even have a roll call started. Don't let a roll call make or break your opinion of your cruise before it even gets here!!

 

Shawn

[hannahsmomtoo]

For my last 2 cruises, my roll calls were active and we "talked" online before getting there. Each one had a meeting place, but no group activities like everyone went in together for an excursion or what not. And each time, well, I forgot about the meeting until it was too late. For my first, I forgot when it was and didn't write it down. And I didn't have a smart phone then

 

My second, well I wrote that one down and was doing so much I realized about 2 hours too late that I missed it!!!

 

My cruise coming up in November doesn't even have a roll call started. Don't let a roll call make or break your opinion of your cruise before it even gets here!!

 

Shawn

 

Oh definitely not - the roll call has NO bearing on my opinion of the cruise ! Not even close ! :D

[Go24JeffGordon]

Well good - since you and I are on the SAME sailing... we shall officially agree to NOT knock on each other's door !!! :D

Lol! Deal! ;)

[lady_cruiser]

Our Cabin Crawls were organized and before we started we made sure that you were on our Roll Call list. We gave out funny handmade type tickets or name tags and you were not getting past the front door without one of these.

 

It is a great way to see the different types of cabins. Without my first cabin crawl I never would have seen an Owner's Suite or a corner AFT balcony.

 

They can be fun and safe if thought out. And just because you join a roll call and attend a meet and greet does not mean you have to particpate in the cabin crawl.

 

Another thing, there are two types of crawlers; those showing and looking and those that just want to look. Its all a matter of personal choice.

[Florings]

Our roll call is great - lots of ideas and friendly banter. Makes it fun to anticipate the upcoming cruise with others.

 

There are several activities in the works, and I'm sure I will go to a few of them. It will be fun to meet everyone at least once. But the main reason for the cruise is down time, so if I want to go to the activities, I will - and if not, there is never any obligation.

 

Why don't you just play it by ear and see how you feel when you board the ship? Maybe you will be up for a quick meet & greet.

[kmc500]

Andoria: I am just curious as to why you would consider a cabin crawl Hell. I found it quite fun. We didn't do drinks, but just got to view different cabin types & we played poker in the process. For us it was so much fun

 

I am as well. I've never done one, but it sounds like fun.

 

Kevin C

[thephantomsgirl]

I think Roll Calls (and/or Meet threads) all tend to be different for each one. I've sailed three times before, so far it's been on another cruise line as my upcoming cruise will be my first Carnival.

 

My others have been on DCL. My first cruise had a fairly busy meet thread. We had two groups on there really: the regular cruisers and then a bunch of people who were doing a theme cruise. Back then Disney's Pal Mickey was fairly popular so there were quite a number of us who had them. I have to say that was a ton of fun as so many were highly creative and had outfits to match every occasion. Probably sounds silly to some of you on here but it was such good fun without bothering anyone. The ship's staff even got into it, especially the Spa Manager! On that one we did a whole thread meet the first day - just a short 15 minute thing. That was nice as then we'd see faces we'd recognize throughout the week. Pretty much everyone just went their way after that for family time.

 

My next cruise was a short three day and that thread was really quiet. Never ran into anyone from that one and I don't think there was even a scheduled meet.

 

The next one was a seven day. That one was kind of split - one group only wanted to talk on FB which made some others feel left out. I like and use FB, but I'm the type that feels that if you start things on the roll call/meet thread, then find a way to include everyone! That aside, had a good time and we did have a breakfast meet with many of the people on the meet thread.

 

I have another DCL scheduled for 11/13 and that is a VERY active thread. In fact we have a group that is participating in a "Pink Champagne Girls" event. We will meet and all wear pink boas, pink outfits and tiaras. (ETA: Not all the time - just at the meet!) Again, silly perhaps, but sounds oh-so fun. Since it really isn't about the drinking, we'll have a photo op with the younger crowd and the cabana boys (husbands). There is a meet planned for everyone early on - again a short thing as so many are having family time. I like it as several of us have clicked and decided to link dining to eat in the MDR together.

 

I've just recently booked the upcoming Carnival cruise and it sounds like a really nice group.

 

I think that if people realize that on some roll calls people will click and want to do things together, On others it'll be more of a quick meet that allows people to recognize faces. On some a mixture in between. Some will make lifelong friends. Others will have no one interested in meeting or have a slow roll call. (after all not everyone sailing is on a message board)

 

On a busy one, it's really what you make it and feel comfortable with. Let's face it, cruises are often family time for many people. For others, meeting people to maybe do things with really is a plus.

[Lisah101]

We did a meet and greet from the roll call on Caribbean cruises where no one showed up, but on the European cruise... it was fun and well attended. Having someone set up the pre-paid party with drinks ensures people will come because they have usually prepaid.

 

The second item to a successful roll call I think is having a good organizer who is willing to donate their time. We had a wonderful CC member who set up a blog for our roll call that included so much information including the private tours everyone was signing up for. This was the Oct 7 Carnival Magic sailing out of Barcelona. She also had a link to cruise fellows where you could post a photo of yourself tied to your sailing. It was so much fun to see the photos before we sailed and "recognize" people around the ship. I'm trying to copy her blog for our upcoming cruise and hopefully it will be successful.

