Are We Just A Little Too Picky And Why?

[MTJSR]

As I read most reviews and comments, the common theme is that someone's expectations were not completly met. When I remember my frist cruise I paid over 2,500.00 and my last cruise 1,200.00. As the prices drop it would seem along the way things change as well. Most of you will agree, there is no better vacation when you break it down, but the cruiseing community will always have the highest expectations anywhere. Also, as we all compare how we were treated by the cruiseline staff perhaps we should also take a look at how we treated them. I find the service I get is closly related to the behavior I exhibit. Guess that goes for just about anything. Maybe an appropriate topic would be, "How I treated my fellow passengers and crew" and before I get told to shut up by some elderly lady in Utah, I don't work for Princess.;)

 

 

GRAND PRINCESS TRIP PICTURES CAN BE VIEWED AT: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/nflraiders2000/album/576460762335453742#page1

[sandikai]

Nice pictures MTJSR. Reminds me of our 1st cruise on the Grand and visiting Costa Maya

[coiran]

Good comments - the price of cruising has been in reversal of the CPI, and perhaps it has brought a newer group of folks onto the scene expecting the cruise experience to be like the "good old days" that they read`about when pax were waited on hand and foot. Unfortunately the price paid cannot allow this kind of attention. However the cruise experience is still a great way to take a vacation. It is still better (IMHO) than any other form of vacation.

Ron

[Kruznut]

I agree with you. I may get flamed for saying this, but I think we are way too critical of the most trivial things. I think sometimes we don't really know how or what to critique and consequently we end up complaining about

anything and everything. Just my humble $0.02 worth.

[linanbob]

I agree with you. Lot of reasons, I think: 1) there's more of a "me, me, me" attitude in society generally (manifested in lot of places aside from vacations); 2) as cruise companies are put under ever increasing pressure to make money corners do get cut; 3) the money factor makes the economies of scale more important (hence the monster >3000 pax ships where the individualized service can't help but suffer); 4) difficulty in getting good help, that lower fare means downward pressure on pay.

 

Relax, don't expect perfection, and give the cruise staff the opportunity to correct a problem. They can't fix what they don't know is broken.

[eagletwo]

Our family went on our first cruise last July and expected everything to be "perfect". Well, it was better. The Diamond was great, the food was great, the service was great and Alaska was great!

 

We watched these boards for months and really learned a great deal about what to expect. For the price we paid per person, per day, you just can't get a better deal. Just try staying at a high end hotel for a week, eat in the dinning room twice a day, have a drink at the bar and shop in the hotel store. You have just paid over $500+ per day and the hotel did not move to a new port every other day.

 

I was in Palm Springs, CA two weeks ago at a nice resort and paid $350 per night, not including meals. Stop expecting a cruise ship to provide 5 star meals when they are serving 2800 people each meal. Do your research, spend big $$$ and cruise the high end lines or quit complaining.:rolleyes:

[spongerob]

On a slightly different tack, I'm willing to pay a little more to get a little more. Princess could easily improve some services without adding a lot of cost, that would make cruising just a little more enjoyable. I know I could try to find another line that offers things I might appreciate (HAL) but why take a chance when I also know these things have been provided by Princess. The usual pattern for customers is to buy up - how many of us are content with cheaper and cheaper cars for example?

[cruisingpeople]

HEAR, HEAR.... 100 percent agreement. I always treat my fellow passengers, crew & staff with respect and have always recieved the same in return. Things can & will go wrong. That's a way of life, but some people will go out of their way to make a federal case out of it, want compensation and then wonder why they are being treated "so poorly" or why the staff was so "RUDE" to them.

 

I feel that with cruising, you still get your "biggest bang for your buck" IMHO

 

I don't work for Princess either......This happens on all lines.

[TCF]

For the most part I have to agree with virtually everything that has been said so far.

Public expectations are too high...but that is mostly the fault of the cruise lines marketing strategies. However, there is no doubt that many people have a preconcieved notion of the romantic cruise ships of years ago. Frankly, if that kind of cruising still existed I for one would never be able to afford it...at least not at the level I do today!

