Review of Holland America Line Roll Call App on Facebook
Connect with other cruise guests and check in while onboard
A couple months ago I learned about Holland America Line’s roll call project. I thought the app was a rather ambitious undertaking for a cruise line and I was eager to give it a try on my next Holland America Line cruise. As it turns out, I will be sailing on the Oosterdam in a couple of weeks so I decided to do a review of the Roll Call Facebook app for us avid cruisers.
The update that inspired the post
Holland America Line encourages cruise guests to share their cruise experiences. Unlike some brands that tend to control the amount of interaction between cruise fans and followers, Holland America Line openly invites their audience to engage, share, post, and link.
Roll Call Facebook App: connect with other cruise guests on Holland America Line
To find the roll call Facebook app, one needs to have a Facebook account. Go to the Holland America Line Facebook page and click on the Roll Call tab. Note: I checked the Holland America Line website and their blog to see if there were instructions for how to get to the roll call, but I could not find any mention of the Facebook app.
Once a cruiser clicks on the Roll Call app command, you will be connected to the actual app.
Since I actually have a ship and sail date, I decided to see who is also on my cruise. As the Holland America Line Roll Call directions indicate, the app is for connecting with fellow travelers.
The Big Event
I was impressed by the amount of future sailings already loaded into the system. The cruises are listed in chronological order and I was happy to see my cruise listed. I am told that there are 28 other cruisers that have “joined” the event.
Once I arrive in port,I can use the Facebook check-in feature to let the other people who have joined the event know that I am “in the house.” Remember to use the Facebook check-in feature, your Facebook geo-positioning services have to enabled.
Pros and Cons
Roll Calls have been a mainstay on Cruise Critic and I am glad to see some other players join this arena. Using Facebook for the app is good because I can see the other people who have joined the event and their profiles; I was surprised to see that I have 3 friends already on the same voyage, which was interesting.
Potentially, there is a lot of room for marketeers to exploit the app because you don’t need a booking number to participate (shh, you did not hear that from me). The biggest disadvantage of the app is a lack of privacy.
Make sure that if you do decide to “join” a cruise listed on the Holland America Line Role Call app, that you understand that the information is public and that other people (even not on the cruise) can see when you sailing. This is a privacy issue and you may not want to broadcast that you are away from home, etc.
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