"Experienced Cruisers"

[RevNeal]

Again, each to his/her/its own. I see people in the casino and wonder why; I see people in the bars and wonder why. You know why? Because they like it and it makes the cruise enjoyable for them. You see someone drop into the internet cafe for 5-8 minutes after lunch, supper and midnight and you're seeing someone making the cruise enjoyable for him.

 

VERY well said.

I enjoy many activities while I'm aboard, but from my own experience, and based upon what some people have suggested here on this board, it would appear that all my cruises were very boring. :) Not for me ... but they would have been for THEM. :)

 

Once -- last year -- I was asked why I "wasted" so much of my cruise-time posting my daily reports from the Zaandam during my Panama Canal Cruise. To me it was NOT a waste ... it was a joy to report back and include my friends, here and elsewhere, in the cruise experience. I ENJOY sharing these experiences. If someone else doesn't find it enjoyable, I fully understand: I don't find turning my skin into leather while roasting myself out beside a pool to be enjoyable either ... but others DO. To each his/her own.

[RevNeal]

Like tom, I also travel solo, and I enjoy sharing my cruise, as it happens, with the folks on Cruise Critic who have become friends. I love reading what everyone has to say, and I enjoy my cruise much more because of it.

'Ya gets your jollies where 'ya can.

 

Exactly correct, Ruth. Can you IMAGINE what it's going to be like, in Oct 2006, when several of us who love to report back while on our cruises are all together on the Zaandam?????? :D Maybe we should put together a "unified report"??? ;)

 

Tom should come with us!

[RuthC]

Tom should come with us!

You try talking him into it. I failed miserably in the attempt. :(

[RevNeal]

You try talking him into it. I failed miserably in the attempt.

 

Oh, Darn. If you failed miserably, it would be a disaster if I tried. :)

Looking at the prices for the NE/Canada cruises Tom likes to take ... this Hawaii cruise doesn't cost any more. :) And, since he's doing a back2back cruise up there, it's only 1 day longer. :)

 

Come on, Tom ... come to Hawaii with us!

[sail7seas]

I look forward to both Tom and Ruth's cruise journels from aboard :) "My" Maasdam. We will have just returned from our two weeks aboard so it will make me feel (vicariously) as though we are still sailing.

Both of you have done such wonderful reports in the past, I know whatever you post this summer will be a treat to read.

What's sad (for me) is that when both of you have your turns aboard, my turn will be all over. :( Oh well, I mustn't be greedy.

[tomc]

What's sad (for me) is that when both of you have your turns aboard, my turn will be all over.

:p heh heh heh (laughs until he chokes) =snort= :p hahahaha (whew ... pauses for breath).

 

ahhhhhhhhhh.

 

snort.

 

:D

[sail7seas]

:p heh heh heh (laughs until he chokes) =snort= :p hahahaha (whew ... pauses for breath).

 

ahhhhhhhhhh.

 

snort.

 

:D

 

OKAY, OKAY......LAUGH ALL YOU WILL!!! :D (chortle, chortle) Because I will be beginning my countdown to our October cruise on Volendam!! :)

 

[tomc]

So will I, ha ha. October 2006. Oh, rats. That's a year away.

[HeatherInFlorida]

With trepidation, my thoughts. I tried a thread similar to this awhile back and it did not go well:o . But so far so good this time. "Experience" in anything is very subjective from the point of view of the person seeking to gain expertise. I agree with some that once someone has stepped on a cruiseship, they have gained enough experience to comment on that cruise.

On the other hand, if we are going to rate one cruiseline against another, we should have sailed on both lines and preferably more than once (and preferably within the last few years). Also, if you've been on one cruise, you can't very well feel you're in a position to state the cruiseline just doesn't measure up. Yet you can most certainly say that your cruise far from exceeded your expectations.

 

When a person has cruised on a line several times, they are certainly in a position to state whether or not they felt that cruise measured up to previous ones. That person is experienced about that cruiseline.

 

As to the rest of much of what has been said on this thread, I wonder how anyone can stand in judgment of how a person chooses to express their feelings about their cruise? If it seems too long, don't read it. If you don't like daily reports, skip them. If you like a short review, scan the long ones and read the short ones. This board offers many choices in the expression of opinions. You have only to read the parts that interest you. And I think each of us, experienced or inexperienced, is wise enough to separate the wheat from the chaff.

[Tatka]

This is JMHO but I don't understand this term "experienced cruiser"... Cruises while really nice vacation isn't something you need to be "experienced" in. It's not scuba-diving or rock climbing. ;)

 

There are several things that person knows better after completing the first cruise, like muster drill, midnight buffet, formal nights, embarkation / disembarkation procedures etc...and then some differences between cruise lines.

I personally knew many of these things after reading these boards.:)

 

I think cruises do have some strange effect on people, otherwise why would they pay attention and discuss age of the ship, decor, carpets :D ... ( I wonder if people know ages of hotels they stayed in? worry about color schemes etc)

 

I've been on 4 cruises while living in NA and 3 before, but I don't feel any more experienced than I was after my first cruise.

