Don't forget about roll calls!

[Mura]

For our part, we had an overnight in Venice and I just got on the internet and booked a taxi to pick us up.  We weren't sure about finding a cab since Riviera was docked VERY far out in the port.

 

The price was reasonable -- sorry I can't say who we used! -- and we didn't have to worry about coordinating with others.  Besides, when you have luggage, and another couple has luggage, that requires a bigger vehicle.

 

It shouldn't be a problem.  It's not like you have a 2 hour drive to the airport!

 

Good luck.

[clo]

2 hours ago, osandomir said:

We just grabbed a taxi from Venice to the airport after the cruise on the several occasions. It wasn’t terribly expensive. We wouldn’t want to bother with sharing.

 I was going to click on "like" but I want to say more.  I totally agree with you. When heading to an airport I don't want to mess with anyone else's 'issues.'  If someone would be even a minute late I'd want to scream 🙂  I'll easy to pay double to control that particular thing.  Just me.

[pinotlover]

I wouldn’t mind sharing to save money. Have done it before. However, I wouldn’t even broach the subject until 90-120 days out and well after PIF.

[Andee]

Three months ago, I started a Roll Call for our Aug 8-15, 2020 "Bermuda Bliss" cruise on Insignia. There have been no responses. Disappointing. 

[sailco]

19 hours ago, pinotlover said:

My experience shows that destination plays a huge factor in Roll Call activity. Going anywhere in Europe, especially the North and Iceland usually yields plenty of forum activity and private tours. The same for Australia, NZ, and French Polynesia. However, I found the Roll Call dead for our SE Asia cruise. Many were scared to get off the ship for an O tour no less a private tour! Eat a Vietnamese or Thai lunch, hah! Those tours had better be back to the ship by lunch. I have never sailed O in the Carribe, but hear the Roll Calls there are equally dead. A lot of people just stay on the ship.

 

We are doing a BA to Lima cruise in February 2021, and looking at the RC for upcoming cruises there, they appear active.

You would think a cruise around Sth Africa would create a bit of interest. Or is everyone just staying on the ship? Is this the norm for Oceania?

Edited November 13, 2019 by sailco

[Jay23]

6 hours ago, Mura said:

For our part, we had an overnight in Venice and I just got on the internet and booked a taxi to pick us up.  We weren't sure about finding a cab since Riviera was docked VERY far out in the port.

 

The price was reasonable -- sorry I can't say who we used! -- and we didn't have to worry about coordinating with others.  Besides, when you have luggage, and another couple has luggage, that requires a bigger vehicle.

 

It shouldn't be a problem.  It's not like you have a 2 hour drive to the airport!

 

Good luck.

Thank you  for this observation.  The trouble is that it is not clear whether Sirena is docking in the Maritina port or Basilio.  I think it is easy to get a taxi from the main port but from what I have read Basilio is a different matter.    We will just have to wait till much closer to the date and see if the docking situation is clearer.   Venice port authority no longer differentiates between the two ports in their schedule listings     J  

 

[bunzini]

On 11/12/2019 at 12:42 PM, kucherov said:

Same here EM.  As soon  as Cuba was canceled I could hear the crickets on the new Caribbean Delights roll call. In contrast, on a Caribbean cruise last year on the Riviera, there were 80+ on the roll call and most of those at the meet and greet.  We were able to arrange two great private tours.  Still 3 months to go,  so who knows.  Stephen

Yep, we are on that one as well.  I keep wondering if anyone is on the ship!  Quietest roll call ever!

 

[hubofhockey]

On 11/11/2019 at 10:43 PM, LHT28 said:

I agree  Lou

Since  the O Life excursions have come about not many like to do private tours

Then there are those  where  they fear  of being left in port  by private guides

 

 

 

I noticed that Oceania's roll calls are kind of dead.  Being new to Oceania, I started a roll call (17 months out) and nobody has joined or viewed.  We mainly do tours on our own, but it's nice having roll calls to get ideas what others are doing.  

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

 

I noticed that Oceania's roll calls are kind of dead.  Being new to Oceania, I started a roll call (17 months out) and nobody has joined or viewed.  We mainly do tours on our own, but it's nice having roll calls to get ideas what others are doing.  

When is your cruise?

Sometimes  people do not start paying attention until final payment time

[sailco]

4 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

 

I noticed that Oceania's roll calls are kind of dead.  Being new to Oceania, I started a roll call (17 months out) and nobody has joined or viewed.  We mainly do tours on our own, but it's nice having roll calls to get ideas what others are doing.  

Totally agree. We like to do our own thing too, but the general chit chat on a roll call adds to the excitement of getting ready to travel. We cruise in less than six weeks and our Oceania roll call is so dead there's no chance of resuscitation. Hope our travelling companions aren't the same.

[LHT28]

it is not just Oceania  roll calls

[hubofhockey]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

it is not just Oceania  roll calls

 

We did Azamara for SE Asia and had 29 pages of roll call posts and many a couple of years out.  We had around 30 couples to the meet & greet on the ship.  There was a good amount of tour sharing, but also discussion on flights, pre and post cruise time, and hotels.   That's a lot for a cruise with 700 passengers.  My Nautica is 17 months out.  My brother's favorite line is Oceania and he takes O-Life and the included excursions rather than put out the effort on TripAdvisor and Cruise Critic to do planning.  I think that's a good reason O works well for him.  

