Do you believe all the negative reviews?

[Stoffel1982]

Hi there

 

What would you do if you booked a cruise and read negative reviews afterwards? People calling the ship not classy, over the top, etc.

 

I read that some people even cancel the cruise based on opinions of others? That's really sad no?

 

What is your opinion on this matter?

 

 

[njkruzer]

Have never cancelled because of review.  We've sailed RCI for many years and take most  reviews with a grain of salt.  I do try to learn from them if they make a comment that is useful and not just sour grapes. 

[voyager70]

I pay no attention to reviews. Many of the negative reviews stem from one or two bad (often minor) experiences that "ruined" the whole cruise.  I don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[grapau27]

19 minutes ago, Stoffel1982 said:

Hi there

 

What would you do if you booked a cruise and read negative reviews afterwards? People calling the ship not classy, over the top, etc.

 

I read that some people even cancel the cruise based on opinions of others? That's really sad no?

 

What is your opinion on this matter?

 

 

We have been fortunate that we have loved every cruise.

A cruise like any holiday is what you make it.

I never read reviews on individual cruise ships.

[Baron Barracuda]

Those who had a nice cruise just might take the time to write a review.  Those who were unhappy will be sure to tell the whole world.

 

In researching specific ships there will always be cheerleaders and complainers, so just look at the overall grades reflecting averages of hundreds of reviews.  

[katiel53]

I think I would weigh what is being said.  If the review said the pool area was crowded and there were towels out at 7AM and no one sitting in the chairs etc. I wouldn't care as I am not one to sit out by the pool.

 

If the review stated the food in the MDR was not good, it may/may not matter to me as I know food is subjective and I think the food on Royal Caribbean sounds better than it tastes, but that's my opinion.

 

If I read that there were many drunks fighting and being unruly, I'd have to look  at when the reviewer sailed as well as other reviews at a different time of year.  If it were continuing, I'd be inclined to sail another line.

 

If the review stated the cabins  were dirty, bed bugs and things that make me feel there is a major problem, I may take more stock in the review.

 

Not all things in reviews have the same meaning to all passengers.  

[mcatmcat]

I dont cancel because of reviews but I take advises from many reviews no matter if they are negative or positive. I love bad reviews because when you read a good review everything is perfect but when you read a bad review sometimes you read what to do so it dosent happens to you 

[cruiseguy1016]

Complainers will always make more noise than happy people. I you look for bad things , you will find them. If you go looking to have a good time, you will have one.

[DirtyDawg]

1 hour ago, Stoffel1982 said:

Hi there

 

What would you do if you booked a cruise and read negative reviews afterwards? People calling the ship not classy, over the top, etc.

 

I read that some people even cancel the cruise based on opinions of others? That's really sad no?

 

What is your opinion on this matter?

 

 

 

I once almost cancelled a cruise because of what I read here on CC. It wasn't any bad review, it was the tone on the Celebrity board that I started reading after I booked the cruise. If the actual people aboard my Celebrity ship were going to be anything like the judgemental sourpusses on the X CC board the cruise wouldn't be for me.

 

Luckily, the real analog people on the cruise didn't bear any  resemblance to the digital demigod discontents residing on the Celebrity board. 😀

[Tapi]

We sailed on the MSC Meraviglia in the Mediterranean last November. I read review after review about the “horrible experience” and how some people “wouldn’t suggest this cruise to their worst enemy”, etc, etc, Long story short, I didn’t cancel the cruise since we had secured an awesome rate. I’m glad I never even considered it. 

 

It was, without a doubt, one of the best cruises I’ve ever taken in my life (and I’ve been cruising for over 35 years). The Meraviglia was a beautiful, enormous technological marvel with great entertainment, great food, excellent customer service, and the itinerary was fantastic. We booked an Aurea Duplex Suite (equivalent to a Crown Loft Suite on Royal) and it was an amazing stateroom. MSC truly spoiled us. The best part was that it cost 1/4 of what Royal would’ve charged for similar accommodations and itinerary, 

 

At the other end of the spectrum, we sailed on the Carnival Fantasy last month. She had glowing reviews and was rated higher than the MSC Meraviglia. Review after review mentioned how wonderful this ship is and how well kept she is. What we experienced was an aging, 30 year old ship with rust bleeding from every window and vent, and a long list of mounting maintenance problems. We had fun, but it was apparent to me that the reviews about the ship didn’t match what we encountered.. 

 

So to answer your question, I love to read reviews,  not so much to decide if I want to take the cruise, but more as a form of entertainment and to remind myself how different cruising experiences can be, even for the same ship.

 

Edited March 23, 2019 by Tapi

[davekathy]

I read reviews and respect the opinion and experiences of the poster. But we would never book or not book a cruise, or ship based on someones review. 

[barbeyg]

Reviews, as enjoyable as some of them are, don’t really sway my choices one way or the other. I don’t know the person behind the keyboard personally, so have no way to measure their review against my own personal expectations.

 

For example, lots of people love or really dislike the Quantum class. We chose to sail Anthem last year and form our own opinions.  We loved it. We are sailing the same northbound cruise again this year. I don’t expect our positive opinion to sway anyone here. 🙂

 

 

[fredflint]

i read reviews and a lot of other information to help  me decide what ships to consider or not consider for a cruise.  I have read that English speaking people feel left out on Costa,  Holland America just recently banned smoking on balconies etc..

[John&LaLa]

If I'd pay attention to bad reviews I wouldn't have gone to CATS. 😉🐱

[frito58]

5 hours ago, Stoffel1982 said:

Hi there

 

What would you do if you booked a cruise and read negative reviews afterwards? People calling the ship not classy, over the top, etc.

 

I read that some people even cancel the cruise based on opinions of others? That's really sad no?

 

What is your opinion on this matter?

 

 

I believe half of what I read and doubt the other half . Most people on here wont cruise Carnival , its garbage  they are the terrible , whatever . I cruise and look for myself and let me be the judge . 

[leaveitallbehind]

No - reviews have no bearing whatsoever with my decision to book a cruise.  First of all most reflect a personal bias based on an individual experience that may or may not reflect your opinion of that experience.

 

But relative to CC reviews, lets boil this down objectively. There are over 25 million cruise passengers sailing globally on an annual basis.  Of this total, there are about 1 million+ CC members.  So that means that less than 5% of all global cruisers are aware of CC and are part of the data base providing reviews (or 95% that are not). 

 

Of that there are about 30,000 posted reviews, or about 3% of the 5% CC population - a very small minority. So if 30,000 cruisers out of 25,000,000 give a review, that means you would be basing your decision on only .0012% of the total cruising population.  Break that down even further by splitting these by individual cruise lines and ships and the opinions provided on any given ship are far too minuscule relative to all that would cruise on it to even consider. 

 

In other words they have no objective bearing or relevance whatsoever IMO.  The sampling is just to small to consider.

Edited March 23, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[lisiamc]

If I see a lot of reviews mentioning the same things, good or bad, I will pay attention.  If it’s bad, and it’s something that is important to me, I might not book a cruise on that ship or with that line until things change.  

[ldubs]

28 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

No - reviews have no bearing whatsoever with my decision to book a cruise.  First of all most reflect a personal bias based on an individual experience that may or may not reflect your opinion of that experience.

 

But relative to CC reviews, lets boil this down objectively. There are over 25 million cruise passengers sailing globally on an annual basis.  Of this total, there are about 1 million+ CC members.  So that means that less than 5% of all global cruisers are aware of CC and are part of the data base providing reviews (or 95% that are not). 

 

Of that there are about 30,000 posted reviews, or about 3% of the 5% CC population - a very small minority. So if 30,000 cruisers out of 25,000,000 give a review, that means you would be basing your decision on only .0012% of the total cruising population.  Break that down even further by splitting these by individual cruise lines and ships and the opinions provided on any given ship are far too minuscule relative to all that would cruise on it to even consider. 

 

In other words they have no objective bearing or relevance whatsoever IMO.  The sampling is just to small to consider.

 

The larger the population the smaller the sample needed.  Valid statistical conclusions can be drawn from small sample sizes.  Of course, the reviews you are referring to are not random sampling and are heavily biased as already explained in several posts. 

 

I have learned to not rely on negative reviews for just about all the same reasons already given.   

[Gwendy]

If people have a great cruise they generally don’t bother to write a review.  Bad reviews are often prompted by a perceived slight in how the reviewer felt they were treated.  I have never had a bad cruise, over 30 of them.  I have had some “interesting” experiences but you suck it up and move on,  if it’s bad enough speak, not complain or yell to purser’s desk.  These are the people to help you not Cruise Critic no matter how well intentioned.

