Decline of the roll call

[Gracie115]

Depends on the roll call.  Our Anthem TA next month is up to 53 pages and very active.

 

Our TA on Apex this fall is getting busier now too, already up to 31 pages.

[davy jones]

15 hours ago, TeeRick said:

@Realblonde474  I would not actually term Roll Calls to be in Decline.  Roll Calls were pretty much non-existent for 18 months.  A few crickets here and there.  So right now I would now call it Reemergence of the Roll Call. 

good point

[Honolulu Blue]

Roll calls have been in decline, I've found, not just for Celebrity, but across all the cruise lines I've bothered to check.

 

Most of the possible reasons have been mentioned elsewhere:

• Onboard meet & greets have been prohibited or discouraged since cruising restarted
• Individual passengers are less interested in mass gatherings like meet & greets
• Many cruises have been scheduled with relatively little notice (less than a year)
• More cruises have been booked with less notice
• Some cruisers are still waiting things out due to protocols they either can't or don't want to follow
• Competition from other social media locations

I think roll call volume will recover some, but may never get back to where it was 5 years ago.

[Texed]

And a whole bunch of us have had so many cruises cancelled that we are afraid to say too much on a roll call in fear we will jinx the cruise.  😂

[thebutlerdidit]

10 hours ago, ORV said:

This sums it up real well. Sometimes you get 3 or 4 posters on a Roll Call that have absolutely nothing to say, and say it over and over again. 

This. I’m over trying to slog through daily “good morning” posts between a small (but dedicated) group of people. I’ve done the cabin crawls on M and S class ships. I would participate in an E-Class cabin crawl if I ever make it on one of the newer ships. 

 

I never minded newbie questions. We were all there once, and I can remember how confusing things were. The whole cruising thing was a mystery and it’s only become more so with Celebrity creating different classes with different dining rooms people may or may not be entitled to use. 

[zitsky]

I think it really depends.  I haven't been able to cruise since before Covid.  I have two cruises coming up, one this year, one next year.  So I don't see a LOT of activity on either of those yet.  I haven't checked that other website, yet.

[TeeRick]

Maybe Cruise Critic could improve the Roll Call technology and pages just a bit - and then some folks would stay instead of going to other social media groups.  My Silhouette roll call for Aug 26 (Iceland) is fairly active.  There are currently 11 "August" Silhouette cruises listed on the Celebrity roll call page.  A total of 8 of them are for groups in 2020 and 2021 - all cancelled cruises.  Also sometimes just finding your roll call to join it has been a challenge.  It seems like a new look at how roll calls are handled might be worthwhile.  Sorry Cruise Critic if roll calls are less busy- you might need to look at your part in this too.  Please take this as a general suggestion.

Edited April 4, 2022 by TeeRick

[Pinboy]

18 hours ago, the penguins said:

 Cabin Crawls 

While still relatively new to CC , what is the purpose of Cabin Crawls  ?

I never heard of it.

LOL---( It can't be what just came to mind ).

Are they organized by the Marketing Team on board to show what higher level cabins ( suites ) look like ? Do they offer a " Deal " to book a future cruise while on the Cabin Crawl ? 

If not, maybe they should ??

 

[LGW59]

32 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

While still relatively new to CC , what is the purpose of Cabin Crawls  ?

I never heard of it.

LOL---( It can't be what just came to mind ).

Are they organized by the Marketing Team on board to show what higher level cabins ( suites ) look like ? Do they offer a " Deal " to book a future cruise while on the Cabin Crawl ? 

If not, maybe they should ??

 

IMO, I'll get slammed, but the cabin crawl is the silliest thing I can imagine, you show me yours, I'll show you mine type of thing comes to mind.  From what I have read, many are very into this, that's fine if one likes it, but they organize gifts etc representing small inexpensive gifts from where they live, magnets, I've seen chocolates, meet somewhere on the ship, wear name tags...just not my cup o java

[mfs2k]

 

Our most memorable cruises and vacations have been those in which we meet new people we connect with, and that adds to our social experience of the trip and makes it more fun for us. 

 

Not everyone wants to connects with others.  Many people want their cruise to be a chance to disconnect and they have no interest in being social. That's fine too.

 

No one connects with everyone however roll calls, meetups, cabin crawls, etc give people who want to partake, a chance to see if they form connections, and also see who they don't want to connect with.

These are all optional experiences.  If you're not into it, don't do it.  No one but your partner is making you do anything you don't want to do.

 

Making friends is a lot like dating.  You're not going to like everyone you talk to, but you may like some people, and that might make your vacation more enjoyable. 

[TeeRick]

20 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

IMO, I'll get slammed, but the cabin crawl is the silliest thing I can imagine, you show me yours, I'll show you mine type of thing comes to mind.  From what I have read, many are very into this, that's fine if one likes it, but they organize gifts etc representing small inexpensive gifts from where they live, magnets, I've seen chocolates, meet somewhere on the ship, wear name tags...just not my cup o java

I never participated in a cabin crawl.  I'd rather meet somebody staying in an iconic suite and get myself invited for a drink or two!  Anyway, now in the COVID age, who would do a cabin crawl?  Do I want a bunch of people who might carry the virus in my cabin?  Then I would be contact-traced or worse?  NO way.  Dumb idea right now anyway.

[RichYak]

7 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I'd rather meet somebody staying in an iconic suite and get myself invited for a drink or two!

