What I get out of negative reviews

[ECP]

Negative Reviews - What I have learnt from reading them carefully.

Since I am going on Carnival Destiny December 9/2007 I decided to read both CC's member reviews and the CC Carnival Board. Additionally I have read a number of reviews on the USENET REC.TRAVEL.CRUISES and a number of web sites found using Google. Note: I have only been on two cruises so far, one decades ago so it does not count as ships are so different now. The other was a Carnival four day trip to the Bahamas with my girlfriend two years ago. She has also done two other Carnival trips, 7 days Eastern Caribbean three years ago and 12 days Mediterranean cruise last year. None of what we saw match most negative reviews of the same trips.

I noticed some interesting patterns in the negative reviews.

Positive reviews tend to be very long with lists of all the fun stuff to do and who is the best person to go to for tours, restaurants and other trips off the ships.

Mixed reviews - of course are mixed, like the positive posts I tend to find lots of useful tips for my future cruise plans.

Negative reviews often seem to need reading between the lines to figure out what is going on. Details are either missing ("I had a horrible trip, the end"), or often taken beyond the point of believability ("The captain of a billion dollar ship aimed right for the nearest storm."). So far I have noticed the following types of negative reviews.

(1) The 'Hit and Run': Here we see only one negative post from a poster and never hear from them again. Often the post is their first one ever, and the lack of follow up suggest the following possibilities.

A) Troll, someone who gets their fun from making other people upset.

B) Shy poster, not expecting the flood of responses this person is too timid to face the flood of replies.

C) Confused, the poster lost track of their URL/Logon and can't reply.

D) Sucky Customer looking for a refund. Seen more on USENET this person is trying to blackmail the cruise-line into giving a refund or bigger one to stop the negative posts. This of-course never works!

E) Not a Hit and Run after-all, sometimes the poster does return after a few days. But by then there may be so many replies the original poster is lost in the whole mess. Unfortunately, this means you see tons of negative comments about the original poster before they have a chance to defend their point of view, assuming you can find the posts.

(2) The 'Cruise-Line Hater': The most common cruise-line picked on seems to be Carnival for some reasons (the fact it is usually the cheapest seems to be the main cause) . The poster for some reason often disses an entire cruise line based on a single cruise. Sometimes no cruises. I don't care how many other cruise lines you have been on, I want a person to have done a number of trips/ships of a cruise line before dissing the entire line. There can be very valid reasons for not wanting to use a particular line's services - Carnival for example has no butler service - but you will not find me doing SilverSeas when I can do two trips for the price of their one. That does not make SiverSeas bad, just too expensive for me to use. When the poster can't clearly state what they dislike about a particular line I get the feeling that they are more trying to justify their choice in cruise-lines by tearing others down than anything else.

Often even when making statements about a cruise that they did do, they go on to make claims that do not match other people experiences on the same voyage at the same time. I am not talking about problems in cabins or with individual staff members, I mean general statements about public areas and staff.

Equally worse to me, after a lot of digging it turns out the person opinion is based on five, ten, twenty, even thirty year old experiences. Things have changed in all the cruises lines after that much time - hanging on to out-dated beliefs is just dumb.

(3) The 'Cruise-Boat Hater': Here the poster hates a single ship or ship design only. This often is for valid reasons, example boat size. Some people will not like smaller ships as they lack certain extras. Others love small ships and can't stand the distance between everything or the crowds on the larger ships. And frankly some ships have poor layouts, maintenance and even staff. If a person has problems with a cabin - gets transferred to a new one and still gets more problems there (even if they are different ones), you can expect them to hate the entire ship/crew. Even the decor of a ship can be horrible to one person and lovely to someone else.

When expressed as a personal opinion it makes perfect sense to say what one does not like. When expressed as a statement of fact as if they think everyone must agree with their opinion don't be surprised if they go on to express shock that someone could possibly disagree with them. Also my BS meter starts to move up if the poster is complaining about events in public areas when a number of other people who were also on the same cruise did not see the same things.

