How long before a review is posted

[Minoushka]

I wrote a review of Marina and French polynesia but still have not received word it was posted .Did it get lost ?or does it take that long

[DaisyUK]

You don't say when you posted it, but it does take a few days. I posted a review of our last Oceania cruise and after 5 days I received an email telling me it had been rejected! Don't think I'll bother again.:confused:

[LHT28]

They will email you when it is posted can take up to a week or more

[Paulchili]

You don't say when you posted it, but it does take a few days. I posted a review of our last Oceania cruise and after 5 days I received an email telling me it had been rejected! Don't think I'll bother again.:confused:

 

Did they say or did you ask why it was rejected?

[DaisyUK]

They did give me a reason; they said I had not allocated a sufficient proportion of my review to ports and suggested I re-write the review to include this. To be honest, I was a bit peeved and couldn't be bothered. I thought I had spent quite enough of my time and effort writing about our experience onboard Riviera (which was fabulous) and didn't really feel that I wanted to spend more time on it. Perhaps a bit of an over-reaction on reflection...

[orchestrapal]

They did give me a reason; they said I had not allocated a sufficient proportion of my review to ports and suggested I re-write the review to include this. To be honest, I was a bit peeved and couldn't be bothered. I thought I had spent quite enough of my time and effort writing about our experience onboard Riviera (which was fabulous) and didn't really feel that I wanted to spend more time on it. Perhaps a bit of an over-reaction on reflection...

 

Why not just post it here. I'm sure we'll all be happy to read it without the ports portion.:D

[Floridiana]

I wrote one 4 years ago. It was rejected because I wrote too much about the ports, not enough on the ship. :eek:

[wally_bushy]

I wrote one 4 years ago. It was rejected because I wrote too much about the ports, not enough on the ship. :eek:

 

Same for me.

I wrote one in 2012 and was told I needed to supply more information.

It was quite detailed and covered as much as other reviews I have read.

BTW is was complimentary to O so it wasn't rejected for promotional reasons

[LHT28]

I guess it depends on who reviews the review :D

 

I rarely write about the ports

 

I find some the reviews amusing to say the least ;)

 

I wonder if some even research the cruise line before they book a cruise

 

JMO

 

Lyn

Edited February 12, 2015 by LHT28

[Mura]

That seems overly fussy to me ... too much port info versus not enough. What about those people who use the ship as their destination and so don't visit the ports all that much?

 

I agree -- just post your review here!

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

 

I agree -- just post your review here!

 

Mura

 

...and get flamed if not complimentary :D :D :D

[Minoushka]

Mine was rather long so i will not rewrite it .It was more than 2weeks ago so my guess it was discarded for some reason

I usually get asked to post a review after I return ...mmmmmm.

Oh well

[Mura]

...and get flamed if not complimentary :D :D :D

 

Hopefully not!

 

Mura

[LHT28]

...and get flamed if not complimentary :D :D :D

 

I agree

get the bunker gear ready :D

[DaisyUK]

This was my review which was rejected by CC. I may have posted it previously actually, but in any case here it is :

 

After all the help and advice I took advantage of on this board, I thought I’d like to post a review of our very recent trip on Riviera (Istanbul to Venice).

 

 

 

Firstly, a little background (we are not experienced cruisers).

This was only our second cruise, the first being last year with Regent (Mariner). Overall, that was a good experience and encouraged us to try cruising again, but we weren’t entirely happy with it. It was ‘fine’, but not ‘great’. The food, accommodation and general ambience is hugely important to us; perhaps more so than the itinerary (which I know might sound a little weird). We had reserved a Penthouse Suite which, although a goodsize, was tired in décor. Food was OK, but uninspiring. What surprised us was the enjoyment to be found in waking up to a new place each morning, deciding where to breakfast, lunch and dine in the evenings, which excursions we might embark on, which entertainment we might try etc, etc.

 

 

Fast forward… And so, we thought we’d try it again. We decided to try a newer ship (I’m an interior design obsessive and that tired décor really got to me), a larger, more attractively equipped room and we hoped for better food.

 

 

This time, the choice lay between Crystal and Oceania.

We decided upon Oceania for 2 reasons: 1) the importance Oceania seemed to be giving to food quality and the variety of restaurants and types of cuisine; 2) the cost for one of the larger suites was (much, much) more competitive on Oceania than Crystal.

 

 

 

Once again, we left booking a little late and our suite of choice was waitlisted. We therefore booked the Penthouse, and were waitlisted for one of the other 3 suites. We did end up in the Penthouse.

 

 

So, here goes :

 

 

Food – we ate in each of the 4 specialty restaurants. Each was memorable. All were way beyond our wildest expectations. We ate in La Reserve on 2 occasions, where we had the Discovery and Connoisseur menus. In our opinion both were somewhere between 1 and 2 star Michelin level.

