Why so few on roll calls?

[cl.klink]

I started the roll call for my June 11 2016 Nieuw Amsterdam Alaska cruise in November, but still no one has joined. I got so lonely, I ended up starting a conversation with myself and posted back and forth just to myself to make it look like an active roll call. Maybe now someone will scroll along and say "Aha, 8 replies, time to join in!"

 

I noted on my last (and first ever) HAL cruise that the roll call for that one was not very active either (also Alaska). Three other Celebrity cruises had very active roll calls (none Alaska). What's going on here? Are HAL cruisers less interested in roll calls than some other cruisers? Is it an Alaska thing? Or is my presence now the kiss of death.

 

Feeling ill at ease,

 

- Joel

[SilvertoGold]

This is very common. A lot of the HAL Alaska cruises have many newbies, to HAL or to cruising, or to both. I suspect many have not encountered CC yet.

 

I am a little surprised, however, because the N. Amsterdam is THE ship for this season, the first time a Signature class has sailed Alaska. There should be a lot of pax who want to sail this ship!

 

You may have to keep yourself company for a while, but I hope someone comes along to share your cruise!

Edited December 29, 2015 by SilvertoGold

[FunTraveler52]

Maybe it's Alaska. I am participating in a Roll Call for a Norwegian cruise on the Koningsdam in July 2016 and it's very active. So active, that I'm lost in all the postings. My plan is to organize a spreadsheet.

 

Keep posting to yourself to keep it on top.

 

Good luck, Francine

[Lizzie68]

What a shame. Every roll call I have been on up to now has been active and welcoming with the exception of one where the person who started it made it clear some of us were distinctly unwelcome, so we no longer participate. But that is the one and only time. For both HAL and RCI, I have found the roll calls invaluable and inclusive, and very friendly.

[cl.klink]

This is very common. A lot of the HAL Alaska cruises have many newbies, to HAL or to cruising, or to both. I suspect many have not encountered CC yet ...

 

Interesting idea. That would make sense.

 

- Joel

[ellieanne]

I stopped posting on roll calls because I found them to be mostly just people interested in getting together groups for private shore excursions and that's not my thing.

 

Sometimes I'll lurk on the roll call for my cruise just to see which posters are on the cruise, to see what kind of a "feel" there may be on board, or if there are any people I may want to meet in real life, or avoid in real life (based on their posting attitude).

[sail7seas]

Some roll calls are busy and some are not.

I never go to roll calls so I'm one that doesn't participate.

It seems most of the posters are looking for people with whom to share the cost of private tours. That isn't something I want to do so it's best I stay away. :)

[crystalspin]

In addition to what Silver said -- you may have another factor confusing your rollcall...

 

HAL is also selling the first 3.5 days OR the last 3.5 days as part of sea-land or land-sea tours (respectively). IOW people will be leaving the ship in Skagway and others coming on. Only the ones boarding with you (and getting off in Skagway) would even find the roll call you started using the rollcall tool. Those joining you in Skagway would maybe be looking for a RC starting on 6/7/16...

 

Well hang in there! LOTS (and lots) of Rollcalls don't pick up speed until even the last month!

[kftw]

Maybe it's an Alaskan "thing". We are on the Maasdam August 29th sailing and no one has posted except myself. I have restarted the thread 2 times. I have to confess I have begun to talk to myself now too.

[Crew News]

It is indeed an Alaska thing.

 

I have started five Alaska Roll Calls (April/May 2016 and 2017) just to get them going but participation has not been very brisk.

 

A large portion of the passengers come via a handful of travel agencies in Korea, China, New Zealand, and Australia that probably have their own organizing websites and thus we do not see these passengers on CC roll calls. Some Travel Groups have matching backpacks and they tend to stick together. These travel agents have special events for their passengers in the conference rooms and it appears that they organize their own excursions.

 

In addition, a number of passengers probably do not participate because they are either joining or departing the ship in Skagway for land tours.

 

 

.

[Keith1010]

Always varies based on the number of people on the cruise and the mix of people.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

Remember that not all passengers on a cruise belong to CC. In fact only a very small percentage of CC will be on your cruise.

Some are very active. Some are not. I no longer join the Roll Calls. I got turned off when people wanted to play games, do cabin crawls, etc.

But when I did join in, one time there were only 8 of us on a 21 day repositioning cruise. A 15 day Hawaiian cruise -- only 4 of us. Another time on a Caribbean cruise -- over 70 of us.

[KirkNC]

Roll call participation can be all over the board. Some we are on post daily, others not so much.

[Randyk47]

And while it's true some sailings have very active roll calls it's also true that generally HAL roll calls are not as active as some other lines. Over the years we've participated in only a few roll calls and actually started one years and years ago. Only one on HAL really took off. Today I check and often find nobody has started a roll call. I will chime in on an established roll call but probably my bad I haven't been motivated to start one for years.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Randyk47

[catl331]

Many Alaskan cruises are in the months that school is out and families cruise together--either Mom and Dad and kids or grandparents and family. They tend not to join rc. Also ports in Alaska are confined by mountains and people just like to walk around whenever and get back on.

