Cruise Critic Reviews disparity making it very difficult

[thirdcruiser]

Hello, I am looking for a cruise for December and this page is making it more and more difficult for me because it is amazing how one person will absolutely love a cruise ship experience and somebody will absolute detest it. So...I have decided to not read anymore posts and just have our own experience and have it be what it may.

[LH25]

Hello, I am looking for a cruise for December and this page is making it more and more difficult for me because it is amazing how one person will absolutely love a cruise ship experience and somebody will absolute detest it. So...I have decided to not read anymore posts and just have our own experience and have it be what it may.

 

Interesting, isn't it? :rolleyes:

 

I tend to read the negative ones, but carefully. You can pick up a lot by what is said, attitudes and such. And if there are trends, it's something to think about a little more before booking. In general, DH and I tend to be pretty easy-going, so I keep that in mind as well.

[Cruising Golfer]

You have learned a lot already. It's like living in Las Vegas, you either love it or hate it.:rolleyes:

Find a trip where you like the ports and have at least one sea day. That way you will know what appeals to you, we love sea days, mainly because we've been on 15 cruises and have seen most ports.

There is nothing that compares to a cruise vacation. Don't give up hope on these boards, they are full of much information and very cruise smart people.:D

Ask questions and stay away from the reviews, take all said with a grain of salt and join your Meet and Greet board.

Enjoy you planning and have a wonderful cruise.(you will be hooked)

Have A Cocktail for Me!!!:eek: C.G.

[thirdcruiser]

FOS Dec 1. I don't ask for much. Jsut want a nice get away for my husband and I . Need a break, nice retirement for my husband after 20 years in the navy...just worry about hurricaines...is the ship going to be too noisy and hectic, I watched a video on youtube and the music by the pool seemed to be so loud and not relaxing at all! I just want a nice, warm cruise, relaxing and good food, entertainment etc...we loved the shows. We've been on one, Carnival Victory out of Charleston SC which we thought was nice...but obviously we have no clue b/c everybody things Carnival is a loser line...so I just don't know what to do.

[rjscott]

I have found the same thing on the very cruises I've been on. I've had a good experience and read reviews that trashed the cruise and made me wonder if I was really on the same cruise. :rolleyes:

What I would suggest is, with negative posts/reviews, is looking at how many posts the reviewer has. Sometimes that person is not a regular contributor and is simply looking to vent, or has asked for special treatment, not gotten it and is trashing the experience as a result. JMO, of course.

[thirdcruiser]

Thank you for your input. Helps a lot.

[UPGrandma]

FOS Dec 1. I don't ask for much. Jsut want a nice get away for my husband and I . Need a break, nice retirement for my husband after 20 years in the navy...just worry about hurricaines...is the ship going to be too noisy and hectic, I watched a video on youtube and the music by the pool seemed to be so loud and not relaxing at all! I just want a nice, warm cruise, relaxing and good food, entertainment etc...we loved the shows. We've been on one, Carnival Victory out of Charleston SC which we thought was nice...but obviously we have no clue b/c everybody things Carnival is a loser line...so I just don't know what to do.

 

Like the others said - reviews are someone opinion based on their preception. You look at a picture & see something different than someone else - DH, sister, mother etc. Hurricanes happen, music is not your choice, but somewhere on the ship it's not as loud. I can sit somewhere else & be relaxed - my balcony or at another end of the ship. ENJOY. Tell DH Thank you for his service.

[thirdcruiser]

Thank u

[sail7seas]

Five people will be on the same ship for the same cruise and will have very different experience.

 

If my toilet doesn't work for 8 hours, I am not a happy cruiser.

My friend's toilet two decks down has a working toilet so no problem.

 

Maybe the food in the Main Dining Room is not to my taste but everyone around me thinks it great. They are happy but I am not. Maybe I got the only salmon filet that was loaded with bones. I couldn't eat it but everyone else at the table had a lovely serving.

 

Maybe I love hot, humid weather but my neighbor was uncomfortable......

 

You get the picture.

[thirdcruiser]

Oh I soooooo get it...thank you. That kind of made me chuckle. I am just going to go for it and just enjoy ... we're pretty easy going people.

