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

[lovesublime]

As already stated by someone else, I would like to see more cold, hard facts up front-size of ship, year inaugerated, crew-pax ratio etc. I would also like to see more and larger photos-especially reviewers' photos and especially photos on the differences in cabins. I don't mind the ads. They're easy to ignore. Would be nice to see interactive deck plans like on some of the cruise line web sites.

[newmexicoNita]

Laura,

 

I am honored to be able to put my 2 cents worth in and that is about what my opinion is worth. (only kidding)

 

Actually I think the review is great, love the idea of having the deck plans. The one thing, I may have mised that would be helpful: sq footage or an approximate footage for varies catagories. It woudl save up going to the website of a particular cruise line.

 

One more thing I would like to see changed: I think all reviews by cruisers should be removed after 6 months to a year. Ships change so much. Other than that I love what is being consiidersed. I like the idea of adding the latest CDC report as well.

 

Nita

[msydpdx]

It's a well written review but I think it goes into too much depth in explaining the art deco, decor, etal. Less is more...

 

And to be honest, I think the first four paragraphs are in the wrong order. You need to grab your readers so that they feel like they've walked up to this beautiful ship...give info on the size...then continue into the reception area, and so on. Really make the reader feel like they've embarked upon her decks.

 

Pictures are always good, ads are important but take away from the rhythm of the article (maybe post at the bottom of the page?).

 

Good luck!

msydpdx (Dee) ;)

[singnrn]

Maybe more real time details on the cabins:

A current condition update would be great, It's tough when reviews don't tell you what condition the cabins are currently in.

 

Things I really like to know about a cabin or hotel room for that matter:

shower curtain or glass door? Is it really scrubbed clean, or is there mildew in the corners?

are the furnishings stained, worn, when were they last replaced?

overall condition of room, are the mirrors chipped, stains in shower etc.

details & photos of the storage & closets

 

Thanks

I totally agree with this, and add how is the food quality? Along with a star rating from cruisers themselves on these areas.

[porsena]

I like the link to deck plans and cabin reviews, which might help answer questions on a recurring theme.

 

However, I think there's too much white space in the upper half of the page. Could you, for example, consider putting the Deck Plans and More Photos links opposite each other.

 

Could the More Photos link contain a horizontal scroll bar for the thumbnails?

[boaterette]

I would like to be able to tell how old the ship is, whn it was refurbished and how many passengers it will hold. I would like it if this info wer right under the name of the ship.

[babebutters]

Thanks so much for asking. I have a few suggestions:

 

Would it be possible to put the date of the Cruise Critic ship review at the top of the review?

 

I would like some more of the stats on the ship, such as size, # of pax, etc.

 

I like the link to deck plans.

 

I would like the user reviews given more emphasis.

 

Best,

Kathryn

[papanh]

I have always liked your review page and the only problem I have with it

are the canned photos, instead of current pictures.

Papanh

[Reader0108598]

I think you recieved enough feed back! ;)

 

I would just like to say Thank you for giving me a home to come to on the internet:)

 

What ever you do, just please keep doing it!

[kelley2]

I just had a look at the celebrity millennum site and i think that`s great,although i agree with some of the others in that the pictures of interior or exterior should be larger. Super info especially for a new cruiser for a particular ship. Letting a person see what is on the different decks and the numbering of each deck is important.are you going to proceed with this idea for all of the other cruise lines?

[sdmike]

Unfortunately, I think the layout of the page is horrible and looks like it was done by a teenager 10 years ago. Not trying to be mean, but it is VERY outdated and does not have some of the most basic common structures, such as a left hand navigation pane for different types of information pertaining to the ship, drop-downs where you might select a line, or specific ship. Maybe if you select "all lines" or "all ships" or all ships in a specific line you can get a table showing how they rank against each other. Photo galleries (stock and member uploaded) should be easy to find, as should other review information by ranking (look at how amazon.com presents its rankings/reviews and allows feedback, sorting, etc.). Finally, it's hard to tell what are ads and what is real information. Having "sponsored links" between the beginning of the content and the reviews below is really strange and off-putting. I know ad revenue drives the site, but to have it all over the place is difficult to stomach.

 

Sorry, but you asked. :)

[mysweetpea]

My husband and I are very good friends of Marion and John from NC

I need to know how I can get invited to the cruise critic party

[Gran2five]

Hi Laura, I agree with many of the others, more pictures of the ship would be beneficial. All in all though, it is a good description of the ship and to a newcomer would provide a lot of useful information.

