Useless reviews?

[Waihekean]

I like the reviews. When researching a particular ship on the review board, then I read a lot of the reviews and usually gain a lot of info about the ship and also items of interest or things to consider, relating to the ports of call.

 

Also it makes you feel good when you have picked a ship and 94% loves it. Same for example with my el cheapo hotel I booked in Rome where again 94% of the reviews are positive.

 

Some reviews are really well written and entertaining, others don't really give much info, because don't explain why something was good or not so good. Some indeed are plain ignorant "did not like this Meditterranean cruise, there were so many Europeans on it".

 

Regarding the reviews with the photo's on the board, I just love:D those.

[halos]

When I read something negative in a review I ask myself "would this be a concern for me?" and if the answer is no (which it often is) then I just don't worry about it. If the answer is yes, then I decide if it's a deal killer or if it's something that I can live with (and I often can). To me the most helpful reviews are those where the reviewer takes the time to provide some background info- for instance if they say "the food sucked" and they had said that they only eat at 4 star restaurants. But in the end all reviews must be taken with a grain of salt (or a barrel of salt in some cases).

 

Great answer (as usual) :)

 

 

not sure what we all did going on cruises before al gore invented the internets? i guess we had nothing to complain about.

 

LMAO.

Politicians...all of them are always good for a laugh!

[fishtaco]

I'm going on my first cruise in January. I read all kinds of reviews, different ships, food, ports of call, excursions, etc. You name it. Good. Bad. Ugly. I do it mostly for the pictures of places I've never been. ;)

 

I too take everything with a grain of salt. It's a vacation. I'm not going to be stuck in South Western PA with the cold and snow. I'm going to be a pretty happy woman, regardless of whether or not someone may or may not have said something in a questionable tone or I fall down the stairs. lol

 

 

Unless you or one of your party decides they dont like cruising or falls ill or is sea sick the whole time!

 

personal experience of a cruise can show up as a negative review just because you gave your honest opinion of the experience "you" had.

 

I wrote a half and half review of a cruise that had on board maintenance that started from the time we sailed and continued for the first 3 days of a 12 night cruise.

 

To have welders grinders paint chipping,paint fumes pool/spas closed etc did spoil the first few days,I always expect it at the end of the cruise but not the beginning.

 

During this cruise to a very hot humid destination a maintenance plumber let himself into our state room around midnight while my semi naked partner was sleeping alone to fix a blocked sink that wasnt blocked! Did we complain? yes and it was justified what wasnt justified was the constant requests to report to the pursers desk to give reports and statements during the cruise which kept the bad experience alive!

 

I was bagged for the review by some with comments like "What did you expect? cruise ships need maintenance" or "some people are never happy"

but the truth is it ruined part of "My" vacation and showed through in the review.

 

Some first time cruisers dont even know that quite often (always:p) maintenance is done during the cruise because the ship is never in port long enough. A negative or informative?

 

seasoned cruisers Know how to read between the lines i should think but some negatives give new cruisers a broader picture of what they could also expect other than total joy 24-7.

 

I cruise because i enjoy it but am not afraid to express any negatives I encounter during a cruise.

 

 

Den

[Kryssa]

We booked this cruise because we wanted to get away with the family while spending a reasonable amount of money. If the ship and rooms are clean and the food is good, everything else is just gravy. Your vacation is what you make of it and you have to learn to just let go and go with the flow :)

[RickCanada]

On a number of cruises I have taken, especially Carnival, I had read so many negative reviews that I was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful our cruise ended up being.

 

On the other hand, I really appreciate the effort that reviewers put in their reviews whether they are positive or negative.

 

I have cruised on different cruise lines and expected Carnival cruises to be a step below the others due to the lower prices. That hasn't happened in my case. We have had amazing times on all of our cruises and haven't yet had any reason to register a complaint.

[elcuchio24]

We've cruised enough to usually know what to expect. Sometimes I do read ship reviews if we've never been on the ship. Like you said, hit or miss. I think it's pretty easy to week out the complainers and the folks who just gloss over everything. Even if you read 5 reviews and only one of them gives you a good idea of the ship, that's still a win in my book.

[Slacktide]

After just returning from my first cruise I thought I'd might write a review as a way to contribute back to this site. Glad I read this thread first and saved myself the time and effort.

[Warm Breezes]

I like to read reviews to find information on the ships that I may not know about and might want to try (ie fish & chips when went on the Freedom, secret decks, decks of cards from guest services, etc...these are all things I wouldn't have known about without reading reviews). I disregard anything that has to do with personal opinion....food, service, and entertainment. Those are areas I would rather experience and judge for myself based on my own likes/dislikes and not some strangers. Facts I read and then file away for future trips. Opinions I glance at and then ignore.

[Warm Breezes]

Double Post...oops

[elcuchio24]

I like to read reviews to find information on the ships that I may not know about and might want to try (ie fish & chips when went on the Freedom, secret decks, decks of cards from guest services, etc...these are all things I wouldn't have known about without reading reviews). I disregard anything that has to do with personal opinion....food, service, and entertainment. Those are areas I would rather experience and judge for myself based on my own likes/dislikes and not some strangers. Facts I read and then file away for future trips. Opinions I glance at and then ignore.

 

You're right on. There's a huge difference between information and Opinion. The information is almost always useful, the opinion, not so much.

[rybreadsmomshubby]

When I read something negative in a review I ask myself "would this be a concern for me?" and if the answer is no (which it often is) then I just don't worry about it.

