Why Do People Get So Angry When

[icecreammama]

someone posts that they did not enjoy their cruise? Believe me, I know some people never are happy, but some complaints seem legitimate. On the other hand, some of the posters reply as if they are part owners of the cruise companies. Put it this way, I like cruising. I also like land vacations. I used to cruise a lot more but noticed that in 20 years, things have changed on all the cruise lines. Yes, ships are bigger and more glamorous, but food and service has changed. I know exactly what to expect and hope to be pleasantly surprised. We are booked on the Allure for this coming Feb with extended family and I'm sure we will have a blast because we are all together. I know the food isn't going to compare to restaurants in NYC but that's fine. I read a lot of threads on CC and feel I pretty much know a lot about this ship before I'm even on it. Thanks to all advice and input, it is very helpful. CC should be a prerequisite for anyone considering booking a cruise.

[BND]

Angry? Some people have their own strong opinions to reviews that are extreme. Extreme statements such as "all the food was horrible" or "the ship was so dirty everywhere" or something similar makes people doubt the review is objective.

 

The fact remains, the poster who posts an extreme review is not more entitled to their opinion than anyone else. Which means anyone who thinks a review is over the top has just as much right to say so as the person who wrote the review.

[Bluekat74]

Some people are just very loyal and get defensive if their cruise line gets bashed!

 

That being said, it's quite amusing when you read some of the negative posts because the people are writing with such forced emotion that they tend to come across as irrational and that one little event ruined their whole cruise ... now I'm not talking about a serious event, but along the lines of they had to wait half an hour to be seated, so therefore feel they need to warn everyone that RCI isn't a cruise line worth sailing on ... regardless that everything else went ok.

 

As with all reviews both the negative and positive give a good idea as to what the cruise might be like. Personally I prefer reading the negative posts, because they at times can give you a pre-warning as to some of the issues you may come across, and pre-warned is pre-armed. Its also a highly personal perspective. Some things that might appeal to some definitely wont appeal to others, so its just fun watching the interactions happen on the message boards. Some are real popcorn, moments, where you are being entertained watching bun fights over the smallest issues :)

[Kartgv]

Most people don't get angry over a well written, balanced review and most are truely sympathetic when someone doesn't enjoy a cruise due to some serious or continuing problem that they made an honest attempt to have corrected. Some do get angry when a simple problem is blown way out of proportion, or when the reviewer seems to feel an overblown sense of "entitlement" or when they blame the cruise line for something that is beyond its control (TSA or immigation issues, weather diversons, etc.). Oh, by the way....a fair number of CC members are "part owners of the company" through stock ownership, so that may influence their wanting to respond.

[MrsPete]

I agree with the previous posters.

 

People don't tend to become upset when a person writes a balanced, well-reasoned review. When people give details that "ring true" to those of us who've been there, people accept either that something really bad did happen to this person or that this person just isn't a cruiser.

 

In contrast, when people write outlandish opinions with no factual basis (the MDR food must've been cooked in a high school cafeteria), or when people write things that are blatantly untrue (you'll be kicked off the ship if you bring alcohol), people object.

 

And, of course, a few people are so blindly loyal that they can't understand that some of us don't share their opinions.

[bighairtexan]

I've been on cruises that were as close to perfect as one could expect. And someone else on the same cruise might post about what a lot of problems they encountered. Just because my cruise was great doesn't mean they must be nit picking or fibbing.

 

I've been on a bazillion (that's a number isn't it?) Celebrity Cruises and my last one was a perfect example of Murphy's Law. Whatever could go wrong DID go wrong. That didn't mean that I will never cruise Celebrity again. Nor did it mean I expected compensation. But it was NOT a pleasant cruise. I'd rather have been home than on that cruise. But I'd bet my farm (which I don't have) that if I were to post the particulars of that cruise, there would be some very snarky responses implying that I was exaggerating or full of bologna.

I've seen it happen again and again that some people get defensive when "their" cruise line is criticized, and sometimes people get downright nasty.

Hence, I post but I don't do reviews. It isn't worth the angst.

[Summersemester]

The hardest attitude for me to understand is the one where someone expects everything to be exactly what they have at home.

 

We have been in some unexpected travel situations and have had to regroup to Plan B's plan B, but we knew that was part of traveling.

 

We have been in some great places over the years-a few we hadn't planned on-but if I had wanted normal, I would never have left home!

[wwcruisers]

I'd rather have been home than on that cruise.

