Reaction to Less than Glowing Reviews

[SouthernCaribbean]

Maybe someone can help me understand the reaction to less than glowing reviews. It seems,at times, that if someone doesnt have a good time on their cruise and write a review they are attacked and grilled.I have even seen people demand the cruiser to write something positive about the cruise. Never have I read anyone requesting to hear something negative to balance out a postive review. So it would seem that,to some, the desire is to hear good things, rather than a balanced view.

 

Why is it that people, when responding to a negative review, have to make comments like, " I'm going on that ship next week,month,year and plan to have a great time" OR "I was on the ship at the same time and had a great time." Honestly, what bearing does that have on the cruise experience the reviewer relayed?? It almost appears people feel a need to defend the choice they made in cruiseline and ships. Does it really make people nervous when they hear that someone didnt have a great time on their cruise??

 

 

I have seen when a person wrote, " Just got back from a cruise on xyz12 ship and it was the worst cruise I ever took, gotta gets some rest will write a review in a couple of days." There is a firestorm of emotions created and by the time the person returns in 2 day they are ready to hang him in effigy. Yet, if a person writes, "Just got back from a cruise on xyz12 ship and it was the best cruise I ever took, gotta gets some rest will write a review in a couple of days." People will give them a pass, even saying great, hurry back we are looking forward to reading your review. No mention of plotting their demise or insinuating that the person must be crazy becuase they didnt have a great cruise.

 

If you took 10 people from across the country and sat them down at the same table and fed them all the same meal, you would get a wide range of opinions. Some might say it was a great meal, other might say it was the worst and the rest might just say it was ok. Each one of them were correct!

 

 

Ok, I didnt mean for this to sound like a diatribe, guess it too late for that now. Im just curious, maybe someone can help me out.

I know there are some negative reviews which are truly blantant exaggerations or outright lies. Other times people might just feel frustrated with Carnival and need a place to vent and let off steam Those are the ones Im talking about.

 

There seems to be many that think just not going to work and cooking a meal or being someplace warm obsolves a reviewer from writing anything negative. Maybe some people want more from a cruise than that. It doesnt make either person right or wrong, so I just dont know why people have to put themselves in anyone elses shoes and say "if that would have happened to me......." It didnt happen to you, thats why the person wrote it so people can read what happened to them and how they felt. Again no one is wrong or right, just a difference in opinion.

 

When I read a review all that I want are details, some of the things people complain about it are irrelevant to me. I would take a detailed negative review over a giddy, gushy, review with no substance.

 

With that said I truly appreciate anyone that comes back from their cruise and takes the time to write a review.

[BrendaB1]

We are, for the most part Carnival fans & satisfied with our choice of cruise line or we wouldn't be here. We all share the same love of cruising & just hate to see someone that has never posted or just joined, whine & complain about nearly everything on their cruise. This is not the complaint department, merely a place to exchange information & have a good time while planning our next cruise. Of course, ships can have bad trips just like people can have a bad day. All of my cruises have not been perfect, but then again, we dont live in a perfect world.I certainly didn't stop cruising because I had a bad one. Everyone here has a right to their opinion. I'm sorry some people have encountered problems while cruising but we try to encourage everyone to try & see the positive side too. I look it as just another adventure in life. :D Happy cruising to all!

[MyImagination]

We are, for the most part Carnival fans & satisfied with our choice of cruise line or we wouldn't be here. We all share the same love of cruising & just hate to see someone that has never posted or just joined, whine & complain about nearly everything on their cruise. This is not the complaint department, merely a place to exchange information & have a good time while planning our next cruise. Of course, ships can have bad trips just like people can have a bad day. All of my cruises have not been perfect, but then again, we dont live in a perfect world.I certainly didn't stop cruising because I had a bad one. Everyone here has a right to their opinion. I'm sorry some people have encountered problems while cruising but we try to encourage everyone to try & see the positive side too. I look it as just another adventure in life. :D Happy cruising to all!

Hmm I thought this was cruise critic..lets see what is a critic

 

One who forms and expresses judgments of the merits, faults, value, or truth of a matter.

One who tends to make harsh or carping judgments; a faultfinder.

 

I like the reviews that break down the pros and cons of the ship.

 

I know for some there is a bias against new posters that post negative reviews. Do you have a problem with a new poster that writing a positive review????

[cali-croozer]

I think people respond that way when the whole review is negative. One poster recently called all the food, with the exception of the pay restaurant, "slop". I know some menu items are better than others, and everyone has different tastes, but slop? The same poster also complained about lines at the buffet. Information like what time he/she went would be helpful so cruisers can stay away from the peak times. So, I don't mind the negative reviews, but exagerating ("slop") or generalizing ("there were lines") is what gets people going. Anyway, I usually just read these types of posts to see if there is anything useful I can learn from them.

[lilsonicfan]

I think one issue is that a new poster may not know what sort of information s/he should provide so that his/her negative review will be taken seriously. I too am sometimes concerned with the gripes about negative reviews. In doing research for my Glory trip, I read all of the member reviews posted on cruisecritic, both positive and negative. Sometimes people complain b/c they need to vent, but it seems like the original poster is right - it's far easier if you come back and say "everything was great".