That's the way I look at it. When reading reviews on here/Tripadvisor/wherever I always look at the most negative aspects. If the 'bad stuff' is something I can live with then it's all good. :)

[Handsome58]

Love reading the reviews. The good, bad and ugly........not talking about the ships either. Talking about the reviewers. the review is coming through one person's eyes. And allot of them need glasses to see that "it ain't that serious".......life is way too short and times are way too hard for me to complain about a "vacation" when some are finding it hard to find a job. But I love the pictures........so most of them once they turn negative I just look at the pictures.

[Ladyarli]

On some sites, such as tripadvisor, and amazon.com, you are given the option to click on a button after reading a review, answering the question "Was this review useful?" with either "yes" or "no". Some reviews are not helpful. The food was terrible. OK, that's your opinion. But it doesn't help me. Why was the food terrible? There are any number of reasons why someone would say that. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and I want to know it - that's why I read the reviews. But if they don't indicate why they feel that way, how do I know if that will apply to me?

A few years ago, we took a cruise to Alaska on Holland America. I was reading reviews a week or two later, and I happened to read one by a lady who was on the same cruise I was on. We had the opposite experience! Apparently, we had completely opposite tastes! She spent every day in the gym. I only went there to get to the bow when the naturalist was out there talking about the whales. She never went to one show because she "didn't like that sort of thing". We never missed a show, and enjoyed them all.

When reading reviews, I look for reviews that give a little detail, so I can decide whether or not that particular item would be a concern for me or not. Of course people have different opinions about what is good. If they didn't, Baskin Robbins would only have one flavor!

[richstowe]

After just returning from my first cruise I thought I'd might write a review as a way to contribute back to this site. Glad I read this thread first and saved myself the time and effort.

Sorry you feel this way. You know how everyone has been saying ,take reviews with a grain of salt?

Well take this thread with a grain of salt.:D

 

Seriously if you want to submit a review, just do it. It may help someone and even if it doesn't it will be a memory for you.:)

Down the road you will enjoy rereading your own contribution.

[crusinpsychRN]

Unless you or one of your party decides they dont like cruising or falls ill or is sea sick the whole time!

 

personal experience of a cruise can show up as a negative review just because you gave your honest opinion of the experience "you" had.

 

I wrote a half and half review of a cruise that had on board maintenance that started from the time we sailed and continued for the first 3 days of a 12 night cruise.

 

To have welders grinders paint chipping,paint fumes pool/spas closed etc did spoil the first few days,I always expect it at the end of the cruise but not the beginning.

 

During this cruise to a very hot humid destination a maintenance plumber let himself into our state room around midnight while my semi naked partner was sleeping alone to fix a blocked sink that wasnt blocked! Did we complain? yes and it was justified what wasnt justified was the constant requests to report to the pursers desk to give reports and statements during the cruise which kept the bad experience alive!

 

I was bagged for the review by some with comments like "What did you expect? cruise ships need maintenance" or "some people are never happy"

but the truth is it ruined part of "My" vacation and showed through in the review.

 

Some first time cruisers dont even know that quite often (always:p) maintenance is done during the cruise because the ship is never in port long enough. A negative or informative?

 

seasoned cruisers Know how to read between the lines i should think but some negatives give new cruisers a broader picture of what they could also expect other than total joy 24-7.

 

I cruise because i enjoy it but am not afraid to express any negatives I encounter during a cruise.

 

 

Den

 

I stayed on the ship in Grand Cayman and sat out on the Serenity deck right in the middle. It was very peaceful. For a while. Sure enough a mainenance guy came along and started pounding the railing to get paint chips off right in front of where I was sitting. This went on for hours. He didn't make much progress.

[crusinpsychRN]

^^ Looks as if you been to Southern California....:D

With such great weather we have the worst drivers.

 

Again, I disagree! Try driving in Florida! :D

[richstowe]

Bienvenue a Québec! Our drivers are scary!:eek:

[davy jones]

The only "useless" reviews are those in which everything is amazing or everything is terrible. Sometimes the terrible reviews provide entertainment when the bickering begins (I guess they are not "useless" then.)

 

I like to hear the good and the not so good and when I write a review, I do the same. Some little things that might be useless to me may be useful to someone. Isn't that what this is about?

 

Another reason to mention some little annoyances in the reviews is that Carnival probably also reads them and might decide to do something about it if it is easy to change. An example would be my annoyance with no deck chairs on the promenade deck. It is not a deal breaker by any means, nor does it ruin our cruise. It doesn't matter one bit to lido deck sun worshipers, but it would be a simple improvement that some passengers would appreciate. I have read other reviews with similar things that I didn't realize, but thought would be nice changes, even for me.

 

There is something useful in just about every review, you just have to use the proper mental filter.

[TheCalicoCat]

Ok, vent over. So, do you read the reviews? If so, what do you expect to glean from them?

 

I read them for entertainment in anticipation for my cruise.

[richstowe]

I read them for entertainment in anticipation for my cruise.

Major confession - I also check the reviews after I cruise.:o Can't explain it.:confused:

[soccersharon]

Bienvenue a Québec! Our drivers are scary!:eek:

 

Even our gov't thinks so...that's why we're not allowed any "right on reds" on the island of Montreal...guess we can't look both ways before turning...lol!!!!

[hevuk]

Major confession - I also check the reviews after I cruise.:o Can't explain it.:confused:

I thought I was the only saddo that did this:o

[davy jones]

Major confession - I also check the reviews after I cruise.:o Can't explain it.:confused:

 

It is interesting to see what others thought about your cruise.