[beachbum53]

Five people will be on the same ship for the same cruise and will have very different experience.

 

If my toilet doesn't work for 8 hours, I am not a happy cruiser.

My friend's toilet two decks down has a working toilet so no problem.

 

Maybe the food in the Main Dining Room is not to my taste but everyone around me thinks it great. They are happy but I am not. Maybe I got the only salmon filet that was loaded with bones. I couldn't eat it but everyone else at the table had a lovely serving.

 

Maybe I love hot, humid weather but my neighbor was uncomfortable......

 

You get the picture.

 

You've hit the nail on the head. Just as no two people are alike, no two cruise reviews will be alike. You may see some similarities in certain opinions (about food, entertainment, staff, etc.), but sometimes it takes a discerning eye to separate opinion from fact. There are basically three types of reviews. There's the one from a first-time cruiser (typically had expectations way too high, and preconceived notions of what to expect). "I just got back from first and last cruise on ???? cruise line. I will never sail with this cruise line again!" Then there's the one from what I call the happy puppy. You've seen the reviews. Gushes on and on about how wonderful everything was. Has photos of EVERYTHING, including all of the food they ate, every staff member they met (with names included), where they went, what they saw, etc. Plus a review that, in terms of pages, would rival "War and Peace" for it's sheer volume. Then there are the ones that are somewhere in the middle, that give a pretty much straight forward review. Honest, informative, as non-judgmental as possible, and relatively concise. I think the ones that fall in the middle are probably the best to go by.

[paul929207]

Hello, I am looking for a cruise for December and this page is making it more and more difficult for me because it is amazing how one person will absolutely love a cruise ship experience and somebody will absolute detest it. So...I have decided to not read anymore posts and just have our own experience and have it be what it may.

Like everything in life, people have different interests and experiences when it comes to cruising. Take all reviews with a grain of salt. If only one person likes or dislikes something, then I usually ignore that comment.

[navybankerteacher]

FOS Dec 1. I don't ask for much. Jsut want a nice get away for my husband and I . Need a break, nice retirement for my husband after 20 years in the navy...just worry about hurricaines...is the ship going to be too noisy and hectic, I watched a video on youtube and the music by the pool seemed to be so loud and not relaxing at all! I just want a nice, warm cruise, relaxing and good food, entertainment etc...we loved the shows. We've been on one, Carnival Victory out of Charleston SC which we thought was nice...but obviously we have no clue b/c everybody things Carnival is a loser line...so I just don't know what to do.

 

If you are talking about a December cruise, the hurricane season will be over --of course, wind and waves are part of ocean sailing. However, I can virtually guarantee that, having spent 20 years in the Navy, your husband will think that the accomodations and the food will be just fine -- regardless of the line

[Keith1010]

Hello, I am looking for a cruise for December and this page is making it more and more difficult for me because it is amazing how one person will absolutely love a cruise ship experience and somebody will absolute detest it. So...I have decided to not read anymore posts and just have our own experience and have it be what it may.

 

This is true of most things in life.

 

I use what I call an 80/20 rule.

 

If 80% of the people like something or if 80% dislike something I will accept it as fact until I experience it myself.

 

I also used this in business and it served me well.

 

Keith

[Laughing Angel]

thirdcruiser, I agree with much that has been said here. The truth is usually somewhere in the middle. If you and your husband are the easy going type, I don't think you'll have any issues planning your cruise.

 

I find the most helpful posts are the ones that answer specific questions (What type of seating/loungers can be found on this beach? Are you allowed to do A, B or C during this excursion? What type of shopping can you find at this pier?). In the end, I make up my mind to have fun and enjoy as much as I possibly can and I am rarely disappointed.

 

Have a wonderful cruise (and a personal note: please thank your husband for his service to our country).

