Oceania cruisers on the net...

[Bruin Steve]

Before anyone takes this wrong, I am not looking to offend anyone...I am simply curious...perhaps for a selfish reason I'll get into a little later...

 

Why are Oceania cruisers so much less active on this and other websites?

 

Here's the deal:

Here on Cruise Critic, when you go onto the menu pages, you can see exactly how active each board is--how many total threads, how many posts...

Without doing a similar analysis on every cruise line, I thought I'd just look at Oceania versus the cruise line I've otherwise sailed the most--Celebrity.

 

The Celebrity Cruise Critic board, to date, has had 159,830 posts...The Oceania board 9,693...That's approximately 16.5 times the number of posts on Celebrity.

 

Of course, on needs to take into account that Celebrity is a larger line in terms of number of passengers...Celebrity has, at my count, 10 ships with 16,240 passenger capacity total, Oceania 3 ships with 2,052 passenger capacity total...So, Celebrity is approximately 7.9 times the size of Oceania...

 

Even if you take into account the Nautica not coming on line until now, Celebrity would still be less than 12 times the number of passengers than two Oceania shiips (of course, even with Nautica just coming on line, there have been people booking the Nautica--and, therefore, discussing it on the boards--for many months already...

 

[The Oceania line being only about three years old being a factor is negated by them having "reset" the cruise critic totals about three years ago]

 

My overall conclusion is that Oceania cruisers just post here (and I check out other similar sites as well--including the Yahoo Oceania board) LESS than those who cruise other lines...(and that's weighted by the number of passengers)...

 

Here's where the personal agenda comes in:

One of the great things about the Cruise Critic boards is the ability to connect with other cruisers who will be on your same cruise--to explore shore excursion possibilities, share notes on hotels, and a variety of other points of interest on your specific sailing...

As an example, when I sailed last--The Constellation Northern Europe cruise this past July, we had a rather robust "Roll Call" going on these boards with 30 or 40 people regualrly posting--setting up tours, alerting each other as to itinerary changes, comparing notes on hotels, ports, etc. The roll call started over a year ahead of the sailing and gained steam early...

 

OTOH, for my upcoming Oceania Nautica cruise, I started a roll call over two months ago on the "Roll Call" board...and, as of yet, I am the only poster...

 

You'd think that if a ship holding 2,000 for a particular sailing produced 40 active posters, a ship one third as large should attract maybe 12 or 13 to a roll call???

 

I'm puzzled...

 

Are Oceania cruisers just not as internet-savvy as their Celebrity counterparts? Again, I'm not trying to insult anyone...Obviously, if you are here and reading this, you are among the net-savvy types...

 

Maybe I'm missing something...

 

Anyone have any ideas why this effect?

[ClaudiaF]

Do you think it has something to do with the company being so new ( compared to a Celebrity or Princess type line) ?

[Bruin Steve]

Do you think it has something to do with the company being so new ( compared to a Celebrity or Princess type line) ?

I don't think so...I'd imagine that all the folks cruising with Oceania were cruising with someone else before Oceania came into existence...

 

Laws of probability state that if you have one-third the number of cabins, you should have one-third the number of posts...

 

One thought is that it's an "inertia" or "momentum" thing...Boards with more activity tend to attract more activity...If only a small group of people post on a board, others just tend to ignore the board...but, if you have a larger number posting and more overall activity, more people tend to pay attention, to visit more regularly and to post themselves...

 

Another possibility is that computer usage tends to taper with age...the older the demographic, the less internet users there are...and if Oceania's demographics are older, then they have more people who don't tend to use the net (Again, not intended as a knock on age--I just recognize that my kids are much more into computers than I am, while my mother doesn't even know how to turn a computer on...)

 

A third possible factor does have to do a little with the newness of the line...at least a factor into why no one seems to be joining my roll call...It may be that the Celebrity cruises tend to book faster--that there aren't that many bookings YET on my sailing...which may have to do with Celebrity's longstanding loyal client base, repeat customer and early-booking incentives, etc.

[jpsartin]

Before anyone takes this wrong, I am not looking to offend anyone...I am simply curious...perhaps for a selfish reason I'll get into a little later...

 

Why are Oceania cruisers so much less active on this and other websites?

 

Here's the deal:

Here on Cruise Critic, when you go onto the menu pages, you can see exactly how active each board is--how many total threads, how many posts...

Without doing a similar analysis on every cruise line, I thought I'd just look at Oceania versus the cruise line I've otherwise sailed the most--Celebrity.

 

The Celebrity Cruise Critic board, to date, has had 159,830 posts...The Oceania board 9,693...That's approximately 16.5 times the number of posts on Celebrity.

 

Of course, on needs to take into account that Celebrity is a larger line in terms of number of passengers...Celebrity has, at my count, 10 ships with 16,240 passenger capacity total, Oceania 3 ships with 2,052 passenger capacity total...So, Celebrity is approximately 7.9 times the size of Oceania...

 

Even if you take into account the Nautica not coming on line until now, Celebrity would still be less than 12 times the number of passengers than two Oceania shiips (of course, even with Nautica just coming on line, there have been people booking the Nautica--and, therefore, discussing it on the boards--for many months already...

