Meet On Board / Roll Calls

[AR]

We're booked on a TA this coming April. A couple months ago I looked up the ship on "Meet On Board" here and no string had been started for our cruise. There still is no string, plus the number of cruises that have a string is very small, and the posts are few.

After I looked here I went over to CruiseCritic and instantly found a string, with somebody keeping a list of pax that will choke a horse, people getting together for all sorts of private tours, people planning various onboard activities--quite a going concern. It's almost too much of a good thing, in that there's still about six months until the cruise, and there are already well over 1000 posts. It's a major slog to search through, because a lot of people seem to do this over and over, know each other well, and they use the string as a substitute for e-mail, which just clutters things up. On top of that, many of them use oversize graphics in their signatures, so that even a two-line post takes up most of the screen. And they love to quote really long posts, add their two cents, and end it with another huge graphic. But they are very friendly, and it will be nice to meet them at the various parties, etc.

But I did get to wondering why CC seems to have a corner on the roll call idea. Seems like if there's that much interest over there, you'd expect to find something here as well. Yes, I know I could start one, but even the "mature" ones here seem to have relatively few posts.

Am I missing something?

[Kuki]

AR... the issue is really pretty simple and two-fold.

1. It began awhile back when CruiseMates first proposed the idea of "official" sponsred Meet and Greets on Royal Caribbean ships. For some reason they chose to take our idea and align it with Cruise Critic. Perhaps for some pro quo, I have no idea what was in it for them by choosing them over us.

But, I do know that was the original catalyst and it grew from there over time. Now the rolls calls have really become the driving force for all their boards.

Other lines were sort of forced to offer something similar, though unofficial.

As you say, many of the roll call threads just turn into a chat room or replacement for email exchanges, and basically turn into personal tales between a few involved. Sort of undertandable, as it's difficult far in advance to stick to cruise planning topics, but it certainly does muddy the waters.

But in this day of social media, I'm actually amazed at how much personal information about day to day lives that people are willing to share with mostly strangers on the Internet. So much of it seems to replace actually making friends and talking to them. But the world is perhaps complicated and isolating, so people find a social life using the net.

With their program RCI certainly firmly established CC, but as I suspected, CC got the benefits, and RCI is just left being the same as the other cruise lines.

2. The second part is people like you who don't see a post for their cruise, so don't post one to begin the thread

Would we like users of the site to use the "Meet On Board" are more? Absolutely! But we can't make them post.

We used to have some pretty slick software, where you posted your sailing, and it told you who else was on that sailing who had posted. Our users didn't use that function either.

I can tell you, back when (and I don't know if it still holds true), that roll calls listing over 100 on the same sailing, often ended up with actual people showing up numbering 15-30.

The only times the % improved from that was in the case of the actual group cruises.

[Lakers Fan]

Originally Posted by AR

We're booked on a TA this coming April. A couple months ago I looked up the ship on "Meet On Board" here and no string had been started for our cruise. There still is no string, plus the number of cruises that have a string is very small, and the posts are few.

After I looked here I went over to CruiseCritic and instantly found a string, with somebody keeping a list of pax that will choke a horse, people getting together for all sorts of private tours, people planning various onboard activities--quite a going concern. It's almost too much of a good thing, in that there's still about six months until the cruise, and there are already well over 1000 posts. It's a major slog to search through, because a lot of people seem to do this over and over, know each other well, and they use the string as a substitute for e-mail, which just clutters things up. On top of that, many of them use oversize graphics in their signatures, so that even a two-line post takes up most of the screen. And they love to quote really long posts, add their two cents, and end it with another huge graphic. But they are very friendly, and it will be nice to meet them at the various parties, etc.

But I did get to wondering why CC seems to have a corner on the roll call idea. Seems like if there's that much interest over there, you'd expect to find something here as well. Yes, I know I could start one, but even the "mature" ones here seem to have relatively few posts.

Am I missing something?

On my last 2 cruises I asked for permission to join Meet and Greets organized by a person who posts on CC ,CM and approximately 10 other cruise message boards . On my 2010 cruise there were 41 people who post on CM .I inquired as to why they never posted on the CM M&G sites but received no definitive answers .

[AR]

Interesting Kuki, thanks for the info.

I just looked and there are 57 names on the continuing list that's being kept over there, and almost all of them are couples, so that's a hundred people already. Virtually all of them give their dining room preference, and some give cabin numbers, so it's tough to mark many (if any) of them down as phantoms.

Tough to imagine that the prospect of a cup of coffee, a sweet roll and a "rah rah" from the cruise director would be the impetus, but I've been amazed by stranger things.

I get the feeling (and I could easily be wrong) that TAs and other long cruises do a more robust business in that regard than shorter runs. Longer time together, more sea days to set up shipboard activities, etc.

[Aerogirl]

I know people from CC print up the CC door sign for their door so fellow CC members can find them. You can find it on their site if you want one.

[Trip]

Many years ago, I was at the first M&M on whatever ship I was on, I forget, it was that long ago..They stuck us in a very small room, with nothing to munch on, people sat in their chairs and didn't move, and the one staff member that came, who didn't know what was going on,and honestly could have cared less. I became the defacto hostess.:eek: I am sure things are different now, as they should be. But, I see some of their members giving John Heald alot of agita, when they presume things are not going their way

From what I have seen and heard over the years, things can get very clicky, before the cruise. In with the in crowd ,maybe not...

As far as door decorations, I guess I just I would just rather not. I saw some on the Magic.

I wish we had more postings..so Kids, GO POST!

[RTALLEN]

The often-times futile effort of posting on "Meet on Board" reminds me of the saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."

[Future Cruiser]

I booked my May 11, 2013 cruise ASAP to get the cabin I wanted in August 2011. The cabin (E711) was already taken by another ** member, so I selected E721. I really wanted a starboard aft cabin on Deck 8, so there were only two cabins left.

After booking the cruise, I went to the ** Sapphire Princess roll call because someone had posted a link to it. While reading that thread I discovered who will stay in E711 (the cabin I wanted) and E719 (the booked cabin next to mine). How awesome is that?

[Donna]

Wow, that really worked out well for you, congrats!

[Golden1]

Originally Posted by Future Cruiser

I booked my May 11, 2013 cruise ASAP to get the cabin I wanted in August 2011. The cabin (E711) was already taken by another ** member, so I selected E721. I really wanted a starboard aft cabin on Deck 8, so there were only two cabins left.

After booking the cruise, I went to the ** Sapphire Princess roll call because someone had posted a link to it. While reading that thread I discovered who will stay in E711 (the cabin I wanted) and E719 (the booked cabin next to mine). How awesome is that?

I am hesitant to join a roll call via facebook. I do not like to advertise when I will be on vacation for fear that someone will rob my house if they see that I am not home. I usually post info on my trips after I am home. I would like to join the Princess roll call for my cruise. Is there another way to do it as not to advertise it to people outside of the group? Does anyone else worry about this?

[Future Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Golden1

I am hesitant to join a roll call via facebook. I do not like to advertise when I will be on vacation for fear that someone will rob my house if they see that I am not home. I usually post info on my trips after I am home. I would like to join the Princess roll call for my cruise. Is there another way to do it as not to advertise it to people outside of the group? Does anyone else worry about this?

Where did you get the Facebook idea from? I never said anything about Facebook.

I was not advertising anything, just reporting facts because it is a crazy coincidence. A Cruise Critic member said it first and I replied. There is nothing to worry about.

Exactly how can somebody rob my condo without knowing the address?