DeltaOne

2 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

It's part of its URL.

I created one Activity Stream this morning, it is #302.  

I tried to create a second Activity Stream but it wouldn't save.  Maybe I used an illegal character in my title?  I ran out of time, but I'll get back to it soon.

10 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

I fear that may be the case. I've noticed that custom Activity Streams which you set up seem to be sequentially numbered. If so, the counter has only reached about 300 - and that's after I've already deleted some of my earlier attempts that didn't quite work out.

Where do you find the number of the Activity Stream?

Once in a while my main Activity Stream will have "#039" between the words.  Other times the name displays correctly.

I'm in the group that likes this new software.  To me, the secret is Activity Streams.  They're a bit tricky to set up, but once set up it's a nice improvement over the old system.  

I use one Activity Stream to follow the four cruise lines I've cruised on.  I use another for finding content by one specific user that I like to follow.  I have one that finds my postings.  Note...the last two aren't working quite right yet...the web site indexing is still on going.  I'm hopeful they'll work fine when the indexing is done.

I'm going to start using Activity Streams for following the "Live From" threads.  I had been using Manage Followed Content, but it has a few shortcomings.  Activity Streams will work better.

Here's an example of my main Activity Stream.  If you read the line under "Paul's Activity Stream" you see that this one window lists posts in Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Princess forums -- since my last visit.

The trick to getting an Activity Stream to work for you is setting the seven options correctly.  Show me, Content type, Read status, Ownership, Following, Time period and Sorting.  See below:

I've been enjoying Activity Streams for the four cruise lines I follow.  And hope to use it for finding content by user once the indexing has finished.

You're probably right, Activity Streams will be easier than Manage Followed Content for "Live From" threads.  I'll give it a try.

Activity Streams is probably the best feature of this new software.  I think it's too complex for some users to set up though.

I'm hoping to use Manage Followed Content to follow the "Live From" threads.  When I click a link in my Manage Followed Content list it takes me to the first message in the thread.  

I'd much rather it took me to the first unread posting since my last visit.  Is there any way to do this?  

Has anyone found a better way to follow threads on an ongoing basis?  I'd rather not use the email notifications, I prefer reading the content here in my web browser.

1 hour ago, jeno said:

Thanks so much for all of the effort you put into this.  I do 99.9% of my CC on my iPhone.  If I set this up on the computer will it transfer to my iPhone? Is there a different way to set it up on a phone or iPad? 

I believe so -- you'll have to let us know!  

I do 99.9% of my CC on my computer.  When we travel I use my iPad for everything, but at home I use the computer.

13 hours ago, Lois R said:

I clicked on the Activity Stream on the one that says I posted on...…..so different threads popped up...…...

So If I want several forums on there? In other words, I chat on different forums on here...…...Silversea, Solo, River Cruises,

etc.....how do I get those on there? Sorry if I sound dumb

I set my Activity Stream up a bit different than the other poster.  Below are some instructions I put together.  Now, it looks complicated and hard to do — and maybe, a little, it is…but you only have to do it once:

Go to the Activity Tab, then My Activity Streams, then Create new Stream.

Put whatever you like in the Stream Title field.  

Next set each option as follows: (See the first picture below for an example.)

Show me: Content items only

Clicking Unread Items: Take me to the first unread comment

Content Type: Topics.  Then click the options (gear icon - red circle in the picture below) to the right of Topics.  Click where it opens to say Select.  Click to expand Cruise Lines “A - O”.  Scroll down and click on each cruise line you wish to follow.  Repeat for Cruise Lines “P - Z”.  You can also repeat this process for any other forum you wish to follow.  I’m following Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity and Princess.

Read status: Content I haven’t read

Ownership Everything

Default View: Condensed

Following: Everything

Time Period: Since my last visit

Sorting (in the upper right corner): Newest activity first

Then click Save Changes in the lower right corner

Example picture:

Now, when you go to Activity, My Activity Streams you’ll see the title of your new Activity Stream.  IMPORTANT: This is the page to bookmark, the page you’ll return to each time you visit Cruise Critic.