One evening we ate from Red Ginger in our suite (because it was the only way we could be seated alone for an additional reservation, and also because our butler was incredibly insistent that we should do so). He set the scene beautifully. We went to Martini’s for pre-dinner cocktails and when we came back, the room was made up, soft music was playing, the lights were low and the table was laid for 2 complete with crystal and wine on ice. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Another evening we wanted to try Toscana for a second time and could only get a sharing table. We had the best time with a group of Americans, and I would like to think we have made permanent friends. We also ate in Waves, the Terrace and the Grand Dining Room. We were unable to fault anything. I had read about the surf and turf and the Kobe Burger in Waves and thought that perhaps there was a little exaggeration going on, but absolutely not. I tried each (twice) and on both occasions they were perfectly cooked and served fresh. My only disappointment was that I thought I had read about lamb chop ‘lollipops’ with figs at breakfast, but never did manage to find this on the menu.

 

 

Cookery School – We did 2 classes (originally I booked 4, but cancelled 2 after reading advice on these boards because they clashed with our La Reserve bookings – thank goodness for Cruise Critic!) The classes were great fun. We did Red Ginger, where we both learned a lot and I am looking forward to cooking from the recipes we were given now that we are back home. The other one was Parisian Bistro. I didn’t learn so much in this class, but enjoyed it enormously nevertheless.

 

 

Room – the penthouse suite was a little smaller than that on the Mariner, but was immeasurably more pleasant to be in. No harsh oranges, no chipped wood, no stained carpet. It was immaculately clean. The bathroom was on the small side, but very well planned and equipped with plenty of storage. The balcony was much better, with comfortable chairs with cushions that reclined. The walk-in closet was very adequate (and I do not travel light!!) One slight criticism is that there was no lighted, magnifying mirror in the bathroom. I had been told beforehand that this was the case (on these boards), and had intended to take my own, but stupidly forgot. Our butler did provide one for us however. I do think this is a small thing which would make a lot of difference in the bathroom, especially as many of us are middle-aged at least and our eyesight is not quite what it was.

 

 

Butler service – beyond criticism. It seemed whenever we needed something, there was Antony ready to provide it (be it a mirror for the bathroom, a spare adaptor plug, dinner in the room, a coffee and croissant from the Executive Lounge, a dining reservation… whatever). Now we are home, I have taken to calling my husband Antony, but I have to say that he isn’t really stepping up to the plate!

 

 

Entertainment – was OK and actually a little better than we had anticipated. We are not really entertainment people, but we did go to a couple of the shows. One we thought was pretty good; the other less so. We played blackjack a couple of times, and enjoyed it. We very much enjoyed listening to the pianist and the string quartet. I wish we had sampled a bit more entertainment-wise, but at least we have left something new for next time.

 

 

Ship generally – loved the décor, ambience, and general feel. I wasn’t crazy about some of the art, but you can’t have everything..

 

 

Staff – were great. We don’t really ‘get’ the need for people to remember our names, or fall over themselves to talk to us. So long as service is efficient and friendly, we neither require nor want any more. We had no complaints whatsoever.

 

 

 

Spa – I thought the Spa was beautiful. This is one area, however, where I did think the staff could have been a little more welcoming. I felt that they seemed a little hurried and stressed which seemed to be at odds with the whole concept of being in a Spa. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the few treatments I had, but would have had more if I had felt more comfortable there. We did enjoy being out on the Spa deck.

 

 

Gym – excellent. Loved the equipment, size and views.

 

 

 

Excursions – we did a few Oceania excursions. All were efficiently run, with friendly, helpful guides. As many people have commented on these boards, the excursions are expensive. We decided to go with the Oceania excursions because we felt safer and more secure in some places doing it this way. Many of the ports on this itinerary, though, were either places we had visited previously, or small islands where we could just wander at will and do our own thing – which, to be honest, we prefer to do in places where we do feel safe.

 

 

All in all, I have to say this cruise surpassed our expectations on just about every front. Although we are new to cruising, we are well travelled and have stayed in some wonderful hotels and resorts. We enjoyed this cruise so much, and are very much looking forward to the next one.

[Floridiana]

A very nice review. Yes, I've read it before.

 

I plan to write a review after my next cruise, not Oceania, but on a Ponant ship. They rarely get reviews on cc and some of them complain about the "Frenchness" of this French line. I'll find out. :)

[Paulchili]

Daisy UK - thank you for the review. I can see why you have booked a couple more cruises on the Riviera and I hope they too will live up to your expectations. Look forward to meeting you on the cruise.

