Roll Call! Connect with your Fellow Cruisers

Source: Princess Cruises Facebook page

Have your next cruise planned?  If so, it’s time to join a Roll Call for your sailing date!   

A “Roll Call” is a place where you can find other people sailing on your same voyage.  It’s a great way to gain excitement as well as meet new people, gather information, and ask questions.  The cruise industry website, CruiseCritic.com, has a Roll Call section on their website for all sailings, organized by Cruise line and date of sailing.
 
Princess Cruises recently introduced its own Princess Roll Call™ section on its Facebook page.  The facebook page gives the ability for passengers to connect with other passengers before and after their cruise.

I’ve joined the Roll Call on Cruise Critic for many cruises that I've been for advice on excursions and what to do in certain ports.  The information that I’ve learned has been extremely valuable in planning my trips.  On one of my most recent cruises, I learned from another passenger that we would be in the port of Haifa, Israel during a Jewish Holy Day.  This meant that most of the city would be closed.  My first plan of spending the day trying out different hummus and falafel joints around town changed to more of a site-seeing day.  I think it’s really fun to interact with people from all around the world who are all looking forward to the same thing! 

On another cruise, I thought that the port of Messina, Italy was going to be a day of just relaxing on the ship.  There wasn’t a lot I wanted to see in the town and was the port that I was least excited sailing to.  But after joining Roll Call for my cruise, there were posts about how you MUST go to Taormina and how beautiful the scenery is around that area.  I ended booking a shore excursion through the cruise ship that went to Taormina.  I have to say, “Taormina is not to be missed”!
 
Many cruise lines will host what’s called a “Meet & Mingle” party for Cruise Critic members. You’ll get the chance to meet the other passengers that you’ve been talking to leading up to your sailing date!   It’s usually held in a lounge or other area of the ship and refreshments are served. 
 
If you're looking to meet new people, it's a great way to get started before you even get on the ship.  Furthermore, Princess Cruises plans to keep each sailing's page available after the cruise, so cruisers can keep share photos and keep in touch on facebook.
 
The Princess Roll Call can be reached directly here or by logging onto Princess' Facebook page at facebook.com/PrincessCruises and clicking on the "Roll Call" tab on the left.
 
Cruise Critic Roll Calls can be reached directly here.  You will need to sign up for a free membership before accessing the boards.  

FreshCruiser Tip: Join a Roll Call, it’s a great way to get excited! There's absolutely no risk as you can participate as much or as little as you want!