The worth of cruise reports/reviews.

[rugbypopsie]

Yes, well I'll probably do another one, but don't know if I'll post it here. :)

 

This is what I am worried about...people not being able to express their cruise experience for fear of being "harassed" in one way or another by others.

Please lets keep it about cruising, no personality issues need to be involved.

I love reading stories from others cruises...even the ones where I mentally go "what on earth"..why people think their cruise was ruined because the coffee was horrible or the curtain in the shower clung is totally beyond me but its a free world!

[Sandielle]

This is what I am worried about...people not being able to express their cruise experience for fear of being "harassed" in one way or another by others.

Please lets keep it about cruising, no personality issues need to be involved.

I love reading stories from others cruises...even the ones where I mentally go "what on earth"..why people think their cruise was ruined because the coffee was horrible or the curtain in the shower clung is totally beyond me but its a free world!

 

Sue, it's not people expressing their anger over their experiences that is the problem. They usually have their say and don't come back. The biggest problems I have encountered here are the attacks on "people" - eg if you say you enjoyed cruising P&O you are branded as "not knowing any better" and far worse. This type of attack is what upsets people and it happens time and time again. We all know P&O AUS have older ships, and they have breakdowns and spots of rust, but so do the newer ships. I truly have enjoyed all of my cruises on P&O - happy staff, spotlessly clean ship etc - and I am NOT a yobbo, badly dressed, or any of those nasty names which have been bandied about, neither am I unintelligent. It doesn't upset ME as I think all this one-upmanship is a hoot, but I'm trying to explain why it is that so many spring to the defence of P&O.

 

In short (I say, with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek) it's not what is said, but the way it is said, that causes problems.

 

OMG, I think I deserve an honorary Psychology degree for that! NOT! :D:D:D

 

Cheers,

Sandy

 

Laugh and the world laughs with you etc..................(I hope :rolleyes:)

[Sutho]

Sue, it's not people expressing their anger over their experiences that is the problem. They usually have their say and don't come back. The biggest problems I have encountered here are the attacks on "people" - eg if you say you enjoyed cruising P&O you are branded as "not knowing any better" and far worse. This type of attack is what upsets people and it happens time and time again. We all know P&O AUS have older ships, and they have breakdowns and spots of rust, but so do the newer ships. I truly have enjoyed all of my cruises on P&O - happy staff, spotlessly clean ship etc - and I am NOT a yobbo, badly dressed, or any of those nasty names which have been bandied about, neither am I unintelligent. It doesn't upset ME as I think all this one-upmanship is a hoot, but I'm trying to explain why it is that so many spring to the defence of P&O.

 

In short (I say, with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek) it's not what is said, but the way it is said, that causes problems.

 

OMG, I think I deserve an honorary Psychology degree for that! NOT! :D:D:D

 

Cheers,

Sandy

 

Laugh and the world laughs with you etc..................(I hope :rolleyes:)

 

Dont you think the same applies for people who genuinely have a bad time and post a bad review only to be ridiculed by others who claim the opposite. I have seen it countless times how people will report on bad experiences only to be shot down by others even if their complaint is ligitimate and serious. I saw all the reports on facebook and other places about the notorious Pacific Sun cruise to New Zealand. People got pleasure in abusing and belittleing those people. Those people had a bad time and got abused for it!

 

Its a two way street! just think about how they felt when they had the cruise from hell. At least you know how they feel when they receive the bad comments and abuse from people for posting a bad review.

[Sandielle]

Sutho, yesssss! Life IS a two-way street! I never 'knock' people who say they have had a bad experience. (I might not believe that everything was as bad as they have painted it, because misfortune does colour your judgment, and others on the same cruise say they have enjoyed their experience, but I am not, knowingly, rude or disrespectful towards them nor do I label them as whingers.) I was brought up to treat others as I would like to be treated and I am able to see both sides of the story and rationalise it.

 

I've lived long enough to have had many bad experiences and learned that the sooner you get up and dust yourself down (metaphorically speaking) the happier you will be. Dwelling on bad experiences only makes you bitter. Oh! another thing I've learned. Never say "Never".

Sincerely,

The woman (sorry, but I can't help myself - had to develop a weird SOH for self-protection. :) )

[Aus Traveller]

Sutho, People have got off-side because -

1. You were not reporting on your personal experiences, but reporting on 'hearsay'.

2. A lot of the complaints were (in my opinion) over the top statements.

3. You have insulted and belittled people who have enjoyed their cruises on the Pacific Sun and implied that it is only because they don't know any better.

4. You have consistently and continually implied that you are better than everyone else because of your cruising history.