Floridiana - I look forward to your review of the Ponant cruise (especially the "Frenchness " part) as they have a few interesting itineraries that we might be interested in. I love French food but not always the "French attitude" :)

[DaisyUK]

Paulchili - yes, we were very happy with the cruise. In fact even I was a little taken aback by the glowing review when I re-read it yesterday. I'm not known for hyperbole so I really must have had the time of my life! Looking forward to meeting you next month. :)

[Jay23]

Whoever rejected your review must have been having a bad day! Thank you

[LauraS]

I wrote a review of Marina and French polynesia but still have not received word it was posted .Did it get lost ?or does it take that long

 

 

Hello mmemichele:

 

I'd like to look into this please, as I can find no record in our database of your review!

 

After submission of your review, did you receive the automatic email we send thanking you for submitting, and sharing info about when it will be published? If so, would you forward me that email at community@cruisecritic.com. Also if your submission is successful a Thank You webpage is shown to you immmediately afterwards.

[LauraS]

They did give me a reason; they said I had not allocated a sufficient proportion of my review to ports and suggested I re-write the review to include this. To be honest, I was a bit peeved and couldn't be bothered. I thought I had spent quite enough of my time and effort writing about our experience onboard Riviera (which was fabulous) and didn't really feel that I wanted to spend more time on it. Perhaps a bit of an over-reaction on reflection...

 

Hi there!

 

I also looked into this, as we don't usually ask people to write more about ports at all, but do ask for detailed cruise reviews. I wanted to clarify for you that your review was returned for more detail, as your entire review was exactly six sentences. It was returned to you in August 2014. Is that the review you are referring to? I do not see anything else submitted/returned by your email address you used to register. Did you use another?

 

 

Also, just so everyone knows, we return that text back to you, so that if you are so inclined you can easily share that w/ everyone on the forums.

 

Hope this clarifies for you...

 

Laura

Edited February 13, 2015 by LauraS

[LauraS]

This was my review which was rejected by CC. I may have posted it previously actually, but in any case here it is :

 

After all the help and advice I took advantage of on this board, I thought I’d like to post a review of our very recent trip on Riviera (Istanbul to Venice).

 

 

 

Firstly, a little background (we are not experienced cruisers).

This was only our second cruise, the first being last year with Regent (Mariner). Overall, that was a good experience and encouraged us to try cruising again, but we weren’t entirely happy with it. It was ‘fine’, but not ‘great’. The food, accommodation and general ambience is hugely important to us; perhaps more so than the itinerary (which I know might sound a little weird). We had reserved a Penthouse Suite which, although a goodsize, was tired in décor. Food was OK, but uninspiring. What surprised us was the enjoyment to be found in waking up to a new place each morning, deciding where to breakfast, lunch and dine in the evenings, which excursions we might embark on, which entertainment we might try etc, etc.

 

 

Fast forward… And so, we thought we’d try it again. We decided to try a newer ship (I’m an interior design obsessive and that tired décor really got to me), a larger, more attractively equipped room and we hoped for better food.

 

 

This time, the choice lay between Crystal and Oceania.

We decided upon Oceania for 2 reasons: 1) the importance Oceania seemed to be giving to food quality and the variety of restaurants and types of cuisine; 2) the cost for one of the larger suites was (much, much) more competitive on Oceania than Crystal.

 

 

 

Once again, we left booking a little late and our suite of choice was waitlisted. We therefore booked the Penthouse, and were waitlisted for one of the other 3 suites. We did end up in the Penthouse.

 

 

So, here goes :

 

 

Food – we ate in each of the 4 specialty restaurants. Each was memorable. All were way beyond our wildest expectations. We ate in La Reserve on 2 occasions, where we had the Discovery and Connoisseur menus. In our opinion both were somewhere between 1 and 2 star Michelin level.

One evening we ate from Red Ginger in our suite (because it was the only way we could be seated alone for an additional reservation, and also because our butler was incredibly insistent that we should do so). He set the scene beautifully. We went to Martini’s for pre-dinner cocktails and when we came back, the room was made up, soft music was playing, the lights were low and the table was laid for 2 complete with crystal and wine on ice. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Another evening we wanted to try Toscana for a second time and could only get a sharing table. We had the best time with a group of Americans, and I would like to think we have made permanent friends. We also ate in Waves, the Terrace and the Grand Dining Room. We were unable to fault anything. I had read about the surf and turf and the Kobe Burger in Waves and thought that perhaps there was a little exaggeration going on, but absolutely not. I tried each (twice) and on both occasions they were perfectly cooked and served fresh. My only disappointment was that I thought I had read about lamb chop ‘lollipops’ with figs at breakfast, but never did manage to find this on the menu.