In our October '21 Edge roll call thread, the Iconic Suite guests held a cocktail party and invited everyone from the thread to attend. Very nice touch.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Well, when I was new to cruising and Cruise Critic, I found cabin crawls to be immensely useful.  Enjoyed seeing what sorts of cabins were available.

[Pinboy]

27 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

IMO, I'll get slammed, but the cabin crawl is the silliest thing I can imagine, you show me yours, I'll show you mine type of thing comes to mind.  From what I have read, many are very into this, that's fine if one likes it, but they organize gifts etc representing small inexpensive gifts from where they live, magnets, I've seen chocolates, meet somewhere on the ship, wear name tags...just not my cup o java

"you show me yours, I'll show you mine type of thing comes to mind.  From what I have read, many are very into this " -----  On a Celebrity ship ??? 

"small inexpensive gifts from where they live, magnets, I've seen chocolates "

Then WHAT ??? And for small inexpensive gifts ?? No pre-loved Rolex watch as a " cabin entry " fee ?? 

There I go again--- I just thought of that ' old fart ' with--- etc etc. 

[TeeRick]

5 minutes ago, RichYak said:

In our October '21 Edge roll call thread, the Iconic Suite guests held a cocktail party and invited everyone from the thread to attend. Very nice touch.

OK here on the Celebrity board.  Anybody staying in an Iconic Suite should take notice.  We want a rule going forward that you must invite everybody in your Roll Call to your suite for a cocktail party.

[TeaBag]

We don't go on cabin crawls any more as we have seen pretty well every type of cabin on the M and S class.  We probably would go again if we ever sail on E class.  On one crawl we visited #7002 on Millennium and we liked it so much we booked it for a future cruise.  Often people in suites put on a little party served by their Butler and that is fun too.

As for gifts to exchange from the area people live in, that is not part of a cabin crawl as far as I have seen.  It is a different event organized by someone.

[Denny01]

Roll Call activity also obviously depends on what is being ‘shared’. Our Oct ‘22 TA on the Edge from Roma has 38pages. Mainly because there are a number of tours being offered; social events such as game days and tastings and so on while on board. With a TA, we have lots of Seadays so share and hopefully we’ll have a much safer environment to be together in. 

 

Den

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, LGW59 said:

IMO, I'll get slammed, but the cabin crawl is the silliest thing I can imagine, you show me yours, I'll show you mine type of thing comes to mind.  From what I have read, many are very into this, that's fine if one likes it, but they organize gifts etc representing small inexpensive gifts from where they live, magnets, I've seen chocolates, meet somewhere on the ship, wear name tags...just not my cup o java

When I was the CC “host” on NCL, I asked about doing this but there didn’t seem that much interest on board.  However I suspect people might have arranged this on their own.  Maybe through a FB page.  Also some hosts organize games and other activities.  I wasn’t a good host but NCL still let me use the suite restaurant Cagney’s.

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, Pinboy said:

While still relatively new to CC , what is the purpose of Cabin Crawls  ?

I never heard of it.

LOL---( It can't be what just came to mind ).

Are they organized by the Marketing Team on board to show what higher level cabins ( suites ) look like ? Do they offer a " Deal " to book a future cruise while on the Cabin Crawl ? 

If not, maybe they should ??

 

A very useful way to see what different cabin grades and locations offer. Yes X tells you A1 is say 💲50 more than an A2 but it doesn't help a lot. On S class Balcony cabins are described "obstructed view" but when you see the reality you might be happy with it.

What is the benefit or problem with bed by the window? Not organised by the ship just the passengers no hard sell. Of course a highlight is when a passenger in one of the Royal Suites let's you visit them.

On our last crawl it was combined with a Poker game - 💲20 entry fee you collected cards in some of the cabins and at the end highest hand got 50% , second 25%  and lowest 25%.

[LGW59]

11 minutes ago, zitsky said:

When I was the CC “host” on NCL, I asked about doing this but there didn’t seem that much interest on board.  However I suspect people might have arranged this on their own.  Maybe through a FB page.  Also some hosts organize games and other activities.  I wasn’t a good host but NCL still let me use the suite restaurant Cagney’s.

Oh me thinks you would not only be a good host but you would also be a fun host!

[zitsky]

9 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Oh me thinks you would not only be a good host but you would also be a fun host!

After a few drinks maybe.

[LGW59]

14 minutes ago, zitsky said:

After a few drinks maybe.

wait, what, are you like an alcoholic? 😂

[kelib]

22 hours ago, Realblonde474 said:

Has anyone noticed a decline in the use of the roll call feature on the CC website? Maybe its our cruise (western Caribbean in July on the Infinity) but our roll call is almost empty with no activity. 

 

The roll calls when active are fantastic and a wonderful way to meet people "pre cruise"....

 

Just curious....

On my last 2 cruises since August, things did not get really going till about 6 weeks out on both CC and social media. Maybe it is just hard to get too excited about the cruise till you feel confident that it actually will sail. 
I personally do both and see which is more active. I find that social media is easier in regards to notifications/ alerts, but sometimes harder to find. 

 

[zitsky]

3 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

wait, what, are you like an alcoholic? 😂

Whatever.

[boxkite]

Totally agree that Roll Call participation has gone way down.

 

Now days a good Roll Call depends on two to three people to drive content and provide a reason for people to come back and participate on a regular basis.