Wondering about the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards

In their most recent list for Medium Ships (500 to 2,500 passengers) Conde Nast had the following rankings and scores:

1. Crystal Cruises 92.20

2. Regent Seven Seas Cruises 88.92

3. Viking Ocean Cruises 88.47

4. Cunard Line 88.46

5. Oceania Cruises 87.61

6. Disney Cruises 87.61

7. Seaborne Cruise Line 85.87

8. Silversea 85.81

9. Princess Cruises 85.67

10. Holland America Line 85.48

11. Celebrity Cruises 80.87

12. P&O Cruises 80.77

I was wondering if any of you on Cruise Critic actually participated in that survey and if you were as surprised (should I say dumbfounded) about the relative ranking of some of Regent's competitors.

What dumbfounded you about the ranking Regent's s competitors?

Crystal stands out as number one. The next five lines, Regent, Viking, Cunard, Oceania and Disney are all ranked within one point of each other. The next four, Seaborne, Silversea, Princess and Holland America are all within a half point of each other. Princess and HAL are a fraction of the price of the other lines in the top 10 so they are probably the best value for the money. Cunard's high ranking does surprise me a little.

The poll, IMO, is quite biased. Passengers of one cruise line in particular (that will remain unnamed) say that the cruise line gave them incentives to vote for their cruise line in this particular poll. I would take it with less than a grain of salt! Also wonder why they rate mainstream cruise lines with luxury cruise lines. In the words of one of Regent's Cruise Directors....... "rubbish"!

It is a numbers game. The more passengers you have that vote the better you rank. Just one Princess or Cunard ship has more berth than all of Regents ships combined. And some lines, like Crystal, encourage passenger to participate in the voting.

j

Having travelled with 6 of the 12, including Regent, I am very surprised that Regent has managed to get to number 2 - you only have to read the current issues being reported with the food, service, condition of staterooms on Mariner to see that overall standards are falling. Compare that to Viking, which is currently offering tip-top facilities and excellent service (and yes, Travelcat2 I have cruised with them) to see that the new boys on the block are meeting customers expectations far better than Regent.

In the end the polls represent those that take the time to vote.

Even the most scientific polls (this one is not) only represent those who they poll. Remember the elections. Often the polls don't reflect the actual winners.

Those who finish high will use that in advertising which is only natural

I do remember the old days of getting my poll in the mail and filling it out and mailing it back in.

The more educated the consumer the less they make decisions based on polls.

I am even reminded that on Cruise Critics sister site that I will see x hotel ranked number 10 in a city and wonder why it is not ranked number 1 but I also know of a hotel ranked towards the top for one of the largest cities in the world and can't believe how it would be ranked that way. Some of that is because we all see things differently and some of that could be for other reasons.

In the end the only opinion that matters is our very own.

Keith

These polls are somewhat biased popularity contests. People who feel strongly about a particular line (high or low) are more likely to participate. I have participated...and given Regent great scores (perhaps even better than they deserved in some areas). Given that we rarely cruise with any other lines, my ability to rank another line is nil. I suspect this is true for many of the poll takers. While seeing my favorites (cruise lines, hotels, cars, etc.) appear high on a list really only confirms what I already know. If Carnival happened to make it to the top of this list, I am still highly unlikely to book a cruise with them.

Having travelled with 6 of the 12, including Regent, I am very surprised that Regent has managed to get to number 2 - you only have to read the current issues being reported with the food, service, condition of staterooms on Mariner to see that overall standards are falling. Compare that to Viking, which is currently offering tip-top facilities and excellent service (and yes, Travelcat2 I have cruised with them) to see that the new boys on the block are meeting customers expectations far better than Regent.

Since the results are skewed, does it really matter if Regent is #2 or #1 or #100? Obviously people have different things that they require in a cruise line which is having choices is great. Yes - Regent is having difficulty on one ship at the moment, however, for those of us that have read CC boards for years, we know that other luxury cruise lines have had their share of issues. Nothing is perfect and when something goes wrong, it is fixed and we move on.

Within the last few years there have been luxury cruise ships that fail inspections, have had multiple norovirus situations, poor responses to Customer Service requests (no - not talking about Regent), etc. If we paid too much attention to these things, we would not be sailing any of the major cruise lines. The fact that the service was great for us on the Mariner in early September did not mean that it was great on the cruise that just concluded. And, we do not expect the food to have the same issues next month as it did last month.

BTW, Crystal was #1 on the same poll when they had smoking, set seating, the same tiny cabins and the ships were running half full. Although Regent did beat Crystal out one year, it is pretty hard to beat a cruise line that puts such an emphasis on polls (particularly this one).

TC, all I have to say is "Bless your heart.":)

TC, all I have to say is "Bless your heart.":)

?????:rolleyes: What is your opinion of Conde Nast Traveler's poll? Do you agree, disagree or ???

Since the results are skewed, does it really matter if Regent is #2 or #1 or #100? Obviously people have different things that they require in a cruise line which is having choices is great. Yes - Regent is having difficulty on one ship at the moment, however, for those of us that have read CC boards for years, we know that other luxury cruise lines have had their share of issues. Nothing is perfect and when something goes wrong, it is fixed and we move on.

 

Within the last few years there have been luxury cruise ships that fail inspections, have had multiple norovirus situations, poor responses to Customer Service requests (no - not talking about Regent), etc. If we paid too much attention to these things, we would not be sailing any of the major cruise lines. The fact that the service was great for us on the Mariner in early September did not mean that it was great on the cruise that just concluded. And, we do not expect the food to have the same issues next month as it did last month.

 

BTW, Crystal was #1 on the same poll when they had smoking, set seating, the same tiny cabins and the ships were running half full. Although Regent did beat Crystal out one year, it is pretty hard to beat a cruise line that puts such an emphasis on polls (particularly this one).

It does matter whether someone is #1 or #2 versus #100 in ranking. As Keith1010 points out poll results are useful in advertising.

Conde Nast's own description of the poll makes it clear that the results are the opinions of those who responded and specifically mentions that there is cheating. https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-do-the-readers-choice-awards-work

I don't see anyone on CC trying to say it is a scientifically valid poll nor does Conde Nast even hint that it is such. It is a PR tool for Conde Nast and the results are of interest just as cumulative ratings derived from reviews on CC are interesting.

It does matter whether someone is #1 or #2 versus #100 in ranking. As Keith1010 points out poll results are useful in advertising.

 

Conde Nast's own description of the poll makes it clear that the results are the opinions of those who responded and specifically mentions that there is cheating. https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-do-the-readers-choice-awards-work

 

I don't see anyone on CC trying to say it is a scientifically valid poll nor does Conde Nast even hint that it is such. It is a PR tool for Conde Nast and the results are of interest just as cumulative ratings derived from reviews on CC are interesting.

As I posted: "Since the results are skewed, does it really matter if Regent is #2 or #1 or #100?" I'll stick with what I posted - it really doesn't matter and cruisers know this. We (people on Cruise Critic) are a bit too savvy to fall for that advertising nonsense.

As I posted: "Since the results are skewed, does it really matter if Regent is #2 or #1 or #100?" I'll stick with what I posted - it really doesn't matter and cruisers know this. We (people on Cruise Critic) are a bit too savvy to fall for that advertising nonsense.

I doubt if a statistical analysis was performed on the voting results to determine if the results are unequally distributed from the mean (skewed). More accurate to call it random results from a popularity contest with no adjustments. And, as TC says, it really doesn't matter.

The only poll that matters is when you look in the mirror and ask, "What do you think of (pick your cruise line, hotel, airline etc?) Whatever you answer should be what guides you.