 

Unfortunately you don't know the cruising history of a lot of people who post on here, and anyway, does that really matter if I have cruised twice as many or even three times as many times as you? I don't think so. Your opinion is still as valid as mine or someone else who might have only cruised a couple of times.

[Sutho]

Sutho, People have got off-side because -

1. You were not reporting on your personal experiences, but reporting on 'hearsay'.

2. A lot of the complaints were (in my opinion) over the top statements.

3. You have insulted and belittled people who have enjoyed their cruises on the Pacific Sun and implied that it is only because they don't know any better.

4. You have consistently and continually implied that you are better than everyone else because of your cruising history.

 

Unfortunately you don't know the cruising history of a lot of people who post on here, and anyway, does that really matter if I have cruised twice as many or even three times as many times as you? I don't think so. Your opinion is still as valid as mine or someone else who might have only cruised a couple of times.

 

This is not a court of law and describing on behalf of what several people close to me have said is reasonable. I knew 7 people on that trip and they all had similar experiences and descriptions.

 

I was planning on trying P&O Australia this year (2011) but based on their experience and primarily the response from P&O to all of them I decided not to and went to Ayers Rock instead. Thats how much I trusted their reports on what happened.

[Guest012]

 

I was planning on trying P&O Australia this year (2011) .

.

 

okay who fast forwarded us to April Fools Day

[Waihekean]

Had not been on this site for a bit, but Hay Guys why do posts on this site always have to end up into a slaying match???

 

But I will still put my two cents in.

I think one of the main problems with P & O Australia is, although they have 3 star ships they mostly charge 5 star prices.

So, for people that are used to nicer ships, then the P & O ships are a real disappointment.

Have noticed that if P & O are their first experience, then all is fine.

 

Myself would love to go one day on a cruise from Auckland, so when the opportunity arose to get an introduction tour on The Pacific Pearl recently, curiously went along and hoping I would like the ship.

 

I have only been on The Dawn Princess, but you really can not compare the two.

Found that the Pacific Pearl has no wow factor. The buffet was beyond dingy with very little choice of food and nothing looked appatising. Pool Grill also poor.

A suite was just a balcony cabin, inside very small, but OV was nice.

But what was really a let down, were the toilets. Most public toilets did not flush, so you had to use them full. The restaurant toilets worked, but they obviously had not been properly cleaned, because this (the ladies toilet) stank of old sanitary napkins and of male urinals. Absolutely disgusting.

And this was embarkation day! 20 minutes before Pax were boarding.

 

After this I looked up reviews here on CC and apparently the problem with the toilets has been going on for a long time.

 

So you know there are just too many other and better alternatives nowadays to spend your cruise dollar IMHO:rolleyes:

[bazzaw]

We had a wonderful cruise for 28 days to Tahiti on a ship called Pacific Pearl ( read about it here) . It must have been a different one to the one you went on.

 

The one I went on also didn't have what is often called a "WOW" factor -- but was very comfortable and offered us all we wanted. The ship we went on before that was Queen Mary 2 - it definitely has a WOW factor - but the food was much the same as we had on our Pacific Pearl cruise. Trouble is with WOW factors - is that after a little experience, we tend to get "WOWED" out.

 

I would go on our Pacific Pearl again in an instant -- but we will have to get over our cruises on QV, QE and QM2 first.

 

Barry

[Sandielle]

Had not been on this site for a bit, but Hay Guys why do posts on this site always have to end up into a slaying match???

 

Hey Waihekean, please, please, please don't start this off again! :) :D This happens because some posters cannot resist baiting, and also 'look down on' those who have had good experiences on P&O. Simple as that! People DO have good experiences on their ships - eg I have had four cruises on

Pacific Dawn and have not come across any of those problems. Bigger, glitzier, newer ships, and non-stop entertainment is not everyone's cup of tea, eg I relish the time I can spend on reading and listening to good music on a lounger on one of the back decks - there are NO back decks on the newer modern ships unless you can afford a balcony apartment there. I say "live and let live". :)

[rugbypopsie]

Well I think (only from what I have heard and read) that you will like celebrity it seems that many think it a cut above Princess.

You do seem to see a lot of negative posts about P & O I can say that sometimes the problems are the fault of the passengers especially when it comes to stuffing up the plumbing it happens on a lot of ships and not just the older ones. Many more enjoy their P & O ships and come back time and again even if they dont post reviews.

You dont keep customers by giving them bad experiences...I think the competition from the new ships will ultimately be good for everyone.

Sue

[Sutho]

there are NO back decks on the newer modern ships unless you can afford a balcony apartment there. I say "live and let live". :)

 

Allot of new ships have prime deck spaces at the back. The Grand class do including Ventura and Azura with P&O, the Aurora and Oriana have the most space in the entire cruise industry with aft deck space. The Vista class all have aft deck space. QM2 has aswell. The Sun class also has aft space.