4) The 'Nit-Picker': Basicly this poster has either forgotten what the word 'vacation' means and gets up tight about something that of little importance when they should about having fun, this type person is probably a pain to be around no matter where they are or whatever they are doing. Otherwise, I have gotten the impression that some are trying to scam the cruise-line for some credit.

The only time being a Nit-Picker seems to make any kind of sense to me is when you are paying $1000+ a day, when you are paying that much the only things the crew should not be able to promise to be perfect for you is the weather and your fellow passengers.

5) The 'Why don't they do things the same as cruise-line X': This is just weird to me, if you are cruising on cruise-line Y why would you expect it to be the same as cruise-line X? More important why did you change cruise-lines if you want the same as before. In the poster's defense sometimes their expectations were driven by marketing that implied that the features were the same or better on cruise-line Y, but that is why you should always do research beyond just the marketing brochures found at the travel offices. A good TA is always a plus!

6) The 'My sense of taste is the best': The worse thing about these poster is they really believe their sense of taste is the norm to be followed, and don't understand why someone would like things setup in a different manner. Reading these posts makes me wonder if they ever saw anything of the world around as they went on their cruises (and these posters almost always claim to have done lots of travel), somehow they never seen to see that people live differently all over the world - and like it that way.

7) The 'Can't admit they made a mistake': The best example of that is a review on Destiny that gave it a single mark (the lowest ranking possible?). But in reading the review, the cabin was fine, the staff was great, the food was rated as just ok (neither good or bad) and all the island stops were GREAT! So why the low ranking? As far as i can tell it is from the mess of trying to catch an early return flight (1 PM) out of San Juan. Guess who booked the flight - and no, it was not the cruise-line. But is best to blame the cruise-line than admit to messing up.

These posters also tend to not use a travel agent, trying to do it all themself. Great idea if you know you are doing, bad idea if this is your first trip or even if it is your second trip while being very diffirent from the first one.

Often I see these posters complaining that certain islands are missing features that they want, i.e. ... Dominica has poor shopping ... duh ... anyone reading reviews/using Google would know that ahead of time.

8)The 'I can't admit I'm that old': Ha, here people find fault with the cruise that usually is them not facing how much time has gone by. Examples, the ship rocking so much that they can't walk down corridors like they use to on a destroyer during WWII. The hot tub being too hot (most people claim the opposite). Complain about kids being on the ship (note: not their noise, just that they exist). Complaining about all the old folk on the ship! I think you get the idea.

Other odd things I noticed in some negative reviews:

One message stood out for me, a man posted about all the horrible things that happened to himself. Yet, in the same review his wife was enjoying herself doing the same things. When someone that close is having fun doing the same things as you at the same time and place - maybe it is you with the problem, not the cruise line.

Likewise, statement that make no sense no matter what logic you use sets off my BS meter like the above claim of a captain aiming for a storm.

What I have learnt from negative reviews if things really do go wrong:

1) Report any problems with the cabin, staff, food ... etc, right away! The sooner it is reported, the sooner it can be fixed. Plus, it is hard to believe you went thru some major hardship when you wait until after the trip to report it, then start demand credits or refunds.

2) Take pictures. Claims are easier to believe with some type of proof. Beside if it has to go to head-office they may hear a different story from the ship's crew for reasons ranging from 'covering their butts', to 'forgotten with all the things needed to be done', right out to the key person has finished their rotation and is no longer available to talk to. I noticed that messages that talk about needing to write to the head office getting better refunds/credits if they send in pictures proving things were as bad as they claimed vs just written letters. Anyone can just write a letter and make any claim they want. Pictures prove it really was as bad as you said.

3) Changing cabins can take time. People miss their flight, miss the boat. But some will meet up at the next port. If your cabin is really bad and all the others are fully booked, then the cruise-line can not just give you the cabin of a missing customer before they confirm that they will not catch up to the ship later.

