For those considering sailing on a new or different cruise line -- how do you use Cruise Critic?

[cruisemom42]

I have sailed with a variety of lines and I find myself looking at new ones every so often.

 

With the realization that Cruise Critic is only one input/source for information on different lines, how do you or would you use it to research another line and see if you think it would be right for you?

 

Would you actively ask questions on the forums looking for specific comparisons (e.g., things like cabin sizes, food quality, entertainment, etc.)

Would you read reviews of previous cruises by passengers on the ship and line you're considering?

Would you lurk on that line's dedicated forum for a sense of what the passengers may be like?

Or maybe lurk on the roll call for the specific sailing you're considering?

 

Spill the beans -- how do you do your cruise recon on CC?

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

Step one would be to go through cruise reviews.  Once a new line piqued my interest (ship size, itineraries offered, etc.), I think the most helpful input from CC would be getting a sense of the mix of passengers/prospective passengers from roll calls. What they say and how they say it would give a feel for the general demographic.

[Sue Do-Over]

I visit the port of call threads to find (inexpensive) things to do in each port or ways to get the most out of each ports experiences.

 

Rome example:  The cruise port is 60+ minutes from the city of Rome.  On CC, I learned that you can take a train (where to board, how long it takes, how much it costs), book a private tour (which agency, costs, customizing your trip), or rent a car at the port (not easy!), and how to get around in the city (HOHO, cabs/Uber, walking).

 

Cruisers gave advice on getting tickets in advance for Vatican and Coliseum, and how much time to expect to spend in line versus actually visiting the sites. 

 

The Roll Call for our trip helped us find others who wanted to join our van -- who agreed that we weren't shopping or eating a sit-down meal, in favor of cramming in as much time at sites as possible.  In these threads, we made sure everyone had pre-purchased their Coliseum tickets, booked their reservation with RomeInLimo to get in the same van, and were of similar physical abilities, and promised to be on time for each departure.   Because expectations were clear, everyone had a great day with minimal stress.

 

We couldn't have done it without CC as a resource.

[PORT ROYAL]

59 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I have sailed with a variety of lines and I find myself looking at new ones every so often.

 

With the realization that Cruise Critic is only one input/source for information on different lines, how do you or would you use it to research another line and see if you think it would be right for you?

 

Would you actively ask questions on the forums looking for specific comparisons (e.g., things like cabin sizes, food quality, entertainment, etc.)

Would you read reviews of previous cruises by passengers on the ship and line you're considering?

Would you lurk on that line's dedicated forum for a sense of what the passengers may be like?

Or maybe lurk on the roll call for the specific sailing you're considering?

 

Spill the beans -- how do you do your cruise recon on CC?

 

 

By actually taking a cruise to personally judge every aspect, including the guests, then one is the best position to make an informed decision.

It may appear from posts on CC one may, or one may not, be a good fit for a particular Cruise Line, but reality exposes the truth.

 

[clo]

12 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

By actually taking a cruise to personally judge every aspect, including the guests, then one is the best position to make an informed decision.

It may appear from posts on CC one may, or one may not, be a good fit for a particular Cruise Line, but reality exposes the truth.

 

I don't have to cruise Carnival to know it's not the one for me. In addition having cruised with 100, 500 and 1000 pax I know that I have no interest in those really large ships.

[PORT ROYAL]

2 minutes ago, clo said:

I don't have to cruise Carnival to know it's not the one for me. In addition having cruised with 100, 500 and 1000 pax I know that I have no interest in those really large ships.

We found out the hard way with Carnival and P&O.  
Carnival b2b we embarked in San Juan, then happily disembarked days later in Barbados and flew home.  

With P&O after two days, we occupied our balcony and dined in the Speciality Restaurants.

At least we tried them once.

 

 

 

[clo]

1 minute ago, PORT ROYAL said:

At least we tried them once.

 

Rather expensive lesson to learn, both financially and emotionally.

