Hard 2 Believe - 30 CC folks on Constellation 12/4/10

[ccxnola]

On past RCCL cruises, we have had over 100 pages of posts prior to our cruise. Now we have decided to switch to Celebrity and sail on Constellation for the 14 day on 12/04/10. However, we are now up to 6 (count 'em - six) pages of posts with only 30 Cruise Critic folks noted as planning to be on this cruise and fewer still regestered for the 'Connections' get-together!

 

What am I missing?? On our previous RCCL cruise, we had over 100 CC folks at the Meet & Mingle and lots of fun with prizes and a great Home Town Gift Exchange.

 

Is there some sort of 'problem' (of which I am not aware) with Cruise Critic folks regarding Celebrity cruises - and specifically Constellation??

[TravelerThom]

On past RCCL cruises, we have had over 100 pages of posts prior to our cruise. Now we have decided to switch to Celebrity and sail on Constellation for the 14 day on 12/04/10. However, we are now up to 6 (count 'em - six) pages of posts with only 30 Cruise Critic folks noted as planning to be on this cruise and fewer still regestered for the 'Connections' get-together!

 

What am I missing?? On our previous RCCL cruise, we had over 100 CC folks at the Meet & Mingle and lots of fun with prizes and a great Home Town Gift Exchange.

 

Is there some sort of 'problem' (of which I am not aware) with Cruise Critic folks regarding Celebrity cruises - and specifically Constellation??

Obviously we differ in our expectations and desires. I have had excellent discussions on Celebrity Roll Calls getting excellent suggestions on what to do in ports and have joined small van tours and dinner tables a number of times off of these Roll Calls. I find that Celebrity Roll Calls seem to focus on the cruise much more than just being a chat board. I have an upcoming RCI cruise with the Roll Call currently at 6571 messages. Frankly there is so much crap in there [like quarter-by-quarter postings of basketball scores, and lots of "Good Morning, how is everyone today?" (this is not an intro; that is the whole damn msg followed by half a page of signature {yes, I know that I can block signatures})] that has nothing to do with the cruise that the Roll Call is useless as far as I'm concerned. I'm not spending my time wading through the 98% of the msgs that have nothing to do with cruising to get to what might be of interest. I'll take quality over quantity any day.

 

Thom

[Host Anne]

Royal Caribbean has a lot more ships that carry a lot more passengers than Celebrity, and here on Cruise Critic, RCCL has among the most active boards of all. Sheer numbers between the two lines is going to give you more people, in general, participating on any given RCCL roll call.

 

But this by no means makes for any sort of problem with Celebrity and Cruise Critic members. And Constellation is among members favorite ships. I'm sailing her again next year.

 

Hang in there with your roll call. You'll meet a lot of great people!

[Ma Bell]

Just a thought, since your cruise leaves on December 4th for 14 days it may be that many CC cruisers don't want a cruise where they get home a week before Christmas.

[Kitcito]

Just a thought, since your cruise leaves on December 4th for 14 days it may be that many CC cruisers don't want a cruise where they get home a week before Christmas.

 

Ma Bell,

 

I'm Kitcito and DH and I will be joining you as well. Our board is very quite but my experience is people will get more active and excited the closer we get to the date. We look forward to meeting you at the CC party.

 

Kitcito:D

[Lois R]

No, I don't think you are missing anything. Sometimes roll calls are

active and some are not.

I learned a long time ago, a slow roll call cannot detract from me having

a wonderful time:D

 

You are sailing in December? It will probably get busier as the next couple

of months go by.

 

I also agree with Host Anne. The Royal Board is just busier than this

one, not just the roll call forum. More ships, more people.....

 

Hope you enjoy Constellation.:)

[starlake]

Our board for the Panama cruise on the Mercury 10/1 is very quiet also. I often think the longer cruises tend to have more quiet boards. This of course is just my guess. We have final payment due this month and maybe that will bring more people to the board.

[Lois R]

Our board for the Panama cruise on the Mercury 10/1 is very quiet also. I often think the longer cruises tend to have more quiet boards. This of course is just my guess. We have final payment due this month and maybe that will bring more people to the board.