 

What I think is more important for me here is to read about interesting tours in ports.

 

I am enjoying reading posters' opinions/travel logs as I feel like I am reliving my cruises all over again.:) But when I read this I don't check how many cruises this person had before, this doesn't matter to me at all.

[cruzincurt]

You have experience after you go on one cruise, anything from that experience that you transmit to others is your opinion unless it is a basic fact such as "The Captain is John Doe"; "The food was bad" is opinion.

 

If you want to express your opinion such as comparing two cruise lines, you need to first have experience with each. Posters with lots of cruises have lots of personal experience on which they base their opinions. Is their opinion any better than anyone else's?

 

For example, I read lot's of negative posts about the Norway but we loved the ship. Good thing we didn't let those "experienced" opinions change our decision to sail on her.

[jhannah]

cruzincurt, you're right. I like reading reviews as it gives me some points to consider and look for. But opinions are quite varied, as you allude to. It's the same with movies. I enjoy hearing what others say, but I won't go see or stay away from a movie based on what one person said. What the movie critics love, I generally don't feel are all that hot ... and vice-versa. I simply have to experience it for myself. Woops! There's that "e" word again!

[tomc]

After reading the thread, I've changed my mind. (See post #4)

[RonnieS]

I would add to the original question are you an experienced traveler. Of course familiarity with a particular line or ship gives you "experience".

 

I am a former travel agent and travel agency owner, no longer in the business. My career afforded me the privilage of persuing a life long wanderlust that has taken me to the ends of the earth. I was not limited to cruises in my travels. Frankly considering my career I've not taken that many cruises.

 

The benefits of what I've learned in terms of my cultural and geopraphical experiences, the meeting of all walks of life, the beautiful people, the beautiful places are incalculable.

 

My expectations therefore are more reasonable perhaps than the average traveler wether I'm on a cruise or going to Tuscany.

[RuthC]

After reading the thread, I've changed my mind. (See post #4)

In what respect? Post #4 covered a bit of territory.

[tomc]

I don't think you need to have traveled that widely. I always figured an experienced traveler is someone who can rattle on knowingly about pretty much anything, but, as I read the posts, I now think that it's enough if you can answer questions within your range of competence.

NE/C, in my case. What it's like to be in choppy seas, etc. You don't need to be an encyclopedia and it's good to stay away from people who advertise themselves as such.

[1particularharbor]

Having cruised over 20 times, I still find the postings I read on these forums are helpful in planning the "next" cruise. I have cruise 4 times on the same ship and each time the cruise experience is different. I have cruised on 4 different cruiselines.

However, I think sharing ones own experience on a ship be it a "positive" or "negative" can assist us in hopefully not being "surprised" by an "event" or "procedure" that might occur on our respective upcoming cruise on that particular ship/cruiseline. (that was a long sentence LOL)

I like to respond to questions on the cruiser's boards that I feel come from my own 1st hand experience and hope it will give another cruiser a view to consider. Expert ...not me ...experienced ..maybe yes :) ... open-minded..yes :) ...and I am always eager to have someone give me their opinion/experiences to my questions :)

Susan
Clearwater

[tomc]

New definition of "experienced cruiser" (this actually happened the other day):

You go to your TA's to pick up your travel docs. She's busy with a customer, so she nods at you and holds up your doc pouch. You take it from her, she smiles and you leave. Later, she calls and says, "It was going to be a long wait and I knew you would know what to look for."

That's an experienced cruiser.

[jhannah]

Tom, that's great! I would agree. Too bad not everyone has that sort of a relationship with their TA. I do, and I'm very grateful. We "know" each other, and that makes it easy to do business.

[HeatherInFlorida]

[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]TomC, love that definition!:D I don't think anyone is suggesting that just because you're an "experienced" cruiser that there's nothing left to learn or gain from these boards. I think we can always gain more information and learn new things particularly as the cruise industry continues to evolve.[/color][/size][/font]

[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=navy]But I thought KK's original question was more in terms of whether or not a person is coming from a field of cruising experience when posting their critique of a cruise and whether it's important to have that experience in order to be considered viable by others on this board.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=#000080][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=#000080]It's my considered opinion we don't need experience to critique our cruise. Everyone has a right to do that. However, not everyone loves cruising so if this was your first cruise and you hated it, it doesn't necessarily mean the cruise was bad. It might just be cruising isn't for you. So when I read thoughts and reviews I do take into account the experience of the poster in the area they're reviewing. [/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=#000080][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Book Antiqua][size=3][color=#000080]If someone says "never again on HAL" and has never cruised before, that conclusion will not influence my judgment of HAL. But if they've been happy on another cruiseline, I would be interested in their reasons for not liking HAL. [/color][/size][/font]