[PORT ROYAL]

1 minute ago, clo said:

Rather expensive lesson to learn, both financially and emotionally.

Not worried by the money and emotionally we were fine having made a corrective decision, but the  embarrassment was greater.  How could one get it so wrong.?

 

 

[clo]

4 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

but the  embarrassment was greater.  How could one get it so wrong.?

That's seriously funny. Thanks.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

I have sailed with a variety of lines and I find myself looking at new ones every so often.

 

With the realization that Cruise Critic is only one input/source for information on different lines, how do you or would you use it to research another line and see if you think it would be right for you?

 

Would you actively ask questions on the forums looking for specific comparisons (e.g., things like cabin sizes, food quality, entertainment, etc.)

Would you read reviews of previous cruises by passengers on the ship and line you're considering?

Would you lurk on that line's dedicated forum for a sense of what the passengers may be like?

Or maybe lurk on the roll call for the specific sailing you're considering?

 

Spill the beans -- how do you do your cruise recon on CC?

 

 

I had not been on a cruise since 1994 and was planning one for 2008.A friend suggested that I join CC to research every cruise line ,reviews and posts. Based on doing so I had a great cruise in 2008.

[cruisemom42]

55 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

By actually taking a cruise to personally judge every aspect, including the guests, then one is the best position to make an informed decision.

It may appear from posts on CC one may, or one may not, be a good fit for a particular Cruise Line, but reality exposes the truth.

 

 

28 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

We found out the hard way with Carnival and P&O.  
Carnival b2b we embarked in San Juan, then happily disembarked days later in Barbados and flew home.  

With P&O after two days, we occupied our balcony and dined in the Speciality Restaurants.

At least we tried them once.

 

 

This is what I like to try to avoid. In general as a solo I am already paying a premium. Time is also at a premium for me since I still work -- so don't want to waste either of these commodities on a not-great vacation if possible.

 

 And since I don't have a travel partner, I am more or less impacted by the environment onboard -- e.g., if I don't find the fellow passengers congenial, I can't fall back on sitting on my balcony with my other half.

 

 

[cbr663]

We read mostly reviews and pay particular attention to the live threads.  We really appreciate it when posters provide as much info as possible about the day to day of a cruise.  We enjoy seeing things like the daily onboard itineraries, menus and entertainment avenues so we can easily see what would be important to us and what we would pass on.

 

We made a mistake several years ago when trying a new cruise line and not checking out the daily activities.  We normally sail with HAL and decided to try X as we read so many times that the two lines were more alike than different.  There were a lot of things that we liked on X, but we found an overall lack of daily activities and that we were bored on the ship.

 

We are now looking to try another line in the future and we will be paying a lot of attention to the daily activities and whether there are interesting options.

[Aquahound]

I have enough cruises under my belt on various lines and I have been around the cruise industry long enough to have a pretty good feel for what each line is.  If and when I finally book something way out of the norm like an expeditionary cruise, I'll need to research a little better which one is the best choice.

 

In all honesty, that research would not include Cruise Critic other than asking particular questions after I've identified the line I plan to book.

[SelectSys]

I haven't done too much searching for lines on cruise critic.   Most of my information comes from more general searching of the internet which includes some streaming of online content.  I have been doing this recently to look for some river cruises.  

 

I have looked here to see what people think of MSC as I am interested in trying them on some of their transatlantic cruises between Europe and South America.  I have seen enough here and other places on line to give it a whirl when things open up more generally.  

 

Of course I am probably the wrong person to ask as I haven't switched around too much.  

Edited April 1, 2021 by SelectSys

[Heidi13]

Having worked in the marine industry, starting on cruise ships for about 7 yrs and then had our son also worked on cruise ships, I have a better than average knowledge and experience of the industry.

 

However, when selecting a new preferred cruise line, we started brain storming our "Statement of Requirements", specifying what were essential and what were nice to have. With industry knowledge, we elimated Carnival, NCL, RCI, P&O/Princess & the multi-language European Lines. We suspected the likes of HAL, Celebrity and Cunard wouldn't make the cut, but included them in the research.

