Negative posts

[chorder]

I guess the old adage "No News is good News" applies to a lot of postings I have read lately on these boards. Is it just me or does it seem like the bad cruise experiences out weigh the good. My wife and I are sailing on the radiance on 4-3-05 out of Miami. This will be our 4th cruise. we have sailed twice on the Grandeur and once on the Enchantment and loved them all .We will also keep sailing with rccl until something happens to really turn us off.And I am not talking about A crew member having a bad day,or a meal being a little bland ,or maybe even missing a port call because of weather .Things happen every criuse we have been on hasn't been perfect but the sun shined most of the time the food was good most of the time,the crew was GREAT most of the time,and We loved being on the ship ALL of the time.Yes sometimes things happen that are terrible and can ruin a vacation.BUT,a rude crew member or a cold piece of meat or not being able to sit right by the pool all the time sure is not going to ruin it. So while cruising relax ,have a drink,enjoy the sun and think of all the people out there who may never be able to afford a cruise.Quit all the negativity and lighten up and quit all the knit picking .Just wanted to get that off my chest 34 MORE DAYS TILL WE SAIL

[ckrobyn]

Well said Chorder!

 

We just got off the Radiance a week ago today and loved the ship :) Nothing in life is ever perfect.......but a cruise is pretty darn close ;)

[ineedacruise]

I have not had a 100% perfect cruise yet and doubt I ever will but I keep right on booking and cruising.

 

People make mistakes, have bad days, or do something you dont like.

 

You cant control the weather and mechanical things can go wrong beyond anyones control.

 

The best thing to do is to go on your cruise and make the best of it. You are on vacation, relax and go with the flow.

 

JMHO

[Sheffie]

Yeah, Chorder! I agree whole-heartedly. I, also, am one of those people who choose to see the good side of things. Call me Pollyanna if you wish! You know, in life there are some people who chose to see only the bad, chose to talk negatively and not enjoy life. They have NOT GOTTEN what is important in life. I feel sorry for them. I refuse to join them. I want to go on a cruise w/ Chorder and CKRobyn! :D

 

Michelle

[dc-snoopy]

The main problem is that you see only what is posted. There are quite a few who expect a good time and hence don't comment on the good parts. They come here to complain about the incidents that were bad. So you get focused attention on what went wrong.

 

It's not a critique, but if the poster who wants to find out if a certain type of mistake is common, if anyone else has dealt with it and has insight, or if anyone has ideas for rectifying an on-going problem, they usually only come on, post the problem and question. But then you find out the one thing out of a week that went bad. However, the alternative of having to list their entire cruise experience including the good to get to their question means that others will have the right impression but their question may get lost. So, which is better? Neither, each type of posting is legit depending on your intent (to report about an experience or to question about an experience). Those reading however, have to read between the lines and realize that if there is a posting about one incident on a 7-day cruise, then assume that the rest was at least acceptable if not good or great.

 

Take out the selective instance and the complaints that you are left with fall into several categories like those who are long-time cruisers lamenting the decrease in quality and/or service over "the good old days"

[elleluv]

Thank you!

What's worse than reading the negativity on the boards is listening to those people on the ship focusing on whatever little thing didn't go their way. We too try to reflect on the positive and not be engaged by them.

Don't let the buggers get you down!

[MM27]

I wouldn't rely on another persons opinion to determine whether or not I book a vacation. If it's something I want to do, I do it. If I have a bad experience, I accept it as my mistake. Same way I wouldn't skip a movie I wanted to see because one or two critics claim that it's not good. From reading what people complain about (on this board and others) I see that my idea of a vacation is not the same as others. For example, I don't go on a cruise to shop and eating is not my priority. I hate getting dressed up for dinner, so I don't. I can't believe that some people get so worked up because of what other people do on their vacation and I don't understand how one poor cruise employee can ruin your whole trip. Read the posts, but understand that people are more likely to write about the horrible time they've had than they are about the awesome experiences they've had. Make your mind up about a cruiseline after you've given them a chance.

[Retired not Expired]

The way I see it is there's a couple thousand cruisers on each ship times how many ships are out there times new cruisers every sailing. That's a LOT of people. If I see one or even a few people compain about something, I look on it as an isolated case and not common no matter who may be at fault. If I see continuous complaints on the same subject and don't see action to make improvements, then it's another story. Therefore it takes a lot to make me worry about something that will probably never happen to me. I go in positive, and so far, I've come out postive.

[ckrobyn]

Yeah, Chorder! I agree whole-heartedly. I, also, am one of those people who choose to see the good side of things. Call me Pollyanna if you wish! You know, in life there are some people who chose to see only the bad, chose to talk negatively and not enjoy life. They have NOT GOTTEN what is important in life. I feel sorry for them. I refuse to join them. I want to go on a cruise w/ Chorder and CKRobyn! :D

 

Michelle

 

Sheffie :p Any time!

[JavaBean]

Just like in life, there will always be people who look for the negative or want to sensationalize a situation. Most complaints, put into a percentage of people on that particular cruise = a very small group.....make a decision early on to steer clear of them and decide your own happiness :D

 

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade (served with a shot of Jack Daniels) ..... or better yet, use those lemons on your surf and turf :p

A 'SO-SO' DAY CRUISING IS 100% BETTER THAN ANY DAY AT WORK!