The picture below shows how the Activity Stream will appear on the web page.  Note that you can change options here too, and you will be prompted to save or discard the changes.

When you choose your Activity Stream you see a list of threads, newest first, from the forums you chose in the Content Type: Topics step above.

Note that the listing  begins with postings from the past hour (blue oval).  Each item shows the avatar of the person that started the thread, the blue dot (or star), how long ago the last posting was and how many replies are in the thread.  

See the Condensed and Expanded icons on the upper right side.  I like Condensed, but try Expanded to judge for yourself.

My method here is to Command - Click (Control - Click on a PC?) on the blue dot or star on the left side, just before the title of the thread.  A Command - Click opens each message thread in a new browser window.  Once I’ve selected threads that interest me from the Activity Stream, opening them in new browser tabs, I go from tab to tab reading the content and closing each tab as I go.

Sometimes you’ll see a blue dot or blue star just before the title of the thread.  The blue star indicates a thread that you have posted a message in.

Note that you can create as many Activity Streams as you want.  Some folks might create one Activity Stream for each cruise line they follow.  I put the four cruise lines I follow in to one Activity Stream.

You can create an Activity Stream to find the content you posted or the content another user has posted.  This is not working well yet…behind the scenes processing is still going on.

Finally, when you choose your Activity Stream you’ll see three icons right behind its title, as shown below.  Use them to edit, delete or set as default for your Activity Stream.

Good luck…be sure to post any follow up questions…someone will help.

3 hours ago, cliffd64 said:

This is one of those things I have not understood about the "Haven Restaurant" on any of the larger ships...  Just because you are in a suite/The Haven, you shouldn't be expected to be isolated from the rest of the ship every meal.

We loved eating in the Haven restaurant.  No waiting, great service, great food.  There's lots to like.

Now, we did venture out and try other venues.  Twice I asked for food from other venues to be brought to the Haven restaurant.  The best of both worlds!

5 minutes ago, Lois R said:

OK...I am trying to get used to this but am having a difficult time.  Is there a way to go from one forum to another without going back to the "main page"? How are most you jumping from one forum to another? I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY miss that "forum jump" field.  Anyone else miss it too?  What is the easiest way to go from one place to another? HELP PLEASE!

I've always followed four forums (the four lines I've cruised on).  I'm loving the way Activity Streams work on this new system.  It allows me to see threads from all four cruise lines in one browser window.  

Activity Streams are a bit tricky to set up.  Ask if you need help...more than a few of us here are now using Activity Streams and will offer help.

2 minutes ago, CC Help Jenn said:

 

Just a reminder that search indexes are still being built, so that will effect the activity streams

Makes sense.  Thanks!

3 hours ago, broberts said:

You can create a custom stream to list posts by one or more users. Activity | My Activity Streams | Create New Stream. Select Content by specific members in the Ownership section. An edit will appear, type the username or first few letter and pick from a popup list (takes a few seconds to pop).

I've done so, but something isn't working right.  

I have this particular Activity Stream set to show content posted by a specific user in the last 30 days.  The results show one posting.  When I find this user's activity by hovering my cursor over their avatar and choosing "Find content" the results are nine postings.  

And really, both are wrong.  This particular user posts anywhere from a few to a dozen posts per day.  I'll guess that a 30 day search should find around 50 or more postings.  

The second very best thing about the upgrade is Activity Streams.  

Activity Streams make it easy to find the content you want to see.

I've attached a screen shot that shows one of my Activity Streams (yes, you can have more than one).

Once you get the Show me, Content types, Read status, Ownership, Following, Time Period and Sorting set appropriately Activity Streams works quite well!

11 hours ago, broberts said:

 

Hover over the user's avatar. Bottom right of the popup is Find Content. Click on that.