 

We reviewed the above 3 + about 6 premium/luxury lines. Started with their websites and various reviews, from multiple sources. With a shortlist of 2 or 3, we then researched them thoroughly, reading many posts on the individual Boards to get a feel of pax perceptions, compared to the information posted on cruise line websites.

 

Lots of work, but a worth while exercise.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

Having worked in the marine industry, starting on cruise ships for about 7 yrs and then had our son also worked on cruise ships, I have a better than average knowledge and experience of the industry.

 

However, when selecting a new preferred cruise line, we started brain storming our "Statement of Requirements", specifying what were essential and what were nice to have. With industry knowledge, we elimated Carnival, NCL, RCI, P&O/Princess & the multi-language European Lines. We suspected the likes of HAL, Celebrity and Cunard wouldn't make the cut, but included them in the research.

 

We reviewed the above 3 + about 6 premium/luxury lines. Started with their websites and various reviews, from multiple sources. With a shortlist of 2 or 3, we then researched them thoroughly, reading many posts on the individual Boards to get a feel of pax perceptions, compared to the information posted on cruise line websites.

 

Lots of work, but a worth while exercise.

 

Thanks. Like you I am a "research everything" person by nature.

 

One reason I was asking the question is because I've heard many people talk about using the reviews posted by CC members to get info, but for some reason I have never found them very useful -- often either too general, or too oddly specific about things that don't matter to me. (And yet I love reading Amazon product reviews.)

 

And -- despite a lot of people posting that the membership on CC is only X% of passengers onboard a given line -- I feel that I get some idea of what people are attracted to a certain line, and why, by reading the individual cruise forums. (For you, perhaps these were less useful, since Viking has not been around that long, historically speaking?)

 

Just wondering if others had similar feelings or had other "touchpoints"...

 

 

[Mary229]

For me it is ship size and itinerary.  I come to cruise critic’s cruise search and see who possibly sails my desired itinerary.  I don’t necessarily find cruise critic thorough in this regard but it is a start.   Then from that list I go to wiki to review ship capacities and deck-plans.  Once I have narrowed it down I lurk in the forum, reading threads and perhaps asking a few questions as well.   I find the reviews unbalanced - either written by those who are upset or those who are cheerleaders.  I read them for hard facts like photos and dimensions. 

[SelectSys]

 

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

Having worked in the marine industry, starting on cruise ships for about 7 yrs and then had our son also worked on cruise ships, I have a better than average knowledge and experience of the industry.

 

However, when selecting a new preferred cruise line, we started brain storming our "Statement of Requirements", specifying what were essential and what were nice to have. With industry knowledge, we elimated Carnival, NCL, RCI, P&O/Princess & the multi-language European Lines. We suspected the likes of HAL, Celebrity and Cunard wouldn't make the cut, but included them in the research.

 

We reviewed the above 3 + about 6 premium/luxury lines. Started with their websites and various reviews, from multiple sources. With a shortlist of 2 or 3, we then researched them thoroughly, reading many posts on the individual Boards to get a feel of pax perceptions, compared to the information posted on cruise line websites.

 

Lots of work, but a worth while exercise.

I like your process even if my current requirements lead to a different outcome!

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Thanks. Like you I am a "research everything" person by nature.

 

One reason I was asking the question is because I've heard many people talk about using the reviews posted by CC members to get info, but for some reason I have never found them very useful -- often either too general, or too oddly specific about things that don't matter to me. (And yet I love reading Amazon product reviews.)

 

And -- despite a lot of people posting that the membership on CC is only X% of passengers onboard a given line -- I feel that I get some idea of what people are attracted to a certain line, and why, by reading the individual cruise forums. (For you, perhaps these were less useful, since Viking has not been around that long, historically speaking?)

 

Just wondering if others had similar feelings or had other "touchpoints"...

