Are folks losing interest in Meet & Mingle Roll Calls?

[BecciBoo]

I've never once heard anyone mention "status" or "knowing" all the crew members at a M&M :rolleyes:

 

With your attitude and the way you call people names that you don't even know, it's likely best you continue not to attend though. You are doing everyone a huge favor I'm sure.

 

I'm with you Ryan, never heard anyone mention those things at all (and I've attended at least 15 or so)...most of these folks have been talking for months and just want to meet their new "friends" in person, and have a little fun...that's all!

 

 

Geez, the only blow hard on here has already spoken:cool:

[ryano]

....since you "never heard anyone" means it never happened? :rolleyes: let'stake a look at that statement...............

 

You made the blanket statement that Meet and Mingles are nothing more than being stuck in a room with a bunch of "blowhards" and "braggarts" that talk about status and knowing all the crew. Im telling you that I have not heard any of the such at the M&Ms Ive attended. I never once even implied it hasnt happened.

 

You calling someone a blowhard is like the pot calling the kettle black. :cool:

[jagsfan]

I'm very disappointed by the decline in Roll Call participation. I registered for the M&M fir my upcoming cruise and joined the Roll Call. No one welcomed me or anyone else. I've made a point to welcome others as they joined, but I was alone. No setting up of private tours, no talking up M&M, no nothing. I've participated in Cabin Crawls, always fun, Pub Crawls with poker hands, and a couple of times we all brought a souvenir of our home towns. That was a blast. On a TA, I set up Bunco, and we played 2 hours a day for 4 days. I have to say in all the M&Ms I've attended, there were a couple of exuberant people, a little noisy, but no blowhards or braggarts. I feel bad for anyone who comes away from any gathering with that impression.

I wish that my Roll Call would perk up, but I think it's time to stick s fork in it. It's done.

 

 

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[Ryansdaddy]

. I've participated in Cabin Crawls, always fun, Pub Crawls with poker hands, and a couple of times we all brought a souvenir of our home towns.

 

What's a cabin crawl? That sounds fun. My role call is kinda quiet. I offered up maybe everyone meeting at a bar to great one another since we opted out of the M&M. (just doesn't sound like it's our thing) It's relatively quiet. I did get 1 answer from one of the cruisers earlier though when I asked if there were any fellow cruisers with teenage kiddos just so I could make it easier for my son to meet some people his age early on. Other than that it's like crickets.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I'm very disappointed by the decline in Roll Call participation. I registered for the M&M fir my upcoming cruise and joined the Roll Call. No one welcomed me or anyone else. I've made a point to welcome others as they joined, but I was alone. No setting up of private tours, no talking up M&M, no nothing. I've participated in Cabin Crawls, always fun, Pub Crawls with poker hands, and a couple of times we all brought a souvenir of our home towns. That was a blast. On a TA, I set up Bunco, and we played 2 hours a day for 4 days. I have to say in all the M&Ms I've attended, there were a couple of exuberant people, a little noisy, but no blowhards or braggarts. I feel bad for anyone who comes away from any gathering with that impression.

I wish that my Roll Call would perk up, but I think it's time to stick s fork in it. It's done.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

For whatever reason, when I join a new roll call I'd say 20-30% of the time I'm not "greeted". I then make a point to be the greeter whenever possible. People like to feel included, and if they're basically ignored that's rather difficult!

 

On most roll calls I like to have a pretty active presence - there's often many who post once/twice and then *poof*, never to be seen/heard of again. There's not much of a point to that, IMO. I try to share any knowledge or experience I have so that others can benefit (essentially giving back). :)

 

Tom

Edited April 6, 2016 by Tom-n-Cheryl

[Paulette3028]

What's a cabin crawl? That sounds fun. My role call is kinda quiet. I offered up maybe everyone meeting at a bar to great one another since we opted out of the M&M. (just doesn't sound like it's our thing) It's relatively quiet. I did get 1 answer from one of the cruisers earlier though when I asked if there were any fellow cruisers with teenage kiddos just so I could make it easier for my son to meet some people his age early on. Other than that it's like crickets.

 

 

A cabin crawl is when people from the Roll Call volunteer to show others their cabins in as many cabin categories as you can have people volunteer. It gives an opportunity to others who may have never been able to see other cabins than the one they are in. Pictures on a website, just don't do many of the cabins justice.