[bazzaw]

Sutho

 

I think Sandy means - aft deck space that DOES NOT overlook aft facing balcony cabins. Arcadia certainly has aft deck space - but not like that of Oriana and Aurora or QM2.

 

THIS is what we mean by "aft deck space" http://modelshipmaster.com/products/ocean_liners/qm2/QUEEN%20MARY%202%20MODEL%20SHIP%20(8).jpg

 

and http://www.gocruisewithjane.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/oriana.jpg

 

Barry

[Sandielle]

Yes Barry, that's what I mean - I like looking out and seeing nothing but open decks below and the open sea with a few birds diving over the wake. Can't imagine anything worse than overlooking stacks of balcony cabins - or having one of the balconies overlooked by the decks above which is the case along the sides of some of the ships. Guess I'm just a free spirit! :D

[Sutho]

Then the Grand class would also qualify but not as much:

 

 

 

Its not exactly my favourite ship and I certainly would not do a World Cruise or long voyage on it. It does have deck space. I dont have any plans to go on this ship for when it does its World Cruise in 2013 but I will be there to see it in Sydney. If it were a ship like Sapphire Princess I would go.

 

The Sun class has a small amout of space but I would not choose them for a World Cruise or long voyage either. I would happily go on them for any short cruise.

 

 

 

Aurora and Oriana are the best in the entire cruise industry.

[bazzaw]

I agree that for those ships , there is "kind of" a rear deck. But they are up so high that you don't really have the feel of being on the sea. The closer to the water, the greater the feel of being at sea.

 

Barry

[Royalty X]

I agree that for those ships , there is "kind of" a rear deck. But they are up so high that you don't really have the feel of being on the sea. The closer to the water, the greater the feel of being at sea.

 

Barry

*sigh* I love that feeling so much! Standing at the very back of Pacific Pearl gave me that feeling recently. There's nothing like it. :)

[Sutho]

 

Tiered sterns are how they should be. Its a shame that these "Retreat/Sanctuary" things are finding their way onto ordinary ships and taking away the fun from everybody. My favourite place for breakfast is outside on the aft terraces on Aurora and Oriana. It could be done on Arcadia too but they put in some tacky lawn furniture that wastes space opposed to many tables.

 

That ship above used to be the first Star Princess then Arcadia then Ocean Village before it came here. I think allot of P&O passengers missed it when they handed it over to Ocean Village.

[Sandielle]

*sigh* I love that feeling so much! Standing at the very back of Pacific Pearl gave me that feeling recently. There's nothing like it. :)

 

Amen to that, finetuneit! :)

[bazzaw]

Yes - Pacific Pearl is a NICE ship. It shows it's heritage. It has no WOW factors - and no putting greens, rock climbing walls or ice skating rinks. But is a genuine cruiseship - not a floating block of flats or a floating Disneyland.

 

Barry

[Sandielle]

Yes - Pacific Pearl is a NICE ship. It shows it's heritage. It has no WOW factors - and no putting greens, rock climbing walls or ice skating rinks. But is a genuine cruiseship - not a floating block of flats or a floating Disneyland.

Barry

 

Like this? No room for deck space!

 

[Royalty X]

Like this? No room for deck space!

Actually, I think the Grand class are much worse for public space at the back of the ship. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they're very nice ships (and they're on my to-do list), but look at the back of 'em!

[rugbypopsie]

Diamond Princess has a nice rear end...and Radiance has an open air eating area that is very nice too right at the aft no pools or hot tubs out there though.

[Sutho]

Like this? No room for deck space!

 

 

You would want to be carefull saying things like that because those ships offer more generous passenger space ratio than many other cruise ships. It is a mathematical certainty that there is more space on the above Liberty of the Seas than there is on Pacific Pearl per passenger.

 

Liberty of the Seas offers 43.8gt worth of space per lower berths.

Pacific Pearl - 39.1

Sun class - 39.7

Grand class - 41.8

Diamond/Sapphire - 43.3

Aurora - 40.7

Pacific Sun - 31.8

Carnival Spirit - 40.4

Radiance of the Seas - 42.6

QM2 - 56.6

Crown hybrid class including Ventura/Azura - 37.2

 

The higher the number the more space per passenger around the ship. I used to say about 10 years ago that these figures meant nothing. That was until I tried Azura and realised how crowded it was and understood that the passenger space ratio makes a big difference.

[Royalty X]

Sutho, those ships may have more overall deck space (per person), but I thing Sandy was talking about the aft deck space (which is I thought we were talking about as well...).