 

Pat

[Cruisin Suzin]

I like the look of the page overall and found it pretty easy to navigate, but I also would use more real time photos rather than the stock photos you have used...based on what I have seen I would not choose this ship. I know it's a small point but the bedding they have used looks like it came from the fifties does not look inviting for me the ambiance of the cabin is important. I also don't want to have to read a lot of stuff I'm not interested in for example kids, etc...

 

The only one other category I would add and this is coming from a person who only has one cruise under my belt is Life on board, pools,what to expect during sea days..etc..and maybe a how to...I know you all know things like booking shore excursions but a new to cruising person won't I mean it doesn't take long I guess before you learn all of that on these boards..is there internet..cooking courses.etc. what makes this ship special...over all the others..that would interest me..

[anarresa]

Perhaps I should have looked at how many posts there were before looking at the review page, but it's only been a day so I'll give you my suggestions and you can compile;)

The whole website is simple so I assume you're continuing that theme and will suggest based on that.

 

PHOTOS

I like the selection of ship photos (ship, standard room, dining room, lounge, kids area covers the basics) but they should be larger on the page, perhaps an entire row below the main ship photo, and when selected the pop-up window opens they should be much larger and higher resolution. They are the worst photos I've ever seen on a website. I also think members should be able to post photos to a linked page, that way there's more variety if desired without cluttering the main page.

 

REVIEWS

The ribbon is an ugly icon. If you don't want stars maybe redesign to a vertical blue ribbon with less detail.

 

The main page should either have the full review (no link) or have no text of the review, only a link, and keep just the facts and icons on the main page.

 

I like the inclusion of Passenger, Dress and Gratuity info at the end of the review. That's socially important information that can't be found at the cruise line's website. Here would also be a good place for a link to member photos.

 

COLORS

The blue text is dark enough for easy reading, but the red is too bright against the white. You should use more of a maroon color, or maybe a dark green to allude to the ocean while still being readable.

[reggierail]

Looks great to me. :D

Reggie

[Fazzdaan]

I like the review page. It gets me the information I want to see and yet it has some distinctive styling. Thumbs up.

[hazeleyes]

Almost everything i need is listed on the page in order to make my decision if booking.

 

 

Larger font for ship name.

Colors are fine for me.

More pictures of the inside of the ship would be helpful. As i always find myself surfing the web for photos of a ship i want to go on before i make my choice.

[leseriksen]

hey laura,

 

i think you guys do a great job covering everything we'd want to know....but the people who submit the reviews want to know that their time was well spent so ...i suggest a button that people looking at the reviews can click on to indicate it was helpful....a measurable objective. travelocity has this functionality and i personally love it ....if i'm gonna take the time to write a review, i'd like to know it was valuable to someone else.

 

2 cents please.:)

[leseriksen]

I think a lot of port reviews are included in the ship review and cruise critic would have to extract these and file as a port review summation with the date of the visit. That would be a good project.

 

 

good one.

[Aussiegrlfl]

Have to mention althought the "ads" may be annoying folks I am sure this is how we get the wonderful forum for FREE....

 

I will admit that I had looked into a Millenium cruise and read some reviews that stated the "buffet" was no longer available...but you didn't mention that on the review.....how often do you upgrade the CC overall reviews we read as opposed to the cruisers that post?...

[Pilot70D]

This is very difficult because I thought that the format user reviews was pretty good. There are maybe one or two minor things that i might consider adding.

First, I would implement the ability to display a single category among the several categories which are now there. For instance maybe I am interested only in the food reviews or the entertainment but I don't want to look through the rest of a review to get to the one category in which I am interested.

Second, I would provide a capability like Amazon does in user reviews. They have the most helpful positive review and the most helpful critical review posted at the bbegiining of thre user reviews section. I find it very helpful to see the contrast in these two reviews.

Third and finally I would provide a time filter for those who want to use such a filter. I would provide the ability to filter out reviews from submitters with less than whatever years on CC that I specify. For instance I am not too interested in reviews submitted by brand new cruisers. They typically love everything.

Thanks for asking for input from users. I do hope that my input is useful and have a great day.:):)

[harryw]

2 comments -

 

- navigating to Member ship and cruise reviews is difficult - i've forgotten many times over the years how to locate them. And novices could have a harder time.

 

- the line spacing is too tight and font too small. Better formatting would make reading lengthy reviews easier.

 

Harry

[falcon20]

As a newcomer. i really liked the page. informative and i liked the member's reviews.

great job!

[mawvkysc]

Everything was great. I like the colors and layout. I think it is easy to maneuver around the page. Some parts could be a little more concise. Not a real problem though.