4) Be firm getting credit, not sucky, not loud, and definitely not greedy! If the purser offers you a $50 credit but you think the problem is more serious - try for $100. Don't get greedy, asking for $500-$1000 credit and/or the cruise for free is just going to make the purser and everyone above them digging in their heels at the $50 mark or even less.

5) Turn the negative to a positive. Example, it is my understanding cheap fares from San Juan means lots of local people partying late into the night. Well, I don't party, I don't dance ... but I figure I now will have a ship full of people to learn from. "Feet don't fail me now!". Others got such large discounts/ship-board credits that they could afford their other dream trip that before they could not do or would had delayed for a long time.

6) Look at the bright side of things, you are on a cruise boat! If you don't like something, find something else!

What I have learnt from negative reviews to prevent things from going wrong:

1) Report special needs as soon as possible before the cruise. If you need special food, bedding, anything that is not standard stock for a ship, don't expect it if you did not ask for it.

2) Learn the local environment. How hot does it get, how cold? The Internet is your friend. This include cultures too, why are you complaining that all the shops and/bars on an island close early? It was easy to find out on the Internet. Island has no real shopping center? It's an Eco-tour Mecca! The Internet would have told you that too. Use Google, a lot.

3) Lots of films or memory cards for your camera - and read the manual before you get on the ship.

4) Pack what you need only. The less luggage you have the fewer the chances of something going wrong.

5) Be courteous to people around you, you get fewer problems and ones you may have will be handled faster and better.

 

 

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Okay, what did I miss?

[mob909]

I have been on 17 cruises and i have not once had a negative thing to say about any of my cruises on ANY line. It is so wierd to come home from a great cruise and see a review on it that is just so horrible. The thing that i notice about negative reviews is if the flight down to the ship is bad, everything else turns to bad. Just go with an open mind and everything will be all good.

 

Cody

[Kurbanfan]

I do know if I hear alot of negatives about the same ship over and over again. I'd say it's a good chance I will be looking elsewhere to do that itinerary...

 

Oh wait...I did do that:p

[AdmiralJohnson]

Positive or negative there is always stuff to learn, some come on here just to smear and rant, those are pretty obvious and are easily discounted. I also think that a perfect review is as easily discounted.

[tomboyy]

Had to get out my reading glasses to read your post ( ok I didn't really .. I just didn't read your whole post ) try leaving the Font size alone :)

 

Tom

[lagbunch8]

I do know if I hear alot of negatives about the same ship over and over again. I'd say it's a good chance I will be looking elsewhere to do that itinerary...

 

Oh wait...I did do that:p

 

 

Sometimes a duck is a duck.

[smoothdancer]

Yes... that was way too much information for me, an overload!! Still the topic is one that interests me... Very recently we went on a Queen Mary 2 cruise, our first time on a luxury liner. After ten or so wonderful cruises on Mass lines this was the first cruise that we walked off of the ship and said never again... Although the ship was beyond beautiful the service was so bad and indifferent that it had an effect on our overall enjoyment.

 

When I posted our picture review, what could I do. I had to address this area of disappointment as well as what we liked.... Man oh man the faithful Cunard fans doubted my opinions and suggested that the reason the service was so bad was because people we ordering double entree's, and the passangers brought it upon themselves. It was so fustrating to me to put together the good and the bad, hours of work only to have my opinions questioned....Geez it is my opinion .... Actually, it pissed me off! A partial negative review does not mean you are a complainer, it means you had a cruise that something went wrong....

 

I will post the link for anyone interested... Click on the Queen Mary Holiday Review. http://WWW.Justcruisin-SV.com

[SATXLady]

ECP -- I thought that was a great, well thought out essay. Thanks for posting.