 

Whomever is organizing it does it on a sea day, so that it occupies a little time 45-60 minutes perhaps at most. Maybe do it right before lunch and then everyone heads to MDR for lunch together. When we did it on our Allure cruise (I believe) we had our first look at the bigger suites (which may not be something we will ever book) as well as the JS. We generally book balcony cabins, and on that cabin crawl we saw what an aft balcony is like, and know if we get the opportunity to book one, we will.

 

They can be fun....you go from cabin to cabin from the smallest up to the largest cabin that is made available....cruisers volunteer their cabins.

[debs2028]

I have only ever cruised once before and there was a very active roll call . I was able to organise excursions . We met for a drink on embarkation and had a meet and mingle party ...this time I looked for a roll call ...and looked again .. Nothing , so I started my own , we sail in July and there is me on the roll call and that is it .....very sad :confused:....nobody wants to join me !!!!!!

Edited April 6, 2016 by debs2028

[Ryansdaddy]

A cabin crawl is when people from the Roll Call volunteer to show others their cabins in as many cabin categories as you can have people volunteer. It gives an opportunity to others who may have never been able to see other cabins than the one they are in. Pictures on a website, just don't do many of the cabins justice.

 

Whomever is organizing it does it on a sea day, so that it occupies a little time 45-60 minutes perhaps at most. Maybe do it right before lunch and then everyone heads to MDR for lunch together. When we did it on our Allure cruise (I believe) we had our first look at the bigger suites (which may not be something we will ever book) as well as the JS. We generally book balcony cabins, and on that cabin crawl we saw what an aft balcony is like, and know if we get the opportunity to book one, we will.

 

They can be fun....you go from cabin to cabin from the smallest up to the largest cabin that is made available....cruisers volunteer their cabins.

 

That sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe if my roll call picks up I can throw that out but as of now I can't get anyone to even chime in on a bar meet up.

[Paulette3028]

I have only ever cruised once before and there was a very active roll call . I was able to organise excursions . We met for a drink on embarkation and had a meet and mingle party ...this time I looked for a roll call ...and looked again .. Nothing , so I started my own , we sail in July and there is me on the roll call and that is it .....very sad :confused:....nobody wants to join me !!!!!!

 

If I were to make a suggestion.....visit other threads about the ship that you are sailing on.....and ask if people are going on your cruise give date. Make a suggestion to anyone cruising on your sailing to sign up for the roll call. Be active yourself and it may create more participants.

[xxHadleyxx]

For whatever reason, when I join a new roll call I'd say 20-30% of the time I'm not "greeted". I then make a point to be the greeter whenever possible. People like to feel included, and if they're basically ignored that's rather difficult!

 

On most roll calls I like to have a pretty active presence - there's often many who post once/twice and then *poof*, never to be seen/heard of again. There's not much of a point to that, IMO. I try to share any knowledge or experience I have so that others can benefit (essentially giving back). :)

 

Tom

 

I have a similar approach and philosophy (including not seeing the point in posting once or twice and never again)

[Ryansdaddy]

If I were to make a suggestion.....visit other threads about the ship that you are sailing on.....and ask if people are going on your cruise give date. Make a suggestion to anyone cruising on your sailing to sign up for the roll call. Be active yourself and it may create more participants.

 

I'll do a post on the liberty page and see if I can get some action going on the roll call. It was busy when it got started but has since quieted down. Maybe it will pick up when we have about 30 days left to go before sailing which is getting close.

[ryano]

 

They can be fun....you go from cabin to cabin from the smallest up to the largest cabin that is made available....cruisers volunteer their cabins.

 

Our group had a blast on the cabin crawl! I only went to one cabin with them though as its too tough following along in my wheelchair. I was able to see a new deck 12 Panoramic OV cabin on Freedom and they were really nice.

 

On the other hand, the majority of our group was very thankful I volunteered my accessible Promenade cabin for the crawl. Even the most seasoned cruisers of the group really didnt seem to know about the extra space and features that makes cruising easier for us and mine was the only Promenade in the crawl.

Edited April 6, 2016 by ryano

[Paulette3028]

I haven't read the rest of this thread (at least at this point), but when I heard that the meeting for our Allure cruise next month has typically been held at 9:30 am on the first sea day, I lost TOTAL interest !! :rolleyes:

 

Tom

 

Can anyone tell me if there's a way to "de-register" for the meeting? I signed up initially, but won't be there at 9:30.

