Reviews - what I've learned

[edbro]

i enjoy reading reviews of the ships I'm about to cruise on and those I've been on in the past. What I've learned from this community is that if you write a positive review them all is good. But, if you have anything negative to report then the community pounces on you and implies that you are a crybaby.

 

I value honest reports and surely there is good and bad on every cruise. Personally, I'd never wrote an honest review because I wouldn't want to open myself up to such abuse. I post this here because I only read the Carnival forum and I don't know if it is the same on the other boards. We cheat ourselves out of honest reviews if we pounce on any negative reporting.

[love my grandkids]

If someone writes a review that seems balanced and fair all is good.

 

some start off saying this is the cruise from hell and will never cruise on the cruise line and say nothing positive and to me they have no credence at all.

 

If everything is perfect will tend to discount that as nothing is perfect. I just like to see balanced reporting.

[rtap23]

I would like to add that I have been on several cruises that in fact have been pretty perfect to me. Not only on Carnival but on other lines also.

[jimbo5544]

Cruise reviews are like reviews on the parent (tripadvisor), sonmething can be learned from most everyone but also requrie some filtering. When someone says it was the trip from hell, inedible food and everything was horrific, people question that because....well, they know better. On the other hand, usually the 100% perfrect glowing reports are from newbies that have different standards then experienced cruisers. None of these are bad.;) People have questions and ask them, the OP for the review can defend their position or not, all is good. The "conversation" that exisits in these reviews, I find to be a hidden gem and def part of what makes CC work. Sometimes people take questions or posts in reply to something they have said, way to personal.

 

JMHO

Edited June 15, 2015 by jimbo5544

[Lurkyloo]

I tend to take all reviews with a grain of salt...

 

I have no problem with all positive reviews because quite honestly - when I am on a cruise I tend to not sweat the little stuff. I am there to have a good time and I do! I tend to let the negatives roll off my shoulder and focus on the great time I had. I am one who focuses on the good side of everything, not just cruises, so if I read an all positive review I realize that that person is probably a lot like me.

 

I have no problem with reviews where the person had fun but some things went wrong, because yeah, this is life and very seldom is every little thing going to be perfect. People mention things that I wouldn't mention simply because they wouldn't be the focus of my cruise and honestly, I have probably already forgotten them, but I realize that no cruise is going to be perfection on a plate and if people choose to mention little things that went wrong, that is their right and their style. I don't feel insulted in the least or feel the need to bash them because they dared to say something negative.

 

Oddly enough, I have no problem with reviews where the person didn't like their *insert cruiseline here* cruise for whatever reason because a lot of times you get used to a certain type of cruiseline and if you don't find the exact same thing on another line they just don't seem to be able to adjust and have a good time. I feel sorry for those kinds of people actually because damn - it's a cruise! Relax and have fun! But again, it is their right to have a preference and if they don't like my favorite cruiseline, that's ok by me. That's why there are choices, we are not all the same. No need to bash them because their taste is not just like mine.

 

The only type of review that I don't care for (and will usually just bypass once I realize where they are going with it) are the ones where not one thing went right. Where everything is a negative - the ship, the staff, the ports, the food... really??? Not ONE positive word? Give me a break! When I see this kind of review all I feel is pity for the person who is so negative that they can't find anything good in a cruise... how sad is that? And I can only imagine the kind of "downer" it must be to have to be around a person like that because those are the kinds of people I tend to avoid like the plague.

 

My cousin was on the Carnival Mexican Riviera cruise that got stuck for days out at sea - the one where they ran out of food and were serving cheese sandwiches to the guests. Guess what? She and her hubby STILL managed to have fun and laugh at the experience! It's all in your attitude and if you aren't going to have a good time, why go? :D

 

But bottom line - a review is what it is and people have the right to write what they want about their cruise... but I am going to take it all with a grain of salt and maybe a drink of the day! ;)

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

Reviews are rarely more than someone's subjective view. Non subjective: the pool was out of service due to mechanical reasons, we missed "X" port because of weather related issues, they ran out of lobster on formal night, the comedian was a no-show, they had a minimum of 'X' trivia games a day, the cruise was at full capacity with 1200 passengers between the ages of 6 months thru 17.

 

Subjective reviews: food quality, service quality, weather (I personally love rainy days aboard ship), lines, entertainment, prices, cabins, bedding, shower pressure, water, coffee, embarkation problems, debarkation problems, watered down liquor and the list goes on.

 

Cruise reviews are exactly like restaurant reviews, movie reviews, book reviews, hotel reviews, product reviews etc. etc. etc. 90% of the time these are little pieces of fluff that tend to say a lot more about the reviewer than what is being reviewed.

[BaseballMomof4]

The reviews I have written have been in the "what I liked" "what I didn't like" and "what I would do again" "what I would not do again" type of format and I haven't felt I got flamed for my negative comments.

 

I think if the entire review is nothing but negative and a basic lambasting of the line, then perhaps people look at it a bit differently and feel the need to say "there's no way you did not have one minute of enjoyment on a 7 day cruise" types of things.

[RaiderFaninNM]

I tend to take all reviews with a grain of salt...

 

PERFECT advise!

 

 

There is no one experienced cruiser, you have been on 1 cruise you are experienced, going one 200 does not make some better reviewers...;)

 

Just have fun in here and see what others have to say as this board if ful of lots of tips, and some pretty good advise, so have fun!

[trippingpara]

I've written one review and am in the middle of writing another one. I've always strived to write well balanced and informative reviews. I write it from the point of trying to help others by telling them what we experienced. Yes, it is filled with our opinions (which may vary from yours) and have even discussed some the more spirited topics on this forum and I have yet to be flamed for it. I always try to approach things with an open mind and very aware that others may view it differently than me.

 

Like many others have said here, purely negative reviews are warning signs. Stay away from this person. We've missed ports, had excursions cancelled, been hurt on excursions, etc., but still always had a great time! Was I bummed that we missed a port? Yep, but you better believe we made the best of the newly found Sea Day! I just don't get negative people that can't find the good in anything!

[marshhawk]

My mama always said, where ever you go, there you are. IT took me a while to figure out what she meant, but basically, no matter where you are, you are still you. If you cant find a glimpse of beauty , you are seeing through your eyes, food isn't good, your stomach, people aren't friendly, your attitude...you make your time the way it is, yes bad stuff does happen, but when you cant control that, then adjust your sails, and go with the wind.

 

Now what gets my goat, is reading a review, and you can tell the person never was on the ship to begin with. Or they posted a review, and it was on another line, but because they were so anxious to complain, they didn't realize that there was more than one ship with that particular name. so them, I do take with a grain of salt.

 

I have been in customer service for 40 years, when someone is unhappy, you hear from them, when they are happy, they move on, and rarely comment. So reading a great review, makes me happy-I too do my reviews, this is what I did, saw, wanted to do, heard about, do it again, etc, I actually have a form I created to do my reviews. It helps when I get back and put things in prospective.

[NCTribeFan]

I quit reading the reviews on the main review board and even stopped posting my summaries over there.

 

I write pretty comprehensive reviews on every sailing (since I found Cruise Critic in 2007) and post them here (I must try to finish my Conquest review but, hey, I haven't even finished unpacking and we got back a week ago!). I do it partly just to memorialize it for my own benefit, but it's mostly just to share my thoughts with people here.

 

I go most in depth about the excursions and ports (since that's my main interest in cruising). I no longer take a bunch of food or ship photos since anyone can just Google and find a gazillion on the web.

 

I try to be objective but realize that it's all just my perception. A review is one person's viewpoint of one sailing. Every single person on that ship has a different experience and what is important to one person isn't to the next. What one person experiences can be vastly different from their next-door-neighbor's depending on all the various choices they make during the cruise, their expectations, and the other people they encounter.

 

The only time I've received really negative comments is when I dared to criticize a CD. I detest her. And because I made a comment about her appearance, I was attacked for being "so mean." Whatever. It's my opinion. If anyone doesn't like it, they don't have to read my comments!

 

Writing a thorough review is very time-consuming and I hope there are people who appreciate the effort they take, even if they don't see things from my viewpoint.

 

The whole point in being here is to share information. First-hand info is useful to many of us.

[itsuits]

I would like to add that I have been on several cruises that in fact have been pretty perfect to me. Not only on Carnival but on other lines also.

 

But no matter how slice it, most bad days cruising are better than a good day at work. :)

[summersigh]

The year we went to Europe to spend 3 weeks land touring by ourselves via trains then sailing home on the QM2 I used the popular site which "advises on trips" :D to check out hotels.

 

What I found was that if I ignored the 2 worst reviews and the 2 most totally glowing ...then read the ones in between that were fairly recent... I got a good, clear picture of what to expect from each hotel in question. My decisions on hotels we chose/stayed in turned out to be spot on based on the reviews I did read.

 

It works for me :D

[rtap23]

The year we went to Europe to spend 3 weeks land touring by ourselves via trains then sailing home on the QM2 I used the popular site which "advises on trips" :D to check out hotels.

 

What I found was that if I ignored the 2 worst reviews and the 2 most totally glowing ...then read the ones in between that were fairly recent... I got a good, clear picture of what to expect from each hotel in question. My decisions on hotels we chose/stayed in turned out to be spot on based on the reviews I did read.

 

It works for me :D

 

Not a bad idea

[Bert64]

I get more out of the "negative" reviews, because the positive stuff I expect to hear and read about. It helps me to know the issues other people have to see if it would really bother me, that way I can avoid having the same problems, or just go with the flow if/when it does happen.

 

I do feel bad though for those people that post it on here. Posters here can be incredibly critical of things other cruisers experience negatively.

[luvabargain]

I'll be writing a review of the cruise I just took. I haven't written one here yet, and it will be the diary kind, but I think I'm going to give an overall opinion of some things at the end.

 

I loved the cruise and had an awesome time, and most will be positive, but there's some not so great stuff that I'll include as well.

 

I'm a big girl and if people don't like it, tough - they don't have to read it. I don't respond to mean comments.

[meatloafsfan]

Try posting on any other cruise board (celebrity, royal, etc.) a negative review and you'll get the same reaction from certain cheerleaders. On our last Celebrity cruise our third bed was a chair where the centre folded out and the mattress was no more than 10 inches from the ground. When I posted that I won't sail again on an S class ship due to this issue, some posted that I was in the wrong for booking 3 people a cabin that Celebrity lists as for 3 people :confused:

 

Lots of people are fiercely loyal to their brand of choice. I think on the Carnival board, there is also the added factor of those who don't/no longer sail Carnival and come here just to bash (just read a thread where in someone's signature it says they sail ABC - Anything But Carnival; and yet, here they are posting away on the Carnival boards). Sometimes I think that some who like Carnival end up defending against unwarranted attacks and so when they see someone post "it was the cruise from hell", they assume that it's just another basher.

 

I think there are lots of balanced reviews written here - mostly positive, highlighting things that could be done better / didn't like, and one or two things were down right bad for them.

[SurferJoe57]

I'm just happy to get the advice from someone who's got the experience.("Experience being the teacher that gives the test before the lesson.") As in: "At XYZ Port, you can take a taxi for $10 and rent a beach chair for $15 at ABC Hotel," or "On this ship, if you have AnyWho Dining Time, you can get a pager from the Hostess and drop around the corner to the Bar on Deck 3 to wait for your table," or "Buy your bottled water in advance and save XXX%."

Food is subjective; my vegetarian daughter was horrified by Guy's but loved the bean burritos at Blue Iguana. Good to know there were options; good to know that Cabin 1234's balcony appears to be, but isn't actually obstructed by lifeboats as it's inbetween two lifeboats... It's these little things that get out of postings here that are so helpful.

[BenjiRodney]

i enjoy reading reviews of the ships I'm about to cruise on and those I've been on in the past. What I've learned from this community is that if you write a positive review them all is good. But, if you have anything negative to report then the community pounces on you and implies that you are a crybaby.

 

I value honest reports and surely there is good and bad on every cruise. Personally, I'd never wrote an honest review because I wouldn't want to open myself up to such abuse. I post this here because I only read the Carnival forum and I don't know if it is the same on the other boards. We cheat ourselves out of honest reviews if we pounce on any negative reporting.

 

The RCCL board did not like the less than glowing things I had to say about the Grandeur of the Seas.

[day-day]

Reviews are rarely more than someone's subjective view. Non subjective: the pool was out of service due to mechanical reasons, we missed "X" port because of weather related issues, they ran out of lobster on formal night, the comedian was a no-show, they had a minimum of 'X' trivia games a day, the cruise was at full capacity with 1200 passengers between the ages of 6 months thru 17.

 

Subjective reviews: food quality, service quality, weather (I personally love rainy days aboard ship), lines, entertainment, prices, cabins, bedding, shower pressure, water, coffee, embarkation problems, debarkation problems, watered down liquor and the list goes on.

 

Cruise reviews are exactly like restaurant reviews, movie reviews, book reviews, hotel reviews, product reviews etc. etc. etc. 90% of the time these are little pieces of fluff that tend to say a lot more about the reviewer than what is being reviewed.

 

90% seems way high to me. This would mean I am completely wasting my time when I read these types of reviews.

[DavyJoneses]

If someone writes a review that seems balanced and fair all is good.

 

some start off saying this is the cruise from hell and will never cruise on the cruise line and say nothing positive and to me they have no credence at all.

 

If everything is perfect will tend to discount that as nothing is perfect. I just like to see balanced reporting.

 

Well said. I also tend to discount a very negative review when it is the first post someone makes on CC.

[crucero]

I've written one review and am in the middle of writing another one. I've always strived to write well balanced and informative reviews. I write it from the point of trying to help others by telling them what we experienced. Yes, it is filled with our opinions (which may vary from yours) and have even discussed some the more spirited topics on this forum and I have yet to be flamed for it. I always try to approach things with an open mind and very aware that others may view it differently than me.

 

Like many others have said here, purely negative reviews are warning signs. Stay away from this person. We've missed ports, had excursions cancelled, been hurt on excursions, etc., but still always had a great time! Was I bummed that we missed a port? Yep, but you better believe we made the best of the newly found Sea Day! I just don't get negative people that can't find the good in anything!

 

I'm reading your review and loving it! I even went back and read your previous review because it goes to some of the same ports.

 

We are sailing in January and I like to look through reviews to get ideas.

 

I tend to not pay attention to the food comments because I am not very picky and know I will be happy with what they have. I also like the specific cabin things that I have seen. I had considered booking an aft balcony, but my husband has a weak stomach, and decided on mid-ship instead. Just little things from all the different reviews help so much. And it all goes so much better with a little humor. :cool:

[OCruisers]

Reviews by most are enjoyable even if I don't agree with what they're saying. After all, it's their review and not mine. ;)

 

LuLu

[IwannaGo Now]

I don't normally read the "5 star", the "1 Star", or no rating reviews, as they're usually biased. Everybody has different opinions, and some may even see and recall their cruise through the fog of being a bit tipsy, for most of the cruise....and having a total party experience.....and that's okay....that's their right, and I respect that.

I have cruised many times, on many lines, mostly to relax, and be entertained. Some have exceeded my expectations, others have disappointed me.

I feel first time cruisers are awed by the newness of the first cruise experience...and it is great....first time usually is, I remember my "firsts", many years ago were great.

I want to hear the "good, the bad, and the ugly"....so I can compare.

The cruise product has lessened over the years, as the price point has stayed relatively the same......something had to change, and it appears to be the product. Unpleasant "surprises" will put a damper on things....just as "pleasant" ones will affect the review.

For me, there is nothing like sitting on the balcony in the morning with a pot of room service delivered coffee, and watching the ocean go by....to me that makes it all worthwhile......but when I write a review, I still report all of what I experienced.

[sandij]

My husband and I always say that we've been on great cruises and good cruises but never on a bad cruise. A cruise is what you make of it, attitude goes a long way to determining what kind of cruise you have.