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Guidelines for Posting - Read First!


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Cruise Critic has strict guidelines prohibiting blatant advertising, commercial sales and solicitation posts on all of our message boards.

 

Our Cruise Boards are meant to be a cruiser's exchange of advice and tips where cruisers can talk about their travels -- not a marketplace for advertising and selling services. There are thousands of cruise professionals online and if we didn't insist on a non-solicitation policy the cruise boards would be very quickly overrun with nothing but ads.

 

Cruise Critic defines advertising as an individual or company's attempt to generate business or other commercial enterprise, either directly or indirectly, by using our Cruise Board. Solicitation includes, but is not limited to, requests to be e-mailed, the posting of phone numbers for your business, and the the referrring to or posting of one's own Web site address. We welcome the participation of travel agents and tour operators, but their participation must strictly be limited to providing general information. Additionally, no tour operator or travel agency (or agency) may conduct customer service type related issues on the boards. They may, however, respond to an issue by asking a member to post their e-mail address so they can be contacted.

 

Also, although third-party recommendations are the life-blood of the message boards, when, in the sole opinion of Cruise Critic, those public postings are too commercial or promotional in tone, excessive in quantity or if there is reason to suspect that they are disingenuous, or posted by the agent, themselves, under cover of "alias" screen names, such postings will be removed. While we welcome the third-party recommendation of your personal travel or cruise agent, they MUST be in response to a request for such information, and they must NOT contain contact information of any kind. Touting of your cruise agent is not allowed. Cruise Critic reserves the right to approve or deny links which lead directly to or link to cruise-related material that is not located within AOL's Travel Channel or Cruise Critic. This does not mean all links will be removed, but rather reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

 

Effective immediately (July 26, 2004), the third-party recommendation of travel agents and agencies will no longer be allowed on Cruise Critic's Message Board forums.

 

Posts recommending travel agents, travel agencies, cruise-only agencies, travel/cruise brokers, or any other source where consumer can purchase travel will be removed from the boards. This also includes any comments included in signatures requesting members to e-mail you for information about your travel agencies.

 

Additionally, posts by members requesting such information will be removed.

 

However, the general discussion of the merits of using a BRICK AND MORTAR AGENCY, an INTERNET CRUISE AGENCY or purchasing from the CRUISE LINE DIRECTLY will be allowed. No recommendations for any travel source will be allowed.

 

Travel agents who participate on the boards are still encouraged to include their company name in their signature. We believe it is in our member's best interest to know which members are travel agents -- so you can best judge the content of their posts. (Travel Agents may not request members to e-mail them for information, or include contact information of any kind in their signatures or posts).

 

However, Cruise Critic reserves the right to rescind the above in the event travel agents/agencies abuse this privilege.

 

It is unfortunate that we must make this change, but it has become clear to us that the majority of posts are created either by the travel agency themselves or by members who are driving traffic to certain travel agencies.

 

We anticipate your cooperation, and thank you for your participation.

 

Laura

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  • 1 year later...

**UPDATED Personal Ads for Those Looking To Share "Tours" **UPDATED

 

 

Cruise Critic's policy has always prohibited advertising in any form on all of our message board forums, including our Ports of Call boards.

 

Personal ads are no exception.

 

Posts looking for members to "share" your excursion, or posts mentioning that a few more spaces in a van are available and you should contact so and so, are not allowed.

 

If we allow advertising of this nature these boards would be nothing more than a supermarket corkboard of "ads", and you will find it increasingly difficult to find information of substance.

 

Also, you are never totally sure that it isn't a TOUR OPERATOR themselves, posting as a member, in order to get you to contact them. (Any instances of this practice should be reported to me immediately).

 

 

Therefore, personal ads are not allowed, and they will be removed without notice.

 

***The best place to find others who would be willing to share your tour is the ROLL CALL for your specific sailing. What better place -- you're already chatting with folks, and sharing your upcoming plans. That is the spot -- almost like "direct marketing" to those who will be on your ship. In this way, too, it accomplishes Cruise Critic's goal of not having boards full of ads....making it difficult to find the good stuff.**

 

Questions/Comments/Concerns regarding this or any of our other Community Guidelines should be addressed to me at community@cruisecritic.com and not posted on the boards. Those posts will be removed and you will not receive an answer to your question.

 

We thank you for your cooperation,

 

LauraS

Community Manager

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