 

 

Cookery School – We did 2 classes (originally I booked 4, but cancelled 2 after reading advice on these boards because they clashed with our La Reserve bookings – thank goodness for Cruise Critic!) The classes were great fun. We did Red Ginger, where we both learned a lot and I am looking forward to cooking from the recipes we were given now that we are back home. The other one was Parisian Bistro. I didn’t learn so much in this class, but enjoyed it enormously nevertheless.

 

 

Room – the penthouse suite was a little smaller than that on the Mariner, but was immeasurably more pleasant to be in. No harsh oranges, no chipped wood, no stained carpet. It was immaculately clean. The bathroom was on the small side, but very well planned and equipped with plenty of storage. The balcony was much better, with comfortable chairs with cushions that reclined. The walk-in closet was very adequate (and I do not travel light!!) One slight criticism is that there was no lighted, magnifying mirror in the bathroom. I had been told beforehand that this was the case (on these boards), and had intended to take my own, but stupidly forgot. Our butler did provide one for us however. I do think this is a small thing which would make a lot of difference in the bathroom, especially as many of us are middle-aged at least and our eyesight is not quite what it was.

 

 

Butler service – beyond criticism. It seemed whenever we needed something, there was Antony ready to provide it (be it a mirror for the bathroom, a spare adaptor plug, dinner in the room, a coffee and croissant from the Executive Lounge, a dining reservation… whatever). Now we are home, I have taken to calling my husband Antony, but I have to say that he isn’t really stepping up to the plate!

 

 

Entertainment – was OK and actually a little better than we had anticipated. We are not really entertainment people, but we did go to a couple of the shows. One we thought was pretty good; the other less so. We played blackjack a couple of times, and enjoyed it. We very much enjoyed listening to the pianist and the string quartet. I wish we had sampled a bit more entertainment-wise, but at least we have left something new for next time.

 

 

Ship generally – loved the décor, ambience, and general feel. I wasn’t crazy about some of the art, but you can’t have everything..

 

 

Staff – were great. We don’t really ‘get’ the need for people to remember our names, or fall over themselves to talk to us. So long as service is efficient and friendly, we neither require nor want any more. We had no complaints whatsoever.

 

 

 

Spa – I thought the Spa was beautiful. This is one area, however, where I did think the staff could have been a little more welcoming. I felt that they seemed a little hurried and stressed which seemed to be at odds with the whole concept of being in a Spa. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the few treatments I had, but would have had more if I had felt more comfortable there. We did enjoy being out on the Spa deck.

 

 

Gym – excellent. Loved the equipment, size and views.

 

 

 

Excursions – we did a few Oceania excursions. All were efficiently run, with friendly, helpful guides. As many people have commented on these boards, the excursions are expensive. We decided to go with the Oceania excursions because we felt safer and more secure in some places doing it this way. Many of the ports on this itinerary, though, were either places we had visited previously, or small islands where we could just wander at will and do our own thing – which, to be honest, we prefer to do in places where we do feel safe.

 

 

All in all, I have to say this cruise surpassed our expectations on just about every front. Although we are new to cruising, we are well travelled and have stayed in some wonderful hotels and resorts. We enjoyed this cruise so much, and are very much looking forward to the next one.

 

 

When did you submit this? Did you receive an email from our system acknowledging the submission? I'd like to get to the bottom of this, as the last evidence of a submission returned to you that I see is from August 2014.

 

Thanks,

 

Laura

[Minoushka]

Hello mmemichele:

 

I'd like to look into this please, as I can find no record in our database of your review!

 

After submission of your review, did you receive the automatic email we send thanking you for submitting, and sharing info about when it will be published? If so, would you forward me that email at community@cruisecritic.com. Also if your submission is successful a Thank You webpage is shown to you immmediately afterwards.

 

Yes i did but no word since ..and I did not copy paste it anywhere so Im not sure where it went

[DaisyUK]

Hi Laura, thanks for your response. I don't understand the '6 sentence' comment, as - so far as I can recall - the review above is the only review I have written and which I submitted (except that I did elaborate slightly on the 'Excursions' section in the version in this thread). It most probably would have been in August 2014 as that was when we returned from our cruise. The reason I cannot be sure is that I now have a new laptop and when the email account copied over, it only went back as far as December last year, so I have no way of checking emails prior to that date. I did have a copy of the review (above) as I created it in Word and copied and pasted it into Cruise Critic. I am now wondering whether when doing so originally, I messed up and only sent a portion of it... in which case I could understand you rejecting it. :o

Edited February 13, 2015 by DaisyUK

[Floridiana]

Floridiana - I look forward to your review of the Ponant cruise (especially the "Frenchness " part) as they have a few interesting itineraries that we might be interested in. I love French food but not always the "French attitude" :)

 

We'll see. :D I have French friends, been there often in my youth. Provincial French sometimes have an issue with Parisians as well. ;)