What has happened to the Roll Calls?

[Suncitygaltx]

We've always relied on the Oceania Roll Calls to set up and/or sign up for private tours.  We're on the Dec. Regatta circumnavigation of Australia, and there are only about 15 or so people signed up on the RC.  I've posted a couple of things about private tours, with no response.  I'm guessing that it's the O Life option of some free shore excursions that has caused this.  At first I thought that the free shore excursions was a great deal, until I discovered that most of them were category OS, which are not eligible for free excursions.  It looks like any excursion priced at greater than $150 USD is not eligible.  Consequently we have now  elected to take the ship board credit, and will use it for some of O's excursions, and supplement with some private excursions.  I think that many people have put together private tours in the past for two reasons:  1) to avoid fifty passenger buses and 2)the outrageous prices that O charges for their excursions.

 

I'd be interested in hearing what some of the long-time Oceania cruisers have to say...

[pinotlover]

1. On my upcoming cruise, many of us booked our shore excursions 10-12 months out. Therefore, at six months, where you are now, we were all booked and just needed to wait unit PIF date to ensure we had all travelers aboard, then re post to fill.

 

2. I am captaining two of the excursions. I put up tour descriptions and my email. Several signed up directly with me that never posted on the Roll Call. The number of Roll Call post may have nothing to do with Roll Call activity, just the degree of how much they want to post.

 

3. On cruise has a bunch of procrastinators. At three months out they woke up and realized they were on a cruise and are scrambling to find tours. We are at 2 months and several are still scrambling. You have a few months to go for that.

 

3. You’re on a 30+ day cruise. Odds are you’ll have mostly seasoned fellow passengers. Many of them seem to prefer short ship tours, simple diy, just resting, or waiting to see how they feel the day or two before a port to decide upon a course of action.

 

Good Luck!

Edited June 5, 2019 by pinotlover

[Mura]

I'm surprised at OP's conclusion that the "free" tours have a $150pp limit.  It seems to me that when we have used oLife tours, the top limit was $199.  I'm not saying OP is wrong because price differentials have gone up between cruise only and oLife (what was once $300 now seems closer to $1500), so it's certainly possible that the rules have been changed about the available tours.

 

We did find them worth it on recent cruises, but at $1500 I doubt we'd take the tours now.  MAYBE the OBC, but we get a lot of that anyway.

 

I  haven't done real price comparisons since we have nothing scheduled for now -- DH doesn't want to do any more traveling because of his severe vision problems, but while he wouldn't mind if I went alone, he also is fearful of being in a duplex apartment when he can't see the stairs so well.  So for now, no travels are planned.  That may change down the road, of course.

 

Mura

 

[willidc]

We just finished a cruise on Nautica on May 30.  The limit for the OLife tours was still $199.  We got 3 tours with our sailing and we feel we did well with one at $199, two at $189 and one at $169.  The other three were private and one DIY.

 

Lovely sailing to the surprising Canary Islands and surrounding areas (Morocco, Gibraltar, Spain, Portugal).

[sunlover12]

We will be on the Marina next week and the roll call is quiet.  We are taking the OLife shore excursions. It's a better value than either the beverage package or the OBC.  The included excursions that we are getting are all priced at $199 so that's nearly $1200.  Even with O's high-priced shore excursions it's still a fairly good value.  The OBC would have been $600. Maybe the OP's particular cruise does not include OLife excursions over $150 but that is generally not the case.

 

The 50-passenger bus was mentioned and I agree that can be annoying.  Loading and unloading the bus can be very slow but we have found the ship's excursions to be good and we have had some excellent tour guides.

 

 

[cswhistler]

Suncity galtx  We are on your cruise but rarely organize our tours till after our final payment date (July 9) just in case we are not able to go. So far we have never cancelled any of our 20 Oceania cruises, so we are hoping for the best as we are both in excellent health ( in our 60 & early 70). A busy schedule is another problem. Your tour in Adelaide looks good.

We usually find the O tours as you very pricey. We usually take the credit for a tour or two and use the rest for wine  at dinner and cocktails as we enjoy a drink after trivia  in the bar to meet people. 

Marianne & Dick

 

[Mrs f.]

We are on the Marina Nov 24.  Roll call has only 8 people and no real action.was used to a lot more activity on our last cruise.

 

[Mura]

Only 8 people???  Wow!  I've been on small roll calls but never one that small.

 

But if most of your fellow cruisers don't know about CC, then they won't know about a roll call either.

 

We have indeed found that since oLife (and its tour benefits came on the scene) that it can be harder to find people looking for private tours ... but far from impossible.

 

But everything depends on how active a roll call is, and we cannot control THAT.

 

Mura

 

[Jancruz]

Mura, Stu and I are on August 6 Regatta and there are two people on the roll call..I am shocked..

Jancruz1

[Mura]

My goodness!  It gets worse and worse!

 

Mura

[pinotlover]

On my cruise this past February and on my upcoming cruise, I have been able to book all private shore excursions via the Roll Call, not needing ship ones.

