Can't anyone make a user friendly website?

Was making specialty restaurant reservations for one on two different nights. Everything went fine until I okayed the payment. Instead of two entries it shows four. And when I went to look at the confirmation, it has a table for two.

So I cancelled it and tried again, making sure I was only asking for one person on two different nights. Everything is fine until I click to pay. Then the same thing happens.

So I call Princess and get it all straightened out. Apparently they read it differently than I, and claim that yes, I have dinner reservations for one on two different days.

A table for two can mean two people at the table or a table that sits two. That still does not explain why each one appears twice once I make the payment. Four little boxes appear showing one person in each box (not by name - by number "1") and each night is listed twice. Why twice?

I've always felt that the people who design photo copiers should be forced to use them. Now I want to add that people who design cruise line websites should be forced to search for a cruise and be forced to book a cruise on that website.

Which brings up another issue. When I call Princess I said I am having a problem with a reservation. She thought I was talking about a cruise. When she got to the question that didn't make sense, I said no, a dinner reservation. That really didn't cause too much of a problem, she needed to know the ship and sail date anyway. She went to the correct screen quickly. I gave her a five at the end. But to me, a reservation is short term (like a meal) and a booking is long term (like a cruise or a hotel stay). So I make dinner reservations and book cruises and/or hotels.

I'm not picking on Princess, it is just that my next cruise is on a Princess ship. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL have their website issues also.

If you want to feel better about the Princess website, try using the Celebrity website for a while. The Princess website is Sooooo much better than Celebrity's. What's more amazing is Celebrity just rolled out a new website (in response to years of complaints) and it's actually WORSE than the old website!

If you want to feel better about the Princess website, try using the Celebrity website for a while. The Princess website is Sooooo much better than Celebrity's. What's more amazing is Celebrity just rolled out a new website (in response to years of complaints) and it's actually WORSE than the old website!

Was the new site designed by the same people who designed the old site?

....I've always felt that the people who design photo copiers should be forced to use them. Now I want to add that people who design cruise line websites should be forced to search for a cruise and be forced to book a cruise on that website.

...

I'm not picking on Princess, it is just that my next cruise is on a Princess ship. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL have their website issues also.

Sadly web site developers do try out their sites. The problem is that they understand how the pages are supposed to work and have tunnel vision. This is compounded by the fact that they test the pages in clean virtual environments. Real world testing is costly and time consuming. I guess most cruise lines have decided that they don't need to spend the money. After all they seem to be selling out regardless of the difficulties with online sales.

I've always felt that the people who design photo copiers should be forced to use them. Now I want to add that people who design cruise line websites should be forced to search for a cruise and be forced to book a cruise on that website.

.

Wait 'til they try and roll out medallions!

Wait 'til they try and roll out medallions!

:eek: Agree!

I used to be the technical manager for a group of system testers for AT&T. One of the biggest problems I had with the developers was when I or one of my people complained that some user interface input wasn't intuitive. Most things "worked," but if the user couldn't understand what the input was supposed to be, it was useless.

 

I've always felt that the people who design photo copiers should be forced to use them. Now I want to add that people who design cruise line websites should be forced to search for a cruise and be forced to book a cruise on that website.

 

I feel your pain on this, since I'm always coming across things on websites that make no sense to me at all.

But I can tell you for sure, and I speak as one who built websites on a professional basis for many years, the person or people who built Princess' current website have run more searches and booked more cruises on that system than you ever will. They and a probable army of testers for a big company like Princess will have run thousands of tests for every possibility they can think of.

If you want to feel better about the Princess website, try using the Celebrity website for a while. The Princess website is Sooooo much better than Celebrity's. What's more amazing is Celebrity just rolled out a new website (in response to years of complaints) and it's actually WORSE than the old website!

Agreed. Princess has the best website out of all of them.

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I used to be the technical manager for a group of system testers for AT&T. One of the biggest problems I had with the developers was when I or one of my people complained that some user interface input wasn't intuitive. Most things "worked," but if the user couldn't understand what the input was supposed to be, it was useless.

Everything is intuitive - as long as you already know what it means.

I feel your pain on this, since I'm always coming across things on websites that make no sense to me at all.

 

But I can tell you for sure, and I speak as one who built websites on a professional basis for many years, the person or people who built Princess' current website have run more searches and booked more cruises on that system than you ever will. They and a probable army of testers for a big company like Princess will have run thousands of tests for every possibility they can think of.

This reminds me of the time I was changing phone numbers and was given the choice of two numbers. I asked which one was not someone else's wrong number.

If you want to test something, let a bunch of young kids play with it.

Was the new site designed by the same people who designed the old site?

I don't really know. The impression I have is that the people who developed Celebrity's new website didn't actually understand what was wrong with the old website. The result..... they didn't fix the architectural issues with the back-end systems and instead created a new web interface that is WORSE than the original.

I don't really know. The impression I have is that the people who developed Celebrity's new website didn't actually understand what was wrong with the old website. The result..... they didn't fix the architectural issues with the back-end systems and instead created a new web interface that is WORSE than the original.

as shown by this post on the Celebrity forum

I don't think Celebrity's site is that bad...

