Value of Member Reviews

[Cauzneffct]

The reviews which I'm curious about are not the ones on this forum (with usual interaction with the OP), but rather the generic members reviews one finds if they look for reviews of their ship.

 

Do people read them, and if so, do you put any stock in what they say? I've been looking at some (particularly the neutral or negatives since I assume I'll have a great time), and most of them seem to be of little to no value, particularly since there's no ability to comment and perhaps get more information as to why their particular experience was so poor.

 

For those of you who post reviews in this forum, thank you, as they are helpful.

[billco]

The reviews which I'm curious about are not the ones on this forum (with usual interaction with the OP), but rather the generic members reviews one finds if they look for reviews of their ship.

 

Do people read them, and if so, do you put any stock in what they say? I've been looking at some (particularly the neutral or negatives since I assume I'll have a great time), and most of them seem to be of little to no value, particularly since there's no ability to comment and perhaps get more information as to why their particular experience was so poor.

 

For those of you who post reviews in this forum, thank you, as they are helpful.

For myself, I don't read reviews, because they have no bearing on my choice of a cruise. Price, itinerary, interest, and time of year are just about the only things I consider.

[bdjam]

The reviews which I'm curious about are not the ones on this forum (with usual interaction with the OP), but rather the generic members reviews one finds if they look for reviews of their ship.

 

Do people read them, and if so, do you put any stock in what they say? I've been looking at some (particularly the neutral or negatives since I assume I'll have a great time), and most of them seem to be of little to no value, particularly since there's no ability to comment and perhaps get more information as to why their particular experience was so poor.

 

For those of you who post reviews in this forum, thank you, as they are helpful.

I agree it's difficult to get value from some reviews because people writing them are not specific enough about issues they've encountered or they are emotionally based and not objective. I take them with a grain of salt. You're right, much better to be able to interact with the poster to ask clarifying questions, etc.

 

Case in point, a poster noted that one of Princess' ships needed a major overhaul - I was able to ask clarifying questions and the only thing that seemed to be wrong was that some of the elevators were out of operation. That's an issue for some, but it's not for me - so no problem. If this had been posted in the review section, I might have thought the whole ship was falling apart had I not known better.

[Matcodixon]

I recently read a review of the Ruby Princess where the reviewer thought that the ship was "Old"

Since it is currently the newest ship in the fleet, at least until the Royal is put into service, I can only assume that they were probably mistaken about the name of the ship they were reviewing..

The Ruby did not look "Old" in the least last August.

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

I prefer to follow a live from and ask questions,

 

it is very easy to find two reviews from the same ship

 

one saying cruise from hell and the other amazing cruise,

 

the way you deal with problems plays a bigger role in having a great cruise

 

yours Shogun

[JimmyVWine]

On the one hand, reviews on this portion of the website can be colored by cheerleading, as the demographic is overwhelmingly Princess acolytes. On the other hand, reviews in the "generic" section of this website are often written by people who are clueless. I read one recently where the principle complaint was that Princess deceived the writer into thinking that his/her mini-suite was a full suite and s/he was peeved when they were turned away from the Sabatini’s breakfast. Now, I suppose this can happen, and maybe it is very common. But while that person found it necessary to post the generic review, they have exactly zero posts on the Princess board. 15 seconds of searching, (or merely asking the question) would have educated this person on everything they needed to know about mini-suites. But instead, the entire cruise was downgraded to 3 stars because of this issue.

The bottom line is that this particular review was less than positive simply because their expectations were not met. Since it was authored by someone who I do not know, (in real life or “virtually”), I have little to guide me in the way of their expectations. On the flip side, if you stick with the cheerleader reviews, at least you know that you are dealing with authors who have firmly established, realistic expectations. When they are not met, (or when they are), that means much more to me. So I find it better to read the reviews of the converted, and downplay their effusiveness rather than rely too much on generic reviews where I have no guideposts as to the traveler’s agenda or expectations.

[NavyVeteran]

I find the reviews helpful. However, I ignore the number of stars. I read the comments and generally I feel I can interpret them through the biases.

[Pam in CA]

I've found that most of the reviews are far too generic without specifics: "the food sucked", "the buffet is awful", etc. Plus, many have an axe to grind, haven't done a lick of research and/or haven't a clue about what they've spent $$$ on. The vast majority of the time, if the reviewer encountered an issue on the ship, they did nothing to try to correct the situation. Preferring instead to come on Cruise Critic and vent. I pay attention only to the reviews that give examples of what they're commenting on. The basics for any review should include the who, how, what, where and when.

[Colo Cruiser]

I too take them with a grain of salt. :rolleyes:

[Vanilla]

I usually read reviews of the ship I am sailing on about a month before I sail - not that it influences me - just helps get me in the mood. Some people are just complainers and nothing will make them happy - others have high expectations of a great cruise and share the pros/cons -

I frequent the boards enough to know who "really" knows about cruising and offers their very best advice. I am going to miss some of the names.... but those that I trust their advice and appreciate the amount of accurate information are: PAM in CA, Coral 10,000, ColoCruiser, Paul 929207, PunkiC, LARGIN, IECalCruiser - there are others also - but can't recall right now. Those I don't trust and wonder if they have ever cruised are those that brag about how much time they spend with the crew/captain or complain about every single aspect of their trip or complain about every cruise they have taken. Also, I feel like while I certainly want a great vacation, I realize that sometimes things just go wrong. Its also what YOU make of your trip... be sure to pack your positive attitude along with your toothbrush.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I recently read a review of the Ruby Princess where the reviewer thought that the ship was "Old"

Since it is currently the newest ship in the fleet, at least until the Royal is put into service, I can only assume that they were probably mistaken about the name of the ship they were reviewing..

The Ruby did not look "Old" in the least last August.

 

While I was waiting (impatiently, of course) for our most recent cruise to happen, I was reading the reviews for the ship on the front page of CC. Just merely for fun, as we were repeating the same ship and itinerary as the previous cruise. I noticed one reviewer talking about the Golden, but about sailing on it on a Med cruise. So unless they were talking about a cruise from years ago, I knew the person wasn't talking about this ship, which has been on West Coast cruises to Hawaii and Alaska for some time.

 

I sent an email to the administration to look into this and they took care of it.

 

There were some other reviews for the most recent Hawaiian cruises (so I knew they had the right ship, unless they were supposed to be talking about the Sapphire) and had to shake my head at a few of them. I decided to see if these were regular members of CC, but didn't see them listed on the members list.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I like the "generic" reviews, and find them very enlightening. Let's face it...most of them are overwhelming positive, and there are very few really negative ones. I enjoy reading them all. I don't feel the need to interrogate the reviewer on the specifics...they posted a review; good for them, and I appreciate it. If I don't like the review, I can move on.

 

You can bet that I'll be reading every single one that's published about the Royal Princess.

[sassyredhat]

Actually, I do read the reviews. After you have been reading on this board, you get a sense of what is an unbiased review.

I also look at the number of posts from the OP to see if they have enough cruises under their belts, to know how cruising really works.

Then I compare the not so great ones with the great ones. Usually, somewhere in the middle, is where I find what I'm looking for.

 

I also rely on the opinions of veteran cruisers/posters. :)

Pat

[gertz]

Reviews: Think they are ok if you set up a system to grade the reviews. Like take the most recent 20 or 30. Throw out the top 10% and bottom 10% then average the remainder.

 

Too much work that's why I rarely read one and never post one.

[baldercash]

I enjoy reading them as they are usually posted by those who do not frequent CC that often.

It is interesting to read how new cruisers view ships and cruise line experiences. The advantage in being a novice cruiser is they have less at stake and they have no bias built up from multiple cruises with a cruise line.

 

Elite cruisers have an obvious bias, it may be justified as they obviously enjoy the cruise line since they cruise it often. Their grievances usually are different then novices to the line.

[happy cruzer]

I read them. You sometimes see a trend. If you see something that looks weird, you can always ask for specifics on the cruise line page. Like if the reviewer says they hated the ship, loud music everywhere, you can go the cruise line board and ask "Are there quiet spots on such and such ship?" The experts will give more specific information. Often you will find what the bottomline issue was and can avoid it.

[BumperII]

I like to read the reviews to get a sense of what is going on aboard our next cruise ship. If other people have complaints, I prefer to read them here. Once on the cruise, we are on vacation and we make every effort to avoid other people's complaints. If I should happen to be enjoying a cruise experience, I don't want to hear someone tell me what is wrong with it.:D

[WizBang]

I enjoy reading the reviews, and figure that what motivates people to take the time to write a review are usually one of three things:

1 - They loved the cruise and want to share;

2 - They have gripes about some things that they want to announce; or,

3 - Like me they have gotten so much useful information from the cruise critic site that they want to take the time to compose their own review in hopes that it might help someone in the future.

 

It's all perspective. Things that someone else did not care for might be my favorite thing. :)

[Bushycomm]

I read the reviews primarily because, here in Australia, we do not yet have many (any?) TAs who specialise in Cruises.

As First Time Cruisers, living some 250 miles from the nearest major city, DW and I have to rely on local TAs

My experience has been that most TAs are simply booking agents when it comes to cruising and what little knowledge some of them have is simply dangerous

DW and I have come to Princess on the recommendation of the in laws of one of our sins, and with advice as to where we should book a stateroom.

When talking to our TA we found that there were certainly major gaps in her knowledge. but we has used that firm for many years, so we went with our friend's recommendation, only to be told "that ship is very tatty and needs refurbishing".

The ship in question was Sun Princess. So we booked on the more expensive Sea Princess, but we have to wait another year before Sea Princess sails that itinerary.

Since then, we have discovered Cruise Critic and found that, although Sun Princess is a little older than her sisters, she is still a fine ship.

Unfortunately, the stateroom we chose on the Sea Princess had long gone by this time so we decided to wait another year before the same itinerary on the Sea Princess.

 

Ah well, such is life. I will continue to live a cruising life vicariously till July 2013.

Thanks to all you Cruise Critic Contributors for the wealth of information.

I will continue to put my oar in from time to time

[Bushycomm]

Hmm!

 

Maybe my TA wasnt too far off after all.

 

I have just read a report on the Australia and New Zealand Cruisers thread (hope I have got that bright) re the Sun Princess cruise to Hong Kong.

 

Quote

Just returned from the Sun Princess, Sydney to Hong Kong. The laundry (only 1 machine on each deck) used coins that we bought from the pursers desk. HOWEVER ......the ship had a water shortage,

so they closed all the laundermat rooms, and did not offer laundry service.

This was only one problem the Sun Princess experienced. Many, many cabins and public areas didn't have working A/C (in Viet Nam and Hong Kong) yikes it was hot !

This ship needs an overhaul......

Unquote

[Guest arowe6]

I like the "generic" reviews, and find them very enlightening. Let's face it...most of them are overwhelming positive, and there are very few really negative ones. I enjoy reading them all. I don't feel the need to interrogate the reviewer on the specifics...they posted a review; good for them, and I appreciate it. If I don't like the review, I can move on.

 

You can bet that I'll be reading every single one that's published about the Royal Princess.

 

Agreed. I try to read them all.

 

-Andrew :)

[rdsqrl]

. . .

I also look at the number of posts from the OP to see if they have enough cruises under their belts, to know how cruising really works.

What a silly thing to say. Number of posts has no correlation with number of cruises. Why would you even think that?

[ldubs]

I do not read the generic reviews. I like the review threads within the cruise line forums. Generally there is some additional perspective that makes the review more useful. For example, the OP might like the shipboard infomercial lectures, might be active, might be inactive, does not attend shows because it is not their cup of tea, etc. etc. Nothing wrong with individual preference and knowing where the OP is coming from helps me understand the review. Additionally, what some may call "reviews" are really more of a travelogue or blog by the OP. Nothing wrong with that either, though some do contain a lot of needless information from a pure evaluation standpoint. On the other hand, they can be enjoyable to read. I do like to read reviews by first time or less experienced cruisers. I think they can bring a fresh perspective. Like one or more previous posters, I don't care about post counts. I think number of previous cruises should support a certain amount of expertise, but I would give more credibility to recent experience than to overall cruise counts.

[Cauzneffct]

I do not read the generic reviews. I like the review threads within the cruise line forums. Generally there is some additional perspective that makes the review more useful. For example, the OP might like the shipboard infomercial lectures, might be active, might be inactive, does not attend shows because it is not their cup of tea, etc. etc. Nothing wrong with individual preference and knowing where the OP is coming from helps me understand the review. Additionally, what some may call "reviews" are really more of a travelogue or blog by the OP. Nothing wrong with that either, though some do contain a lot of needless information from a pure evaluation standpoint. On the other hand, they can be enjoyable to read. I do like to read reviews by first time or less experienced cruisers. I think they can bring a fresh perspective. Like one or more previous posters, I don't care about post counts. I think number of previous cruises should support a certain amount of expertise, but I would give more credibility to recent experience than to overall cruise counts.

 

I agree. For me, personally, when I read the reviews stating that the cruise was awful and that the Princess employees were unhelpful at best, willfully negligent at worst, it would be nice if we could get further information. There's a 1 star review where a couple had/chose to leave the cruise a few days in because they couldn't sleep more than 2 hours due to noise in their room (which i belive abutted a crew area and was below the fitness center) and they claimed that the Princess employees said there was nothing they could do. i was curious as to whether the cruisers had chosen that cabin and if they had researched it first, or whether the ship was at capacity in which case there might not have been much that could be done.

[ceba]

What a silly thing to say. Number of posts has no correlation with number of cruises. Why would you even think that?

 

 

thankyou for saying that. I think sometimes people get blown off here because they are relatively quiet with their posts. Doesn't mean they don't have something to offer to the conversation.