Most active Roll Calls

[DougH]

I know you all have had the same experiences, some Roll Calls have a lot of activity and some seem to have none. I'm sailing on the 50th Anniversary cruise on the Pacific Princess and we have a very active Roll Call, currently over 84,00 views. This was #14 overall by my count, but if you adjusted for # of passengers #1 (other ships have 3 to 5 times the #of passengers) Here are the top Roll Calls I found:

145,324 Star

136,623 Crown

127,178 Emerald

115,667 Star

111,906 Regal

107,709 Crown

101,709 Crown

98,315 Grand

94,160 Royal

91,213 Caribbean

89,770 Royal

88,592 Crown

85,461 Crown

84,000+ Pacific

 

I wonder what the most active is for the other cruise lines?

[shredie]

Go us! :D I'm on another roll call for a cruise that's some time in the future, so I don't think its had time to catch up with some of these others.

[christinelee]

The most active Roll Calls seem to be the ones with the "less jaded" passengers. In other words: the more you travel the less you want to talk about it. Just saying....

[Quantum Wino]

I am on a couple at the moment, both on the Pacific Princess. One is the 50th Anniversary cruise which is 5 months out and has over 4000 posts and the other is in 2 months and only has 21. 183 people on one roll call and 7on the other.

[cruiserus]

I don't think you can really isolated or judge it by ship. I have been in extremely active and large CC groups, and others that are small and not very active. In my personal experience, the cruises that are the most active have been the ones in which most of the people on it are very well-traveled, having cruised multiple times. There is a lot of sharing on info and setting up private tours. The quietest seemed to be cruises where it was mainly with people new to cruising or new to Cruise Critic. Also, in my own case, the most active groups were on longer cruises in distant lands. As I said, just my personal experience after being on over 30 cruises.

[Meanee]

Best roll call was when it was moved to Facebook. CC has somewhat idiotic policy about putting anything on other sites. Guess they need those ad impressions.

 

Thing is, bulletin boards suck for roll calls. You read gazillion pages where people discuss something that is not really in your interest, then when you think it's over, there's a late comer to a thread, saying "Oh, btw, let's discuss that thing again"

 

Facebook group makes it more organized. Separate topics for whatever. I had tons of luck. We planned get-together, got bunch of package deals for excursions, and so on.

[DougH]

If you look at these roll calls they are generally all on longer cruises, Trans Atlantic or Trans Pacific, or around South America. They are well travelled passengers and have lots of private excursion set up. I just thought it interesting that on my Dec cruise on the Pacific Princess it will probably end up with over 100,00 views while on the recent B2B2B I did on the same ship we probably didn't have 300 combined for the Roll call on all three legs.

[rdsqrl]

Stop bragging, Doug. It's unseemly.

[OCruisers]

The most active roll calls are not always the best. ;)

We've been on roll calls where a few think they need to post something EVERY day ... even if it has nothing to do with our upcoming cruise. (We don't care they are buying a new garden hose.) :rolleyes: ... :D

LuLu

[shredie]

stop bragging, doug. It's unseemly.

 

lol. :d

[Kenswing]

The most active roll calls are not always the best. ;)

We've been on roll calls where a few think they need to post something EVERY day ... even if it has nothing to do with our upcoming cruise. (We don't care they are buying a new garden hose.) :rolleyes: ... :D

LuLu

 

In other words "Quantity doesn't mean Quality"?

[OCruisers]

In other words "Quantity doesn't mean Quality"?

 

Exactly! :D

 

LuLu

[KruzPrincess]

I've seen roll calls where some people post daily just to say 'good morning' and tell what the weather is like. Sometimes, I've posted just to keep a roll call alive and not move to the second page. I have to say that the Anniversary Cruise roll call, which DougH is referring to, is not like that. It has lulls and then it's busy. It's just that there are a lot of really active CC people on the roll call. There is a lot of talk about wait list positions. A lot of people waiting for cabin assignments, dining room assignments or just to get on the cruise. It's a good roll call.

Edited July 2, 2015 by KruzPrincess

[GUT2407]

In other words "Quantity doesn't mean Quality"?

 

 

True!

[GUT2407]

It will also depend on what percentage of PAX are ccer's

[Steelers36]

The most active roll calls are not always the best. ;)

We've been on roll calls where a few think they need to post something EVERY day ... even if it has nothing to do with our upcoming cruise. (We don't care they are buying a new garden hose.) :rolleyes: ... :D

LuLu

 

I agree - I have got tired of them for the most part as they are cluttered with a lot of nonsense unrelated to the cruise. I do think the organizer on our cruise is doing a bang up job and is clearly experienced, but there is just too much junk all the time otherwise. And I guess we're not into doing the CC group thing = at least yet. We'll just enjoy the sail-away without trying to wave frantically on the Port Everglades webcam and spend the time with our friends and a drink.

 

Who will be watching us anyway?

[Corfe Mixture]

I don't think you can judge how Roll Calls are going until after 'pay up' day.

 

Many start far too soon, in some cases so far ahead that it often appears like a competition to see who can get the Roll Call started.

 

I am involved in one roll call at the moment, for December this year, which was started well over a year before the cruise by a person who then announced that they had cancelled, leaving the rest of us with the task of either keeping the thread alive or allowing it to die and then having two Roll Calls. Now we have a potential confusion as someone has recently started a roll call for a cruise departing on the same ship on the same December date BUT in 2016!!