[Georgiagolfer]

Seems as if more cruisers end up posting on FB instead of CC Roll Calls. AsI don't do FB, only read 1 or 2 posts from some on the roll call. Present roll call is very inactive.I check daily, but it was silent for 1 week before someone posted.

 

Don't worry about the "small stuff", and most things are "small stuff."

 

Have a great cruise.

[Name Of The Game]

For once we'd like a roll call that didn't ask people's cabin numbers so they could keep a running list. One particular roll call had several strange individuals, the banter got weirder by the month, and things ended up going sour between members. We ended up not showing up for the meet and greet. You can't take back information. If we had given out our cabin numbers we probably would have regretted it.

[hannahsmomtoo]

For once we'd like a roll call that didn't ask people's cabin numbers so they could keep a running list. One particular roll call had several strange individuals, the banter got weirder by the month, and things ended up going sour between members. We ended up not showing up for the meet and greet. You can't take back information. If we had given out our cabin numbers we probably would have regretted it.

 

yea - THAT would make me uncomfortable for sure !

[glrounds]

I usually cruise spur-of-the-moment, booking 3-5 days before the cruise. By the time I get to the ROLL CALL, everybody has been chatting for a year and a half, knows everybody's kids names, ages, and the number of trophies they've won ! :rolleyes: If they plan the MEET'N'GREET on the day of sailaway its usually mayhem. The ideal time, IMHO, for a MEET'N'GREET is on the 1st sea day around 10:00ish am. If they want to do it on sailaway day I usually just pass.

 

Many people have been traveling all day, are tired, want to get to their cabin, unpack their clothes, make dining arrangements, purchase excursions, get something to eat, explore the ship, go to muster and experience sailaway.

 

And an ALL YOU CAN DRINK for an hour meet for $12-15 complete with name tags and beads . . . c'mon . . . this only benefits the drunks that want their drinks subsidized. :rolleyes:

 

[sarahleebones]

We did a meet and greet from the roll call on Caribbean cruises where no one showed up, but on the European cruise... it was fun and well attended. Having someone set up the pre-paid party with drinks ensures people will come because they have usually prepaid.

 

The second item to a successful roll call I think is having a good organizer who is willing to donate their time. We had a wonderful CC member who set up a blog for our roll call that included so much information including the private tours everyone was signing up for. This was the Oct 7 Carnival Magic sailing out of Barcelona. She also had a link to cruise fellows where you could post a photo of yourself tied to your sailing. It was so much fun to see the photos before we sailed and "recognize" people around the ship. I'm trying to copy her blog for our upcoming cruise and hopefully it will be successful.

 

Cool Idea!!! I think I may tackle this for our upcoming cruise! It may make the waiting pass by faster!

[annpharm]

I met 2 of my best friends on a roll call in 2008. We have sailed many times since with them, have spent Thanksgiving with them, have gone on non-cruise vacations with them and are moving to the west coast, where they live, next year.

 

We had planned to move somewhere warm and hadn't even considered CA but after visiting them there several times, realize we love it there and have just put an offer on a house out there!

 

Had it not been for the roll call and the meet and greet I would have missed out on not only meeting them but some other couples that we also still cruise with. Six of us are reuniting again in December on the Epic.

 

We've had several roll calls since then and keep in touch with some people via CC or FB but nothing like the 2008 roll call. I literally speak to Michael every day.

 

You just never know who you'll meet and click with.

[welldone60]

We have been lucky with our roll calls. Have met two couples who we have now been cruising with every year for 5 years. A few other couples who we have sailed with in the past are joining us on our Feb cruise on the Breeze. Have also kept in contact with others who we met on a cruise.

 

Now most of our roll calls have not been very big, maybe 20/30 or so with about half showing up for roll call M&G. We have never done a paid one.

 

To the OP. If there are some on your roll call that you seem to click with, just plan a M&G with them. If you do not wish to attend a paid M&G, don't.

[Rosefloater]

The talk is about a PAID open bar meet and greet the first day..

and

Seeing as how I will be traveling alone with a minor.. it just doesnt sound appealing to me.. and not the best time to leave her for several hours..

 

Thanks everyone !!!

 

I've been on a few cruises where the Roll Calls wanted a paid M&G. Since we don't drink much, we didn't feel it worth the money just to meet people. On those cruises, we also had a M&G at Sail away on the somewhere Lido deck and the paid M&G on the 1st or 2nd sea day.

 

You might want to suggest this to your Roll Call.

[peepaw]

I take each roll call as I go, because each is different. The first cruise I didn't know about cc, when we booked the second our TA actually told us about it, I believe. Most were learning tools but the last one was the BEST! I guess DW and I made 20+ life long friends and we are all getting together on the Sunshine in 2014 for a reunion cruise.:) We did a Cabin crawl and for those that had children or did not care to partake of "adult" beverages we had punch and also snacks if the host wished.

I will say that the M&G was not as much fun as I had anticipated. Most of the time we had a Table on the Lido deck and there was always a few of us there at some time. We would go and root for friends in talent shows and at the kareoke bar and general had a blast!