 

Hi Patti,:) I sail in Sept and final payment has also been made. The

roll call I am on has friendly people but its not very active. Oh well,

I sail in 60 days:D I think that part will keep me in a good mood:D

The strange thing is? Got the confirmation that there are more than

40 people signed up for the CC gathering...just not sure where

they are LOL;):confused:

[bug_dan]

Hey Lois,

 

Your roll call is sort of like our Nov cruise. We have 31 signed up for the Connections Party, but outside of a very small number of posters, like 3 or 4, the thread is pretty inactive. What always amazes me is that many of the folks signed up for the roll call are active on Cruise Critic every day and just don't post:( Maybe some of us just aren't up to their standards:D

[Lois R]

Hey Lois,

 

Your roll call is sort of like our Nov cruise. We have 31 signed up for the Connections Party, but outside of a very small number of posters, like 3 or 4, the thread is pretty inactive. What always amazes me is that many of the folks signed up for the roll call are active on Cruise Critic every day and just don't post:( Maybe some of us just aren't up to their standards:D

 

Hi Dan,:) guess we can't please all the people all time time:rolleyes:

 

Are you talking about the Nov Mercury sailing? Or in general? Because

there is no way to tell who has registered for the get together unless

they chat with you on the roll call and they tell you that way.

[bug_dan]

Lois,

Yes I am referring to the Mercury Thanksgiving sailing and while I don't know just who signed up, several of our posters have stated they did so. Also, it certainly is possible that some who are signed up for the Connection's party are not even registered Cruise Critic members:(

Seems strange to see you posting in the middle of the morning, are you enjoying a Holiday:)

[Lois R]

Lois,

Yes I am referring to the Mercury Thanksgiving sailing and while I don't know just who signed up, several of our posters have stated they did so. Also, it certainly is possible that some who are signed up for the Connection's party are not even registered Cruise Critic members:(

Seems strange to see you posting in the middle of the morning, are you enjoying a Holiday:)

 

We have today off from work:). I am ok....getting ready to go see Dad in

about an hour.

Thanks for asking.

 

Back to topic:) there really is no method behind the madness about roll calls.

[excitedofharpenden]

Totally off topic, but I hope the visit to your dad goes ok Lois.

 

Back on topic, some are very busy and some are not. I have been part of very quiet roll calls and some have been very active, all of them Celebrity. Transatlantics have always been busy. One to Alaska in June had hardly anyone. Hopefully it will speed up as your sail date gets closer.

 

Phil

[Lois R]

Thanks Phil:)

 

I have noticed those Transatlantic Crossings always have ALOT

of people on the roll calls. Guess the people who sail on them enjoy

chatting.

[satchiesmom]

We found a similar situation last February with Celebrity vs. Azamara. We were used to the Celebrity (and sometimes HAL) roll calls and found the AZ roll call much slower with a lot fewer people, turned out that the CC group from our AZ cruise was probably the best one we have ever sailed with. So don't be concerned, just enjoy getting to know the folks on your Roll Call, you may make some wonderful friends like we did.

[jackdiamond]

Thom.

I agree with your observations. Sadly, too many folks use that venue for a chat room. Since we are interested in information relating to cruising, why would we care about when someone colors their hair, their problems with their wife or husband etc.?

[alfiemom]

I agree that TA's often have a more active and larger roll call. (Had over 400 at the CC party for one TA.)

 

However, I also must say that I have made friends....yes, real friends....on these boards. People that I have gotten close to even before we met for the cruise. I also have learned so very much. The CC'ers are very gracious and offer so many great tips for travel. We couldn't have done our many cruises and TA's without the information I gathered. So, I have to read about someone's new grandchild or an illness. That's the price you pay for being a "friend". I guess if you don't want to be a "friend" you just don't read those posts.

 

OK...off my soapbox.

 

Bobbie

[travellover39]

Hey Lois,

 

Your roll call is sort of like our Nov cruise. We have 31 signed up for the Connections Party, but outside of a very small number of posters, like 3 or 4, the thread is pretty inactive. What always amazes me is that many of the folks signed up for the roll call are active on Cruise Critic every day and just don't post:( Maybe some of us just aren't up to their standards:D

 

Same with us, we have 26 signed up for Connections party for a October cruise. I keep asking myself, where are all the people:(

 

I guess they are all at the beach, we are having a heat wave in New York:)

[atb]

I am very used to Celebrity roll calls - slower, but very focused. I went on my first RCL cruise - and not much of a roll call. Since then, the roll calls have been very lean over at RCL.