Why some people look to complain about every little thing? I don't know. Maybe those folks are just so miserable in their lives that nothing will make them feel better about themselves...so they take it out on the crew, servers, other passengers, the food, the liquor, the bingo, the shore excursions...etc....etc...etc! It is quite sad when you think about it.:(

But it stops being sad when they try to spread the misery around to the rest of us!:mad:

Then there are those who are not satisfied if they cannot get every deal, kickback, freebie they have ever heard of anyone else getting. Get a tough lobster, give me a free cruise!:eek:

The people who have fun are the people who get on a ship with the sole and directed purpose of having fun! Of making the best of every opportunity onboard. And when things don't go quite right...do their level best to overcome it an move on with having fun! Those are the people we seek out to cruise with! To hell, with the rest!

Now that I have said nice things about cruising I expect a free Princess cruise on the ship of my choice in a suite!:D

Tom:)

[cruiserjanet]

I'd rather go on a cruise vacation than any other type of vacation. For DH and I to go to Hawaii and all four islands on our own would have cost so much more. And yes, I do have to say that there is one particular couple from our cruise a year ago that stands out. It was one of those rare occasions that embarkation was an absolute nightmare for people coming from LAX. There's a lot more to the story. We met this particular couple a week later in the dining room for breakfast. While they seemed very nice, the embarkation fiasco was all they could talk about. DH tried to change the conversation by asking them "have you had a nice cruise so far?" They said they did. They went back to the fiasco. DH tried again to change the subject and went on to ask them if that was the only problem they had. They said they did. Now, call me picky or other things, but I tend to think that, granted they had a bad experience but it was a week ago. Time to get over it and move on and enjoy the cruise? We tend to think so. Needless to say, our breakfast wasn't very enjoyable but it was memorable. :rolleyes:

[japester]

I don't like all the complaints, but I can understand where they are coming from. Cruising has dropped (both in price and in poshness) from where it was 10-20 years ago. So I think you have experienced cruisers who are unhappy with the drop in quality (forgetting that they are also benefitting from a drop in price!) and new cruisers who don't know what cruises used to cost and think today's prices will get them the kind of luxury they see in old movies.

 

Personally, I don't think I've ever had a serious complaint about a ship or crewmember that killed my cruise. Sure, breakfast on one ship may have been tasteless, and one member a cruise director's staff was in the wrong career, but those were hiccups. The only major problems I've had---come from my fellow pax! And that isn't unique to cruising. It's that "me" mentality of selfish/inconsiderate people that is so popular these days. It gets magnified when you stuff a few thousand of them in a tin can for a week. :D

 

Jape

[willysgrandma]

Many of us who review ships here are here to tell the good AND bad we find when cruising on a ship. Who ever goes anywhere that the experience is perfect? And who wants to read a review where everything is perfect - don't you want the good and bad so that you can try and avoid whatever the "bad" issues were on a cruise?

 

Any respectable review will point out good and bad. I think people read too much into a review that if something isn't perfect it ruins the entire vacation, which is far from the truth.

 

I did a review of the Crown and pointed out the good and bad. I loved my cruise, but an honest review portrays what was great and what can lead to improvement.

 

It is all in how someone can allow anything less than perfect to affect their vacation - either you can have a great time or allow it to ruin your vacation. I think it is more of how a person's general attitude in life is - if you are a glass half full person, you go with the flow.

 

If you are a glass half empty person - you'll let the bad ruin your vacation.

 

I have been through MANY health issues in the last 11 years and I look at every day as a gift and refuse to allow some imperfections on a cruise (or land vacation) spoil a vacation. When I am a perfect person myself that never makes mistakes - well, that is when I can point fingers at others. And that isn't ever going to be the case with me, LOL.

[stephenandrew]

Many of us who review ships here are here to tell the good AND bad we find when cruising on a ship. Who ever goes anywhere that the experience is perfect? And who wants to read a review where everything is perfect - don't you want the good and bad so that you can try and avoid whatever the "bad" issues were on a cruise?

 

Any respectable review will point out good and bad. I think people read too much into a review that if something isn't perfect it ruins the entire vacation, which is far from the truth.

 

I did a review of the Crown and pointed out the good and bad. I loved my cruise, but an honest review portrays what was great and what can lead to improvement.