 

 

 

Totally agree, as most of them were fairly vague or the reviews were clouded by something during the cruise that was positive or negative. Those ones I totally discounted. I asked a few questions on CC Boards, but didn't find the responses too helpful. Probably got a better feel for the cruise experience by reading through lots of posts. Again, few individual posts were super helpful, but over many posts I started to get a reasonable feel for life on board.

 

Also agree that by reading through posts, I got a reasonably good idea of the type of passenger that frequents each line I researched. On the Viking Board, I got a really good feeling and that turned out to be correct. Although Viking were still the new kids when I started my research, it did have a benefit that everything was fresh opinion and not clouded by past experiences, similar to my Princess experience.

 

Sorry, forgot to mention in the previous response, but the other resource I used was other travel blogs. You will find lots of them are available.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, SelectSys said:

 

I like your process even if my current requirements lead to a different outcome!

 

That's the beauty of the cruise industry, they have niche markets that meet the needs of most.

 

When we were younger, the outcome would also be different and in the future, if we bring the grandsons, it will definitely be a different outcome, as our preferred cruise line is 18+

[K32682]

I'm primarily itinerary driven with cost being a secondary consideration so the name on the side of the boat doesn't matter. If the boat going to a place I want to see, for the amount of time I want to see it at a price I can afford then what other people think about line is immaterial. I might read online reports from people who've taken the same itinerary to get some idea of what the trip will be like. 

[SelectSys]

14 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

That's the beauty of the cruise industry, they have niche markets that meet the needs of most

I hope COVID and increasing restrictions on cruising generally don't destroy too many niches and restrict cruising to only the relatively wealthy.

 

[shipgeeks]

I've never found reviews (cruises, products, places, restaurants) very helpful.  When I read any, which is rarely, I almost always think "That was a waste of time".

However, I've learned a lot from reading the questions and answers here on CC.  I get a feeling for the types of people who sail a particular line, and the atmosphere aboard, which is important to us.  If I were going to consider a new-to-us line, I'd read a lot of posts, especially including "live from" posts. Sometimes a complaint reveals something that would be a plus for us.

[PORT ROYAL]

14 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

I hope COVID and increasing restrictions on cruising generally don't destroy too many niches and restrict cruising to only the relatively wealthy.

 

Cruising has nothing to do with wealth.  

The customer will book a cruise line of choice, together with the stateroom of choice,  paying accordingly, without complaint.

If there is a price rejection, then there are multiple cruise lines at all price points.

Personally, happy for Cunard, et al, to establish pricing at the levels of 10 years ago, in real terms, as this should reflect in the experience delivery.

There’s a cruise price enabling everyone to sail if they so wish.

 

[SelectSys]

26 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Cruising has nothing to do with wealth.  

The customer will book a cruise line of choice, together with the stateroom of choice,  paying accordingly, without complaint.

If there is a price rejection, then there are multiple cruise lines at all price points.

Personally, happy for Cunard, et al, to establish pricing at the levels of 10 years ago, in real terms, as this should reflect in the experience delivery.

There’s a cruise price enabling everyone to sail if they so wish.

 

I think that you miss understood my post.  COVID has probably caused some lines to shrink and maybe some small ones to fail -> costs are going up.  Mitigation measures for COVID and new sanitation measures aren't free -> costs are going up.  Emerging size restrictions and port limitations will reduce available capacity -> costs are going up.  New environmental restrictions and taxes are coming to meet activist and governmental goals -> costs are going up.  

 

I hope you are right, but I fear that I might be - at least in the short run.  For example, Disneyland used to be an affordable outing in California and now it's priced out of reach for many.  Same is true for attending live sporting events.  Now cities like Venice are contemplating capacity limits and may require a paid ticket to enter in the future.

 

Venice cruise ship ban:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2021/04/01/venice-cruise-ban-city-prohibit-large-cruise-ships-city-center/4834623001/

Tourist entry tax:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2018/12/31/italy-charge-all-venice-visitors-not-just-overnight-travelers/2448950002/

Edited April 2, 2021 by SelectSys