Thanks!  This seems to work well, though I would prefer to find content by other users via the Activity Stream.  The problem now is incomplete results, possibly due to the "processing" not complete listed in the blue banner at the top of most pages.

11 hours ago, Underwatr said:

That's another activity stream. Under Ownership select "Content by specific members" and enter the username of the person you want to search. 

Alternatively, click on a person's name in a post and at the bottom are their recent posts ( I think this will improve as the indexing catches up). 

Thanks!  

The "Content by specific members" seems to work though it's not showing complete results.  I suspect the incomplete results may be due to the "processing" message in the blue banner at the top of most pages.

1 hour ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Ah,

Try changing 'Show me' to 'Items only'

Let us know if that works.

Ha!  I went to get a screen shot...and my Activity Stream is now showing threads.  I had changed it to "Items only" the last time I was here and didn't realize it had fixed the problem.  

Why "Items only"?  Seems like it should be labeled "Threads only."

Now...if I could only figure out how to search for posts by user.  Not my posts, but another user's posts.  I can't get that to work yet.

Thanks, but condense or expand is still showing individual postings.  I'm looking for a solution to show message threads instead.

 BTW, condense, to me, is much better than the expanded view.  

Thank for the tip.  I don't think that'll work for me, it's not the way I typically use a forum.  

 For example, say I'm viewing the Norwegian forum.  I would typically scan down the list of threads and command-click on the threads I want to read.  The command-click opens each thread in a new browser tab.  Then I go from tab to tab, reading the individual posts.  

 I've been able to get My Activity Stream to show the 4 forums I want to see, but it's showing me individual posts instead of message threads.  It seems like the Content Type filter should let me select message threads instead of individual messages.  Am I missing an option to view threads instead of posts?

Links I've used should change color.  The new system seems to only change them from bold to regular.  

 Shouldn't used links change color?

Anyone found a way to search for posts by an individual user name?  

My searches for posts by a user either turn up nothing or thousands of posts by various users.

So far I'm liking the Activity Stream feature.  I follow four cruise lines and it was easy to see those four and only those four in my newly created Activity Stream.  The problem is Activity Stream lists individual posts.  I'd prefer a way to have it list message threads instead.

The Unread Content doesn't honor my Activity Stream.  Instead it shows me unread content across all the forums -- again as individual posts.  My preference would be to see unread content on the four cruise lines defined in my Activity Stream, and to see lists of the threads...not individual posts.

I'm having pretty good success using the new Activity Stream feature.  One question...my Activity Stream is showing individual posts, how do I get it to show message threads instead?

No "Theme" selection here either.  I've tried Safari and Chrome.

If you are a Haven guest in the Haven restaurant May you order from any menu/restaurant on the ship?

I ordered from other restaurants twice on the Breakaway while dining in the Haven restaurant.

They made a mild attempt at talking me out of it...saying it would take longer. But we didn't notice any timing difference. Other than being served on the Haven plates, there was no difference. And the food was hot too.

They had menus from the other restaurants, but I knew what I wanted so I didn't need the menu.

They said the ship always docks port side. I would love the view but am really concerned about being under the fitness center.

Which way (or side) faces the dock is determined by several factors, some of which are: the weather, maintenance on one side, work on life boats...and several more. There's no way to pre-determine which way a ship will dock.

This is crazy good, it dropped again today. We are now at $2,359.60:D

 

Edit: Also our OBC went up from $76 to $100

Our Haven room on the Breakaway in March 2018 went down a full 30% from the time we booked until final payment was due. I was very happy!

Our combined OBC also went up significantly, ending at $400. However, spending $400 on board was hard to do...partly due to all the perks we had and partly due to restrictions on what you can use OBC for. I used most of the OBC for additional tips to crew members that went above and beyond, but you can't use OBC for the daily service charge and they wouldn't let us cash it out at the casino either. We ended up buying a lot of liquor and perfume that we will use but normally wouldn't have purchased on the ship.