 

Much of the chat on our roll call has been personal between folks who have met on previous cruises and has not yet got to the point where we start to think about private tours etc., but so what, at least we are all talking, even though the content is not yet focussed. Whether or not it turns out to be a successful roll call, only time will tell, but given the roll call started so early, had there not been some general chat, it could well have died a premature death by now.

[san diego sue]

I have found the most active roll calls are the longer cruises.

The biggest I have been on have been the transatlantics. By the time we actually sail, we have a big group of instant friends. If during the

posting times, I have found someone that I really want to correspond with, we exchange emails and do that off the roll call.

The best private tours, get togethers on board, have enriched my cruising experience. And the greatest friends I could ever find have been right here on the boards(and friends for life now).

 

I am also on the roll call for the 50th Anniv. cruise. Being a Mexican Riviera cruise, truly amazing we are that chatty. Not as much to talk about as a SA or Europe cruise but we have managed to keep it alive and very interesting.

[Colo Cruiser]

I don't think you can judge how Roll Calls are going until after 'pay up' day.

 

Many start far too soon, in some cases so far ahead that it often appears like a competition to see who can get the Roll Call started.

 

I am involved in one roll call at the moment, for December this year, which was started well over a year before the cruise by a person who then announced that they had cancelled, leaving the rest of us with the task of either keeping the thread alive or allowing it to die and then having two Roll Calls. Now we have a potential confusion as someone has recently started a roll call for a cruise departing on the same ship on the same December date BUT in 2016!!

 

Much of the chat on our roll call has been personal between folks who have met on previous cruises and has not yet got to the point where we start to think about private tours etc., but so what, at least we are all talking, even though the content is not yet focussed. Whether or not it turns out to be a successful roll call, only time will tell, but given the roll call started so early, had there not been some general chat, it could well have died a premature death by now.

 

Agree. Have found that 20-30% drop out when the RC starts really early, and many that don't cancel don't post again regardless.

[Pia1913]

 

I wonder what the most active is for the other cruise lines?

 

Doug, you have way too much time on your hands. ;)

 

As for other cruise lines, we were on NCL Getaway May 23rd and our M & G was huge. Almost every officer and more showed up and as is their policy provided us with snacks, beverages and smoothies. We are boarding this same ship again on July 25th and have finally reached a grand total (just this morning) of 24 interested parties for the M & G.

 

All roll calls are not created equal.

[Pierlesscruisers]

Stop bragging, Doug. It's unseemly.

 

Ouch! :D

[Putterdude]

Not at all sure how the weighting was done....but we are on the August 25 sailing of the Royal and have nicely over 1,000 posts and about 150 people who have asked to attend the M&G....I know we will be doing well to have 100 out. :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Doug, you have way too much time on your hands. ;)

 

As for other cruise lines, we were on NCL Getaway May 23rd and our M & G was huge. Almost every officer and more showed up and as is their policy provided us with snacks, beverages and smoothies. We are boarding this same ship again on July 25th and have finally reached a grand total (just this morning) of 24 interested parties for the M & G.

 

All roll calls are not created equal.

 

No they are not. :)

[Times Prince]

I know you all have had the same experiences, some Roll Calls have a lot of activity and some seem to have none. I'm sailing on the 50th Anniversary cruise on the Pacific Princess and we have a very active Roll Call, currently over 84,00 views. This was #14 overall by my count, but if you adjusted for # of passengers #1 (other ships have 3 to 5 times the #of passengers) Here are the top Roll Calls I found:

145,324 Star

136,623 Crown

127,178 Emerald

115,667 Star

111,906 Regal

107,709 Crown

101,709 Crown

98,315 Grand

94,160 Royal

91,213 Caribbean

89,770 Royal

88,592 Crown

85,461 Crown

84,000+ Pacific

 

I wonder what the most active is for the other cruise lines?

Keep in mind that Cruise Critic deleted all of the larger roll calls because they found their existence resulted in "performance issues". The most active roll call I was on was for many years the largest on CC in number of actual posts, and we kept in touch even after the cruise. Then Cruise Critic deleted this roll call. (this was an 11 day Western Caribbean/Panama cruise on Grand Princess)

 

Yes we talked about things other than the cruise, but also learned of each other's cruising likes, and we shared a lot. We made friends BEFORE the cruise such that when we were actually onboard it was like cruising with an extended family. We did some things together, and went our own way at times.

 

It was magical and, unfortunately never repeated in the roll calls since then. I have found some roll calls where people have shared nothing of themselves, and arranged excursions of no interest to us, and to be honest, have left me with a feeling that I really don't care if I meet them or not.

 

But there are people we've been delighted to see onboard a new cruise, and the roll call lets us know we will be seeing each other. I look forward to those.

 

Roll calls, like life, is like a box of chocolates...

[caribill]

I have to say that the Anniversary Cruise roll call, which DougH is referring to, is not like that. It has lulls and then it's busy. It's just that there are a lot of really active CC people on the roll call.

 

Most Princess roll calls have between 2% and 5% of the passengers posting.

 

The roll call DougH is referring to has 28% of the lower berth capacity participating.