[sail7seas]

You've hit the nail on the head. Just as no two people are alike, no two cruise reviews will be alike. You may see some similarities in certain opinions (about food, entertainment, staff, etc.), but sometimes it takes a discerning eye to separate opinion from fact. There are basically three types of reviews. There's the one from a first-time cruiser (typically had expectations way too high, and preconceived notions of what to expect). "I just got back from first and last cruise on ???? cruise line. I will never sail with this cruise line again!" Then there's the one from what I call the happy puppy. You've seen the reviews. Gushes on and on about how wonderful everything was. Has photos of EVERYTHING, including all of the food they ate, every staff member they met (with names included), where they went, what they saw, etc. Plus a review that, in terms of pages, would rival "War and Peace" for it's sheer volume. Then there are the ones that are somewhere in the middle, that give a pretty much straight forward review. Honest, informative, as non-judgmental as possible, and relatively concise. I think the ones that fall in the middle are probably the best to go by.

 

 

I so agree with you about the review that falls someplace in the middle but even then it is opinion.

 

We are trying to discern if we will like the cruise the reviewer just took but we don't know this person, don't know if they possibly have an 'agenda', don't know their measure of 'delicious' or 'awful'.....

 

AND there have been many changes in the cruise industry in the last few years. Many of us feel all cruise lines have had cut backs to varying degrees. What is true today on the ships may not be so in six months from now.

 

Like anything in life, you roll with some things, you accept some things, you look for the positive and should strive for realistic expectations. IMO

 

[KirkNC]

That is so true, some expect perfection. I think one of the secrets to a happy cruiser is the ability to roll with the punches and unexpected.

[OCruisers]

Often, I get different things than intended out of reviews.

 

Someone may rant on and on about something he hated that I think might actually be something I'd like or wouldn't bother me in the least. :rolleyes:

 

Other times someone will gush endlessly about how wonderful something was that sounds AWFUL to me. :eek:

 

