Solo Cruiser's Formal Night

[racyguy14619]

I usually wear jeans and a polo shirt with my TV station's logo on it at work, so I love a rare opportunity to dress up. I'll wear my suit jacket (maybe even with a tie) on the casual nights. I've already decided to rent a white dinner jacket tuxedo for October -- since I'll be by myself I want to look extra spiffy for the formal nights ;)

 

I just wish some people would start showing up on the roll call. I'm eager to meet some friends before the cruise.

[Host Kat]

... I just wish some people would start showing up on the roll call. I'm eager to meet some friends before the cruise.

Howdy Ken!

 

You mention the inactivity of your Roll Call. If you don't mind , I thought it would be wise to pass some info on to help your Roll Call grow. Please remember, only about 1% of the cruising public are Cruise Critic members. You will not hear from every passenger on your cruise, only the Cruise Critic members sailing with you that choose to participate.

 

You and your fellow Roll Call members should advertise your Roll Call in your signatures and show the link. Say something like "Click here to join the fun on the Carnival "Triumph" 10/06/07 Eastern Caribbean -- whose going? Roll Call: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=504251." That way, every time you or any of your Roll Call members post on any forum or thread, it is "out there" for all to see. Hopefully, any Cruise Critic member on your cruise will see the invitation and link in the signatures, click the link, and then post on your Roll Call to join in. When they do, the Roll Call members should post welcoming messages and everyone can take their on-line relationship on from there.

 

With a little advertising, and as the time for your cruise draws near, you will have more folks joining in. You and your fellow Roll Call members will need to post often to keep your Roll Call on the front page so others that want to join in can find it easily. However, please remember per the Guidelines, no bumps allowed.

 

On my last Roll Call, we chatted and supported each other during that long countdown time until our cruise with all sorts of postings about our upcoming cruise as well as most everything going on in our lives without divulging too much personal info on the Internet. Without our Roll Call, we would have never had so much support for each other through the good and the bad such as Katrina & Rita, the birth of a grand-baby, adults with chicken pox, surgeries & hospital stays, birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, graduations, cruises being canceled, death of a beloved pet, all sorts of weather from all over the world (we were from the USA, the UK, Canada, & Hong Kong), drink & food recipes, car wrecks, holidays, tips on cruising, as well as info about our ship, ports, tours, & transportation from past passengers since quite a few were repeaters on our ship or itinerary. Out of about 80 Roll Call members, only 10 - 15 of us chatted daily about most everything to keep our Roll Call on the first page. It will start out slow, but will gain momentum as the excitement of your embarkation day nears.

 

Also, while checking out & posting on the other forums & threads here on Cruise Critic, you and your fellow Roll Call members should look for other posters mentioning their ship & departure date in their post or signature that is the same as yours. Post a reply to them on that thread welcoming them to join your Roll Call and tell them about the link in your signature. Some folks have signatures turned off and will not see it unless you tell them to look. I "roped" in a few folks that way myself from the First Time Cruisers Forum and the Ask A Cruise Question Forum! Most often, new cruisers are not aware of what Roll Calls are all about and how much fun they can be.

 

Some Roll Calls have one of the members in charge of receiving e-mailed pictures of the Roll Call members and then posting them on a website somewhere for all your Roll Call members to see. That makes it so much easier for everyone to recognize each other when you finally get to meet on your cruise. It also helps to have a face in mind as you chat on the Roll Call.

 

Since so many of us were going to our port the day before our cruise, we had a pre-cruise dinner party at a restaurant the night before embarkation day. There were about 50 of us there, each paying our own tab. One of our members made a reservation for a private room about a month before our cruise. It was great meeting folks face to face we had gotten to know while we shared the long countdown time until the cruise. We had name tags with our user names as well as our real names. For the remaining 30 or so that came to the port the day of our cruise, we were able to get to know them at a planned get-together the second day of our cruise. It was great running into our fellow Roll Call members all over the ship and in the ports during our cruise. Some played the shipboard games, dined and went on tours together too, when we finally made some ports. I say that because I call our fantastic cruise "The Boll Weevil Cruise". We cruised the week of Wilma and just like that old song, our ship wandered all around the Caribbean "looking for a home" in 15 - 20 foot seas the first part of the week. Our ship was not allowed in any of the 3 ports on our original itinerary due to their storm damage, but toward the end of the week our Captain found dock space in two other ports.

 

So sorry this has gone on for so long! I sincerely hope you do not mind my suggestions. Also hope you have lots of with your Roll Call, and a wonderful cruise too!!

 

Happy trails to you...

 

Kat

[Name game]

I completely agree with Host Kat. I have already met quite a few people on the roll call for my November cruise. Many people on the roll call actually met on past cruises and cruise together now. It's also a great way to keep in touch with the people you actually meet in person on your cruise.

 

Now back to solos going to formal night. Always plan to go to formal night, whether you go or not. If you decide not to go that is fine but if you really do want to go and you have nothing to wear then you will be stuck. I have cruised solo a few times and never missed the formal nights. Usually by the second day of a cruise you know people. It's always fun to look and feel fabulous. Show off a little and enjoy. Eating the buffet on the Lido Deck while wearing a tee shirt and shorts while everyone else is dressed up and having a fabulous meal and tons of fun can be very depressing.

[racyguy14619]

Kat:

 

Thanks for consolidating the roll calls and for all of your great suggestions.

 

For our 10/05 cruise I started the roll call about 11 months before the cruise, and it was active within a week or two. I met a lot of people on the RC, and we posted back and forth almost daily for months. We flew in to Miami the day before the cruise, and met two couples and a solo for dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory at Bayside Marketplace, which was really fun. We also had a CC "Meet & Mingle" on board (it was an RCI cruise) with at least 50 people, and it was great recognizing faces throughout the rest of the cruise.

 

I know that somebody will come along eventually. The roll call has just had a really slow start this time around. I'm looking forward to making some friends, and will be flying in the day before the cruise again, so there's always a possibility for dinner with other CCers. Not enough characters left to add the link to the roll call to my signature, but hopefully people will be looking for it anyway :rolleyes:

[Host Kat]

You are most welcome!

 

Glad to be of service,

Kat

[FranKes2000]

I am doing a world cruise solo next year with Cunard and when they say formal they mean Formal. I am wondering how to pack that many gowns ........... long black skirt and flashy blouses only do for so many times. But I am looking forward to the cruise and doubt I will miss any formal nights, I have an evening pant suit to wear a couple of times. Checking the fashions is so much fun.

[Sila]

When traveling solo, is it better to eat at the first sitting on formal night or the second, or does it matter? :confused:

[Lois R]

When traveling solo, is it better to eat at the first sitting on formal night or the second, or does it matter? :confused:

 

Hi, I eat at the same time every night:) Every cruiseline

has their own policies...example, I sail Celebrity and they

offer "traditional dining" where there are 2 times for dinner

in the main dining room.

I always sail solo and choose late seating, which is 8:30.

 

Other lines offer Personal Choice while others offer

Free Style. Both are where you eat whatever time you

prefer each night.

 

I prefer to eat with the same tablemates and same time

each night....so formal night is the same time as every

other night for me:)

 

Just depends on what is most comfortable for you!

[SantaAna,CA]

I think I already posted on this thread. Oh well.

 

I'm dieting to get back into my formal wear. Isn't it funny, I gain more weight after I get home than I do on cruises!

 

My favorite part of the cruise is formal night. If they were five nights a week I'd be in heaven.

 

Have a new ice blue Jessica McClintock satin gown, with matching lace bolero...that I can't wait to wear. Add silvery little shoes and I feel like Cinderella in it!

 

Jane :rolleyes: