Opposite reviews for same cruise - WHY?

[tutak]

I call it my 2% rule. Two percent of all people are jerks. If you have 3000 passenger onboard, 60 of them will be jerks. If you have a crew of 1000, 20 of them will be jerks.

 

Sixty people will have a terrible cruise no matter what happens. Some of the "normal" people "will never sail on this cruiseline again" if they have a waiter that is 1 of the 20 jerks from the crew.

[jima53]

All employees arent' the cream of the crop. We got great servers one cruise, next cruise we got ms sarcastic,,,,probably while we got the sarcastic ms someone else got the greatest in the world. Some people go on cruises without thinking about what the smaller ship will be like, compared to their previous cruise on a huge ship.

 

Jim

[leenie29]

I agree with the whole attitude and expectations thing. I'd also add perspective and being appreciative. A please and thank you goes a long way as does a sincere compliment.

 

My attitude on any vacation is if I'm not home doing my usual boring routine (cooking, cleaning, chauffering, laundry, etc.) with/for my family then all is great for me. Add a beautiful ship and beautiful scenery all the better. Even if somebody else calls it the worst vacation ever, I just don't see the point in being that miserable over some very minor things that seem to ruin people's entire vacations. Going on a cruise gives me another opportunity to teach/re-enforce my children table manners, tolerance, learn about different cultures (on the NCL Dawn my 11 year old son starting talking with our cabin stewart who missed his family in Romania. He taught my 11 year old son many things about Romania it was invaluable. My 11 year old at the end of the trip gave him some Yugi Oh cards to take back to his son who was around the same age.) understanding, patience, respect and gratitude towards the people around them passengers and crew alike. Sure bumps will come up and things will not go according to plan but you could always be home doing the mundaine and things could always be worse.

 

And face it some people are never happy and never satisfied no matter where they are.

 

Eileen

[bdjam]

I'd also add perspective and being appreciative. A please and thank you goes a long way as does a sincere compliment.

Yes indeedy…I realize just as much as anyone else that many of the crew members are on board to provide service, but that is no reason for some to treat them like lowly servants. And that’s what sometimes happens and those tend to be the people who short on tips or complain. As you say, please, thank you, how’s your day and a smile makes a lot of crew members at ease – relating as a person to a person instead of someone who is supposed to bow to the master. And my little secret is to roll my eyes in the direction of a crew member if I see them be mistreated by a passenger.

Sounds like your son had a good experience with your room steward. I think one of the most facinating things about a cruise vacation is the chance to meet people from other places and learn about other cultures - and you almost have to in the closed confines of a cruise ship. Glad he turned his interaction into a positive one.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Attitude and expectations are a big part of it. But just because I have never experienced a particular situation or problem on a cruise doesn't mean it could never happen. Two cases in point...on our 19th cruise (Serenade of the Seas), we had a cabin with so much residual smoke odor that we had to request a move. This had never happened to us before, and I would have been tempted to say that cruise cabins were always so well ventilated that it would not even be a possibility, but...there it was. And on our 17th cruise (Grand Princess), my husband was cursed at by a ship's photographer when he declined to have his photo taken while leaving the ship for the day in Cozumel. We were so shocked that we weren't sure we had heard him right at first, but there were other witnesses (including a ship's security person) to the event. Obviously we reported him, it didn't ruin our day or our cruise. But to say that it could NEVER happen...well, it did, and we're still cruising on Princess.

[chasetf]

And, sometimes the people are the in the same party..... Went on a family reunion....aboard the Sea Princess.

I loved it, and Princess. Even though I had this horrible (inside) cabin that was right near where they drop anchor and some service stairwell. My Aunt who had the opposite inside cabin...hated everything, will never sail on Princess ever again.

 

This time that Aunt handled the cruise booking, she went with Holland America.....but dining room experience was horrible. She booked the (December) cruise in January...and requested that we get one table during first seating. We ended up at four different ables in the second seating...the cruise may as well have ended then, because there was nothing they were going to do to make it good. So, now she will never sail on Holland America ever again.

 

OTOH, I enjoyed my time....so much so that if it weren't for the fact that I was effectively laid off the day before the cruise (I only went into work on the 23rd, to clear out my cubicle).....I'd be looking to book myself on the same ship when it does its Pacific Coastal run (to Alaska) later this year. I just hope that my situation changes, so that I can still book that cruise.... The Dreamer.

Hope it does change for you.... In my case the change would be to not sail with that Aunt again....:D

[chasetf]

I call it my 2% rule. Two percent of all people are jerks. If you have 3000 passenger onboard, 60 of them will be jerks. If you have a crew of 1000, 20 of them will be jerks.

 

Sixty people will have a terrible cruise no matter what happens. Some of the "normal" people "will never sail on this cruiseline again" if they have a waiter that is 1 of the 20 jerks from the crew.

Here's hoping the 20 are serving the 60....they deserve each other....:D :D :D

[pamwinn]

We cruise for the ride. We know what cruise food is and it is fine with us. We could care less about the shows, the casino's or other onboard activities...just keep the ship moving. We are very easy going and our wants and needs are pretty simple, so good/bad service is pretty much a non-issue with us. Somehow there are crewmembers on each cruise we've been on that make us feel like we've been singled out as the passengers to be exceptionally wonderful to and that works for me. Maybe they think we are celebrities or something.:p

 

That said, we were on the Grand a couple of years back with many fellow CC'rs. One couple had a cabin with no air-conditioning. Princess could not repair it or give them another cabin so they gave them fans. The fans did nothing but move hot air. Had this been my cabin, I think that would come pretty close to ruining the cruise for me. I cannot tolerate heat from which there is no escape. I become extremely uncomfortable and I can't sleep if I am hot. However, this did not have much effect on their enjoyment at all.:D

[Jimjam]

Again, I agree completely with all those that have responded to this post. After 19 cruises on 7 different cruise lines I have never had a "perfect" cruise but enjoyed every one of them totally and never would even consider complaining about some minor inconvience along the way.. In any event, all the responses were very interesting..Thanks much and Happy New Year and Happy Cruising.....

[dan40]

I've read horrible reviews about cruises I've been on, and thought,"You didn't take my cruise and I didn't take your cruise, even if its the same sailing".

 

My attitude latitude is at a hi altitude....

 

Dan

[MaryPoppinz]

A lot of people think The World's Funniest Hypnotist is funny; I thought he was boring. A lot of people think Cafe Caribe's Caribbean night fare is nasty; I liked it. A lot of people are natural scuba divers; Get me outta there. Same comic, same food, same activity. Who's right?

 

There are probably a few folks who are genuinely surly and hard to please. The rest of these divergent reviews really probably comes down to different strokes for different folks.

 

One other factor worth mentioning: If the weather is bad on a cruise, I think it makes it hard for a lot of people to get past things which they might otherwise overlook. It's disappointing to have bad weather on a cruise, and you have to work harder to have a good attitude about the trip.

[WHYTSHLDRZ]

As long as I have the breeze in my face and can see nothing but the sea for miles and miles~this day is better than any day at work, no matter how bad the food is, how rude the people are, how many flecks of paint are off the window sill, etc. Traveling always seems to bring with it an amount of stress~will plans work out, will it be as good as we think and expect, will things run on time, etc. Traveling is kind of like planning a wedding and the wedding day. No matter how detailed the plan is, nothing is going to be perfect. So expect some bumps in the road, and just try to keep on track the best you can. If it gets to you, pause, go immediately to the Calypso bar, and have a drink. Remember, to breath and RELAX:D :D

 

I think the key is to be realistic. Try to keep your sense of humor and let things roll off your back. Don't sweat the small stuff. And if it is something big, go to the Supervisor, and all the way up the chain of command~but always be respectful and give the facts/try to stay away from incorporating too much emotion.

 

I read this somewhere, and it has always helped me in a bad situation. "Sometimes it is just the way you look at things. If you see something you don't like, try to change it. If you can't change it, try to look at it differently." :o