[SAILSKAT]

Excellent analysis! You have really learned alot reading the reviews. I like how methodical you were in disceting the types of negative reviews and the reviewers who write them. I think your post will help others understand how to better read a bad review and learn from it. I for one will not continue to read a bad review if the poster is a first time poster, either they are too cowardly to post under their real screen name or they did NO RESEARCH before they left at all. Secondly I look thru the post to see if the problem is clearly spelled out and was it handled and reported properly. It's all in "how you complain". I have been on both sides of the customer service counter in a service industry and I can tell you that I really genuinely want to help those who have a problem if they let me know in a direct, clear and most importantly respectful way. I would do everything in my power or get help from a higher level to satisfy such a complaint. If you called me names, shout, curse or are rude I may still help you (it was my job) but I will not go the extra above and beyond the call of duty to make you happy. Problems happy, for the first round of complaints (and hopefully the last) put on your best attitude and recruit a champion or ally from the staff to be your advocate. You'll feel better and then you'll get extra attention too.

[hammsz]

People complain about service mostly. I know staff is wore out and tired and ready to get out after their 10 month long journeys of 70+ hour work weeks. This is only the case with about 5-8% of the staff is bad. I have had nothing but positives to say about everything, even if there is a stain on the carpet.

[ECP]

Had to get out my reading glasses to read your post ( ok I didn't really .. I just didn't read your whole post ) try leaving the Font size alone :)

 

Tom

 

Sorry, this is the first time I have posted a thread to Cruise-Critic. I was not aware that it was going to use my font settings as I was using GoBe in BeOS to create the message, it never crossed my mind that fonts settings from my odd-ball software would make it into the forum.

 

In the future I will try and remember to double check using preview.

[buddyjo143]

Other odd things I noticed in some negative reviews:

 

One message stood out for me, a man posted about all the horrible things that happened to himself. Yet, in the same review his wife was enjoying herself doing the same things. When someone that close is having fun doing the same things as you at the same time and place - maybe it is you with the problem, not the cruise line.

 

I love this part. That's like saying, every vacation I take is lousy. Well, you keep picking them and the common denominator is "YOU" so maybe the problem is "YOU".

 

Things that make you go, hmmmmmmmmmm:rolleyes:

[thoneycu]

too many margaritas tonight for this one..... have to come back to it tomorrow :D but from what I managed to get through so far..... I agree;)

[tomboyy]

Sorry, this is the first time I have posted a thread to Cruise-Critic. I was not aware that it was going to use my font settings as I was using GoBe in BeOS to create the message, it never crossed my mind that fonts settings from my odd-ball software would make it into the forum.

 

In the future I will try and remember to double check using preview.

 

No problems....No worrys...:D Just had trouble reading it.

 

Tom

[cruisinsly]

(1) The 'Hit and Run': Here we see only one negative post from a poster and never hear from them again. Often the post is their first one ever, and the lack of follow up suggest the following possibilities.

 

 

I found the whole post to be very interesting, but just want to make a comment on the quote above. These Hit and Runs may run after coming back and reading some of the things that are being posted about them after they have given their own opinion of the cruise they had just returned from. They could be extremely timid. They may not like confrontation. I have seen many posters torn-to-shreads after they have posted a review. They have been called names and discredited in anyway possible. We come onto this board to learn and talk about cruise information - not be attacked for our opinion.

[Kurbanfan]

Sometimes a duck is a duck.

 

LOL! Ain't that the truth...

[dyslexic pirate]

This is a very interesting thread. I start out researching a ship by reading only the most positive reviews first. Then I read the negative ones just so I know of things that could be potential problems.

 

I have also noticed that there is a pattern with the negative threads. Really large people who don't get much exercise seem to suffer alot on cruises. I'm not passing judgement, (I have a few pounds to loose myself :o ) I've just noticed a real pattern. They complain about the layout of the ship, how far they have to walk, quality of the food and whine about the seating at the shows. Then later in the review you will notice they are whining about the medical facility as they twisted an ankle or something else related to their self imposed handicap. Oh, and then there's the whining about how slow the elevators are. It's like the whole review revolves around food and how much they've had to exert themselves beyond their usual comfort levels.

 

I'll probably get flamed for this but we all have to take personal accountability into play sometimes when we are rating services that we've received and most of the time how we behave influences the outcome.