[scrap47]

I have to admit, I'm one of those Alaska land/cruise people and I just don't know how to start the role call.....we are going to be on the land portion first and then only 3.5 days on the ship (July, 2016). I keep hoping someone else will start...guess I better just do it!

[mame42]

As a solo traveler, CC Roll Calls offer an invaluable opportunity to meet fellow pax prior to embarkation. I do find that itinerary matters; extended cruises to faraway destinations seem to attract more posters. The Roll Call for my last cruise boasted over 1400 posts! Yes, they contain much chatter about arranging tours and excursions, but one also finds clues to those pax who might have interests similar to mine,come from the same area, or also travel solo.

 

Even those Roll Calls with few postings offer some benefits. In fact, the limited Roll Call for my most recent Caribbean cruise allowed me to meet my cabin neighbors prior to boarding. Since they were smokers, and I am not, we worked out an amicable solution to balcony smoking before embarkation. (Please do not use this statement as an occasion for thread drift. It is only an example of the utility of Roll Calls)

[CruiseMob]

I started the roll call for my June 11 2016 Nieuw Amsterdam Alaska cruise in November, but still no one has joined. I got so lonely, I ended up starting a conversation with myself and posted back and forth just to myself to make it look like an active roll call. Maybe now someone will scroll along and say "Aha, 8 replies, time to join in!"

 

I noted on my last (and first ever) HAL cruise that the roll call for that one was not very active either (also Alaska). Three other Celebrity cruises had very active roll calls (none Alaska). What's going on here? Are HAL cruisers less interested in roll calls than some other cruisers? Is it an Alaska thing? Or is my presence now the kiss of death.

 

Feeling ill at ease,

 

- Joel

I have a quiet Aug 13 Nieuw Amsterdam roll call also. Maybe we should cross post each other to keep ourselves occupied / entertained. LOL! ;)

[DaveOKC]

Most roll calls seem to pick up in activity after final payment date, as people become more committed to their decision plus they realize that they need to start planning.

 

On our last one we thought we only had 10-15 people set up for roll call about 6 months out. We ended up with about 30 attending.

[agabbymama]

Roll Calls aren't everyone's cup of tea. I don't know if the age demographics play a role or the location.

 

On our HAL cruise to Alaska nobody showed up to the Meet & Greet, and only a handful on the Roll Call.

 

On our Princess Med cruise, we had 21 on the Roll Call that said they would be at the Meet & Greet, but only 11 showed up.

 

On our Celebrity New England/Canada cruise we had 32 show up for the Meet & Greet, but that is set up and provided for by RCCL if you get over 25 signed up to attend.

 

The best turn out has been on NCL Pacific Northwest cruise. Had 60 on the Roll Call saying they would attend and 58 showed up to the Meet & Greet.

 

The ships are getting larger with more varied people who may/or may not be interested in getting together for a Meet & Greet or even talk on the Roll Call. My husband would be one of those, as he never even touches the computer.

[POA1]

I wouldn't worry about it. We were on a cruise last year and our meet and greet had almost twice as many people as our roll call. You're much better off with a few good friends than you are with dozens of random acquaintances.

[RuthC]

I read the roll calls for the cruises I'm booked on, and usually even post to them that I am going. But after that, my participation varies.

 

Most of the roll calls, I find, are people who I don't know from this (or other) forums. They are interested in joining with others for private touring, but don't seem to be interested in getting to know each other.

I end up with no more interest in meeting them than anyone else on the ship. Others could feel the same way, and that could be one reason you aren't finding others to join the roll call.

 

But I think there's a lot of truth in what others have posted here: family groups don't feel the need to join; people don't know about CC/roll calls; people join in closer to sailing date. I would add that, at least for the last several weeks, people have been preoccupied with holiday activities.

[cruz chic]

I wouldn't worry about it. We were on a cruise last year and our meet and greet had almost twice as many people as our roll call. You're much better off with a few good friends than you are with dozens of random acquaintances.

 

I agree. Most of the people I end up hanging around with on a cruise are people that I've met randomly on a cruise. On my last cruise I met a few peeps in the cabana area. They were awesome. I met some folks at the meet and greet that said some cruel things like "who cares about Alberta" in reference to the current economic troubles. When I walked into Saint Martin for exercise I was called cheap because I didn't take the ferry. Who needs that. It's becoming a real turn off.

[zigdilcru]

I checked my roll call after we booked our trip but somehow it sounded very cliquey (is that a word?) and I did not feel very welcomed, they all seemed to know each other from previous cruises. Our Celebrity cruise back in June was very welcoming and I enjoyed it very much, oh well maybe next time.

[sapper1]

I checked my roll call after we booked our trip but somehow it sounded very cliquey (is that a word?) and I did not feel very welcomed, they all seemed to know each other from previous cruises. Our Celebrity cruise back in June was very welcoming and I enjoyed it very much, oh well maybe next time.

 

I am currently on another huge roll call right now and although a number of us have sailed together before and are friends, everyone is very welcoming and inclusive---which is as it should be.

Each roll call is different so don't give up.