The Pros and Cons of Cruise Roll Calls
After booking a cruise, some travelers like to connect with others on the same sailing before they ever step onboard. That’s where cruise roll calls come in.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we earn a commission at no extra cost. Please refer to our full disclosure for details.
Cruise roll calls are unofficial, passenger-run groups created ahead of a specific sailing. They’ve been around for years and still exist today, including on platforms like Cruise Critic. What has changed is how formal they are. While cruise lines once worked closely with Cruise Critic roll calls to host onboard meet-and-greets, most no longer do.
This post breaks down what cruise roll calls are, how they work now, and the real pros and cons of joining one so you can decide if it makes sense for your cruise style.
What is a Cruise Roll Call?
Cruise roll calls are unofficial online groups where passengers on the same sailing connect before their cruise. These groups are typically organized by ship name and sailing date and are run by fellow cruisers, not the cruise line.
Roll calls give passengers a place to ask questions, share tips, compare plans, and sometimes organize informal meetups or activities onboard or in port. They can be found on Cruise Critic’s community boards, as well as on platforms like Facebook and Reddit.
In the past, some cruise roll calls were supported by the cruise lines themselves through official onboard meet-and-greets. Today, while roll calls still exist, cruise line involvement is limited or nonexistent. Any meetings or activities tied to a roll call are usually informal and passenger-organized.
We almost always join a roll call, depending on the cruise line, ship, and the kind of cruise we want. I’m an introvert and don’t need to meet everyone on board, but some of our most memorable cruises were those where the roll call was active and genuinely helpful.
The Pros of Cruise Roll Calls
Get Cruise Tips From People on the Same Sailing
One of the biggest benefits of a cruise roll call is access to sailing-specific tips. You’ll often find passengers who have already sailed the ship, booked the same excursions, or are tracking changes related to your itinerary.
Meet People Before You Sail
Roll calls can make a large ship feel smaller. Even minimal participation can help you recognize familiar names or faces once onboard, both on longer cruises and when sailing solo.
They’re also a common place for passengers to compare plans for cruise shore excursions, including booking independent tours, sharing transportation, or deciding who wants to explore ports together. You don’t need to commit to anything. Seeing what others are planning often gives you a clearer sense of your options before you arrive.
Optional Group Activities
Some roll calls organize informal group activities, like slot pulls, gift exchanges, pub crawls, or casual meetups. These are typically organized by passengers, vary widely in structure and participation, and include nothing mandatory. You can join in, skip it entirely, or just use the roll call for information.
A way to sanity-check your plans
Seeing what others are booking or skipping can help you feel more confident in your own plans. Even if you don’t change anything, it’s useful to see how other passengers are approaching port days, dining, or onboard activities for the same sailing.
Easier coordination for independent plans
Roll calls can make it easier to see how others are approaching the same sailing, from port days to dining and onboard plans. That context can help with timing, transportation, or backup ideas, even if you don’t coordinate with anyone directly.
The Cons of Cruise Roll Calls
Activity Levels Can Be Hit or Miss
Some roll calls are active and genuinely helpful. Others barely get off the ground. A quiet or poorly organized group may not offer much beyond a handful of questions and answers, and the overall experience often depends on who started the group and how involved they are.
Advice Can Vary Widely
Cruise roll calls are unofficial, and advice comes from people with very different levels of cruising experience. Most of it is shared in good faith, but details can get mixed, especially when policies change or ships operate differently. If something involves pricing, rules, or onboard policies, it’s worth confirming it outside the group before planning around it.
Social Pressure and Group Fatigue
Some roll calls lean heavily into group activities, which can create a sense of pressure to participate. Add constant notifications, side conversations, or occasional drama, and what started as useful can turn into noise. Muting the group, observing quietly, or stepping away entirely are always options.
It Can Feel Like One More Thing to Manage
Following an active roll call takes time. If you prefer a more relaxed, go-with-the-flow cruise style, keeping up with group chatter and plans may feel unnecessary rather than helpful.
Common Questions About Cruise Roll Calls
Joining a cruise roll call can be worth it, but it isn’t necessary
Joining a cruise roll call can make sense if it’s your first cruise or if you like connecting with other passengers before sailing. It gives you a place to compare plans, ask questions, and get a feel for who else will be onboard. That said, plenty of people skip roll calls entirely and still have a great cruise, so it really comes down to how you like to plan and travel.
Expect a mix of personalities and activity levels
Cruise roll calls usually include a mix of first-time cruisers and experienced travelers, all sailing on the same ship and on the same date. In more active groups, people introduce themselves, swap tips about the ship and ports, and compare plans for excursions and onboard activities. Most roll calls end up with one or two people naturally taking the lead on organizing informal meetups, but the overall tone and energy can vary a lot from one sailing to the next.
Cruise roll calls are usually found on Cruise Critic or social media
Cruise roll calls can still be found on Cruise Critic’s community boards, but many sailings also have groups on Facebook, Reddit, or within cruise-focused apps like Shipmate, which organizes roll calls by ship and sailing date. Some passengers follow more than one group if conversations are happening in different places.
If you don’t see an existing roll call for your sailing, starting a Facebook group is usually the easiest option; just keep in mind that it takes a bit of time to manage.
Official Cruise Critic meet and greets are no longer standard on mainstream cruise lines
At this point, mainstream cruise lines do not routinely host or partner with Cruise Critic meet-and-greets. While these events were once common, they generally did not resume after the industry-wide pause in cruising in 2020.
Informal gatherings may still happen on some sailings, but those are typically passenger-organized, not coordinated or supported by the cruise line. Smaller or niche cruise lines may occasionally facilitate group gatherings tied to hosted sailings or loyalty events, but these are not the Cruise Critic meet-and-greets many cruisers remember.
Cruise roll calls look different from how they used to, but they can still be useful depending on how you like to plan and travel. Knowing what they are and what they aren’t makes it easier to decide if joining one is worth your time.
BEFORE YOU SET SAIL, HERE ARE SOME RELATED ARTICLES YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS:
- Don’t Forget to Pack These Essential Items For Your Cruise
- Planning a Cruise: Key Steps
- Get Cruise Ready With Our Cruise Prep Guide
- Cruise Cabin Tips for a Comfortable Stay
Kathy Ava
Meet Kathy Ava, a food, travel, and cruise writer based in Los Angeles/Pasadena, and the owner and main writer of Tasty Itinerary. With over 20 years of experience planning trips and logistics at her full-time job and for herself, she's become a pro at crafting unforgettable tasty itineraries. She's always on the hunt for delicious, fun travel destinations and cruise itineraries. She firmly believes that life is short and we must make the most of it, so always say yes to dessert.