Why Don't People READ about ships before booking???

[coachmouchet]

I just read a pretty bad review of the Volendam.  I understand, we all have faced usually something negative about a cruise we have taken.  Some cruises are perfect, some are not.  A lot of times, I see people make comments about a ship being too small, very little to do, kids club not good, food choices not good, etc.  I think if people would take the time to research what the cruise line and or ship has to offer, it would help them make a better decision if they should purchase that cruise or not.  

I took a Volendam cruise knowing exactly what I should expect.  I knew it was small with fewer activities and usually caters to a more mature crowd.

 

And for the person who bashed the employees of Volendam who do not speak English well, shame on you.

Can that person who bashed them speak two languages fluently?  I did not have any language problems with the employees of the Volendam during my cruise.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I agree. It's annoying that many people come to Cruise Critic to CRITICIZE after the fact. Have you noticed that the member names on reviews are rarely names you've seen posting on the boards? When we post here, the date we joined and how many posts we have show. That information does not show on a review.  I suspect a lot of negative reviews are people who are new to CC and came to complain because it was too late to learn. 

 

[Pickalily, Wilts]

1 hour ago, coachmouchet said:

I just read a pretty bad review of the Volendam.  I understand, we all have faced usually something negative about a cruise we have taken.  Some cruises are perfect, some are not.  A lot of times, I see people make comments about a ship being too small, very little to do, kids club not good, food choices not good, etc.  I think if people would take the time to research what the cruise line and or ship has to offer, it would help them make a better decision if they should purchase that cruise or not.  

I took a Volendam cruise knowing exactly what I should expect.  I knew it was small with fewer activities and usually caters to a more mature crowd.

 

And for the person who bashed the employees of Volendam who do not speak English well, shame on you.

Can that person who bashed them speak two languages fluently?  I did not have any language problems with the employees of the Volendam during my cruise.

 

Edited January 2, 2023 by Pickalily, Wilts
Sorry, posted in error.

[CruiserBruce]

Excellent question!!!

[LMaxwell]

1 hour ago, coachmouchet said:

 

I took a Volendam cruise knowing exactly what I should expect.  I knew it was small with fewer activities and usually caters to a more mature crowd.

 

 

You can read 10,000 words but sometimes need to experience for yourself for a full understanding.  And sometimes people may overlook a lack of features and amenities because of a unique itinerary and THEN discover that those features and amenities played a bigger part in their enjoyment than they first considered. This happens in many facets of life, not just cruises. I think you're being a bit heavy handed in your critique.  

[tjcox9]

It seems to me that a lot of these first time posters "after the fact" most likely hear about CC while they are on the ship from fellow cruisers. And then, they use it to express their complaints after the fact. 

[rodndonna]

I haven't read the review, but the good thing about people posting bad reviews is it gives readers the opportunity to think about what the negatives "might" be (potential pitfalls). In the end, if the reviewer had read reviews, likely the negative ones would have been the ones that would have helped them the most to decide it was a good fit for them.

[Crazy For Cats]

I read all sorts of negative reviews about the Veendam and if I listened to them I would have missed out on four wonderful cruises.  On the Veendam we met some nice people that we cruised with again.  We also had one of our favorite excursions because of the Veendam itinerary.  We never had a bad cruise on her.

[robotpony]

Most of the people we've met who cruise learned about their ships the hard way (by trying different sizes and lines over the years); reading isn't always the obvious choice for some. As a bit of a nerd, I do my research and build my spreadsheets and notes, sometimes to a fault.

 

For what it's worth, we've booked 3/5 of our next cruises on the smaller Zuiderdam and Veendam based on the lovely descriptions and trip logs posted here. We look forward to smaller ports, smaller crowds, and more time spent relaxing in a less chaotic environment. The Pinnacle class ships are beautiful, but when they're busy it can be a bit much. I can't imagine the larger ships on other lines at full capacity! 

[Tampa Girl]

1 hour ago, LMaxwell said:

 

You can read 10,000 words but sometimes need to experience for yourself for a full understanding.  And sometimes people may overlook a lack of features and amenities because of a unique itinerary and THEN discover that those features and amenities played a bigger part in their enjoyment than they first considered. This happens in many facets of life, not just cruises. I think you're being a bit heavy handed in your critique.  

 

Without seeing the original post complaining about, among other things, that the Volendam employees did not "speak English fluently", IMHO, the OP was spot on.

[albingirl]

Asking people to read is like corralling kittens.  Not going to happen.

[Sir PMP]

The Volendam is just fine.

[StLouisCruisers]

32 minutes ago, robotpony said:

Most of the people we've met who cruise learned about their ships the hard way (by trying different sizes and lines over the years); reading isn't always the obvious choice for some. As a bit of a nerd, I do my research and build my spreadsheets and notes, sometimes to a fault.

 

For what it's worth, we've booked 3/5 of our next cruises on the smaller Zuiderdam and Veendam based on the lovely descriptions and trip logs posted here. We look forward to smaller ports, smaller crowds, and more time spent relaxing in a less chaotic environment. The Pinnacle class ships are beautiful, but when they're busy it can be a bit much. I can't imagine the larger ships on other lines at full capacity! 

 

The Veendam is gone.  You must mean Volendam or Zaandam, the two smallest ships.  I like smaller ships, too.

[dawei]

The Volendam is indeed "just fine"! We sailed completely around S. Amer. and down along the Antarctic Peninsula on her just before the pandemic and enjoyed every day.

