The internet is great for learning and planning your cruise vacation, but I've stopped using Facebook as a way to learn about my sailing.
There are a number of good things you should do before your cruise begins to plan and prepare for it, but one of them was to join a Facebook group for the sailing.
It's likely someone else from your specific sailing will set up a group so others can join and start discussing the cruise.
In the past, this was a great way to learn about what others are doing, meet other cruisers, and otherwise get excited about the cruise. There can be hundreds of people in one group, especially on Royal Caribbean's biggest ships.
I cruise a lot each year, trying to squeeze in at least one per month. Last year I took 15 cruises, so I joined plenty of these groups.
Unfortunately, I've noticed a trend in cruise Facebook groups of bad information, trolling, and arguments over very silly things. As a result, I'd think twice before you join a group.
The drama overshadows the help
Facebook groups for cruises used to be such a helpful way for new cruisers to learn about their sailing.
People would join and ask questions about what to do, how to prepare, and what not to miss. And because it was specific to your sailing, it was easier to get firm answers.
Like a lot of social media, more of the negativity has creeped into them.
Quite often new cruisers ask basic questions, but the answers get heated when they're more subjective responses than objective.
Some of these groups are run by spammers who are looking to sell merchandise to unsuspecting cruisers.
Equally bad are the groups that get created but are completely unmoderated because the admin either stops caring or disappears.
Then there's the bickering about things that end up in name calling, or worse. Arguments about what the actual policy is versus someone's opinion, sharing out dated information, and trying to circumvent rules are all commonplace now in the groups I've been a part of.
Some have become power trips
If you book a particularly popular sailing, the drama gets real quickly.
As an example, Royal Caribbean added a series of short pre-inaugural cruises for Star of the Seas in August. As soon as the announcement was made, a flurry of cruise groups were created for each voyage.
It can quickly become confusing which group to join, and I've seen in past one group hating on another group based on who thinks which one is the "legitimate" group or the one that was started first.
This really only applies to inaugural sailings or a President's Cruise, but I've resisted joining any group until perhaps the last few weeks before the actual sailing begins.
Spam has become a bigger concern
Besides the arguing and misinformation that can often be shared in a Facebook group, it's clear some groups are created with ulterior motives in mind.
Some groups are run by travel agents who are clearly using the group to source new clients with unsolicited sales pitches.
As mentioned before, some groups are run by people overseas usually trying to sell t-shirts or swag related to the sailing.
And even if the group admin isn't bad, there are often people within the group that are working an angle.
A new trend has been the selling of rubber ducks to people in the group. A fake account tries to sell unwanted rubber cruise ducks due to "a change in plans," but there's nothing to be sold.
Another is the slot pull scam, where someone asks you to pay money to participate in a group slot machine tournament.
Finally, there's the typical Facebook spam from fake accounts that share links with the intention of catfishing you into hacking your account.
Some aren't bad, but it all depends on who creates it
To be fair, not all Facebook groups for a sailing are like this.
You might still find a group that has "normal people" and the members far less worrisome. It's a crapshoot as to who will join your sailing's group and how knowledgeable they are.
If you're going to join a Facebook group for your sailing, I'd recommend exercising a great deal of caution. Don't take every answer as the gospel truth.
Take any answer or statement made as something to consider, but go and verify the answer elsewhere.
Roll call threads are an alternative
If you want something else outside of Facebook, I'd recommend a roll call thread.
Well before Facebook groups became a thing, message board communities had well-established communities with roll calls for each sailing.
Cruise Critic pioneered the idea with their roll call forum, even going as far as getting recognition of them by Royal Caribbean on some sailings.
We have our own roll call area within the Royal Caribbean message boards that you can join (or start) a thread for your cruise.
The advantage of a forum is it's far better moderated than Facebook, and there's a history to the members that goes beyond a single sailing.
However, it's unlikely you'll get as many people joining a roll call as a Facebook group. Facebook is so ubiquitous that it has a much larger pool of users to draw from.
I stopped joining Facebook groups for my sailing
Ultimately, I've decided to stop joining the group to avoid the unnecessary drama that comes with it.
Of course, I'm in a different situation than most given my knowledge of cruising. But I hope this article serves as a warning these groups have changed a lot over the years and not to trust everything you read in them.
There's still value in finding a well-moderated group for your sailing with people that bring different experiences and background. Heck, you might even make a new friend before you board.
Just don't get too invested into them.