 

It is all in how someone can allow anything less than perfect to affect their vacation - either you can have a great time or allow it to ruin your vacation. I think it is more of how a person's general attitude in life is - if you are a glass half full person, you go with the flow.

 

If you are a glass half empty person - you'll let the bad ruin your vacation.

 

I have been through MANY health issues in the last 11 years and I look at every day as a gift and refuse to allow some imperfections on a cruise (or land vacation) spoil a vacation. When I am a perfect person myself that never makes mistakes - well, that is when I can point fingers at others. And that isn't ever going to be the case with me, LOL.

 

 

 

I think this is a great post---personally, I always find it interesting to hear what people did not like about their cruise, and I think most reviews here do tend to point out things that were not to someone's liking. Knowing what people didn't like makes me a more prepared and infomred traveller. I know I have adjusted my cruise plans based on criticsms posted here. I have alos adjusted my vacation plans based on positive feedback (what people liked), so I hope we will continue to hear both sides of the story.

[on board]

Honestly, when we have cruised we do what we want to do and when we hear complaining we listen respectfully and go about our own business. There were little things that we could have complained about but my thought was, we are on vacation and why waste just a minute getting upset about something simple. Now if my AC did not work, or my toilet would overflow I know I would say something. But, again, how the cruiseline reacts to your complaint depends on how you present your problem! :p

[Kruuzin]

I do agree that we are in an "all about me" world. People don't like to wait for anything. But it is all what you make of it.

 

Last year, we were suppose to go on the Star Princess, it was scheduled for 3 weeks after the fire. We didn't find out until the last minute that she wasn't going to sail. We had to make other arrangements. The only ship that could take the 3 of us was a Carnival ship. I didn't expect much. I was so looking forward to cruising with our friends on Princess.

 

Well me found some very nice people on board and some not so nice. We even found that to be the case with the workers. We made the best of our vacation and in the end, we had fun. It's all what you make of it. Cruising is still a good value for the money. You can eat to your hearts content. You can do everything that the ship has to offer or just sit and veg for a week. Enjoy-is my motto.:)

[cynbar]

I absolutely agree that we all should be open to fair reviews that list the positives and negatives of a cruise, AND give more specifics than just "the food was lousy." But the reviews that I find harder to take are the ones that go on and on about what's missing on Princess that they just loved on Carinival or RCCI or whatever --- you know, no towel animals or singing waiters or daily parade, that sort of thing. They find these boards pretty quickly when they're ready to post their review, but don't seem to have read and done their homework, which could have at least warned them in advance. Just a pet peeve of mine, I guess....

[Giorgi-one]

I have not seen many posts on these boards where people are looking for perfection. Broken elevators, broken toilets which are not fixed for days, sewage smell in cabins, 5 hour embarkation/debarkation, etc are not asking for perfection. It is very easy to criticize people as complainers until it happens to you.

 

I have been cruising for 10 years and have noticed a substantial decrease in the quality of food on cruise lines. Not looking for 5* food, although most cruise lines promise "gourment dining" or "elegant dining". Many people here have the attitude that "as long as there is plenty of it and I don't have to to cook it", it's just fine. And as long as people feel that way, quality will continue to decline. Do you really want a "cheap cruise vacation" where the food is like the $6.95 buffet at the local strip mall? Then just wait a few years!

[MTJSR]

I would gladly sail with everyone in this thread anyday. Perhaps the complainers are not as large a group as it might of seemed. I had another thought and that was that maybe after spending a year dreaming and anticipation of your cruise, you've worked up such fantasy trip in your head that no cruise could ever meet it. just a thought.

[jhannah]

The people who have fun are the people who get on a ship with the sole and directed purpose of having fun! Of making the best of every opportunity onboard. And when things don't go quite right...do their level best to overcome it an move on with having fun!

Right on, Tom!

 

I agree that sometimes our expectations are simply unreasonable. We look for a Seabourn experience at a tramp steamer price. Ain't gonna' happen. When my idea of perfection isn't met, I must do as Tom suggests and roll with the flow and get over it (and get over myself!)

[matt32703]

A pet peeve of mine is reading reviews that gripe about embarkation.