As for some crew members not speaking English well, I keep in mind the humbling fact that they have a language vocab. much larger than mine--speaking 3 and more languages in many cases. An example: I've been learning a little Indonesian and have learned that crew members from that country speak the national language--Bahasa Indonesia--plus at least one or often more regional languages. 

 

David

[Destiny0315]

34 minutes ago, albingirl said:

Asking people to read is like corralling kittens.  Not going to happen.

I agree but not every story in life can be told in a TikTok!

[robotpony]

17 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

The Veendam is gone.  You must mean Volendam

 

Yes, my mistake!

[Destiny0315]

28 minutes ago, dawei said:

As for some crew members not speaking English well, I keep in mind the humbling fact that they have a language vocab. much larger than mine--speaking 3 and more languages in many cases.

Right! Go back on here in the NCL forum and read about the earliest days on NCL's Pride Of America in Hawaii in 2005 (I was on it's 6th cruise) when the crew was American and spoke English just like most of the passengers yet very often things were lost in translation.

Edited January 2, 2023 by Destiny0315

[ski ww]

3 hours ago, coachmouchet said:

I just read a pretty bad review of the Volendam.  I understand, we all have faced usually something negative about a cruise we have taken.  Some cruises are perfect, some are not.  A lot of times, I see people make comments about a ship being too small, very little to do, kids club not good, food choices not good, etc.  I think if people would take the time to research what the cruise line and or ship has to offer, it would help them make a better decision if they should purchase that cruise or not.  

I took a Volendam cruise knowing exactly what I should expect.  I knew it was small with fewer activities and usually caters to a more mature crowd.

 

And for the person who bashed the employees of Volendam who do not speak English well, shame on you.

Can that person who bashed them speak two languages fluently?  I did not have any language problems with the employees of the Volendam during my cruise.

I completely agree with you. For some people the glass is always half empty.

[StLouisCruisers]

12 minutes ago, ski ww said:

I completely agree with you. For some people the glass is always half empty.

 

No kidding.  I just read that review and it was whine-whine-whine!  What cruise line has she sailed before that had English as their first language crew??  Geez.

[kochleffel]

3 hours ago, tjcox9 said:

It seems to me that a lot of these first time posters "after the fact" most likely hear about CC while they are on the ship from fellow cruisers. And then, they use it to express their complaints after the fact. 

 

That seems likely. Or they search after the fact for places to leave negative comments.

 

I've never gone on a cruise without learning about the ship and cruise line, but I'm the sort of person who prepares, or overprepares, for things.

[Hlitner]

6 hours ago, coachmouchet said:

I just read a pretty bad review of the Volendam.  I understand, we all have faced usually something negative about a cruise we have taken.  Some cruises are perfect, some are not.  A lot of times, I see people make comments about a ship being too small, very little to do, kids club not good, food choices not good, etc.  I think if people would take the time to research what the cruise line and or ship has to offer, it would help them make a better decision if they should purchase that cruise or not.  

I took a Volendam cruise knowing exactly what I should expect.  I knew it was small with fewer activities and usually caters to a more mature crowd.

 

And for the person who bashed the employees of Volendam who do not speak English well, shame on you.

Can that person who bashed them speak two languages fluently?  I did not have any language problems with the employees of the Volendam during my cruise.

I just read that latest review and think you are being a tad too critical.  The reviews first complaint is that their cabins (2) were downgraded with no notice!  In more than 50 years of cruising (16 cruise lines) we have never been "downgraded" and that, alone, would not make me a happy cruiser.

 

They further complained about old and stained carpet which also would not be something I would expect from HAL (we are 5*).   My favorite HAL ship was the Prinsendam (the oldest ship in the fleet) and I do not recall stained carpets on that vessel.  That reviewer also had issues with the food in the Lido (called it the lowest grade food he/she ever had) and the lido hours (something that many of us have complained about for years).  They also complained about service in the MDR which is something we have seen in quite a few recent posts on multiple HAL vessels.  

 

I do agree that the review was "harsh" but no reason to think of it as anything but accurate.  We have long suggested that HAL is not the best line for children, but there are sure plenty of HAL fans who sing their praises of Club HAL.  I can say, with no hesitation, that there is no way we would consider bringing our Grandchildren (5 and 3) on HAL.

 

Hank

[LocoLoco1]

I am OK with whatever people post. I’ve read COUNTLESS reviews of a cruise we’ve returned from, some from guests who seemed to be on another Planet. I’m occasionally quite sure who posted them too. 

[Mike07]

I think people assume all cruise lines are the same, and/or even all ships in the same company are the same. None of that is true, and unfortunately, some need to learn the hard way (actually going on the cruise) to learn the differences versus reading reviews and experiences prior to dropping a couple of grand on a cruise.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

  I can say, with no hesitation, that there is no way we would consider bringing our Grandchildren (5 and 3) on HAL.

 

Hank

You don't want your grandchildren exposed to those educational BBC documentary films? 🤣

[dixiejen]

I’m actually glad that some people complain about various aspects about their cruises. That way, people who DO read and do their research will see the good, the bad and the ugly about every ship, every cruise line.  Sure, some topics, like food, are subjective. I personally have the taste buds of a 12 year old, so I would never attempt to critique gourmet cuisine on this forum. But I DO like to read others’ opinions on dining options/food quality  so I can have an idea of what to expect.  There will always be glass-half-full and glass-half-empty people. I like to read reviews/comments of both, eliminate the extremes and go with the average consensus.  And you can’t do that if no one complains about the negatives they encounter!