 

i have had plumbers to the toilet blockage at 3 am, help to move to another cabin when water came through the roof, had to send some food back in dining room.  All an be dealt with, nothing is always perfect, but I’d rather be on a cruise than not.

[AL3XCruise]

53 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

In other words they have no objective bearing or relevance whatsoever IMO.  The sampling is just to small to consider.

 

14 minutes ago, ldubs said:

The larger the population the smaller the sample needed.  Valid statistical conclusions can be drawn from small sample sizes.  Of course, the reviews you are referring to are not random sampling and are heavily biased as already explained in several posts. 

 

As Ldubs said, the sample size isn't the issue.  What matters is how that sample is generated.

 

Furthermore, statistical conclusions are used when the data is numeric, or can be made numeric.  If you are looking at only the X out of 5 part of a review, that has some relevance.  If you actually read through the review, your interpretation of the review is going to be far more relevant than any statistical data.

 

2 minutes ago, Gwendy said:

If people have a great cruise they generally don’t bother to write a review.  Bad reviews are often prompted by a perceived slight in how the reviewer felt they were treated.  

 

Certainly true, which skews the sample when looking at numeric data and results in a lot of negative writing!

 

Personally, I find some reviews very useful but ignore most of them.  The problem I see is that tons of reviews are poorly written.  Whether negative or positive, the writers do not employ sufficient details to determine if their experiences are relevant to me.  "The ship is dirty" can mean lots of different things.  If there is mold on food, that's a major issue to me.  If there is a little rust on the balcony, I can live with that.  Some people will write "they ship is lacking activities".  If that means there is no live music, I'd be concerned.  If it means there is no ropes course and laser tag, well, I don't really care.  If they fail to explain why they are being critical their point doesn't have much value to me. 

 

Things like food quality and service can be very subjective, so I'm always hesitant to put too much faith in positive or negative reviews.  Some people expect Michelin star food, others seem to think everything tastes better when your at sea!

 

I'm also a realist who understands that variations occur, accidents happen, and consistency can be sketchy.  I have had one truly miserable cruise experience, yet I decided to give the line another try and found it far better the second time.  

 

In short there is no one size fits all cruise, but people frequently write reviews as if there is and fail to explain what specifically matters to them and influenced their experience.  Add in the fact angry folks review more than happy ones, and you have a lot of negative sounding but largely useless reviews!

[MicCanberra]

I think it would really depend on what the negativity is about, if they are all complaining about the same thing that is not necessarily cruise related but ship related, then I may take notice. 

[GUT2407]

I never believe a single review, I take them as a bundle.

[babs135]

It depends.  If there was a common negative theme running through the majority of the reviews then maybe I would hesitate before booking.  Word of mouth is another form of review;  we have close friends who have sailed twice on a certain cruiseline and knowing our likes and dislikes have told us we would not enjoy it.  So far we've listened to them.

At the other end of the spectrum a few years ago we were booked on a package deal which included the NCL Breakaway paired with the Queen Mary 2.  We were to be on the Breakaway over New Year and when I went onto the NCL board to ask some questions a lot of people were amazed that people like us (senior citizens) would want to travel from Cunard to NCL and suggested we try and change!!!  Needless to say we didn't, and guess what, we absolutely loved the Breakaway and would sail on her again without any qualms.

Reviews are subjective.  

[GUT2407]

Just now, babs135 said:

It depends.  If there was a common negative theme running through the majority of the reviews then maybe I would hesitate before booking.  Word of mouth is another form of review;  we have close friends who have sailed twice on a certain cruiseline and knowing our likes and dislikes have told us we would not enjoy it.  So far we've listened to them.

At the other end of the spectrum a few years ago we were booked on a package deal which included the NCL Breakaway paired with the Queen Mary 2.  We were to be on the Breakaway over New Year and when I went onto the NCL board to ask some questions a lot of people were amazed that people like us (senior citizens) would want to travel from Cunard to NCL and suggested we try and change!!!  Needless to say we didn't, and guess what, we absolutely loved the Breakaway and would sail on her again without any qualms.

Reviews are subjective.  

You make a good point that there are some people’s opinions that weigh more with me than those of total strangers, because i know the areas where our tastes  intersect.

[MicCanberra]

While cruise friends have said what they felt was good or bad about a particular line or ship, we also take into account the things that haven't been said.