WOW -- that one sentence speaks VOLUMES! :eek: (This from someone whose personal motto is: A bad day at sea beats a good day on land. ;))

Hope your next cruise on X is better. :D And, thanks for keeping an open mind -- and encouraging others to do so, as well. :cool:

[Stratus22]

The hardest attitude for me to understand is the one where someone expects everything to be exactly what they have at home.

 

We have been in some unexpected travel situations and have had to regroup to Plan B's plan B, but we knew that was part of traveling.

 

We have been in some great places over the years-a few we hadn't planned on-but if I had wanted normal, I would never have left home!

 

You've met my In-Laws?????????:D

[lisiamc]

The reviews that upset me are the irrational ones - "It rained one day of my cruise, so not only should I get my money back, but cruising should be made illegal." Those sort of reviews. I guess instead I really should be grateful that those posters will never appear on a cruise I'm on.

[alfaeric]

Some of the complaints are valid... I take that back- probably most of the complaints are valid.

 

But the way the tone is, it's generally not useful, and inflamatory.

 

I know few people who don't know you can send a bad dish back to the kitchen- be it the Main Dining Room or a fine dining restaraunt. So if the food was that bad, did the person try to address it immediately? Most of the posts I read strongly imply that, no- no attempt was made to find a better dish. So if you don't *try* to fix it, but come here to make some noise- what's the point?

 

Or people complain about petty things- like a gift (horrible gift- have you ever told your friend the shirt they gave you was hidious?), or free drinks (the DL wine is horrible...), or, or , or or..... Some of the petty nature of the complaints.

 

It would be as if we came here and posted that since some guy spilled coffee on us one morning on our aft balconly that RCCL is horrible, and that it ruined our cruise, wasting thousands of dollars. That story is true, but it bothered us for just a few min, and we still had a great time.

 

I've never been on a perfect cruise, ever. But I never expect it to be, either. I honestly don't care to read the negative views- I don't see the need to be prepared for bad things to happen- I'd much rather be prepared for good things to happen, and deal with the bad ones as they come.

 

It's fine that people are rational about the bad things that happen. I personally don't care for the pettiness.

[Iluvcruising2]

Cruising is certainly not for everybody. I can fully understand why some people would not like their cruise, or even strongly dislike.

 

But to call MDR food 'dog food' is a tad too extreme for me.

 

That's why, in my recent picture review thread on Voyager OTS, I took pains to post pictures of the food.

[Ocean Boy]

I tend to like reading what people felt was negative about their experience as long as they provide the reasoning behind their opinions. That way I can decide if the issue is something that might affect my personal experience or not.

[DrD]

We get attached to our ships and crew, they're so nice it's hard to hear them slandered.

[ChevyCruiser]

I think the Royal Champions are still at work. They may have been driven underground, but they are still active. What's a Royal Champion? Read this:

 

http://www.frommers.com/community/blogs/blog.cfm/arthur-frommer-online/cruise-critics-message-board-scandal-casts-further-doubt-user-generated-websites?plckFindCommentKey=CommentKey:24355326-01a7-4c5a-9efa-1e9c635b7e2d?print=y#CommentKey:24355326-01a7-4c5a-9efa-1e9c635b7e2d?print=y

 

Let's see if they are still active......how long will this post last before it's removed.

 

To the tune of the old Pepsident commercials: You'll wonder where your father went when he talks about the government"

[bbbearden]

When I see people's reviews/posts being attacked, it is often because they have failed to present the entire situation (and expereinced travlers know it) or they give details that do not make sense. Many times people fail to do thier research and just lash out if something does not go thier way. We can name many cirucumstances from this board where these things have happened.

 

Yes there are unhappy people who can find a way to turn a great time into a complaint, some who complain because they want something free, some who complain to build themselves up, and some who take a tiny incident and blow it way out of proportion. Then there are those with real legitemate complaints.

 

When you post here, you open yourself up to all types of feedback, both good and bad. As with all things, we must each form our on opinion of what we read.

[dcdiva]

People don't tend to become upset when a person writes a balanced, well-reasoned review. When people give details that "ring true" to those of us who've been there, people accept either that something really bad did happen to this person or that this person just isn't a cruiser.