 

I read one where the reviewer griped about arriving at 11:45am and not getting on the ship until 1 pm. The cruise line is dealing with getting 2500+ people off of the ship between 8am and 11 am .. then truning around and trying to get 2500+ people back on between 11:30am and 4 pm. If there are 2500 passengers and you have 4 1/2 hours to board them ... that is 9.26 people a minute they have to process to get aboard. If there are 500+ people in line with you ... it is going to take about an hour.

 

I think they do a great job getting that many people moved in such a limited amount of time.

[huskerdan25]

I find it interesting to read reviews for a cruise and to see of the 7 people that posted a review, 6 have it rated outstanding and then there is the one that makes it sound like it was the worst travel experience known to man. :) It does all depend on our expectations and our perspectives as to what is a terrible thing and what is simply a minor thing that doesn't mess up our vacations.

 

I had no expectation for my first cruise last January but now that I have been on one, maybe I will have greater expections this time around. But in general, my wife and I are laid back people who take things in stride and try to make the best of it. I'm not going to have my vacation ruined simply because our waiter wasn't constantly filling my water glass but for some people, that is enough to ruin their cruise experience. In fact, I found the dining room experience a bit intimidating (my son really was uncomfortable) as I am not used to having someone constantly wanting to please me. I slowly got used to it as the cruise went along but we are pretty informal people. We will be better prepared for it this January :)

 

I do still read the reviews by those that rate the cruise poorly simply to see what their complaints are about and see if maybe what they went through would impact my upcoming cruise. So far, I have found that those who rate a cruise at the lowest ratings simply seem to be people who cannot be pleased because in many of the reviews I have read at this level, everything went wrong. One example is the bathrooms. Yes, we noticed they were small (we had a balcony on the Sapphire) but enough to ruin my vacation? I'm 6'2" so yes, it was a tad difficult to shower, but I gladly used it to freshen myself up for a great day of cruising. Maybe it's just the attitude that not everything is perfect but it is still a great way to travel!!

 

My DW and I have dreamed about cruising for a long time and we finally were able to last year. We are hooked now and it is our opinion that there is no better way to travel. We will make all the sacrifices we need to make so we can cruise at least once a year now. It would take a lot to sour us on the cruise experience.

 

Dan

[willysgrandma]

Honestly, when we have cruised we do what we want to do and when we hear complaining we listen respectfully and go about our own business.

 

 

My husband is a travel agent, so we DO listen when people complain to see what they are complaining about so we can provide insight to another customer who may be looking at the same cruise.

For instance, we had 12 clients traveling with us on the Crown. From reading the boards, we were able to tell them about what was available to do on the ship, to tell them to ask for receipts for their drinks so they could reconcile their shipboard account, etc.

 

When you are an agent, listening to the good and bad can really help when recommending a cruise line or vacation spot for a client. You just need to be able to weed out true complaints from issues that would be found on any other cruise line or vacation spot when giving info to a client.

 

We were all very unhappy with the embarkation on Nov. 4, but we believe it truly was an abberation from normal, as I've seen the embarkation of the Crown in Brooklyn and there was no issue there. What Princess SHOULD have done when those lines backed up for hours after 2:00 PM thanks to Customs was to bring water out to everyone who was standing in the hot sun for nearly two hours. But we did not let that ruin our cruise or prevent us from recommending the line or ship to others. It was the first time in that port, so you need to take that into account when looking at the overall picture. But it was worth mentioning in a review.

 

 

 

 

[cruiseapril]

We agree. Kindness and courtesy are a two way street and when folks are courteous - others usually treat them well. Oh, there are a few "cruise crabbies" around- but we've found they can laugh too!

 

There is 'constructive criticism'- and the cruise lines do give out those evaluation forms, so we have plenty of opportunities to address issues.

 

My philosophy is- enjoy your cruise, look for the good, and save the criticism for really important things like crowding in elevators, which is a safety issue.

[Fuzzzy]

There are only two things in our lifes that we can control. Our actions and our attitudes. ;)

[regnig]

The philosophies expressed in almost all of the previous posts are those that guarantee people will have a pleasant if not enjoyable time whether they are on a cruise, at work, attending church or grocery shopping. Maybe Princess needs to have a cruise line/passenger contract that must be sighed prior to boarding that states the “passenger swears to possess a positive and optimistic state of mind and will do everything in his/her power to enjoy his/her cruise”.