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

[the doo mob]

Laura is doing a good job and looks like she has lots of travelling to do

[Alamogirl]

The page was terrific, makes me wish we were going to on her instead of The Oasis. We have talked about doing a Celebrity cruise in the future, guess now it will be sooner the later.

 

We have only cruised RCCL and as part of the the RCCL family know that we will love Celebrity as much if not more!

[Smittydoll]

The page looks pretty good. I liked the quick links for areas of ship, not sure if that is a new feature or not, as I'm new @ this. Also, I agree with an earlier observation in this "thread" about the fonts needing to be/could be updated. Peace out & God bless.:p

[Spanky My]

More photo's of CC rooms and Balconys,size of each,etc......I guess more photos in general . When folks are trying to make a decision on a room/ cruiseline they like to (SEE) what they are getting for their money!

[celebrity]

I really like it, Laura. However, I would love to see a lot more photos. How about some samples of menus & the dailies?

[BJC]

Good morning Laura,

I have been reading CC Reviews for some years now and find them most helpful in making a decision on which Cruise Line, Ship and Cruise to take, and have contributed to the Members Reviews following each Cruise.

I also write for our local paper here in Perth, Western Australia, as it has been my hope to get as many people enjoying the sheer pleasure of cruising that we have experienced over the years.

I must say though that there are many contributions to the Members Reviews that one has to discount, when making a choice, in that they come from a position where a single and often minor irritation appears to have completely ruined what otherwise should have been a wonderful cruise.

My only wish is that people would, while acknowledging the problem they encountered, then review and comment on the more positive aspects of their cruise, rather dwell on what is sometime just silly little thing.

I must say that the Photos shown as part of the review pages appear to be those officially supplied by the Cruise Line, and are often touched up and really look artificial, I can honestly say that the only photos that I rely on are those posted by real people from their last cruise, so you see the Ship as it really is, not how the spin doctors would have you believe.

Now this is a personal thing, but I have to say that too much emphasis is placed on the Spa and Fitness aspects of the Ship, while I suspect that there are many people who use these facilities, and that they provide a good return to the Cruise Line, is this what cruising is all about, I personally think not, but that is just me.

What I would like to know more about is the cultural activities available, and here I do not count the almost mandatory Art Auctions as a “cultural activity” but rather as a unwarranted distraction, also about the availability of ships libraries, games rooms, enrichment programs, activity classes and the like.

Also about the availability and cost of shore excursions, and if there are tours of the ship to see the behind the scene workings, they used to do these on the Star Cruise Lines, SuperStar Gemini, and you were lucky to get a booking especially for the Bridge and Cooking tours.

Anyway keep up the good work, for me the one single change would be less spin and more real life experiences.

Happy Cruising,

Bruce J Crane

[SueSea]

Thanks so much for asking for our feedback. This website has a wealth of information, and any enhancements you provide will be icing on the cake. I know I'm repeating some items posted by others, but it can't hurt to let you know that there are others with the same opinions.

 

 

Cruise Critic Cruise Reviews

Absolutely need review dates. Information about the ship’s condition, entertainment, and service can be drastically different just a few years later.

 

Could be more aesthetically pleasing through the use of white space, fonts, colors, etc.

 

I’d like to see links to menus. More pictures would be a plus.

 

I don’t find the ads too distracting at all. I have to say thanks for not subjecting us to those obnoxious ads that jump out and block what you are reading until you close them.

 

Someone mentioned that the word ‘fellow’ was gender-specific. Fellow is commonly used to refer to associates or a group member. When the president addresses “My fellow Americans,” he isn’t talking only to men. Fellow is fine by me.

 

And while I’m at it, Member Reviews

On the page you list the member reviews with the first few lines from the review, it would be great to have the ability to expand the review to show the entire text (much like Trip Advisor does). It would save a lot of clicking around to read reviews.

 

It would be great to be able to search all Member reviews for key words.

 

Would like to see a ship facts section: in service date, refurbished date, number of passengers, etc.,

 

Add Sailing Date and Cabin Type to the Member’s sailing information. I look for reviews for the type of cabin I’m interested in, not the exact category. I’d just as soon skip over any suite reviews because I don’t want to know what I’m missing.

 

Would be great to allow the member to update his review at least for a few months after posting. The edited text should be in a different font and the posted date should be updated and displayed.

[PennyAgain]

If people posting work for a cruise line or travel agency, I would prefer the review state that.

[Christina M.]

DH and I check out the ships review to help us with our next cruise. There are so many places to go now days it help's us to check things out first.

[ronrythm]

Dating everything should be mandatory. Is that photo current or from 6 years ago? If pictures are supplied by the line it should be noted. Current iteraries would be a great help.

Enjoy

Ron

[SeaBlu]

:)I, too, would like to see the name and brand of the ship jump off of the page with font and color.