 

I just searched on the site with the following filters:

1- May, 2018

2- Europe

3- Amsterdam

 

Resulting cruises - 5

2 for Alaska

1 for New Zealand

2 for Bahamas

But I can tell you for sure, and I speak as one who built websites on a professional basis for many years, the person or people who built Princess' current website have run more searches and booked more cruises on that system than you ever will. They and a probable army of testers for a big company like Princess will have run thousands of tests for every possibility they can think of.

And as one who worked in the software industry for many years I can assure you that those who build the software should not be the ones to test it out. They will test it for what they have programmed it for and that will probably work. But let others test it and they will make entries and choose paths that the developers never anticipated.

I have broken many software systems by purposely making entries that I did not expect the developers had anticipated.

I've also had problems recently on the Princess website. One thing that bugs me is that prices given change from screen to screen. For instance, on a cruise that I was tracking, it says price starts at $1,364. When I click through a couple of screens forward, it goes to a starting price of $2,374. Next screen it's back down to $1,364. I wonder how many people see the inflated price and don't bother to go forward.

I was filling out the Cruise Personalizer for the cruise I booked yesterday when it gave me a weird error message for DH's info. It would not let me save his info the first couple of tries. After exiting and going back in, I was able to complete the form.

And as one who worked in the software industry for many years I can assure you that those who build the software should not be the ones to test it out. They will test it for what they have programmed it for and that will probably work. But let others test it and they will make entries and choose paths that the developers never anticipated.

 

I have broken many software systems by purposely making entries that I did not expect the developers had anticipated.

Yeah, it's always that unexpected entry that pops up and bites one in the behind! :p That's where that "probable army" of testers comes in.

If you want to feel better about the Princess website, try using the Celebrity website for a while. The Princess website is Sooooo much better than Celebrity's. What's more amazing is Celebrity just rolled out a new website (in response to years of complaints) and it's actually WORSE than the old website!

Couldn't agree more. I was seriously considering booking a Celebrity cruise for this year until I tried navigating their website. I couldn't believe how bad it was. And this seems to be a recurring theme on the Celebrity board.

And as one who worked in the software industry for many years I can assure you that those who build the software should not be the ones to test it out. They will test it for what they have programmed it for and that will probably work. But let others test it and they will make entries and choose paths that the developers never anticipated.

 

I have broken many software systems by purposely making entries that I did not expect the developers had anticipated.

I still say, let young kids be the testers.

Was making specialty restaurant reservations for one on two different nights. Everything went fine until I okayed the payment. Instead of two entries it shows four. And when I went to look at the confirmation, it has a table for two.

 

So I cancelled it and tried again, making sure I was only asking for one person on two different nights. Everything is fine until I click to pay. Then the same thing happens.

 

So I call Princess and get it all straightened out. Apparently they read it differently than I, and claim that yes, I have dinner reservations for one on two different days.

 

A table for two can mean two people at the table or a table that sits two. That still does not explain why each one appears twice once I make the payment. Four little boxes appear showing one person in each box (not by name - by number "1") and each night is listed twice. Why twice?

 

I've always felt that the people who design photo copiers should be forced to use them. Now I want to add that people who design cruise line websites should be forced to search for a cruise and be forced to book a cruise on that website.

 

Which brings up another issue. When I call Princess I said I am having a problem with a reservation. She thought I was talking about a cruise. When she got to the question that didn't make sense, I said no, a dinner reservation. That really didn't cause too much of a problem, she needed to know the ship and sail date anyway. She went to the correct screen quickly. I gave her a five at the end. But to me, a reservation is short term (like a meal) and a booking is long term (like a cruise or a hotel stay). So I make dinner reservations and book cruises and/or hotels.

 

I'm not picking on Princess, it is just that my next cruise is on a Princess ship. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL have their website issues also.

Sorry to hear you had such a problem booking a dinner reservation...have never done this so have no experience with this...but I always thought you could not actually book the specialty dinner until on board. Has this changed??

Also, overall I really like Princess website...especially that you can actually see the position of each stateroom and see all available staterooms on any given deck vs. other cruise lines where it seems harder to actually see availability and positioning...also thing Princess website give alot of in depth info.

Sorry to hear you had such a problem booking a dinner reservation...have never done this so have no experience with this...but I always thought you could not actually book the specialty dinner until on board. Has this changed??

 

Also, overall I really like Princess website...especially that you can actually see the position of each stateroom and see all available staterooms on any given deck vs. other cruise lines where it seems harder to actually see availability and positioning...also thing Princess website give alot of in depth info.

My last Princess cruise was Feb 2016. At that time I could not book a specialty restaurant until I boarded the ship. However, it is now an option online, so I took advantage of it.

Well for all the problems, Princess got the billing correct. $58 was charged twice (once for the one I cancelled and once for the one I kept) and provided a credit for the one I cancelled.

It seems that the more they make changes the worst it becomes .

And as one who worked in the software industry for many years I can assure you that those who build the software should not be the ones to test it out. They will test it for what they have programmed it for and that will probably work. But let others test it and they will make entries and choose paths that the developers never anticipated.

 

I have broken many software systems by purposely making entries that I did not expect the developers had anticipated.

Recently we took a cruise on RCCL, and found their site full of information with little of it useful, and most of it upsell. Little things like "what is the dress code?" or "how many formal nights", or "what are the dining choices included in our fare?" required hours of online research. Not so much with Princess.

It seems that the more they make changes the worst it becomes .

Seems that way.

Wait 'til they try and roll out medallions!

Boy do you have this one right. I don't even want to think about it.

Tony