 

One thing that's always impressed me about the foreign workers on the cruise ships is how fit and healthy they all are. It makes me wonder how they put up with us sometimes.

[dan40]

What I learn from negative reviews is the same as I learn from positive posts..........Nothing. If my brain is engaged and the thread is labeled as a review, I don't click on it. Why? Not a single person on the Internet knows my likes and dislikes, nor do I know theirs, so why should I care if they liked their cruise. I make up my own mind anyhow, and that has been successful in enjoying some 4 dozen cruises. [out of the same number total cruises]

 

On a number of wonderful cruises, I have read totally, totally negative reviews about those same cruises, "The cruise from hell," "Everybody on board was angry," well I was on board and talked to many on those "horrible" cruises and we all somehow missed all the problems that "EVERYBODY" was having. After a few experiences like that, I just quit reading reviews. Haven't had a problem with that yet.

 

And I am talking about the same ships, same sailing dates without problems.

 

Dan

[CruisingAgain]

I loved your analysis of the negative reviews. I read the whole thing and laughed. Some of the negatives that people list are really funny - or sad, if they really let these things ruin their trips. A few of my favorites:\

1. The voice announcing floors in the elevators was annoying.

2. Carnival didn't offer anteseptic wipes outside the dining room

3. The servers had accents

There are a lot more, but can't remember then right now.

 

As far as "perfect" reports - I DO believe them because I forget about minor inconveniences a few minutes after they happen. They are nothing that needs to be included in a report unless they are something important that will help other cruisers. YES - everyone has a right to say whatever they want in their reports and I will continue to laugh (usually quietly) at the things people complain about - these same people who are lucky enough to have a life that allows them to take a cruise. THINK about it.

[vjmatty]

Excellent thread... I agree that most negative reviews should be taken with a grain of salt. In fact, ever since I read a negative review that was based on a cabin having a shower curtain instead of a door, I pretty much stopped reading reviews. ;)

[JPEvans]

Also another thing to consider. Some people are not meant to cruise. And Probably should not of taken a cruise in the first place. I for one was meant to cruise. But the thought to checking into a beach resort on an island for a week doesn't interest me one bit.

[Skeeter1602]

Excellent thread... I agree that most negative reviews should be taken with a grain of salt. In fact, ever since I read a negative review that was based on a cabin having a shower curtain instead of a door, I pretty much stopped reading reviews. ;)

 

 

I agree about the negative reviews. I do have one question about your statement. Is this a Carnival ship you are talking about. I had a curtain in my shower, not a door. Did you get this reversed by accident, are you talking about a different line, or did you have a cabin in a much higher class than I did? I had a 6a OV (1108) on the Miracle, and another couple in our group had an 8a (7224) they had a curtain too.

[vjmatty]

I agree about the negative reviews. I do have one question about your statement. Is this a Carnival ship you are talking about. I had a curtain in my shower, not a door. Did you get this reversed by accident, are you talking about a different line, or did you have a cabin in a much higher class than I did? I had a 6a OV (1108) on the Miracle, and another couple in our group had an 8a (7224) they had a curtain too.

 

It may have been another line... so far I have only been on RCI and we had a shower curtain which was fine, since you usually only spend about 1% of your time in the shower. I wasn't so much taking about my own experience with the showers, I just thought it was a very minor point to be treated as a major complaint in contributing to a negative review by the person posting it.

[Skeeter1602]

It may have been another line... so far I have only been on RCI and we had a shower curtain which was fine, since you usually only spend about 1% of your time in the shower. I wasn't so much taking about my own experience with the showers, I just thought it was a very minor point to be treated as a major complaint in contributing to a negative review by the person posting it.

 

 

I got ya!! I totally agree. Curtain, door, jeez!!! I would rather be on a cruise with no door or curtain right now instead of being here on the puter!!!:D

[vjmatty]

I got ya!! I totally agree. Curtain, door, jeez!!! I would rather be on a cruise with no door or curtain right now instead of being here on the puter!!!:D

 

Exactly... after all we don't clean the bathrooms anyway ;)