 

 

I don't think well-balanced reveiws are immune from flaming. I submited what I considered a thoughtful, balanced review of a cruise on another line. It included some positive things, but also alot of things I really didn't care for. I made it clear these things didn't "ruin" my vacation, but they are the kind of things that might keep me from cruising on that line again. I was amazed at angry the response to the negative comments, including name calling and accusations of outright lying about my experience. Gotta say, the response from regular cruisers on that other line didn't make me want to give them another try. :eek:

 

You'll notice I haven't said which other cruiseline -- trying to avoid getting flamed again! :D

[alfaeric]

I think the Royal Champions are still at work. They may have been driven underground, but they are still active. What's a Royal Champion? Read this:

 

http://www.frommers.com/community/blogs/blog.cfm/arthur-frommer-online/cruise-critics-message-board-scandal-casts-further-doubt-user-generated-websites?plckFindCommentKey=CommentKey:24355326-01a7-4c5a-9efa-1e9c635b7e2d?print=y#CommentKey:24355326-01a7-4c5a-9efa-1e9c635b7e2d?print=y

 

Let's see if they are still active......how long will this post last before it's removed.

 

To the tune of the old Pepsident commercials: You'll wonder where your father went when he talks about the government"

If you really think that is true, stop cruising.

 

Seriously, all cruise lines are in it for the money- otherwise, there's no point to cruising as a business. So it's endlessly amusing to me that people seem to like to nit pick that they charge you money for stuff, trying to "nickel and dime" you do death. Of couse they are, that's the point.

 

Get over it, and instead of focusing on the bad, find the good- it's YOUR money you are spending, afterall. Spending $10k on a vacation to only really find fault boggles my mind.

 

There are SO many options for vacations out there, all of them are trying to make money off of you. I prefer crusing, and when I see petty stuff being whined about, or what appears to be someone putting 5 or so threads into one big complaining thread, I call it like I'VE seen it. Which isn't bad- but quite good.

[Big_G]

I don't think well-balanced reveiws are immune from flaming. I submited what I considered a thoughtful, balanced review of a cruise on another line. It included some positive things, but also alot of things I really didn't care for. I made it clear these things didn't "ruin" my vacation, but they are the kind of things that might keep me from cruising on that line again. I was amazed at angry the response to the negative comments, including name calling and accusations of outright lying about my experience. Gotta say, the response from regular cruisers on that other line didn't make me want to give them another try. :eek:

 

You'll notice I haven't said which other cruiseline -- trying to avoid getting flamed again! :D

 

Unfortunately, some people by nature are just flamers. It's not limited to cruise boards. You need to parse through the negatives and just ignore the extremes.

[negc]

I don't think well-balanced reveiws are immune from flaming. I submited what I considered a thoughtful, balanced review of a cruise on another line. It included some positive things, but also alot of things I really didn't care for. I made it clear these things didn't "ruin" my vacation, but they are the kind of things that might keep me from cruising on that line again. I was amazed at angry the response to the negative comments, including name calling and accusations of outright lying about my experience. Gotta say, the response from regular cruisers on that other line didn't make me want to give them another try. :eek:

 

You'll notice I haven't said which other cruiseline -- trying to avoid getting flamed again! :D

Certainly there are some posters who automatically react negatively to any suggestion that their favorite cruiseline is anything less than perfect, but I think that most posts which are critical of something someone else has said, are responses to inaccurate, misleading, or clearly biased comments which need to be addressed. The written word can sometimes be misinterpreted and we aren't always as careful in our wording of comments as we should be, especially if emotions are still running high when the poster offers his or her comments. No one really wants the reviews to be nothing more than glorified ads for the line and certainly no cruise or line can be expected to be perfect. But "fair and balanced" is sometimes in the eye of the beholder and some comments, whether positive or negative, deserve to be addressed and, on occasion, refuted.

[tallen429]

We are new to cruising but we have travelled extensively and as the planner I do tons and tons of research.

 

I have read a lot of good about what to expect on our upcoming trip and there seems to be consistency, but I also like reading about the not so good and there is consistency there too.

 

I find negative comments very useful because as someone else mentioned, if they are consistent they prepare you for what you may or may not like.

Unfortunately in this case, I have to admit that my enthusiasm for this cruise is a bit dampened and a part of me wishes we had waited to take a longer trip on a better ship. However this was a spur of the moment booking to add to an already planned vacation. I will take it for what it is but my expectations are pretty low now.

I'm sure we'll have fun, but I'm not expecting to be wowed or anything.

 

So I guess my point is that reading not so good things has had a very small negative impact on me, but I think it's better to know upfront rather than be disappointed later.

