Tips on writing trip reports?

[pampaul]

Over the last few months I have read many trip reports and I love reading them and seeing everyone's pictures. Get's ya pumped up for your upcoming cruise.

 

Just wondering how you write such detailed reports? I love it!!!

 

Do you pre-plan ahead of time or bring a journal/notebook with you and write at the end of the day? Or maybe jot down highlights and embellish it later while actually writing the report?

 

I would like to write one on our upcoming Miracle cruise (18days out) but not sure where or how to begin. LOL

 

I know for a fact that I won't remember everything or every detail after we get home. And I really don't want to walk around everywhere on the ship writing down everything we're doing either. LOL

 

So what are you tips!!!

[firefly333]

My tip is people want to see a lot of ship pictures, even cabin pictures. Thats what I look for anyway.

 

I dont need a lot of descriptions .. but some like that too. Whatever is your style.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

For the review I did on the Pride, I took a small notebook and wrote down the main things...food, cabin, ship activities details...and I tried to post pics of everything I wrote about. I definitely would have forgotten a lot if I hadn't take a little time to write it down.

[Delta Dear]

I never remember to journal during a cruise, but I do jot down a note or two at the end of the day. I love reviews that are full of photos.

 

One tip when you begin your review; type it in Word or some other program, then copy and paste it on here. Sometimes you can hit the wrong key and the entire post can disappear before you finish the last sentence. This never happens when you have written a short response to a question. Ask me how I know !

 

Have a wonderful time. We loved the Miracle last year when we sailed with the Miracle Maniacs. My review is below if you want to read our experiences. I'll be waiting for your review when you return.

[mdrobtx]

But...so many reviews are nothing but FOOD?? Very little on the ports and other areas of the cruise. Every aspect of dining. FOOD, FOOD, and more FOOD. :p

 

And then I clicked submit and there is my pic with the DW dining in Tortola. Oh well..........

[maxbroadway]

For my Triumph cruise in March I made sure to keep the Fun Times and just jot down what I ate each day in the margins. Other than that I didn't do any journaling. Between the pictures and Fun Times I could remember most everything. It was only a 4 day cruise, and I imagine more notes would have been helpful for a 7 day or longer trip.

[Relax@Sea]

Every morning when I get up I get a Pot of Coffee from room service and take 10-15 min and write down what I remember from the day before, if there is something specific that I want to write about I'll take a few pictures with my camera or phone to help me remember it, then at the end of the trip I clean it up a little at publish it on my WEB site which is free from Microsft and copy to other forums. I am not a writer but here is an example.

http://relaxatsea.info

[FloridaMimi]

I never remember to journal during a cruise, but I do jot down a note or two at the end of the day. I love reviews that are full of photos.

 

One tip when you begin your review; type it in Word or some other program, then copy and paste it on here. Sometimes you can hit the wrong key and the entire post can disappear before you finish the last sentence. This never happens when you have written a short response to a question. Ask me how I know !

 

Have a wonderful time. We loved the Miracle last year when we sailed with the Miracle Maniacs. My review is below if you want to read our experiences. I'll be waiting for your review when you return.

 

 

Don't ya know it :p........ So frustrating to have to redo the whole thing. Been there done that !!!:(

[mrmrs2005]

Good tips to follow. We are going on our first cruise in September on the Miracle. I would love to write a Miracle review for this cruise. I will definately keep a journal and take lots of pics!

[CruisinFamily_3]

I did not write down what I did every day, but I took pictures of everything I thought I may want to write about. This way I could look at the pictures to trigger my memory.

 

I have kept many travel journals, so I think my memory is pretty now at remembering the details. If you don't think you'll remember, then write it down or keep notes on an ipod or computer.

 

I think pictures along with your opinion tell the best story. I LOVE reviews with pictures.

 

Have a great cruise and I can't wait to see your review of the Miracle!!

[mrmrs2005]

I never remember to journal during a cruise, but I do jot down a note or two at the end of the day. I love reviews that are full of photos.

 

One tip when you begin your review; type it in Word or some other program, then copy and paste it on here. Sometimes you can hit the wrong key and the entire post can disappear before you finish the last sentence. This never happens when you have written a short response to a question. Ask me how I know !

 

Have a wonderful time. We loved the Miracle last year when we sailed with the Miracle Maniacs. My review is below if you want to read our experiences. I'll be waiting for your review when you return.

Wow!! Great review, I cant wait to sail!

[*Mach*]

I occasionally make notes but I rely on my photos to stimulate my memory of events. I'll take 100-120 pictures a day and use maybe a third of them but the idea is that they make me recall important things.

As has been said, a picture is worth 1000 words... give or take... so I try to take pictures of anything I think folks here might find interesting, from huge events to recycling containers.

:)

[gapearl]

I keep my iphone with me on airplane mode at all times so I can make little notes on the notepad as they happen and I won't forget anything later. DEFINITELY write your report in Word and copy and paste. I usually don't upload my pictures to photobucket until I'm done writing and can decide later which ones coincide best with what I've written. Save your Fun Times and refer to them as needed. Include pictures of food, the ship, ports, and yourself having a good time. Cruise Critic enjoyed my last review so much (Inspiration, in my signature) that they featured it on their facebook fan page! :D Know that writing a full, detailed review with pictures is not quick. They will take days to do if you have work and every day life to tend to. Have fun with it! I can't wait to write my next one!

[terri-eddie]

May I also suggest...for greater ease in reading, please don't write extremely long paragraphs without breaks. It's easier to read several small paragraphs.

 

Thank you in advance!

