Why are NCL Roll Calls so Lame?

[TNCruzer56]

Long time CCL cruzer and always had an active to over-active Roll Call. We planned Sail~Away gatherings, slot pulls, shore excursions together and met frequently onboard for a cocktail or coffee. Nothing on our upcoming March cruz. Folks making comments but no intentions of getting together or even acknowledging one another. I`ve even looked at other RCs and pretty much the same. Are CCL and NCL Pax that different???

People have always made the difference (many many Great times and memories) on each of our 18+ cruzes, but I`ve tried humor, pleading, whatever and nothing.

 

I know that meeting strangers face to face is not everybody`s cup of tea, but it begs the question, why even post to a roll call if you don`t plan on participating?

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OK-Flame away!

[punkincc]

I think sometimes the itinerary makes the difference. Alaska and Hawaii cruise roll calls are usually pretty quiet as most people know they will be off the ship most of the time and they won't have the usual sea days to plan things for.

 

We just returned from our January Escape cruise and had a pretty active roll call. Meet and Greet, a pub crawl, slot pull and cabin crawl were organized. I believe some people got together for a private excursion. You may have to be the one to speak up and initiate some ideas. Maybe people would be interested, but they just don't want to be in charge.

[billfish]

I am seeing the same trend on other Cruise lines Roll calls on Cruise Critic. I sometimes use the activity on a roll to make a choice on which line or date for future cruises. Wondering if some of this activity has moved to other social media web sites.

[DMH15]

Gee, I have found quite the opposite to be true. My 3 CCL cruises had zero activity. I even tried to get some interest on my 7-night 11/14 CCL Magic out of Galveston. Prior, my CCL Paradise and Ecstacy nada. In their defense, those were short cruises.

 

On the otherhand, I have hosted two great ones on the NCL Sun and remain friends with some folks I met through the NCL roll call. On my April NCL Jewel cruise I attended but did not host. It was fantastic as well. Lots of pre-cruise plans for excursions for many, although I went with NCL excursions that time.

[punkincc]

I am seeing the same trend on other Cruise lines Roll calls on Cruise Critic. I sometimes use the activity on a roll to make a choice on which line or date for future cruises. Wondering if some of this activity has moved to other social media web sites.

 

I think you are right. It was not promoted on our roll call, as per Cruise Critic rules, but some mention was made of attendees from another group without spelling it out.

[logan25]

I have seen inactive and very active roll calls for my NCL cruises. I also sometimes check out the roll call before booking.

 

I, on the other hand, am not impressed with the few Carnival roll calls in which I have participated. The M&G events did not seem to be "sponsored" by Carnival in the same way as NCL. If the CC group chose to get together, it would involve booze with an attached attendance fee. No thanks. I refuse to pay $15 to meet fellow passengers, so they can get their alcohol subsidized by me.

[xriva]

This is a related question to one I asked earlier - why don't people go to the Meet & Greet?

 

When I first found Cruise Critic, I thought signing up for the Roll Call meant you were going to the M&G. It was ages before I found out that some people just want to talk beforehand but then not meet. What?

 

We've only sailed on Norwegian (11 cruises), so this is my NCL perspective.

 

I've noticed a lot of times on our roll calls (especially for holiday cruises) there is one person who is speaking for a multitude - a family or a group. Last Christmas, we had 12 active people on the roll call who represented about 70 people who would be on the ship. I think we had 30 or so at the meet & greet and many were there for the ornament exchange. So, having an activity helps boost attendance.

 

On our cruise at the end of the month, we had one person who said she had friends that don't want to do the meet & greet, they don't want to do the slot pull, they just want her to handle everything. So, I know there are people on the ship that have a friend on Cruise Critic, but I'm never going to meet them :)

 

Not to stereotype, but large families and groups almost never come to the M&G because they don't need to meet people, they're onboard to spend time with each other.

 

Also, many people seem to use the M&G to meet the senior staff and not each other. I do not understand this, since there are other places to meet senior staff. The largest M&G we ever attended (after a very lively roll call) basically dissolved as soon as the hotel director finished his introductions. Why should I go? I have plenty of other places to meet the senior staff.

 

I've noticed (another stereotype) that many of the people that are the most vocal about meeting others on the ship are single - and I don't need to meet any single people, I have a wife with me. This time, I will have my Mom as well. So, I'm getting dangerously close to "big family group."

 

Also, many of the people who want everyone to attend the M&G are cloaked travel agents who are selling private excursions. I don't need another sales pitch, thank you, I'm on vacation.

 

We have made some long-standing friends at M&Gs - people that we keep in touch with afterwards, and people we've met on other travels. However, it's not the way to bet.

 

It may also be an age difference. If CCL people are looking for a group to hang and party with, they may be younger than NCL people. I'm AARP-age. We've had ages all over the place at our M&Gs. I may find a couple or two that are interesting - and we always seem to run into them around the ship, but I really don't need any more meetings where I pretend to get along with everyone - it's why I'm on a cruise and not at work.

[Maddysdaddy]

For some reason, the Roll Call for my upcoming Easter cruise on the Escape has less than 50 posts, whereas the sailing the week before has over 500.