[BrendaB1]

A review is one person's opinion. All information is appreciated...good or bad. But some people do tend to exaggerate things. If there is truley a problem.....yes, please do report it because Carnival does read this board and will hopefully correct the situation.

 

Some people go on vacation to complain....we have all seen that person at one time or another. :rolleyes: Some of us go to enjoy it & experience new things. I prefer to take a positive attitude & keep an open mind. A vacation, on land or water, is what you make it. Have a good day & happy cruising.

[RWolver672]

I don't mind reading a bad review of any ship. What I do mind is the poster telling me to stay away from that ship because he/she didn't like it. That's my decision to make. Just because they had a bad cruise doesn't mean that I will, especially when I read where others enjoyed it.

 

 

I almost drowned on our excursion in St. Thomas on our Victory cruise. In my review, I told why and how to avoid what I should have done. I didn't blame the cruiseline or the excursion. I didn't tell everyone else not to go on that ship or excursion. (I'm not a good swimmer and should have put on a life vest). My bad, not theirs. The excursion dropped us off in deep water. I posted that if you aren't a good swimmer, you should swim out from the beach and not the other way around.

 

This board has seen posters actually post a picture of a door opener that had rust on it. Imagine that, rust on a piece of steel that sits in salt water all year. That ruined his cruise. I have better things to do on a cruise than look for rust.

I think for the most part that when we read these reviews, we only retain what we want to anyway. If we see ten good reviews on a ship or port, and one bad one, we'll go with the ten good ones.

[myangel]

Most of us on here are very cautious when a new poster has a VERY FIRST post with nothing but negativity about a ship. Why weren't there other posts before that? ALso there are some "imposters"who love "Stirring the pot" and creating a mass frenzy of our responses to their posts as a form of attention.

Most of the time, but not all, they are easily detected.

[MyImagination]

I was just reading the valor review by unvalor, after the dust has settled it seems that someone else that was on his cruise is verifing some of the comments that he made.

 

Myangel, many people lurk this board and never register. Just because its there first post doesnt mean they are new to the board. Even if they are why do we choose to easily believe a new poster that says there cruise experience was great, rather than the one that says their exerience was awful.

 

Its just an opinion written by someone we dont know. I think people put too much stock in what others say re: reviews. As someone mention take what you need and discard the rest.

 

I think some people get upset when someone calls carnival..."bottom of the barrel" "trailer park cruiser" "Greyhound of the sea" That makes some people ultra defensive. People will start naming degree and positions they hold in the attempt to show they are not of that ilk. I could care less what someone thinks of Carnival cruisers, but thats just me.

[myangel]

Your right, I would not not take a particular cruise just because someone said it was not good. I would even sail the Holiday again! We were just on her Dec 20th-25th and we had a GREAT time. No problem with the ship, engine, any of that, we were lucky I guess!

All I am saying about the "first posts" is that most of us can, by now, weed out truth from fiction........most of the time.

[GoinCruisin]

I don't think that particular poster was "attacked"... questions were asked, yes... but that is the point of this board. If someone comes and gives a horrendous review stating some of the things they did... it helps for others to know the basis of those comments. For example.. to say "we all know carnival is bottom of the barrell", only to find out later that the poster had never been on a cruise. At that point, many of the comments started to make sense... brand new ship, first time cruiser, etc. Also, the TONE of a post really does set the tone for responses. I have seen hundreds of not so glowing reviews over the years. People that come on and are objective, show the good or bad without telling people to "beware"... that preface their statements with comments that would help other passengers such as "Please keep in mind this is my first cruise, so I have nothing to base this on", something SO simple would help others to know if it was terrible compared to other carnival cruises, terrible compared to RCI/Celeb etc, or just did not meet the expectations of a first time cruise. And what is wrong with someone coming on and saying "I was there and had a great time"... that helps! I have seen reviews that were GLOWING and people come on and rant that it was bad in certain aspects for them. Perfectly fine. People are not (hopefully) going to place all their eggs in one basket based on what they read on a message board. When a first time poster posts something so harsh and then disappears, that is a sign to many that have been here a while, that poster may not be back... happens all the time. Granted, that poster did and I think that thread turned out ok once he had time to collect his thoughts and calm down a bit.

 

If someone has that terrible a time, what is wrong with others trying to find out WHY so that their vacation is not ruined as well? That IS one of the points of this board right>

[ppeckham]

Many people get bent out of shape when reading a bad review. Some have a little difficulting sifting through the opinions to get to the good hard facts.

 

I cruised the Jubilee over a year ago and later posted that we had definite noise/vibration in my cabin. It was so bad when we were at a slow pace that woke me and kept me awake for two hours. When I posted my review, I stated that as a fact and not an opinion.

 

When reading reviews, try to sift through the opinions and get to the facts.