[Brian2204]

Here was my secret....I used my fun times to jot notes on...see the link below...

 

http://s997.photobucket.com/albums/af96/brian2204/Splendor%20June%202010/

[mexicobob]

May I also suggest...for greater ease in reading, please don't write extremely long paragraphs without breaks. It's easier to read several small paragraphs.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

This is by far the best advise posted in my opinion. At least for those of us with older eyes.

 

MexicoBob

[TeknikDC2]

I love writting reviews. Its something I look forward to doing almost as much as the vacation itself. Although I write my reviews in a way that I share them with all that read the reality of it is I write them in so much detail for my own record.

 

While on vacation I do not write down any details. What I do is take as many photos as I can. I'm one who believes you can never take too many photos. Its thru these mass amounts of photos that help me remember what we did on vacation because for the most part the photos cover everything we did. I typically end up posting about half of the photos I take in a review. For example on my vacation/cruise this past April I took just under 3000 photos. The review contained just under 1,500 of them.

 

It takes alot of work to put together a very indepth review with lots of photos. My past recap had 15 segments and each one took nearly 2 hours to put together so be prepared. Its all up to you to decide how long or short, how detailed or not, how many or how little photos to add to the review. Make it unique and make it your own. Do it for you. If it satisfies you then it will likely satisfy others as you are your own worst critic.

 

Before I start I always resize my photos before uploading them to photobucket. Download Irfanview and do a batch conversion of the photos you want to include in your review and save them to a different folder. By resizing your photos first once you finally do upload the photos the upload time will drop drastically as they are already a small file and photobucket isn't resizing them for you.

 

Always write the review in a word program as I too have lost many reviews by hitting the wrong key when typing in the reply box. Just copy and paist it over to the website. Spacing what you type with paragraphs are very important. Keep track of where your writting as well in contrast to what photos you are putting in your review. I always try to keep my paragraphs seperated by photos that relate to the previous paragraph. I also add the photo url's into the review text After I have wrote it all out.

 

After that its just copy and paisting it all in to the website reply box. This can take a while to do as well because Cruise Critic limits 6 photos per post. But be patient it is worth it in the end.

 

Anyways I think that covers everything I do with my reviews. If you would like to see what i'm talking about click any of the links in my signature for all of my long, indepth, photo filled reviews of all of my past cruises. Also if you have any questions please ask.

[Philly Steve]

I know for a fact that I won't remember everything or every detail after we get home. And I really don't want to walk around everywhere on the ship writing down everything we're doing either. LOL

 

There can be a lot of down time during a cruise such as waiting for a show to begin, waiting for a tender, time by the pool, etc. If you pack a pocket note pad you'll be able to jot down random thoughts anytime. That's what I do for my journal. I also complete a day's entry by finishing up before lights out.

 

Use pics and video to help rekindle memories when writing is difficult or impossible.

 

My last cruise journal ran 35-pages. One of these days, I'll write a review. :p

[davy jones]

I do not keep a journal. My reviews tend to less detailed, but touch on key areas. I usually remember the execptionally good, and not so good and report most of it. If I don't write about something, it was either good, or I did not partake in it.

 

If people post questions about aspects of the cruise, I will answer them in more detail. Their questions trigger the recall of the details.

[Shelli]

May I also suggest...for greater ease in reading, please don't write extremely long paragraphs without breaks. It's easier to read several small paragraphs.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

I second this. Also, since we're talking ease in reading, the best thing you can do after writing, but before posting, your review is to RE-READ IT! Make sure it makes sense, that it doesn't have any glaring typos, that no words are missing... that sort of thing. And run a spell-checker.

 

It will make your review SO much more pleasant to read.

[pampaul]

Thanks for all the suggestions!!!

 

I truly enjoy reading people's reviews (whether it's for the ship we're on or not) Sometimes, if I'm reading a review on places we've never been or ship's we've never sailed on, it gives me ideas on where to go and what to said on!!! So that's always a plus.

 

I too, LOVE seeing photos in a review. I'm sure mine will have plenty.

 

Can't wait... only 16 days to go

[crusinpsychRN]

May I also suggest...for greater ease in reading, please don't write extremely long paragraphs without breaks. It's easier to read several small paragraphs.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

That's what I was going to say. Plus, don't change to colored ink. I almost can't see yellow and red is annoying.

 

It's a lot of work, be warned.

 

Read Host Mach's reviews if you can find one. His writing style is fabulous. He should be published.

[Kokopelli2]

As most of the others have said, take lots of pics! I started a cruise blog, so I went out and spent some money on a camera so the pics look good.

[RoofingPrincess]

Read Host Mach's reviews if you can find one. His writing style is fabulous. He should be published.

Speaking of fabulous writing styles and people who should be published, there's a guy on the RCCL board who's tops for sheer entertainment value. He goes by "SailorJack" and here are two prime examples:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1418738

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1060382

[kew1031]

I never remember to journal during a cruise, but I do jot down a note or two at the end of the day. I love reviews that are full of photos.

 

One tip when you begin your review; type it in Word or some other program, then copy and paste it on here. Sometimes you can hit the wrong key and the entire post can disappear before you finish the last sentence. This never happens when you have written a short response to a question. Ask me how I know !quote]

 

 

Happened to me a couple of times when I was writing comments about our Triumph cruise last year! (link below)

Also, hang on to your Fun Times to help refresh your memory about what happened which night. I forgot more than a few things. I didn't take any notes on the trip, relied on my less than stellar memory and the pitiful few pictures I remembered to take. I will try to do better on my next one!:D