[negc]

We are new to cruising but we have travelled extensively and as the planner I do tons and tons of research.

 

I have read a lot of good about what to expect on our upcoming trip and there seems to be consistency, but I also like reading about the not so good and there is consistency there too.

 

I find negative comments very useful because as someone else mentioned, if they are consistent they prepare you for what you may or may not like.

Unfortunately in this case, I have to admit that my enthusiasm for this cruise is a bit dampened and a part of me wishes we had waited to take a longer trip on a better ship. However this was a spur of the moment booking to add to an already planned vacation. I will take it for what it is but my expectations are pretty low now.

I'm sure we'll have fun, but I'm not expecting to be wowed or anything.

 

So I guess my point is that reading not so good things has had a very small negative impact on me, but I think it's better to know upfront rather than be disappointed later.

Without knowing what ship you are sailing on, it is impossible to tell you whether your apprehensions are merited or not. One good thing about lowered expectations, however, is that they frequently result in your having a much better experience than you expect. Most cruise ships, certainly those in the RCI fleet, have their own distinctive features that can make them special. Some have more bells and whistles than others but you might be surprised to find that not all of those special features make much of an impact on how much you enjoy your cruise. Think positively and you might be pleasantly surprised.

[Bettytrouble]

Some people, I have noticed, feel that they are close, dear buddies..long-time pals with the captains and other folks running the ship.

My sister refuses to use CC anymore. She had posted in her forum review a reference to a huge ruckus that ensued as men that were found at sea were picked up by the ship and then transferred to the Coast Guard. It was on another cruise line. We have a close relative who is a now-retired CG officer, and she was appalled when the mostly Cuban crowd ( THAT IS NOT A RACIST COMMENT) began booing both the Coast Guard as well as America. THe Captian also made some comments on the PA system about "stupid, ridiculous rules" of the United States and that " that is all I am saying, my wife is on board, it is our anniversary and I am taking her to bed now"

She and her husband both became the object of taunting and threats ON THE DECK as they watched the rescue mission, because she cheered the Coast Guard and recognized the name of the boat that had come out in high seas to take these men to Miami, and then they get sent back to Cuba if they, were indeed, actually Cuban nationals. One set of very drunk folks threatened to throw her overboard and see if her $$^@$%^ Coast Guard would save her...

Anyway, there were grave security issues, she went to the "bosses' and they reviewed the tapes and admitted that there should have been some sort of ship security presence during the 9pm transfer of refugees. Children were being held up over the railing to see, chants of F- the USA were going on..

So when she wrote her review, she added this,. Members of her Meet and Greet ( it was another cruise line) recognized her CC name and started e-mailing her threats and taunts, calling her outrageous and nasty things for simply stating her feelings about an isolated experience on board. She even got several phone calls from one buffoon who knew her last name and where she lives! Suddenly these idiots were all best buddies with the captain and the crew and she was an evil trouble maker, trying to make the other line look bad. She had to change her e-mail address and will never come on CC again!! She regrets liking the little group she met on CC prior to sailing and sharing her hometown and e-mail

 

Talk about going OVERBOARD!!!! Not my sissie, the defenders of the other line!

[tallen429]

Without knowing what ship you are sailing on, it is impossible to tell you whether your apprehensions are merited or not. One good thing about lowered expectations, however, is that they frequently result in your having a much better experience than you expect. Most cruise ships, certainly those in the RCI fleet, have their own distinctive features that can make them special. Some have more bells and whistles than others but you might be surprised to find that not all of those special features make much of an impact on how much you enjoy your cruise. Think positively and you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

Oh, I certainly have a positive attitude simply because we will be on VACATION!:D I think it will be relaxing. I suppose the "idea" of a cruise is more like imagining the Oasis or Allure with all the bells and whistles.

We are doing a Monarch 4 day, and to be honest I'm prepared for mediocrity (except in the case of the staff which gets GLOWING reviews!)

I still think it is a good "first cruise" and we got a really good deal.

[littlesteelo]

There are a lot of reviews which go beyond criticism, which is a good thing, and are just plain over exaggeration, especially when all the other reports of that particular voyage are glowing. When somebody posts a huge angry slanderous review, which is clearly not accurate, I wonder how many potential cruisers read that and get completely turned off by it.

Now I know you should never base your opinions just on reviews, but that is what people do. It is a fact. It would annoy me if somebody were to miss out on an amazing experience just because of some ridiculous nitpicking review.