I always have a great time on a cruise. I love the preplanning and post cruise reminiscing. It's great if I find like minded people here, if not on the roll call, then over at ports of call, or the primary cruiseline chat.

[jackdiamond]

Vis-a-vis Thom's comments, the roll call for the October 9 Radiance cruise is a perfect example of using that venue for a chat room. Very little information is offered for the cruise or ports of call etc. Most of the posts have to do with husband problems, car problems, children problems, hair coloring, work problems ad infinitum!

[travellover39]

Vis-a-vis Thom's comments, the roll call for the October 9 Radiance cruise is a perfect example of using that venue for a chat room. Very little information is offered for the cruise or ports of call etc. Most of the posts have to do with husband problems, car problems, children problems, hair coloring, work problems ad infinitum!

 

So what should a cruiser do to get information about port excursions and other info on roll calls?

 

Just wondering......

[TravelerThom]

So what should a cruiser do to get information about port excursions and other info on roll calls?

 

Just wondering......

Only sign up for cruises with like minded passengers - just don't ask me how to do that:rolleyes:

 

Actually asking questions about the ports will often bring people out of the woodwork to answer these cruise related question. But if the board is swamped with way too much other stuff, cruisers such as I will have quit reading the board.

 

As an aside, general questions about a specific port is often best addressed on the "Ports" boards. But this does not help for finding people from your cruise who might be interested in sharing a private tour van with you.

 

There are several people who each post several hundred msgs per month on my Roll Call. I have nothing against people having a chat room, I just wish that they didn't hijack a Roll Call and make it difficult to locate useful info about the cruise. I did a little checking and the almost 7,000 posts on the Roll Call for my Sep cruise now appears to be a slacker - I'm finding Roll Calls with over 20,000 posts.:eek:

 

Thom

[Lois R]

Only sign up for cruises with like minded passengers - just don't ask me how to do that:rolleyes:

 

Actually asking questions about the ports will often bring people out of the woodwork to answer these cruise related question. But if the board is swamped with way too much other stuff, cruisers such as I will have quit reading the board.

 

As an aside, general questions about a specific port is often best addressed on the "Ports" boards. But this does not help for finding people from your cruise who might be interested in sharing a private tour van with you.

 

There are several people who each post several hundred msgs per month on my Roll Call. I have nothing against people having a chat room, I just wish that they didn't hijack a Roll Call and make it difficult to locate useful info about the cruise. I did a little checking and the almost 7,000 posts on the Roll Call for my Sep cruise now appears to be a slacker - I'm finding Roll Calls with over 20,000 posts.:eek:

 

Thom

 

Hi Thom,:) this is just a suggestion and not trying to stir the pot.

But over the years I have seen folks actually open a 2nd roll call

for the same sailing. Maybe you could do that and specify at the

beginning that you prefer to keep things "Cruise Oriented" rather

than personal.

Sounds like your roll call has different groups of people chatting.

If you want more cruise information then maybe another roll call

might fit the bill.

(just a thought).......

[cruie4ever]

Wehave many many cruises on both Celebrity & royal Caribbean ships .Always the RCCL ships have larger crowds at their M& M vs Celebrity's Connections party .Reason is simple , the same size ships RCCL sails with hundreds more people vs a Celebrity ship of equal size .I never found either to be a problem & enjoyed all of them .

[ccxnola]

Thank you to all respondents for the informative replies. I know it is not a 'big deal' and I am confident we will have a GREAT cruise. I just found it a bit of a concern that there were only 30 Cruise Critic folks that have posted and are planning to be on this cruise. OH - we do have another couple, so the count is up to 32 from Cruise Critic - on a ship that (when at capacity) is almost 2000 PAX! It could be that the pre-Christmas sailing is not popular and thus may experience some 'good deals' after final payments are due. But even right now, just over $100/day/pax in a Balcony Cabin is a pretty good deal to visit these ports!! :D