 

[The Oceania line being only about three years old being a factor is negated by them having "reset" the cruise critic totals about three years ago]

 

My overall conclusion is that Oceania cruisers just post here (and I check out other similar sites as well--including the Yahoo Oceania board) LESS than those who cruise other lines...(and that's weighted by the number of passengers)...

 

Here's where the personal agenda comes in:

One of the great things about the Cruise Critic boards is the ability to connect with other cruisers who will be on your same cruise--to explore shore excursion possibilities, share notes on hotels, and a variety of other points of interest on your specific sailing...

As an example, when I sailed last--The Constellation Northern Europe cruise this past July, we had a rather robust "Roll Call" going on these boards with 30 or 40 people regualrly posting--setting up tours, alerting each other as to itinerary changes, comparing notes on hotels, ports, etc. The roll call started over a year ahead of the sailing and gained steam early...

 

OTOH, for my upcoming Oceania Nautica cruise, I started a roll call over two months ago on the "Roll Call" board...and, as of yet, I am the only poster...

 

You'd think that if a ship holding 2,000 for a particular sailing produced 40 active posters, a ship one third as large should attract maybe 12 or 13 to a roll call???

 

I'm puzzled...

 

Are Oceania cruisers just not as internet-savvy as their Celebrity counterparts? Again, I'm not trying to insult anyone...Obviously, if you are here and reading this, you are among the net-savvy types...

 

Maybe I'm missing something...

 

Anyone have any ideas why this effect?

 

 

The board is dominated by a few posters and most people don't care what they have to say, because they are simply advertizing...

[jpsartin]

The board is so dominated by a few posters, that most people don't pay any attention to them since they are simply advertizing...

[FinelyCruising]

Steve I don't know. I post on a few boards and I am really enjoying this particular board. It's different here, and IMHO even though less in numbers, in many ways better. The posters are more intellectual and thoughtful.

 

Now MAYBE that is why there are fewer posters here! ;)

[PurpleCow]

jpsartin, I haven't noticed any advertising on this board, but I've been posting only since last spring or so.

 

BruisSteve, there seems to be a lot of "prattle" on some of the other boards. Things like "Do you ever wear the same outfit twice," "How much do you spend on drinks" and "How old does an infant need to be to cruise" which we don't have here. I do wish we had a more active board, though. When I was planning my Insignia cruise last summer I posted asking if anyone else was going to be on board. Well, no one answered me, but I ran into a group of CC members on the ship.

[LHT28]

It seems a lot of cruisers post on the Yahoo board more so than here.

They are less apt to attract the "trolls".

There are several board for the Nautica cruises on Yahoo and more people go to them.

 

I myself prefer the yahoo site but CC does give you a wider range of answers to questions on Ports of Call etc...

[DREUX]

The board is so dominated by a few posters, that most people don't pay any attention to them since they are simply advertising...

 

 

If by advertising you mean: the not so subtle solicitation of services, then you certainly have HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD! And heaven help you if you post contrary to them, you will be most swiftly flogged by their minions.

[DREUX]

But do remember that these posters who dominate this board are only trying to help all of us (LOL)

[cruiseyguy]

I think the Yahoo site and the LCT board pull away a number of Oceania posters from this site. Nothing similar is available for the Celebrity group (who are also notably loyal to "their" cruiseline and therefore post in greater numbers).

[Joe and Ivan]

There are some other boards, such as the Princess board, that have a group of "cheerleaders" on line just waiting for anyone to say anything negative about the cruise line. If someone is unhappy with an aspect of a cruise taken and decides to be a "critic" about it, the "cheerleaders" immediately deploy their full artillery to fight off the invading "critic."

 

The tone of the board can become so unpleasant that any ordinary human will become fearful of making a post. Although there have been examples of unpleasantness and rudeness on this board, I think it has been less of a problem on this board or the Yahoo board for Oceania.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OceanaCruiser/

 

Thanks, Ivan

[esther e]

I have to agree with FinelyCruising and PurpleCow. Some of us are older (and wiser?) and and are more saavy cruisers than those from Royal Caribbean or Carnival. Interestingly enough, many, many people who I've spoken to have not heard of Oceania. They kinda remember Renaissance, but have no idea of this newer line. They tend to get it confused with Oceanic which I don't think operates any longer. Maybe after a few years and more word-of-mouth, this will become more widely known. Gee, having said that, I kinda like the exclusivity of it!!!!

Esther

[LHT28]

Interestingly enough, many, many people who I've spoken to have not heard of Oceania. They kinda remember Renaissance, but have no idea of this newer line. They tend to get it confused with Oceanic which I don't think operates any longer. Maybe after a few years and more word-of-mouth, this will become more widely known. Gee, having said that, I kinda like the exclusivity of it!!!!

Esther

 

I agree Esther, there are different styles of cruisers some like the Carnival, RCL, Princess etc...and some prefer Seabourn, Silverseas, Oceania...price has a lot to do with it.

[SeaPeaInn]

The age demographic will account for most of the lack of posts.

