Have a Minute To Help Us Out? We're Redesigning Our Ship Review Page!

[JennyinKS]

I would really like to see pictures, or a link to pictures, of some of the public rooms...I am very interested in the decor of the ship for some odd reason. Also I would like to know when the ship was last upgraded, or in dry dock. I also think that the description of certain menu items as being "more plebian", is too similar in thought to "pedestrian". I don't think you want to give the vibe of this more modern version of ship in the Carnival line as basic, pedestrian, common.

[imjd]

As a newbie to cruising- and to special sites and message boards--I found the review helpful. Its good to read from someone other than the seller. I am finding your whole website to be very helpful. I even posted a question to which I look forward to a response.

[luvmybicycle]

The ship review has a good overview. As a first time cruiser I still have a lot of questions.

I am booked on an Alaskan Cruise on the Radiance of the Sea in early June. As I am in an Interior Cabin, I wonder how far I need to go to get a look at what is going on outside.

 

Can I just walk down to the atrium on deck 8 and find a suitable window to look out? I also wonder about the swimming pools. If there are 2000 passengers on board will it be easy enough to swim? Will it be easy to try the Rock Climbing Wall? Will there be an additional charge?

 

I would also be helpful if a deck plan were available. It would be great if there were more links to pictures.

 

These questions come from my excitement.

[Imagineer]

...put me down on the list with all the others who want larger pictures, and not the pictures from the cruise line brochures. Those shots are all obviously phony and overly posed, the perfect couples with the perfect waiter, all shot against the picture perfect backgrounds, yuck!! As an example of what style you may consider, take a peek at the interior shots over at "The Ship Parade"...

...as for everything else, I think most of it works quite well, some have mentioned the overall color scheme needing an upgrade, I think I'd go along with that suggestion as well...

 

cheers,

 

the Imagineer

[Tucson54]

I like the review pages - I think they're well thought out & interesting - would like more pictures.

[Sea and Me]

The review is very informative!! However, I would do a whole page "revamp". The review would be first! The ratings and the members review don't need to be out there just click if you'd want to read them. It seems to me that they seem to be in the way too many words.

 

Also the" Why Go" all that could be put in the review. It seems that it is repeating the info that is in the Quick links which I found to be an asset to the page.

 

I agree with the others about pictures. Bigger is sometimes better. When I investigate a ship I like to see the cabin layout and a nice picture.

 

I have cruised Celebrity in the past and enjoyed the ship and the cruise.

 

Trust me I'm no computer guru the above is just my opinion. Thanks Laura for asking for it.

 

Carol

[stan1]

I generally agree with the comments of others, appreciate the detail of the description, realize that itineraries and regions served change but would apppreciate something else: actually rating or comparing the features or amenities of a particular ship with other vessels of that cruise line or other lines (e.g., comparing the Miliennium with similar age and size of a Princess vessel ( entertainment better/worse/; buffet and dining room food comparison). I realize that specifics (size, design) are neccesasrily objective, and that comparisons ae subjective but some ships consistently have BETTER food.

[LunchCompanion]

I can figure out why the cruise got a four and a half ribbon rating.

What is missing is why the cruise did not get a five or five and a half ribbon rating. I would expect to see at least two shortcomings listed.

I could guess that one shortcoming was, that due to the lower than expected fuel economy, that the cruise didn't go as far as a five star rated cruise would go. I could take a wild guess that because the cruise did not have a favorable enough staff to passenger ratio, the cruise could not get a five and a half star rating.

The shortcomings should be spelled out on the summary page.

I think the layout of the page is excellent but it could be outstanding if the thumbnails were eliminated, and the shortcomings were summarized.

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

I've always wanted to have a date listed so I can see how long ago the ship review was updated.

 

Agree with this...list the last date of the review and the date of the next review. Things change as a ship ages. Also, add the cabin dimensions and floorplan for each cabin type to better decide which room most adequately meets your spacial needs. When you click on the photos hyperlink it just takes you to the same webpage.

Thanks for asking direct users what they find most helpful; very collaborative effort.

[notagoddess]

First let me say in order for readers to know my cruise experience, or lack of, that I have cruised five times on five different ships with Royal Caribbean, one time with Holland America, have taken a 14 day European River Cruise, and my husband and I have an upcoming first time cruise with Celebrity to look forward to. I generally find your Ship Review Pages helpful, but some specifics I think would be even more helpful are:

 

Information about what theme nights or talks will be available on the ships. This way a couple can plan ahead (costumes, etc.) before the cruise for a theme night party such as a fifties party, or a Toga Party, etc.

 

Real photos of the cabins and main rooms, restaurants, and pools taken by real people as can be found on many other websites. That way everything could be on your website.

 

It would be very interesting to have some copies or photos of a couple of nights real menu offerings, maybe one nights casual main dining room menu, and one night formal night offerings. For freestyle dining, a menu for some of the major dining options would be very helpful. And finally, food review comparsions between ships in one spot would be informative too.

 

And, as a real up to date service to your readers: Doing periodical Updated Cruise Critic Reviews of the ships, not just when the ships first come into service. Like how about after five years after a ship has started sailing, do an updated review. That way any improvements in service, maybe updated venues on the ship, changes in the type of shows offered, and even about possible declines in upkeep, etc., give the person looking at what cruise to take a more up to the minute perspective about the ships they are considering.

 

Thank you for asking for my opinion, I would really enjoy seeing some of my and many others suggestions implemented on your website!

[comcox]

I've used the review section several times in making pre-booking decisions and found it quite helpful.