[hstrybuf]

Everyone is going to have a different point of view even if they were on the same cruise. I've never had a bad cruise. Sure some things could have been better, but we try to turn the negatives into positives. Tropical storm, no problem! It was an adventure!

[DON M.]

I guess the old adage "No News is good News" applies to a lot of postings I have read lately on these boards. Is it just me or does it seem like the bad cruise experiences out weigh the good. My wife and I are sailing on the radiance on 4-3-05 out of Miami. This will be our 4th cruise. we have sailed twice on the Grandeur and once on the Enchantment and loved them all .We will also keep sailing with rccl until something happens to really turn us off.And I am not talking about A crew member having a bad day,or a meal being a little bland ,or maybe even missing a port call because of weather .Things happen every criuse we have been on hasn't been perfect but the sun shined most of the time the food was good most of the time,the crew was GREAT most of the time,and We loved being on the ship ALL of the time.Yes sometimes things happen that are terrible and can ruin a vacation.BUT,a rude crew member or a cold piece of meat or not being able to sit right by the pool all the time sure is not going to ruin it. So while cruising relax ,have a drink,enjoy the sun and think of all the people out there who may never be able to afford a cruise.Quit all the negativity and lighten up and quit all the knit picking .Just wanted to get that off my chest 34 MORE DAYS TILL WE SAIL

My thoughts exactly. So many people "sweat the small stuff" ( a good book by the way). I suppose that is why the #1 killer is the U.S. is STRESS. After visiting the Acropolis or Pompeii etc. do I really care my rolls were a little hard? or I had to wait in line 1-hour or 3 hours to get off the ship? Like you, when inconveneinces occur I always think about the 99% good things that we have experienced and realize how fortunate we are.

[pinkrosesdeb]

I wonder why it is as humans we seem to focus on the 5% bad rather than the 95% good! We have had some not so great times on our cruises but the GREAT MAJORITY of them have been heaven. Every day of my life anywhere can have ups and downs but we live for the ups! Hope everyone on each of their cruises looks for the best and gets it!

[Lisa5960]

:) Chorder,

I will also be on the 4/3 sailing of the Radiance!!! I got my cruise docs yesterday, and the level of excitement is steadily rising!

Have you and your wife signed up for the Meet and Mingle yet? If not, join us... it sounds like fun!

[flamingosun]

You all will certainly enjoy the Radiance. She is a beauty of a ship with a wonderful crew.

[chorder]

Hey Snoopy I agree with what you are saying to the extent that people (especially new people reading these boards may focus on only the negative ) but when there are only negative posts that is all there is to focus on.If I was a first time cruiser and was depending on seasoned (or even better knowledgable cruisers for info on ships and cruise lines) I would definitely have my guard up from the time I boarded a ship after reading the many negative posts that are on this board as of late. If you read 10

[chorder]

Hey Snoopy I agree with what you are saying to the extent that people (especially new people reading these boards may focus on only the negative ) but when there are only negative posts that is all there is to focus on.If I was a first time cruiser and was depending on seasoned (or even better knowledgable cruisers for info on ships and cruise lines) I would definitely have my guard up from the time I boarded a ship after reading the many negative posts that are on this board as of late.

[beachchick]

I like to see balanced reporting of good and bad. I do not need to hear 15 good things before I am willing to listen to 1 bad thing. Conversely, I don't care to read a diatribe. I just want balance and honest thoughts. I don't like the nasty responses to other poster's opinions. If someone had a bad cruise, he or she is entitled to say so without others accusing the poster of being a small, hairy beast that begins with T or worse.

 

I always keep in mind that personal experiences are colored by expectations. It's possible, maybe likely, that some of the negatives that are reported occur because of the cruise mystique. Many cruisers (esp new ones) may still be thinking in terms of "The Love Boat"--huge cabins, world-class cuisine, individual attention day and night, obsequious (sp?) crew, blah, blah, blah. And let's face it, the cruise lines advertise us to buy into the image. Celebrity says "my butler knew exactly when to bring my coffee" (or something like that), what they don't say is "oh, didn't we mention that butler service is only included in the highest cabin categories?" Expectations are bound to be high. Then little things start to become perceived as huge issues.

 

Take cruise line food. As with most things, food is certainly an individual issue. But woe to the poster who says, "I didn't like the food on X ship and here's why." I think the food on RCI is anywhere from decent to very good, but I don't think it's world-class, 4-star cuisine. How can it be? With the proliferation of ships and especially mega-ships, the food is bound to be mass produced. This is bound to show. I will say that I've never had a cruise that was even remotely ruined or even affected by a bad meal. If I don't care for something, I simply ask for something else. I don't make a federal case over it. OTOH, I don't care for it when some posters jump all over other posters who do express a negative, but rational and civil, opinion about the food.

 

It is absolutely true that some people seem to be looking for things to complain about here. I either skip the post entirely or take everything that poster writes with a grain of salt.

 

What I cannot tolerate is the personal and often nasty attacks that have become more common. This is not civil discussion and certainly isn't productive. I would rather focus on and hear about the positives, but I want to know about the negatives.

 

We are fortunate to be able to cruise. We should remember that, but we should remember that bad things do happen from time to time. Some people can nitpick anything to death. I don't listen to them; I do listen to rationally presented experiences. I think it's better for new cruisers to know that cruising is mostly wonderful, but it's reality (real reality, not the so-called reality of TV). It's easier to manage expecations if you understand this.

 

beachchick (who can happily enjoy just about any cruise, any time, anywhere)