 

We are going on a Celebrity cruise next September and it already has over 800 posts because some are playing some childish games on it. Glad that doesn't happen here.

[Jane110]

Bruin Steve,

 

I've had the same thoughts as you in the past. As an Oceania fan, as well as a CC fan, I've wondered why Oceania's cruisers seem to post less.

 

One big reason, in my mind, is that many people still haven't heard of Oceania. On my two O cruises, I met people who were experienced with lines like HAL, Celeb and Radisson and were on O because of a suggestion by their TA. Obviously, these were people who did repeat biz with their TA and trusted their opinion.

 

I agree with many of the reasons listed so far. There are simply less "ship" type questions that need to be answered....Oceania has fewer cabins cat's, so there's less confusion about what's better/worse. There are no "what should I wear /do I have to wear a tux issues?". There are no "sneaking in alcohol" discussions. No one asks about kids programs because there aren't any.

 

Additionally, since many of Oceania's itinerary's are new, there's less discussion about which bar to hit in what port, which takes places in alot of Ship threads. My guess is that since Oceania goes to more foreign ports, posters tend to go more to port sections (Europe/Baltic/Asia) to seek information and that doesn't get factored in with the Oceania count. Cruisers may not even identify themselves as an Oceania pax when asking about a hotel in Barcelona, a private guide for Istanbul or the train schedule for Berlin.

 

I think I might have to disagree with the demographic reasoning though. Right now, senior citizens are the fasting growing group buying and using computers and getting online. My Mother, like many of her friends, who are retired and living in Fla owns a computer and has taken adult ed classes and is online often.

 

Lastly, I think another reason is that there are less "comparison" questions threads. What I mean is that there are many threads where people are comparing one line to another - i.e. Celebrity vs. Princess or HAL, Carnival vs. RCCL. Oceania has a unique product that doesn't compare to any of the forementioned lines, but it's also not Radisson or Silver Sea's. Whether you like it or not, it is what it is. Rarely do you get a question like "should I take Oceania to the Baltic or HAL?".

 

That's my $.02

 

Jane

[tlmlb]

If by advertising you mean: the not so subtle solicitation of services, then you certainly have HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD! And heaven help you if you post contrary to them, you will be most swiftly flogged by their minions.

 

Now, now. now...who can you be thinking of???? I wonder if those that practice this pay "rent"?

 

Actually the number of posters probably has to due with the number of "unique" experienced cruisers that each line has. With fewer berths and a constant repeat cruiser percentage the pool of experienced cruisers who are more likely to post is smaller.

 

Per sailing example (I used a single ship example for simplicity):

 

Oceania:

684 passengers x 60% new customers = 410 new customers each sailing

 

Celebrity:

1950 passengers x 60% new customers = 1170 new customers each sailing

 

Therefore the pool of experienced Celebrity (larger line) expands faster than the smaller line. Combine this with the head start Celebrity has had the difference in posting rates is not unexpected.

[Shirleya53]

I think the Yahoo site and the LCT board pull away a number of Oceania posters from this site. .

 

 

I subscribe to the Yahoo site, but what is the LCT board? Would you post a site link, please:confused: ?

[NYDee]

I think it has a lot to do with demographics of the Oceania cruiser. How many times on the RCI board has someone asked "Can I bring booze onboard." Or "How can I smuggle booze onboard." Or "Crying babies in the ..." The same questions are asked over and over and the responders posts page after page. I haven't sailed Oceania yet, but will this coming March. From what I have read so far I don't think that the Oceania cruisers are caught up in booze smuggling and crying babies and diapers in the swimming pools.

[brian_uk]

When is the sniping going to stop.............A simple question is posed and once again the nastiness creeps in.

Please people get lives...enjoy your cruises ........ask relevant questions and get hopefully relevant answers.

 

Brian

[DREUX]

I subscribe to the Yahoo site, but what is the LCT board? Would you post a site link, please:confused: ?

 

 

The link you requested: Luxury Cruise Talk dot com ( all one word)

 

Doug

[aaannnthony]

I've tried the Yahoo board several times, only to get frustrated and give up after 10-15 minutes of futility, including just now.

 

How do you pull up a thread, such as this one? All I'm ever able to get is a chronological listing of posts on various topics for any particular cruise line.

 

Any help would be appreciated, I'm willing to learn.

 

Thanks!!

[chronic travelitis]

Why are Oceania cruisers so much less active on this and other websites?

 

The Celebrity Cruise Critic board, to date, has had 159,830 posts...The Oceania board 9,693...That's approximately 16.5 times the number of posts on Celebrity.

 

 

Anyone have any ideas why this effect?

 

 

It may have something to do with the fact that Celebrity and Royal Caribbean refer you to Cruise Critic when you book a cruise with them. I don't remember any of the other cruise lines having a referral to the boards.

 

Diane

[PurpleCow]

Here's a direct link to the Yahoo Oceania board:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OceanaCruiser/

[aaannnthony]

P.C., I've done that routine numerous times.

 

Show me how to review a "thread", not just posts in chronological order.

 

If all that's available is the availability to review posts in order, as posted, I have no interest in the Yahoo board!