 

Tom

 

For whatever reason, when I join a new roll call I'd say 20-30% of the time I'm not "greeted". I then make a point to be the greeter whenever possible. People like to feel included, and if they're basically ignored that's rather difficult!

 

On most roll calls I like to have a pretty active presence - there's often many who post once/twice and then *poof*, never to be seen/heard of again. There's not much of a point to that, IMO. I try to share any knowledge or experience I have so that others can benefit (essentially giving back). :)

 

Tom

 

I guess I can't really figure out from your postings exactly what you expect....what I might suggest is that since you dislike the possibility that the M&M might be at 9:30am you might write to the email address that Bob gave you (xplora@rccl.com) and voice your opinion and perhaps they would consider moving it to another time. From my experience it is the CD that schedules it, around other activities that they hope will benefit from it. I know when we were on Allure it was at 10:15am immediately preceeding the Welcome Back event.

 

Sometimes a person has designated themselves as the 'greeter' on a rollcall.....most times not. Others in the roll call, have offered greetings periodically....a Roll Call isn't owned by any one, not even the one who started it. Sometimes the one who begins it, doesn't even end up on the cruise.....plans change.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I guess I can't really figure out from your postings exactly what you expect....what I might suggest is that since you dislike the possibility that the M&M might be at 9:30am you might write to the email address that Bob gave you (xplora@rccl.com) and voice your opinion and perhaps they would consider moving it to another time. From my experience it is the CD that schedules it, around other activities that they hope will benefit from it. I know when we were on Allure it was at 10:15am immediately preceeding the Welcome Back event.

 

Sometimes a person has designated themselves as the 'greeter' on a rollcall.....most times not. Others in the roll call, have offered greetings periodically....a Roll Call isn't owned by any one, not even the one who started it. Sometimes the one who begins it, doesn't even end up on the cruise.....plans change.

 

I expect to sleep in on my cruise - all mornings, with the exception of debarkation morning (as we're often up late when cruising)! The one exception to this would be when we're cruising to new ports and have plans... then there's a reason to awaken early . When we're not cruising, my normal wake up time is 5:30, except on gym mornings when it's 3:45... :eek:

 

I did send in an email first thing this morning, and cited the 9:30 time as being too early for me. I did not ask them to alter it (I suppose I'm the outlier)! I'd go for a 10:30-11:00 time frame, but 9:30 just seems to be pushing it... again, for me! :)

 

Tom

[ewenix]

To me, those folks are like the UNIX admins with no known social skills and respond to every question with "read the man page". How helpful...

 

Hey buddy, if you have a command line line account you'd better know how to read a man page before asking for help. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go get some coffee then see if Richard Stallman has replied to my email yet. :D ;)

Edited April 6, 2016 by ewenix

[Wanderista]

I just wanted to chime in and say I love your CC name :D Enjoy your cruise and let us know if you get bitten by the bug.

 

I have substantially new to add to the thread, although I agree with most that has been posted. My favorite cruise of all time had the most active Roll Call and I still am in contact with the friends I made there... but my upcoming Europe cruise is very very quiet.

 

We love meeting new people on the ship and I am sorry that there seems to be fewer opportunities to interact and do so.

 

Thanks very much! Will do.

 

I hope that you have a great time in Europe. I'm definitely jealous of that. :)

[Paulette3028]

I just wanted to chime in and say I love your CC name :D Enjoy your cruise and let us know if you get bitten by the bug.

 

I have substantially new to add to the thread, although I agree with most that has been posted. My favorite cruise of all time had the most active Roll Call and I still am in contact with the friends I made there... but my upcoming Europe cruise is very very quiet.

 

We love meeting new people on the ship and I am sorry that there seems to be fewer opportunities to interact and do so.

 

Our Jewel cruise was the very first one that we went to the M&M-- we just never knew about them before. The roll call was very good...we met some people who shared the same dining time and I made it possible for some of use to sit together at dinner. We had been on CC for awhile by then. The M&M was a great event, lots of interacting; it wasn't however the one that had the most lasting effects. We have remained friends with a couple we met on our Allure sailing and that had the worst M&M (the Activity Manager who ran it, is no longer with Royal). Our Indy one was very good and we have remained in touch with several. Our Navigator cruise did not have a M&M because it was only a 6 day cruise, but I organized an informal one on embarkation day, and along with the relatively active rollcall met some people who we have stayed friends with.....it happened that a couple we met live nearby.

 

So you can get a lot out of a Roll Call and M&M or you can get a little out of it.....it mostly depends upon the cruiser and how the cruiser uses the tools available. JMO, of course.

