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

[Ask4Jay]

Hi, Laura -

since I do not read ships' reviews, I cannot comment.

Cruising is such a different experience for everyone, which is borne out by reviews that greatly diverge. I prefer to take a chance myself and form my own opinion.

Not always right, but never in doubt. :)

[Emerald city gal]

Hi Laura; Just looked at ship review page. It is put together well, easy to get around. Having never sailed on Celebrity I was interested enough to consider them in the future. A great general info page.

[Tamaracboy]

Laura,

 

Forget the re-designing the page part, this thread itself has been very interesting reading.

 

Which brings me to a couple of additional comments inspired by other responses:

 

Sorting: As some have asked, being able to sort all reviews on various data would be very useful. e.g. sorting on passenger count, crew ratio, space ratio, destinations, etc. This would be in addition to the already sortable ratings, cruise lines, etc. If someone were looking for certain criteria, this would be invaluable for finding the appropriate ships.

 

Pictures: Obviously more & bigger, user supplied, pictures are the No. 1 request. To make these more informative, each picture should be labeled as to location, public room, cabin class, etc. AND date.

 

Menus: Many have asked for MDR menus. This should of course include all the variants of the 7 day or 14 day menu rotations. And, as suggested, photos of the plates (user supplied) when possible. This could also include reviews on a 1 to 5 scale.

 

AND, just to reiterate: a link to a separate page with all quantifiable numbers for each ship (as many as possible of them sortable across ships).

Best would be a block listing page of data with standard formatting across all of CC.

This would really be the easiest way to compare all ships, especially when sortable.

 

You have a LOT of work cut out for you.

 

Thanks,

 

r.

[Sven51]

Just a new member .

The information provided so far is interesting.

[jazzabel4]

Thanks for asking, yes I think that page sums it up well. The only thing I'd add would be to address the niggly little things you don't think of. For example, laundry facilities, average cost of drinks, what sort of drinks if any are included, standard of wine lists etc. Also hidden extras (such as NCL's compulsory $12 a day 'gratuity' for housekeeping that you don't find out until you book) would be handy to know.

[hdbag4vr]

Have to agree with previous poster that a prominent date of the review or when it was updated would be very useful.

[Jubilee 115]

How is booking with Online vacation center works? I receive an e-mail from Cruise Critic about NCL Med cruise w/ 2 free night hotel & free air. how does it work like they charge extra 350.00 per person. should I book with them?

Thank you:confused:

[dfishner]

More pictures of the ship normally I will read a review on a ship on CC which I feel has the best reviews but have to go to another site to look at pictures of the ship. It would be great to have a vitural 360 of the areas you are reviewing. example great discription of the dining room with the windows looking out of the sea would of like to see a 360 of that or a large photo.

 

I find myself having to go to two sites instead of just going to CC.

[USVI-4-me]

Your ship review page is chocked full of easy to read information. Your site helps me quickly connect to more information. I appreciate your service and rely on your site for references to help me decide on my next cruise.

 

If you want to add something to the page, I suggest a quick tally of the ratings of cruise reviews; say for example, those of the last year.

 

One negative is the blinking boxes. They make me want to exit the page. I'm sure it's just my weary eyes reacting to the blinking. It may be fine with others as it adds to the information.

 

Thank you for your invaluable service and help.

 

-Maris

[diana61]

I will be going on the epic this week end and I know that NCL has cruise critic meetings held on their ships. How do I sign up to attend these meetings?

[diana61]

How do I sign up for cruise critic meetings on NCL ships? I will be going on the Epic this week end.

[DGF]

Page looks good to me. One suggestion- please advise as to the review date for the review done by the Cruise Critics editor

 

DEAN

[TexBear]

Something I'd like to see is a link to other ships in same class as the one that's being reviewed. In other words, a link to other Conquest-class ships on a review page for one of those Carnival ships or link to other Grand-class ship reviews from the review page for Princess' Grand Princess.