 

If one goes on their Roll Call and says “ Here is a tour I’ve put together at XYZ, looking for six more participants “, I’ve found plenty of response either on the Roll Call or directly to me via email. 

 

I will say say there are fewer “ Hi! We’re the Flintstones from Bedrock joining this cruise “ posts than there once were.

Edited June 7, 2019 by pinotlover

[Suncitygaltx]

I'm the original poster (OP), and I was wrong about the price limit for O Life excursions.  Sorry!  As several of you have mentioned, it's $199.  That's what I get for relying on my memory at this age!  Most of the excursions that I had chosen were more expensive than that, unfortunately.  We're traveling with another couple who also are seasoned Oceania passengers, who have often set up private excursions as we have.  We've both posted tour options with no response.  I guess I was just shocked at how the Roll Calls have changed.  On ourRoll Call the newest post is no longer at the top...now they're in date sequence, and you have to scroll to the end.  With so few people posting, that's not a big problem!

Edited June 7, 2019 by Suncitygaltx

[Mura]

I certainly can't see that starting a thread with the oldest post is an improvement!

 

I haven't noticed that with non-roll call posts.  Crossing my fingers ...

 

Mura

 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Suncitygaltx said:

  On ourRoll Call the newest post is no longer at the top...now they're in date sequence, and you have to scroll to the end.  With so few people posting, that's not a big problem!

it is probably the way you have your settings 

At the top of the thread box ( top right)  there is  a tab  "SORT BY"

 click on it  & put what your preference is

I use RECENTLY UPDATED  as mine

 

YMMV

 

[Shawnino]

On RC for one of our upcoming cruises (won't even name the line, to protect the guilty) the person organising the M&G updates the list about every 24 hours, changes or no changes...then he posts separately about the M&G. 

Speaking only for myself I can't be bothered to sift through all that.

 

Further, others are organising on a site I'm expressly forbidden from mentioning. 

 

So there might have been 30 checked in on the roll call at various times, but it's dead as a doornail. We are still many months out.

[Mrs f.]

Mura....I've been checking my roll call each day. So quiet.   Our last cruise was a much longer one (30 days)  We had so many people on the roll call.  All my excursions  were with roll call people. We had a wonderful  group.  Maybe things will pick up.

[LHT28]

our last cruise was very quiet as well until a few months out

I had  tried to get a tour going but no takers so  just changed plans to do our own thing

As it turned out is was a good thing as the port was missed due to severe weather

 

I do find  since O life excursion have come into the picture the private tours have dropped off  depending on the area the cruise is going to

 

JMO

[Suncitygaltx]

22 hours ago, LHT28 said:

it is probably the way you have your settings 

At the top of the thread box ( top right)  there is  a tab  "SORT BY"

 click on it  & put what your preference is

I use RECENTLY UPDATED  as mine

 

YMMV

 

This gets stranger and stranger.  I don't seem to have a SORT BY tab!  My husband couldn't find it either, and we both are IT retirees.  I think that there could be a new version of the RC software, and not everyone is using it.  I sent a query to CC Support.  We'll see what comes back.

[LHT28]

You do not see the Sort By  on the box  where the page numbers are ?

 

 

[1985rz1]

20 hours ago, LHT28 said:

You do not see the Sort By  on the box  where the page numbers are ?

 

 

Does the sort box apply to the posts within each thread as well as the thread listing?  There is no sort box within the thread that I've been able to find.

[LHT28]

9 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Does the sort box apply to the posts within each thread as well as the thread listing?  There is no sort box within the thread that I've been able to find.

AFAIK

it is just  in the forum  not on specific threads

You can use the search function for the thread

click on the word "search" just under your CC ID top right  the menu should drop down   click on this topic if you only want to search a specific thread or you will get  the terms you are search for the whole site

 

 

It may look different on a Mobile device  than on a computer 

I am using a laptop  so see the  sort by at the top of the  forum box

[floridatravelersforlife]

I have to rolls calls going.  On one there is one member and the other none. Granted one is a year out with a destination of Japan, but the other is the Caribbean next winter.  I fear the social media has diluted the benefit of  CC.

[pinotlover]

Speaking of social media, of which CC is a type/ member of, more and more people have become leery of saying “ Hi, we’re Fred and Wilma from Bedrock, Delaware and we’ll be cruising with you from July 1-July 20th. We are just really concerned about leaving our dogs in the kennel that long while we’re gone, since no one will be here to take care of them”! 

 

Hello! Maybe that’s tmi ! I’m not on Facebook so other cruisers, lurking on the Roll Call , will contact me about a posting, via email, and never, ever, make a RC posting.

[CintiPam]

On 6/7/2019 at 6:59 PM, LHT28 said:

I do find  since O life excursion have come into the picture the private tours have dropped off  depending on the area the cruise is going to

 

JMO

+1. Bingo! (Unfortunately IMO.)

[Suncitygaltx]

On 6/8/2019 at 2:58 PM, LHT28 said:

You do not see the Sort By  on the box  where the page numbers are ?

 

 

Nope, and further more, my screen looks entirely different than yours!  Here's a screen shot: