Anyone Else Tired of "Drive-By" Reviews?

[20pluscruises]

Respectful communication under conflict or opposition is an essential and truly awe-inspiring ability.

[TC1957]

I put as much stock in the drive-by negative reviews as I do those that write one that blows smoke about how everything was top-of-the-line, perfect crew and an all-around perfect vacation...I completely ignore them.

 

I have never been on any trip (vacation or business) where everything was perfect. Something always "goes wrong"...be it big or small...when compared to perfection.

 

If you are a kool-aid drinking pom-pom shaking supporter of the line being trashed I can see how the negative reviews would bother you. But sometimes people don't like what you like...grow up and get over it. What is small to you may be major to someone else...you don't get to determine what is significant to the rest of the world.

 

Just my two cents...spend them wisely. :D

[Nebr.cruiser]

Not a question of if they have a right to post...obviously they do. But it seems to me there is some kind of effort in recent months to really trash the X product by infrequent/new posters. Just seems odd the number of these. We had little things we did not like (the Miami DJ's for one) but it sure would not prevent us from cruising X because I understand they are trying new and different things.

 

Funny, I haven't noticed this at all. I often do read reviews that seem kind of ridiculous in the things that 'ruin' a cruise, but I don't recall a huge surge of negative Celebrity reviews.

 

We like Celebrity as well as several other lines; it would take something pretty major to decide never to sail any particular line again.

 

To me, the negative reviews seem pretty evenly spread out among the major cruise lines. Some people are never satisfied and nit-pick everything. I like a balanced and fair review, both negatives and positives.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Before our last cruise, while counting the days to returning to a ship and itinerary that we will really liked, I decided to check out the reviews for the ship on the main page of CC.

 

Two of them really stood out for me but in a bad way. The first obviously had the wrong ship listed. It was a review for a Med cruise but listed the ship as the Golden Princess, which had been on the West Coast for years. So I emailed the administrators of this site and told them that somebody needed to find out what ship that really was and move the review to the proper place or delete it.

 

The second one just had me shaking my head. The reviewer hated the entertainment on board, specifically the duo who performs Hawaiian music in the Piazza or up on deck every day. Hmm, live Hawaiian music on a Hawaiian cruise?:rolleyes::p If this review had been posted in the forum part, the smoke from all the flames would have heated the place up. Many of us who have taken this cruise more than once (some try to do this itinerary every year) will point to the duo as one of the biggest reasons to take this cruise (they helped developed the cultural program on this itinerary). I also love to get my daily fix of Izzy's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" over the PA.

 

So please post reviews, but get the ship right and understand that anything that enhances the ambiance of a cruise, such as evoking the feeling of your destination (which really is a rare thing on many cruises), may be a major plus for many.

 

Another thing: don't just say the food sucked or you didn't care for the service. It's all right to point out problems, but give examples; else, your view is going to be discounted.

[Aquahound]

I'm not so sure that all of them are "drive by". Some may just be intimidated by the attitudes displayed on CC like the extreme negativism of some of the "cheerleaders" who are just plain nasty to anyone who says anything the least bit negative about their preferred line.

 

It works both ways.

 

Thats a good point. I can see how a first time poster would not want to return to this site. Some of these loyalists on the various boards can be very abrasive. If it wasn't for my love of cruising, I probably wouldn't want to be associated either.

 

I really wish, just once, CC would abide by their annual wave season warnings and be a little more aggressive against the keyboard commandos around here.

[Kellie Poodle]

Thats a good point. I can see how a first time poster would not want to return to this site. Some of these loyalists on the various boards can be very abrasive. If it wasn't for my love of cruising, I probably wouldn't want to be associated either.

 

I really wish, just once, CC would abide by their annual wave season warnings and be a little more aggressive against the keyboard commandos around here.

 

Just try to say something stronger about being bashed by cheerleaders and your posts will be taken down by the administrators. BTDT

[Guest maddycat]

Thats a good point. I can see how a first time poster would not want to return to this site. Some of these loyalists on the various boards can be very abrasive. If it wasn't for my love of cruising, I probably wouldn't want to be associated either.

 

I really wish, just once, CC would abide by their annual wave season warnings and be a little more aggressive against the keyboard commandos around here.

 

You could always click on the "report post" button in the right hand corner above the post if you think that a post is inappropriate.

[navybankerteacher]

There are several distinct categories of posters:

 

 

A) Those who make thoughtful remarks identifying what they liked and disliked about a particular cruise.

 

B) Those who specialize in negative comments only and rarely, if ever, balance their negative comments with anything positive, regardless of the line being discussed.

 

C) The cheerleaders who can see nothing wrong with their favorite line and will vigorously argue with anyone who has anything negative to say about that line.

 

D) The rabid haters who repeatedly make negative comments about a line (or lines) which they dislike - sometimes based solely on second-hand reports from others.

 

E) Those who feel that if anything was less than perfect, they should be entitled to compensation.

 

Of course, there are sub-groups, but the above covers the vast majority of approaches. Because posters in groups B through E are probably uneducable, it is best to simply ignore them.

[Lerin]

Haven't really noticed these "drive bys" you speak of :confused:

 

We will probably never sail X again because of 2 issues we had. Neither was minor in my opinion. But I'm not a 1 time poster so I'll assume you aren't referencing me by this thread.

 

Regardless, people have the right to post and let their opinion known.

The rest of us have the right to ignore them.

[dwjoe]

The best reviews are those that give detailed reasons why they liked or didn't like something. Then I can decide if those reasons are relevant to me.

[lady_cruiser]

I stopped reading the negative reviews a long time ago. I figured that I am old enough to go on a cruise and make up my own mind. If I ever cruise on a ship that I don't care for enough that I won't want to sail on it again then at least I can say "oh well, at least we gave it a try." And so far I haven't been on a ship that I won't want to go back on.

[Karysa]

We have cruised on numerous cruise lines over 35+ years and never had a bad cruise. When possible we select Celebrity because we just feel it is offers the best value, service and ships of all the Mass market lines. I don't why this forum has dramatically changed in the past several months but I am so tired of the "drive-by" reviewers who come on and complain about one or two very minor things and say because of these things they will never cruise X again. And after posting they never come back to respond. Is it just me or does it seem to be an orchestrated effort to paint X in a less than glowing light?

 

Nope it's not my problem if they like it or not and those threads can get really entertaining.:D

[iancal]

We do not care too much about food or service comments as these can vary greatly by cruise and by personal taste. We are more interested in the physical condition of the ship. We avoid some ships simply because of recurring reviews about plumbing and HVAC issues. These have to potential to ruin our cruise and they point to the overall level of mtce on a given ship.

 

What I don't really care for is the whole meal deal. Do not need a review of someone's trip from the moment they leave their house to the moment they get back. Not interested in the flights, the airport, the cab to the cruise port hotel or what grandma bought at the Ross store across the street. Only interested in the cruise itself, without a great deal of autobiography or description of family events. But that is just me.

[OCruisers]

I understand the OP about the "drive by" posters. I've been on these boards for several years and it is not at all rare to see someone post a negative review or complaint and it's post #1. They may respond for a few days, but then disappear.

 

I'm not so sure that all of them are "drive by". Some may just be intimidated by the attitudes displayed on CC like the extreme negativism of some of the "cheerleaders" who are just plain nasty to anyone who says anything the least bit negative about their preferred line.

 

It works both ways.

 

Agree with you! And, yes, it does work both ways. :rolleyes:

LuLu

[LindaM]

So only your opinion is valid? Not everyone thinks everything on a cruise is wonderful. My last cruise on Celebrity Century was the worst service I've ever experienced on my 80+ cruises. I'm avoiding booking on Celebrity for now because of that. Princess has better service but X did excel in the food in the MDR.

 

Again, it's a matter of opinion. I've been on 25+ cruises, and I think most lines are similar. IMHO, I thought the food on Princess and other lines was superior to X---but that is my opinion! (Although I gained 7 lbs, which usually doesn't happen).

 

I usually never pay a whole lot of attention to people's reviews, but take them with a grain of salt.

[Markanddonna]

I appreciate well written reviews with details. I also appreciate balance and if there was a problem, I would like to know up front. I dismiss reviews that are generalities and all glowing. Conversely, I dismiss reviews that say things like "all the food was inedible".