 

I do hope you're right and the roll call picks up.    We like meeting people on the ship too, but if they're all doing O excursions, that might make it tougher.  We're good either way, but I think a good roll call can enhance the experience of those on it.  We've made good friends on them.

[DOJO466]

On November 11, 2019 at 7:40 PM, sitraveler said:

 Currently on Regatta. My last several cruises the roll calls have been very quiet. I miss the private tours that we would organize. 

We have enjoyed all our tours with you and Marsha. We will miss all that as we cannot travel outside US (insurance issues/health issues). I still view the roll calls though. 

[sitraveler]

Thank you. Just visited Honolulu and went around with a couple we shared a tour with 10+ years ago. 

[LHT28]

4 hours ago, DOJO466 said:

We have enjoyed all our tours with you and Marsha. We will miss all that as we cannot travel outside US (insurance issues/health issues). I still view the roll calls though. 

 

Deb  can you email me I lost your addy

Lyn

[Mrs f.]

On 11/13/2019 at 4:52 AM, sailco said:

You would think a cruise around Sth Africa would create a bit of interest. Or is everyone just staying on the ship? Is this the norm for Oceania?

We had 14 pages of messages on our Cape town to Rio cruise.  A number of people I spoke to on the Nautica had never heard of cruise critic.  Of course I told them all about the roll calls.

[pinotlover]

I agree with the statement concerning a lot of people knowing nothing about cruise critic.

 

When posting for tour participants I always include my email address. Many will contact me directly but never post on the Roll Call. Take a look at some of the posts and one sees 6 posts and 600 views! Most of those views are fellow cruisers on your cruise! A “ dead” Roll Call would be 6 posts and 10 views! 

[cruiseaholic78]

On 11/12/2019 at 9:41 AM, sailco said:

Can understand 'old hands' not being interested in roll calls but newbies learn so much from experienced sailors. Our upcoming roll call has about five posters who aren't interested in 'chatting'. About anything.  Definitely not online. If they're so bored now......

To prove you wrong I have just joined your/our roll call with some chatting and tips for trips, however no welcome/reaction yet from anyone. I also love the feeling of getting into holiday mode on a roll call, our last cruise we had about 22 meeting up for a pre cruise dinner in San Diego. After that happy hour and often meeting up for dinner, we are even hoping for a reunion cruise in 2021. We are also “leggers” on the RTW Insignia for next year and have already signed up for a lot of private excursions. 
It may just depend on the people who are going, I can assure you we are definitely not “bored”and will look forward to chatting as we still have five weeks to go.

Rosalyn (and Piet recognize by orange “holiday watch)
 

[sailco]

4 hours ago, cruiseaholic78 said:

To prove you wrong I have just joined your/our roll call with some chatting and tips for trips, however no welcome/reaction yet from anyone.

How does that prove me wrong?

Edited November 27, 2019 by sailco

[cruiseaholic78]

1 hour ago, sailco said:

How does that prove me wrong?

 I meant was that I have now joined your roll  and I like to chat with people pre cruise.

Rosalyn

[RTLS]

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 7:17 PM, bunzini said:

Yep, we are on that one as well.  I keep wondering if anyone is on the ship!  Quietest roll call ever!

 

Is that the Feb 1 -11 cruise? If so we are on that one too. I plan on posting a question about Martinique on our roll call and may get a reply or two.

[bob brown]

As for quiet roll calls compared to the past... there are other social media sites that may have eroded some of CC following...

[Mura]

That is the case with most of my email lists.  As someone who avoids social media sites, I stick with the tried and true but not all do.

 

It's a problem when you have always been able to find "fellow travelers" on a roll call and suddenly they aren't there.  But I think oLife is also a large part of the problem.  And I speak as someone who has taken oLife tours in the past even while I prefer private tours.

 

In November 2017 and May 2018 we had no problem forming private groups, but those were our last cruises due to DH's health problems.  It does appear that this has changed.

[Smokeyham]

On 11/12/2019 at 8:55 AM, clo said:

Like what?  I'm not being snarky, I promise.  I can't remember who wrote this recently but a cruise ship is really just a "floating hotel."

I would disagree.  I think there is a lot you can learn about places on the ship that you might not otherwise hear about, or things to do on board, that you will likely only hear of through reading posts or joining a roll call.    

Edited December 16, 2019 by Smokeyham

[Mura]

What we have always loved about cruising -- and we aren't the first to say this -- is first of all the convenience of unpacking just once for your cruise, and not every night (or perhaps every 2-3 nights) on a self-drive trip or a package tour.  It also gives you a taste of a destination.  Some ports can be seen in one day -- the small ones.  If you have a visit to a large city, you can learn if you would like to come back on your own and spend more time there.  Which we have done, often.

 

Among our favorites are Lisbon, Berlin, Paris (surprise, surprise!), London and etc.  One day is never enough there, especially NOT if you are driving in from a long distance as is the case with Paris and Berlin.  Many people are leery of doing a big city on their own -- which we are not.  But I'm the first to admit that if you only have one day to spend in a major city, a private guide can save you a lot of "getting lost" time.  If you have several days in such a place, then getting lost can be part of the fun.

 

Mura