 

All I can think is that given that most posters on the thread (including myself) are first time NCL'ers, rather than experienced cruisers, which is the reason why no one has stepped up to say "Let's do A, B & C". Personally, if a 'lifer' had stepped up to say that they would organize a reception or some sort of meet & greet, like I see in other threads, my family would absolutely come.

[megansdad1]

That can stink. I was wondering why my roll coll hasn't taken off yet. I love a great M&G.

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Long time CCL cruzer and always had an active to over-active Roll Call. We planned Sail~Away gatherings, slot pulls, shore excursions together and met frequently onboard for a cocktail or coffee. Nothing on our upcoming March cruz. Folks making comments but no intentions of getting together or even acknowledging one another. I`ve even looked at other RCs and pretty much the same. Are CCL and NCL Pax that different???

People have always made the difference (many many Great times and memories) on each of our 18+ cruzes, but I`ve tried humor, pleading, whatever and nothing.

 

I know that meeting strangers face to face is not everybody`s cup of tea, but it begs the question, why even post to a roll call if you don`t plan on participating?

-

OK-Flame away!

 

The first 2 or 3 rolls calls I participated on we're great the last couple not so much. Maybe the fun has run its course. I do wish it would be like it was when I started participating. Maybe it's certain ships or time of the year who knows. They are all NCL cruise roll calls so I can't compare to other lines roll calls. On the other hand I have met a handful of ladies here on cc that I have become best friends with. We are planning our grand garden villa cruise coming up this April.

Edited February 5, 2016 by FootballParent

[nbsjcruiser]

We've been involved in several roll calls on NCL, RCI and Carnival. Truthfully, it just depends on the itinerary and the people organizing it. Sometimes its pretty good, sometimes not and it doesn't appear to matter which line - that's my take anyway.

[Kattus]

I post in roll calls just to get some information and share the excitement of an upcoming trip with others. However, since DH is pretty shy (as am I to an extent) we have never attended a M&G or any other gathering. We've chatted with people on ships that we run into a lot (like the same 2 couples we saw on our last Gem cruise) and sometimes team up for trivia, but we're never part of the CC action lol I guess that makes us lame :D

[khaide612]

This is a related question to one I asked earlier - why don't people go to the Meet & Greet?

 

Now that they are more formalized with meeting staff, etc. I plan on attending on my upcoming cruise. Also, the people on my roll call board seem like nice normal people. I've always joined the roll call but always said not to count me in rsvps to attend M&Gs on previous cruises except one where it was going to be very casual. I never know if there will be some other activity I want to do at that time, etc. and don't want to be a no show.

 

I had a cruise once where just reading what a few of the posters wrote & their attitudes made me not want to go - the most talkative bunch just seemed very pushy & snotty & clingy. My family & I ended up running into them onboard when one announced her CC screenname in the middle of a lounge we happened to be sitting in to see if there were other CC posters there. Then a few of the others were waving & yelling out their names (weird that we all happened to be at martini tasting). Their posts were an accurate representation of their overbearing personalities.

[jjikids]

On Princess nobody wanted one. On NCL EPIC nobody wanted one. First time on NCL Gem nobody wanted one. Next time on Gem we had a small one. Just returned from another cruise on the Gem. Was a very lively and informative roll call. Fun and well attended M&G. We had two slot pulls and a gift exchange. We met many nice people. So you cannot say the word lame. Some people are more interested in talking to and meeting new people. Others are not.

[3kidsncats]

The roll call for my recent cruise on the Jewel was not super active, but we did have a mix of regular posters, and then those that came once or twice, and never bothered to attend anything on the ship, or just attended the meet and greet. Some of us connected enough that we did end up socializing outside of the roll call environment, both before and after the cruise -- and some real friendships came out of that. After the officers left, pretty much everyone at the M&G stayed and chatted, moving around and meeting others. It was a really nice gathering. We also had well attended cabin and pub crawls -- the pub crawl was so much fun we ended up doing a second one.

 

I do think the roll call vibe is different than it used to be, due to other social media options. When I first joined CC in 2008, it was THE way to interact, and now it's just one of many ways. I would say if you really want to get to know people, just keep posting, be yourself, and if there are others looking for some fun times with other CCers, they will start joining in.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

We've been involved in several roll calls on NCL, RCI and Carnival. Truthfully, it just depends on the itinerary and the people organizing it. Sometimes its pretty good, sometimes not and it doesn't appear to matter which line - that's my take anyway.

 

I agree! I think it's just the mix of people on that particular sailing and sometimes they've outgoing and want to chat and other groups may not be.

 

I post in roll calls just to get some information and share the excitement of an upcoming trip with others. However, since DH is pretty shy (as am I to an extent) we have never attended a M&G or any other gathering. We've chatted with people on ships that we run into a lot (like the same 2 couples we saw on our last Gem cruise) and sometimes team up for trivia, but we're never part of the CC action lol I guess that makes us lame :D

 

My ex-husband was really shy so he never attended the M&Gs. I always did though. :D

[xriva]

I had a cruise once where just reading what a few of the posters wrote & their attitudes made me not want to go - the most talkative bunch just seemed very pushy & snotty & clingy. .

 

 

This. Some of the people who complain about lame roll calls are actually alienating everyone else. We had one roll call with a woman who was berating everyone else for not being more involved in the roll call. Who wants to meet someone like that? By the time we boarded, everyone was just hoping she wouldn't show up for the M&G. She didn't, but she almost torpedoed the Slot Pull later in the cruise.

 

There are a lot of people on a cruise to get away from structure, planning and meetings. If the Roll Call has too many organizers or cheerleaders, I'm probably missing the M&G.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I've noticed (another stereotype) that many of the people that are the most vocal about meeting others on the ship are single - and I don't need to meet any single people, I have a wife with me. This time, I will have my Mom as well. So, I'm getting dangerously close to "big family group."

 

I've found that the vast majority are couples. What about single people makes them undesirable to meet? They're no different from other people...just single. I don't get it...

 

Also, many of the people who want everyone to attend the M&G are cloaked travel agents who are selling private excursions. I don't need another sales pitch, thank you, I'm on vacation.

 

I guess I've been lucky! I've never, ever had this happen! I wouldn't be too happy about it either.

 

 

It may also be an age difference. If CCL people are looking for a group to hang and party with, they may be younger than NCL people. I'm AARP-age. We've had ages all over the place at our M&Gs.

 

I'm platinum on CCL and the mix of passengers is about the same. I'm also a member of AARP and there have been lots of other people at the CCL M&Gs in the same age range. People have a misconception about Carnival that it's a bunch of young partiers--from what I've seen NCL and Princess have passenger demographics very similar to Carnival's.

Edited February 5, 2016 by Quilting_Cruiser

[xriva]

I've found that the vast majority are couples. What about single people makes them undesirable to meet? They're no different from other people...just single. I don't get it..

 

 

I'm not saying they're undesirable to meet, however, if they're really looking to hook up onboard, then spending time with me is just going to waste both our times.

 

I have met a couple of people who were old enough to remember Love Boat and apparently thought it was a documentary. So, meeting me will not help them in their quest.

[MrsPhoenix91]

I have met a couple of people who were old enough to remember Love Boat and apparently thought it was a documentary.

 

Nearly spit out my coffee in laughter LOL!!!!!!!!:D:D

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I'm not saying they're undesirable to meet, however, if they're really looking to hook up onboard, then spending time with me is just going to waste both our times.

 

I have met a couple of people who were old enough to remember Love Boat and apparently thought it was a documentary. So, meeting me will not help them in their quest.

 

I'm glad I was mistaken! LOL. Most of my friends are married, so I'm used to being around people who have partners. I've never been at a M&G that felt like a meat market, but I suppose it does happen.

[Jane Don]

Is it a cruise line difference of is it the way our culture is changing? I think there is a generational change happening. Millennials are generally less interested in making new face to face connections. I take a commuter train daily and let me tell you, they have developed this basic sign language they use to communicate because their ears are always stuffed with loud beats.

 

On the other had, younger people are far less likely to see a single person as a threat just because they are single. I am single by choice and have experienced this most my life. Also, I can easily spot an insecure wife. She is the one who has to ruffle her feathers every time her husband shakes the hand of single woman.

 

From a cultural perspective, I am not surprised that so many people still imagine that every single person on this earth would rather be married than single. The fact is though that many people are choosing to spend more time partnerless. You would think by the way some spouses behave that every single person is looking for action. But the truth is, many people would rather have several meaningful relationships throughout their life instead of just one. And take time in between to enjoy being the only decision maker in their life.

[Taylor95]

I have had active roll calls for my cruises except for the last one which was Carnival. As others have mentioned, there was an active group on social media which seemed to take place of the CC roll call.

[cruisestan2]

I am seeing the same trend on other Cruise lines Roll calls on Cruise Critic. I sometimes use the activity on a roll to make a choice on which line or date for future cruises. Wondering if some of this activity has moved to other social media web sites.

 

 

1. WE are going to have a pretty active Escape group in February.

 

billfish. Is that a Havanese , looks a lot like our pretty girl.

[NLH Arizona]

Long time CCL cruzer and always had an active to over-active Roll Call. We planned Sail~Away gatherings, slot pulls, shore excursions together and met frequently onboard for a cocktail or coffee. Nothing on our upcoming March cruz. Folks making comments but no intentions of getting together or even acknowledging one another. I`ve even looked at other RCs and pretty much the same. Are CCL and NCL Pax that different???

People have always made the difference (many many Great times and memories) on each of our 18+ cruzes, but I`ve tried humor, pleading, whatever and nothing.

 

I know that meeting strangers face to face is not everybody`s cup of tea, but it begs the question, why even post to a roll call if you don`t plan on participating?

-

OK-Flame away!

My last roll call was great. There was a sailaway party in one of the suites, a cabin crawl, a slot pull and some of us met at a restaurant for dinner. I think it depends on the people and whether someone gets the ball rolling.

 

Have you tried suggesting some of these things and offering to spearhead them?