LuLu

~~~~

[boulders]

I look at the percentage of people who liked a ship. This is found on the first page of the cruise critic review, not the member reviews. A good ship will have a rating of 85% or more. Acceptable is 80% or more. Less than 80%, no thanks.

 

Then I'll read to find out what everyone liked to didn't like in the member section.

[fishywood]

If you are going to use the reviews to decide whether or not to try a certain line for the first time, read reviews of all their ships, not just the one you are considering--gives you a better idea of what aspects of cruising that line does well (or not). Just try to regard the "far extreme" reviews (those with all 5+'s and those whose tone is angry from word one) from a safe distance--and remember that anyone can write a review, they don't have to be a registered member of this forum.

 

Then go to that particular line's board. Just by scanning the thread titles of the first couple of pages you will see what the "hot topics" are. Inevitably you will find posters who say that a certain feature that differentiates that line is the main reason they come back--right next to posts saying the same feature is why they will never sail this line again! You should know your own personal tastes enough to decide what side of the fence you are on in these little debates--don't let the sometimes heated disagreement drive you away from a source of information that is often more reliable than most lines' actual websites.

[Suitcasefull]

Agree with the comments here and think you've figured it out by now........much of a cruiser's experience depends on the cruiser.

 

Heck, some days on a cruise, DH and I don't even have the same experience and we've been side-by-side much of it. Just a matter of individual perceptions, how one feels that day, how sleep was the night before, etc. in addition to personality differences (not a lot upsets me and if I'm on a cruise ship, I'm pretty much thrilled, period).

 

Go, enjoy and tell your husband, "Thank You! and congratulations on retirement!"

[Cruisin' Chick]

You've hit the nail on the head. Just as no two people are alike, no two cruise reviews will be alike. You may see some similarities in certain opinions (about food, entertainment, staff, etc.), but sometimes it takes a discerning eye to separate opinion from fact. There are basically three types of reviews. There's the one from a first-time cruiser (typically had expectations way too high, and preconceived notions of what to expect). "I just got back from first and last cruise on ???? cruise line. I will never sail with this cruise line again!" Then there's the one from what I call the happy puppy. You've seen the reviews. Gushes on and on about how wonderful everything was. Has photos of EVERYTHING, including all of the food they ate, every staff member they met (with names included), where they went, what they saw, etc. Plus a review that, in terms of pages, would rival "War and Peace" for it's sheer volume. Then there are the ones that are somewhere in the middle, that give a pretty much straight forward review. Honest, informative, as non-judgmental as possible, and relatively concise. I think the ones that fall in the middle are probably the best to go by.

 

Must be talking about one of my reviews:p Hopefully people will find my review helpful. If they don't want details, there's others that really don't say much.

 

I've been on 8 cruises before I ever heard of CC, and I'm sure many people who've joined are in the same boat.

 

We consider where we want to go, and every once in a while there's a ship we want to try (like the Paradise, when it was no-smoking) So we're not basing our choice on what other people think.

 

It's funny that after my first cruise since joining CC, someone from the same cruise had posted a very negative one. Many of the things she said weren't important to me at all, or didn't affect me at all. Our last two cruises were on the same ship/same itinerary and in the weeks before we sailed the last time, I was checking out recent reviews for fun, and it amazed me to run that one person really hated the entertainment -- the act that she thought was boring was one that we love and so does many others (often mentioned as a plus on this ship). So go figure -- someone goes on a Hawaiian cruise and hates Hawaiian music.:rolleyes:

 

Oh, and when we came back from our December cruise, someone who had been on the same sailing wasn't all that impressed. So different stokes...

[Jasalth]

Having done customer service work for most of my life, I learned one very valuable thing about when people give their thoughts on anything they have bought or used.

 

Most people will tell anyone and EVERYONE when they are unhappy with something. Most customers who are happy with what they got, might tell a few people, but don't go out of their way to do it. That goes for reviews also, people are more than happy to go on about the bad, but if they had a good time that was not overly what they "expected" it isn't anything to write home about. You need to figure for every 1 bad review on here, there is probably close to 50-100 people who had an amazing time on their cruise.

 

Sit back and think when the last time you had great service and called or wrote to let someone know after the fact for only that reason? I once had an AMAZING experience getting my oil changed. Not something people commonly rave about right? It was a national chain, so I called their customer service number right after getting home to say how happy I was with the service I got. The person I talked to had NO IDEA what to do with me! Having been in the CSR business myself, I asked him how often he had gotten a call just to compliment them, he said not once in 3 years, but he gets complaints everyday. I understood how he felt, I can think of many 3 times in 15 years that someone called just to say "thanks for doing a good job".

[rjscott]

Jasalth, must be that customer service background, as I'm the same way. ;) Plus, not having been able to travel when I was younger, now that I'm able financially to indulge in my passion, I find that I cut a lot of slack to customer service people and it takes a lot to irritate me. As another poster said, I really try to go with the flow. On one of our more recent cruises, we missed a port due to high winds, as our larger ship could not navigate the narrow channel. Was I disappointed? Yes, as that port was one of the reasons I'd chosen that itinerary. Did I let it ruin the rest of my cruise (as it apparently did some of my fellow cruisers)? Oh, heck no! I'll try to book another cruise that includes that port in the future.

If you go into a situation with expectations of the "perfect" experience, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

[Suitcasefull]

 

Sit back and think when the last time you had great service and called or wrote to let someone know after the fact for only that reason? I once had an AMAZING experience getting my oil changed. Not something people commonly rave about right? It was a national chain, so I called their customer service number right after getting home to say how happy I was with the service I got. The person I talked to had NO IDEA what to do with me! Having been in the CSR business myself, I asked him how often he had gotten a call just to compliment them, he said not once in 3 years, but he gets complaints everyday. I understood how he felt, I can think of many 3 times in 15 years that someone called just to say "thanks for doing a good job".

 

That reminds me: a few months ago my mom accidentally hit her ADT medical alert button (wears on her wrist) as she was driving out of her garage and didn't hear them respond to her. She went on about her business while those in her town on the call list were notified, an ambulance dispatched, and me being called twice by ADT to keep me in the loop (90 miles away). Having found the house locked and car gone, they figured out what must have happened and I left a message for her to phone when she got in. All was well and she was frustrated at all the commotion (but secretly pleased). She phoned ADT to apologize to them and the person didn't know what to do with that call; said they always just had to wonder about what happened to a person after they got the call and everything went into gear. We were so pleased with their responses and efforts! Never had thought about people in that business never knowing what happens after a call and being glad to hear things were okay.