The overall colors are fine.

I would like to see the "sponsors" lower or somewhere else on the page.

Pictures, pictures, pictures, that when you click on them REALLY open up and ask for "real photos" from posters not just canned photos, but they do have their place.

I would like to see people rate the ships in comparison to other ships they have sailed in: luxury; food; service; stateroom "room", quality of bedding, triple sheeting?, extras such as ice buckets, water, etc.; are there constant overhead announcements, etc.

I find this information very helpful when choosing a cruise line and I would think other do too.

Perhaps you could make some sort of check off area where we could 'check' off the selection that most closely matches the cruise line and ship we are reviewing and then it would be much easier for others to compare ships and cruises.

This may make the "review" a bit less 'objective' and more fact by fact, at least in some areas.

Also some that do not want to "write" a review would copy and paste the "check off sheet" and at least submit that part of a review.

 

Thank you for allowing my input!

[ldubs]

I agree that the Millennium is a great ship -- one of my favorites. The review reads like someone was paid to flower up the brochure from the cruise line. The photos are clearly from the cruise line's files. Fact is, change the names and the same flowery wording could be used for about any mainstream cuise ship of the same age and class. I also don't see anything that really supports the ratings. For example, from reading the review, how do I know why the family and kids section only received a rating of 3 out of 5. The "review" sounds pretty darn good to me, so why only a 3?

 

My suggestions: Drop the "prose". Use headings with bullet points to point out the ship features. I don't understand the Overall rating versus the member rating. I also question some of the weighting/criteria used and find some of it to be double-talk. Drop the overall rating and use only member ratings, with heavier weight given to more recent cruises.

 

Well, you did ask.

[jgw321]

My first and only cruise so far led me to research and I ended up at CruiseCritic. I was reading up on what makes a cruise since the tickets had already been purchased. I would want to start future research and planning here as well.

 

Same here. We found CC after ticket purchase last year but it now forms part of our pre-booking planning. So Line reviews, Ship reviews, Excursion reviews are all important factors for the decision making process.

 

You are on the right track in getting some feedback....... look forward to see the next iteration!!

Yes I do hope you will make this an iterative process take on board and implement te things tat you are happy to change and start a new tread with the next iteration.

[keryn2010]

all i want to do it write a review for a ship - for goodness sake, stop redirecting me!!!

[CSloan]

I would like to read a little more about the cabin/balcony, etc.

I also think it would be very helpful to be able to sort/choose reviews based on ports or areas. For example, I'm cruising Tahiti with Princess, but there are some good reviews of the same, or similar, itinerary, on other ships. If I don't know what other ships go there, I may miss those reviews as well.

 

Thanks!

[Cruisebird]

I have to say that honestly I look at the Member's Reviews first for more real opinions and pictures. I agree with other posters. More pictures would be good and larger pictures. The one of the dining room looks is hard to make out with some bad eyes!

 

Information on where the ship might sail in the current year would be great and more specific cabin information. I always go and read the boards to see how people describe certain characteristics of cabins. Helps to decide what cabin we might want on a ship.

 

Ads don't bother me. I understand why they have to be on the pages. It would be helpful though to get rid of the ones in between the ship name and then the review. Those are useless.

 

Hope this helps. I appreciate you asking for our opinions and I appreciate this website.

 

Thanks.

[Tamaracboy]

I'd suggest that you uncluttered the "Main Review Page" by placing a prominent link to a separate "Ship Facts" page. The facts page should prominently feature the year that the ship was built AND last refurbished, as well as photo's, deck plans, and perhaps a sailing schedule.

 

I would also suggest, since everybody is so interested in the "current status" of each ships facilities, that there be a "picture of the month" contest for each ship. Such photo's could be an incredible resource, as well as a source of discussion on the boards.

 

The winning photo (along with a brief description) could be a prominent feature of the "Ship Facts" page.

 

Best of luck with the revised pages!

 

Laura, Thank you for including me in. This makes me feel appreciated as a user.

 

I read most of the responses (skipped pages 4 & 5), and found that most of the suggestions had value.

I group them into 4 major categories:

1. Pictures, most people mention them

2. Prominence of Member reviews.

3. Look & feel of the page itself

4. Information available.

 

to comment:

1. The pictures, even when expanded are small and rather low resolution. And for me the "Celebrity Millennium Photos" link brought up nothing. {Browser = Safari} AND some posters have asked for a source & date for the photos which would be a very good idea. More photos related to the sections (dining, cabins, public spaces, pools, etc.) Again hopefully something other than stale publicity photos provided by the Line. If anything were to have Flash or any motion, it could be a photo "band". Lord only knows your users have more photos than the lines themselves.
   