[Flip2cruise]

I think many people dont want to deal with someone questioning them so they opt to put their reviews up on the review section of the board so people have no way to confront them for a negative review.

[dromMOM]

I wrote this review of the Valor.. Now I am an old Carnival cruiser.. I've even been on OLD BEATERS (mardi gras when it had peeling paint!!).... so I do know the difference. I had some negatives in my review. The wellness of my steak for example.. but I did not trash the whole menu because of that. It didnt spoil my time. And though I mentioned that negative and the customs negative..and my personal feelings on the Comedic skills of Josh Riffe the Cd..(its buried somewhere else in the forums..)

I still absolutely loved my cruise. It is common nature that we all Critique our adventures.. etc..and everyone will find fault in something..and people will disagree. For Example the use of PINK tones in both dining rooms.. now that might not appeal to you or me...but PARIS HILTON would love it.. :rolleyes:

 

 

Here is a link to my review.. I kept it light, but there is "SUBSTANCE" (SoutherCarribean) MY REVIEW buried there..LOL

 

And if you give me some time...I will have more to say..

[halos]

as far as someone posting something like this: (which I've seen more than a few times)

 

"Had a terrible time...it was the worst cruise ever. I have to unpack and I'm exhausted. Will write review in a day or two."

 

I think that sucks.

If you had a bad experience, don't post something like that until you are prepared to sit and write a small (at least) review on WHY it was bad.

 

There may be someone reading that is sailing that particular ship within days and would like to know what the heck you could have hated so bad...so I can understand why people would get a little pissed at a post such as that.

 

 

Also, some folks do complain about such nonsense stuff...not just on these boards...but even while on the ship. The line sometimes at the pursers desk is ridiculous with people complaining about the stupidest things. It really gets annoying. Not that there aren't legitimate gripes to be made...but some people can be really nit-picky.

[momto2]

It was funny to come across this post. In doing a search to determine which cruise ship to pick (recent posts about Grandeur and Sensation) I almost titled the post "Tell me the worst things about each ship". I don't want any surprises and, personally, like to hear the negative reviews. I always remember to take others opinions with a grain of salt. What matters most to some, will not matter at all to others.

[rduke]

When I first found Cruise Crittic before going on Conquest several years ago I was puzzled by the range of reviews I saw. One would say "I have been on ## of cruises and this was the absolute best!!" Th very next review would say the exact opposite and sometimes they were on exactly the same cruise!! How could this be I thought! then I remembered there are a whole lot of people in this bright and wonderful world and seldom do very many agree on hardly anything so why should it be any different on a cruise!! Different Strokes for different Folks!!:D

[MyImagination]

Maybe a prime example of this is the Holiday fiasco. The majority of those posters were new, many doubted there accounts of the cruise and basically made it seem like they were " whiners and complainers" As we have now seen that was a rush to judgment.

[steveaaaa]

Everyone looks at things differently when there is an issue or something goes wrong.They express their thoughts in a way that they get some satisfaction and I don't see anything really wrong with it.Stuff does happen!

I personally don't like the old saying when your given lemons make lemonade.What if you don't like lemonade?

Steve

[GoinCruisin]

Myimagination, true... it does happen. But keep in mind, there have been many instances where people have signed up under two user names, etc. :rolleyes: Or created a new user name so they could post "in support of themselves" :rolleyes: And so people are a little more cautious... It's sad... and I hate it, but people are a bit more skeptical. I also think that the problem with the first couple of Holiday posters and the reason questions were brought up, were completely different than "posting a bad review"... and those problems just kept unfolding. Oh well... guess that is why it is "cruise critic", as we all have so many different opinions :D ;)

[GoinCruisin]

Everyone looks at things differently when there is an issue or something goes wrong.They express their thoughts in a way that they get some satisfaction and I don't see anything really wrong with it.Stuff does happen!

I personally don't like the old saying when your given lemons make lemonade.What if you don't like lemonade?

Steve

Lemon pudding? Lemon merinque? OOOH! How about add some vodka and make Lemon Drops??? :D

[halos]

Maybe a prime example of this is the Holiday fiasco. The majority of those posters were new, many doubted there accounts of the cruise and basically made it seem like they were " whiners and complainers" As we have now seen that was a rush to judgment.

 

I, for one rushed to judgement on that one...not because the posters were new though. We were given bad info.....told that passengers were given a choice and were made aware of the situation...later found that to be false.

I retracted my initial response after getting all the correct facts.

[halos]

Lemon pudding? Lemon merinque? OOOH! How about add some vodka and make Lemon Drops??? :D

 

give up GC...Steve doesn't like anything...kind of like Mikey. ;)

Which is a good example of why there are some bad responses to things on this board...some people NEVER have anything positive to say...it gets ridiculous.

[dromMOM]

A CERTAIN THREAD HAS DISAPPEARED!!! :eek:

[MyImagination]

A CERTAIN THREAD HAS DISAPPEARED!!! :eek:

I saw that..Michlg64 or something like that was really spewing the venom.

 

People just cant play nicely :)