[bxh165]

Thank you for including me in this post. I have read all the reviews above and I really can add only repeat the importance of pictures and dating the material whether it is a review or picture. Many people use the reviews to determine which ship to sail on. I just used the reviews to pick my first Celebrity cruise the Constellation. Thanks for asking for input and keep up the good job.:)

[ATCMickey]

Laura,

 

Colors are fine and easily readable.

 

ATCMickey

[Liat]

We have cruised on Millennium once, Infinity three times, and Constellation once, [out of 26 cruises altogether] and we agree with your review. We do have a few suggestions. The passenger/crew ratio and space ratio are important factors in the comfort of any cruise, and should be provided on the lead-in page, and with a rating. I would give the Millennium class 4s in both categories, with Crytsal's beauties achieving 5s and NCL maybe 2+, for example.

I like making the deck plans available, but the small photos of the cabins do not show much. A floor plan in addition to the dimensions (with the veranda size separately stated) would be more helpful. I don't trust photos to provide a real feel for a ship.

You might highlight the computer usage capacity and costs. It was a tad difficult to find, and the prices between cruise lines vary wildly it seems to me.

In the ever expanding, ever changing world of cruising, you are doing a good job of keeping up with things. Stick with it!

[Winterstale]

Hi Laura,

 

Looks good to me -- only one thing I'd recommend - just make it clear to people that the ratings are from 1-5...I know...this should be obvious...but for some....

 

I like the "overview" paired with quick links so people can click on the reviews of what they are most interested in.

 

the slideshow of photos was great.

 

All in all, like it!

[seabee22]

As a seasoned Cruiser - my wife and I read all of the Cruise Critic Reviews PRIOR to booking any cruise.

Case in point - we are booked on the MILLENNIUM on Dec. 3rd - out of San Juan - for the 10 Southern Caribbean Cruise ---- and throughly checked out the ship on CC before we booked. We are new to Celebrity as we normally cruise CCL and / or Cunard. We are very excited to our cruise in December - and have read everything, and also have connected with many of the fellow cruisers on the Boards / Roll Call - and signed up for the Connections Party.

Thanks, Seabee22:D

[justluv2cruisewithhubby]

The layout looks good I would like to see a bigger more defined photo of the cruise ship. Maybe add 4 additional photos such as:

Cabin

Specialty Restaurant

Gym/Spa

Pool

This would capture my attention and prompt me to click on information and browse.

[intel]

I liked the layout and the info contained in it. What would help me more to decide on selecting is the following

The grades and types of cabin on each deck

When the last or next upgrade of the ship is programmed

I certainly liked the photos and comments on the cabins that gave you an idea of the condition

[bmwsav44]

There are not enough photographs of the public areas. Panoramic views would be cool if possible.

I for one would like a photograph of the exterior elevators it's famous for.

Randall

[poodlewamp]

Found the page very ordinary..to other sites

[ellearedee]

I think it is a great page. Good to be able to see what other travellers find on their journeys. Keep it up.:)

[3red7s]

I agree with most comments listed here>

*more color

*more pics

*better navigation thru the search forums.

I always seem to have issued or get lost when trying to search for

items: such as "all things FOS" etc.

*I enjoy the massive participation we have. I can ALWAYS get the info

I need.

 

Keep up the good work....and keep striving to do more for us!!

[kennicott]

Hi, I did as you suggested and looked at the Celebrity Millennium review. Looks good to me. I agree with some of the suggestions by other posters here though. Berlitz provides decent appraisals as well, however, I find that they often make errors and allow those to run from edition to edition, for years. They also are a little slow on showing updates after a ship is modified during refurbishments.

 

What I am most interested in is a comprehensive evaluation of a ship as provided by fellow cruisers, not evaluations of the ship when mixed up with cruise specific appraisals and review comments. In other words, cruise reviews are important too, but I would prefer a ship review apart from a cruiser’s observations of a cruise they were just on.

 

For instance, I thought I would provide my evaluation of the Regent Seven Seas Navigator, since we were just on her a few months back. However, I could only find a cruise specific forum when I looked. So I tried anyway, the review form is limited to 6 ports. We did 12, so I decided to improvise and rate the top six ports. The more I got into it though, the more confusing it became. So I bagged it.

 

Maybe I missed something.