2. Member Reviews. These are what most users believe and trust the most. The front page review of ALL ships reads like a PR release (pablum). And, provides relatively little actual information. Perhaps as part of the (hopefully repositioned) Member Reviews, the most recent review could be featured with a button then for "Read All Member Reviews" (keep the ability to sort by date or rating etc.). I definitely agree that some basic information should be "starred" as required when writing a review, e.g. Date of Sailing & Cabin Category, and a few others. Yes you MAY get a few less reviews because of the requirements, but they would have more relevance for the readers.
   
3. Look & Feel of page: Your review pages are all visually very "busy" and distracting. Upon opening, the eye does not know where to go. However for frequent users of CC we are used to it and can find our way around. This is NOT the first impression any web page wants to make. And this page definitely screams CC. With just a cursory scan of the page I counted 9 (!) ads in at least 5 positions throughout the page. And I probably missed some. The reader NEEDS some definition/distinction between "information" (the reason he is on the page in the first place) and PAID advertisements. Yes, as all have said, we know you need to pay for the site, but at the cost of confusing, or worse losing, readers ? The ads, when relevant AND well done, could offer information that would attract the reader to open them (the only desired result!). The colors and fonts are MUCH less important than the reader being able to find relevant information upon first quick scan. The one writer about "twisties" is totally correct about web page protocols. Yes, BRAVO on the inclusion of deck plans. It has always been my hope (on all cruise line sites) to display the deck plans on a "exploded" stacked format. And yes they need all the keys and cabin categories fully available.
   
4. Information: Data, Details, FAQ's, ETC.: The reason I quoted the above w/ my RED highlight. IF this is to be a true Ship Review/Information page, there NEEDS to be a separate page with build date, company, sales, re-builds, drydocks, wetdocks, special features, smoking policy, crew/PAX ratio, space ratio, cabins @ Sq.Ft. (within categories), accidents, fires, registry, ETC. ETC. Basically anything and everything that can be measured and/or quantified ! ! and predominant nationalities of the crew & staff EVERYTHING ON ONE PAGE. Why should CC not become the industry standard for accurate information ?????? After all some of your frequent posters have been the go-to source for ship information, complete with photos & histories !
   

 

Truth is we need CC and will come here no matter what, but it is because we care that we participate with this feedback.

Hope some/any of this helps.

 

r.

[szdiver]

By the time I looked over everything, the points I would have given had already been made, but it is a good topic and thanks for starting it. I love the pictures and ability to see the decks etc.

[5326jan]

:)The information is great, but I want to see pictures that will pop up to larger size, so that I can invision myself there. Where will I put my things, where can I sit in my cabin to relax, how big/small is the bathroom, how much space will there be in the minifridge, etc. I also think that some balconies should be shown... how big? covered? number of chairs?

 

I would also like to see some pictures of "live action" in the dining room and hallways. What are people wearing? Will I be out of place in certain outfits? How dressy do people get on formal night? The entertainment venues look huge, but there are times we've been and not been able to find a seat, show them with people! That way you don't get the false impression that you can come at the last minute and still find plenty of seats.

 

Thank you for asking for members feedback!

[flamomo]

I REALLY hate the ads that "blink". They are VERY distracting, and make me look for a way to escape them, whether by scrolling the page past them, or abandoning the page completely.

It would be be very nice if you were to accept only non-moving ads anywhere on CC.

 

That said, I agree with the earlier poster about the "canned" photos. They are very uninspiring, and most unlikely to make me want to book a cruise based on them.

[eedee]

Only thing I could think of is Virtual tours. especially of the cabin types

[cookngranny]

We have always heard Carnival was not suitable for families -- more for younger people. Our group will be from ages 71 to 8. Would we fit in on Carnival?

[mark13]

I wanted to open hte page and see what jumped out at my first. Surprisingly enought, after looking at the main picture of the ship, my eye went down to sponsored links. I would move them as this is prime real estate for your deck plans, photos, etc. Just flip flop what is on the left and right.

[jkbec1]

Here are the things that I would change:

 

1. I like viewing other travelers photos, as they show things as they really are and not as the cruise ship wants them to be. If you could do it in a similar way to trip advisor, that would be great.

 

2. I tend to throw out the really good and the really bad comments, so maybe you could list the best most recent review and the worst most recent review, so that when people are reading, they could see those first and then decide if they wanted to keep reading.

 

Just my opinions

 

Jim

[ssbeagle]

It's an excellent feature for cc members. I would like to see pictures of the ship that have been taken by passengers and not "artificial" advertising pictures taken by the cruise line for selling purposes. They don't seem realistic. Otherwise I believe all the features and reviews are very good and easy to look up. I would like to see the number of passengers it can carry in a more prominent place. I don't like large ships like the Oasis and prefer ships that have 2600 or less passengers on board.