On negative reviews...

[Raamo]

Excellent Post! Should be required material for this forum (even better then telling everyone to take everything with a grain of salt ... this explains the salt :))

[LoraJ]

I agree with everything you wrote. :)

[Cruisin' Chick]

in agreement.

 

You do have to take reviews in general (be it re: cruises, hotels, movies...) with a shaker of salt. What works for one person's tastes, may be different for others. There are those who have some unreasonable "standards" while other people are generally easy going and go with the flow.

 

I know that after I posted a review (here in the forum, rather than on the front page) of my last cruise, I got many compliments. I think that's because I tried to provide a lot of information about the ship, the itinerary, and about the actual cruise. I posted positive and negative info (but backed up the negative with actual facts, and it was something that the captain or his underlings could have addressed when most travelled passengers brought up the same issue). Another person on my roll call (I never met her as she didn't come to any of the meet and greets) posted a very negative review (one of her complaints - rind left on the pineapple at the Horizon Court -- was something I disagreed with; the others just weren't relevant to me).

 

As others have stated, sometimes it's good to know the negatives that are valid. It may be something you won't have to contend with or it might be fixed by the time you sail. It also helps to understand the proper ways to address an issue. Try to get something fixed while still onboard. If it doesn't get fixed to your satisfaction, state a comment on the comment card. As Pam says in another thread, always be concise and to the point.

 

In any letter you write, state the problem briefly in the first sentence and add that you hope "you" (meaning Princess) can help resolve the issue. Then briefly give a statement about the problem (without any nastiness) with any back up info needed (names of those you talked to onboard, etc.). If needed, use bullet points to make your letter readable. Don't go into any unneeded detail. Try to keep the letter to one page; definitely don't go over 1-1/2 pages. But break up your text into paragraphs.

 

End with a thank you for your consideration. I hope we can resolve this, yada yada yada. Never threaten to stop cruising with them and don't threaten to tell everyone, including your mailman.

 

Have someone with a good eye for detail (and proofreading) to look over your letter.

 

Sometimes you just have to know when you don't have a case. I have a friend who took her two kids on a NCLA cruise and her daughter broke (actually rebroke) her arm on the last night when the kids' club was having a pillow fight. She was mad that this activitiy took place and doesn't feel they were taken care of (they had signed up for a disembarkation excursion, but were told they couldn't cancel; the mother had wanted to just get her family on a flight home -- that part would make sense that the ship's passenger services would have made that happen). As for the pillow fight, I didn't think she had a leg to stand on. She wanted to sue the cruiseline, but a lawyer advised her it would be difficult, especially as she and her daughter would have to travel to Florida a few times to do this. NCL finally gave her a nice credit on another cruise, and she took them up on it.

[junglejane]

SirWired, that was an excellent post. I've been fortunate never to have had a bad cruise (just one mildy disappointing one). But IMHO a lot of the negative reviews relate to a mismatch between expectations and reality. Often the mismatch involves people who are frequent cruisers on Cruise Line A who decide to try Cruise Line B and get unduly upset because something is different from what they've come to expect. Sometimes the mismatch comes because people haven't cruised in a while and remember the "good old days". Sometimes people are just downright unrealistic about the product that can be delivered for the price they paid. I get bummed out sometimes about all the upselling and cutbacks, but I remind myself what a bargain the cruise was when I booked it -- and I do feel that my recent cruises have indeed been bargains.

 

Anyway, my point is that negative reviews serve a useful function, as SirWired pointed out. They can help you be prepared to avoid or to deal with potential problems. They can also serve as a sort of "reality check" on expectations. Don't expect perfection but expect to have a great time. Sometimes the best reviews are the ones where the OP had a significant problem but manages to stay positive and enjoy the cruise anyway (like Pam in CA). When it comes right down to it, Cruise Critic wouldn't be very interesting if all we read were glowing reviews.

[lovevacadays]

Great post and so true. With many, many passengers there are going to be many different experiences and views. I try and look or things that enlightment me and help me prepare as there are always many suggestions. If it is a bad review I look to see if I think that what is pointed out might be important to me and ask for a view other viewpoints regarding that specific topic. But then, I go with an open mind and willingness to have a great time. I love cruising so I haven't really every had a bad cruise - maybe a few challenging experiences. Just from my own experience, I recently sailed with a friend and our experiences and views of our cruise were very different. Fortunately for me - I had a great cruise!

[bigboffs]

Cruise Critic is a site to share information (facts) and opinions (non facts). On reading comments, one should use intellect in evaluating both.

[geoherb]

I try to read every review with a point of view of "would that upset me?" The recent review that mentioned that the servers in Horizon Court were not quick to bring beverages did not upset me. I don't eat there usually and when I have eaten there, I've always gotten my own beverage.

 

A review that mentions particular cabin conditions doesn't bother me either. First, I figure Princess will have fixed it by the time I cruise. Second, they're usually people who have balconies and suites, and we've been booking the cheaper cabins lately.

 

Service-related problems have not cause me to lose any sleep either. We have had great waiters, average waiters, and poor waiters. If we ever get another poor waiter with traditional dining, we have options--asking the head waiter for someone else or to be moved, or switching to anytime dining.