[Luv my furbaby]

I don't know if people are losing interest or not but I think a huge factor in the timing of the meet and mingle. It seems that are scheduled during a port day - most people are off the ship then. On my Vision cruise in January, on CC it started tiime/place to be announced - never saw anything nor did I get any invitation in my cabin.

[Paulette3028]

I don't know if people are losing interest or not but I think a huge factor in the timing of the meet and mingle. It seems that are scheduled during a port day - most people are off the ship then. On my Vision cruise in January, on CC it started tiime/place to be announced - never saw anything nor did I get any invitation in my cabin.

 

Most times the M&M is on a sea day. On our Jewel sailing our 1st sea day was day 6, so it was done on the second day, which was a port day. It still got quite a few attendees. But waiting until the next to the last day of the cruise for the M&M would have been foolish.

[kontraxed]

I am not a big "mingler." I like following cruise critic to learn what's going on. I used to like Meet and Mingles when there were ships officers in attendance to tell you about their responsibilities and give you some information about the ship. I haven't seen any officers at the last few meetings I have been to. If it is just to go and meet with people I don't know, that's not my cup of tea.

[jagsfan]

What's a cabin crawl? That sounds fun. My role call is kinda quiet. I offered up maybe everyone meeting at a bar to great one another since we opted out of the M&M. (just doesn't sound like it's our thing) It's relatively quiet. I did get 1 answer from one of the cruisers earlier though when I asked if there were any fellow cruisers with teenage kiddos just so I could make it easier for my son to meet some people his age early on. Other than that it's like crickets.

 

We've had some great ones. People open their cabins for us to view, usually we go from interior to a suite. Almost always some snacks and once a memorable St Patrick's Day party to celebrate that and to mark the fact that our cruise was skipping Cork and Cornwall, which did not make us happy. We chipped in for all kinds of food, our host provided drinks, and his aft balcony. Even without snacks or drinks, just seeing the different categories is fun.

[Terre]

I tend to agree with you OP. Early on the roll calls and M&Ms used to be very busy and a lot of people showed up for the M&Ms.

 

Since fb came along, more and more people are setting up pages for particular cruises and we are losing roll call members to that.

 

Our last four or five roll calls have been slack even up to the sail date and those attending M&Ms are getting fewer and fewer. I've tried the fb roll calls but they are not as good as the CC roll calls in my opinion. I love the layout of CC message boards.

[Ryansdaddy]

I tend to agree with you OP. Early on the roll calls and M&Ms used to be very busy and a lot of people showed up for the M&Ms.

 

Since fb came along, more and more people are setting up pages for particular cruises and we are losing roll call members to that.

 

Our last four or five roll calls have been slack even up to the sail date and those attending M&Ms are getting fewer and fewer. I've tried the fb roll calls but they are not as good as the CC roll calls in my opinion. I love the layout of CC message boards.

 

What type of search would you put into Facebook to locate these pages? I would like to have a secondary resource if I had an opportunity. I've only been able to find RC page and the ship itself. No such luck finding anything remotely like a roll call page for particular cruises. Maybe I'm using a wrong search words?

[Deptacon]

I tend to not go to them anymore.

 

I dont get anything out of them.

[island lady]

A cabin crawl is when people from the Roll Call volunteer to show others their cabins in as many cabin categories as you can have people volunteer. It gives an opportunity to others who may have never been able to see other cabins than the one they are in. Pictures on a website, just don't do many of the cabins justice.

 

Whomever is organizing it does it on a sea day, so that it occupies a little time 45-60 minutes perhaps at most. Maybe do it right before lunch and then everyone heads to MDR for lunch together. When we did it on our Allure cruise (I believe) we had our first look at the bigger suites (which may not be something we will ever book) as well as the JS. We generally book balcony cabins, and on that cabin crawl we saw what an aft balcony is like, and know if we get the opportunity to book one, we will.

 

They can be fun....you go from cabin to cabin from the smallest up to the largest cabin that is made available....cruisers volunteer their cabins.

 

I agree and have actually organized several cabin crawls. Only one time did I not get enough volunteers to host the crawl, but all the other times that we did get enough, everyone had a lot of fun and I was humbled with the "atta girls" offered.

 

It is free, fun, interesting to see the different cabins (especially for new folks) and something indeed to do on a sea day. I usually get it started just after the meet and mingle.

Edited April 6, 2016 by island lady