 

I noticed on the Celebrity page you asked us to review that the customer reviews seem to be getting more complete and better organized, which is good. I also noticed two options that may either be new or I just did not see before. One was the addition of deck plans for each ship and the other was the Select Cruise Region button for sorting the customer reviews. The latter is very helpful when dealing with a long list of reviews and you are just interested to read about one particular region.

 

On the suggestion side, I would like to see the "professional" reviews cover shore excursion and enrichment--two areas they only seem to rate with a number (not helpful) and no explanation.

 

My other suggestion would be to have a section on the website for Port Reviews. Your regular Port section gives some basic information on major ports but it would be nice to have additional input and to see more ports covered.

[rebelgirlsan]

I would say maybe less ads or smaller ads. But such a small thing to fret I just love to cruise so keep up the good work.

[leavingocalaagain]

I generally agree with most of the comments. My thoughts would be to include a "Ship Facts" block that shows the age, size (gross weight, length, beam), staff, passengers, etc. in a standard block for every ship. Also, I would move the sponsored listings to the right side in another clearly "separate" block so it is not confused with any information regarding the ship being reviewed. I agree that the photo thumbnails should be larger.

[tourdirector101]

I read the comments with interest, went back to the page a second time and was delighted to see that if I don't "expand" the page, I get the review but not the ads. That's one way around the "clutter" of ads which, I'm sure, pay for us to have free access to all this wonderful info. I do have to agree that the 4 photos, even when made a bit larger, tell me nothing about inside cabins, including washroom amenities, art in the halls and public areas, Lido buffet, and other things that we really do look at when we enjoy a ship. Since we tend to book inside guarantee, a realistic view of that accommodation is also welcome.

Thanks for asking, and keep up the great work. We value your information and don't book without reading it all.

[murr202]

Definitely go with the new style.

Much better info.

[Tantie]

Can anyone tell me if I need electrically adopters for my own hairdryer and also for recharging my camera batteries and cell phone?We are from the US.

 

When the ship has a room that is fully obstructed view -how much of a view will there be, this is on the Starboard side of Star Princess?

 

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

Tantie

[life is too short]

Great over view! Been on the ship about 9 years ago.Bring back the sweet memory!

[kmclmc]

I agree with much of the above.

 

Also there is so much info under some headings that perhaps a little less info with a link to click to get more info would be better, otherwise it can be quite long.

 

Also it might be nice to allow a section under cabins where people could post the best cabins, such as bump verandas, or perhaps inside cabins under a room service kitchen as the ones to avoid. While this is in other sections of your board, it can be hard to find & is invaluable when booking.

 

Definitely think a picture is worth a thousand words, how about cabin photos, and photos from the ship?

[winegirl]

We hate big ships. The first thing I look for is the passenger count. If it's approaching 700, I need go no further. Perhaps organize by ship passenger count (i.e. Mega ships (3,000 passengers+), Large ships (800-3,000), Small ships (under 700.)

 

I like the numerical ratings second. Helps us screen for ships that cater to adults primarily, feature gourmet dining, etc.

[RsrchPro]

Hi, sometime ago I requested you include the date of the review so we can know how relevant it is. The reply was "...good idea, it's coming soon..."

 

This is an important feature and trumps icons & colors & other bells and whistles as a useful feature!

[bocaraton]

In general, I keep coming back to this site because your cruise reviews are really very helpful. However, we are kind of independant so it is really not that important to us how and who dresses for what, but we do realize some people adore formal nights...thats when we go to buffet bar on upper deck in shorts and lay out..

Would love as some of those below said to have more updated ship reviews.We are sailing on the Equinox on Dec. 6..Concierge Class, we will try to remember to post a review.

In general, 600-700 people is our max. But, a huge bunch of people from various clubs in boca raton are going and we are going with them..sure it will be fine.

EVERYTHING IS ATTITUDE..

[nibor12]

Very informative but I too think the pictures should be larger. Less advertising.

[redheadednancy]

Hi everyone!

 

We're in the early stages of redesigning our ship review pages, and we'd really like your input, because it matters to us.

 

For example, take a look at our existing Celebrity Millennum page.

 

Then, tell us anything and everything; we really want to know what you think! Some topics to get you started:

 

• If you were sailing on Celebrity Millennium, do we have everything you need to make a decision about the ship?
  
• What other information would you like to see on the page?
  
• Is there too much of something on the page? Too little?
  
• What about the colors? Do you like them? Any suggestions?
  
• If there were one single thing you could change on the page, what would it be?
  

We're really interested in your opinions and ideas, so let it out!

 

Oh, and thanks!

 

Laura

Laura, we really only sail Seabourn (after many years of other ships)...so I don't know if I am of any help to you, but then after only being on the Cruise Critic forums for a year, maybe I don't know how to do this.

[Snorkel Dawg]

Thank you for asking for opinions regarding ship reviews

 

I would like to see more photos from all public areas and more in depth cabin photos. Maybe even photos of cabin bathrooms & storage...closets, drawers etc.

 

I think listing the most desireable/non desireable cabins might be a cool feature. Maybe a cabin has a larger bath? or extra large balcony? Anything that makes the cabin special. Maybe it's a quiet cabin or conversely maybe it's in a noisy area. Or even in an area with bad odors. We have experienced all these things and mainly by chance.

 

We very much enjoy your website. We love using the site for learning, planning, meeting others & because of it we have made several great friends who will be for life.

 

Thank you

[redheadednancy]

We hate big ships. The first thing I look for is the passenger count. If it's approaching 700, I need go no further. Perhaps organize by ship passenger count (i.e. Mega ships (3,000 passengers+), Large ships (800-3,000), Small ships (under 700.)

 

I like the numerical ratings second. Helps us screen for ships that cater to adults primarily, feature gourmet dining, etc.

Have you checked out Seabourn?