Why such different opinions!?!? Reviews?!?!

[Gunner22aa]

As I see it much boils down to personal likes and dislikes but mostly personal expectations. How often have you read two reviews of the same cruise when one says it was the trip of a lifetime and the next describes the maiden voyage of the Titanic as a better experience. I was once on a cruise and actually heard a woman complain that this was nothing like was described in the Cunard brochure that she had read and was going to demand her money back. The big issue was we weren't on a Cunard ship at the time. If you choose to cruise on Carnival based on what your friends told you about their experience on Silver Seas you are in for a huge disappointment plain and simple. Some people have huge expectations that will never be met by anyone.

[ducklite]

was once on a cruise and actually heard a woman complain that this was nothing like was described in the Cunard brochure that she had read and was going to demand her money back. The big issue was we weren't on a Cunard ship at the time.

 

Now that is really funny!

 

If you choose to cruise on Carnival based on what your friends told you about their experience on Silver Seas you are in for a huge disappointment plain and simple. Some people have huge expectations that will never be met by anyone.

 

Very good point. I think that often people have expectations that are unreasonable or they just haven't done even a bit of research prior to booking a trip. It's not just cruises, but even reading hotel reviews on Trip Advisor, obviously hotels have the same issue. I read one the other day from someone who had stayed at a lower end budget style motel and was angry because they hadn't offers to help with luggage, the room only had a coffee maker and not a kitchenette, and there were only "packets" of shampoo and conditioner. I'm not sure what she was expecting for $59 per night, but if she thought it was going to be the Hilton down the street, she had really unreasonable expectations.

 

 

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[cruisemom42]

I am not so much shocked/surprised about the multiple options. I am more surprised about the diverse opinions of cruising. I would think there would be more consistency among reviews. Usually if something is good its good across the board. Not good for some and not good for others. This is what makes everything interesting though, it makes for great convo.

 

I disagree with this. Not every steward is equally good and I have experienced a few lousy ones. Same with waiters. If you experienced one of these, you wouldn't think too highly of the service onboard, while others might have a totally different experience.

 

Same with cabins -- if your A/C doesn't work or your toilet won't flush, you may feel the cabin was terrible, while others won't have their perceptions colored by such an issue.

[ducklite]

I disagree with this. Not every steward is equally good and I have experienced a few lousy ones. Same with waiters. If you experienced one of these, you wouldn't think too highly of the service onboard, while others might have a totally different experience.

 

Same with cabins -- if your A/C doesn't work or your toilet won't flush, you may feel the cabin was terrible, while others won't have their perceptions colored by such an issue.

 

Very good point. On our B2B last year we were in the same cabin for two weeks. The first week our steward was barely OK--it was one of the few (very minor) complaints we had about the entire experience on that ship. They rotate to a different section each week, so the second week we had a different steward who was fantastic.

 

I think that some people also have different expectations of cabin quality, based on what they are used to. People who routinely stay in Four Seasons are not going to be happy with the cabin on the average mass market ship. We were very happy with our cabin in Windsurf, it was cozy for sure, but we never felt cramped and thought the bedding, furniture, towels, toiletries, etc. were all of good to excellent quality. There was another couple in our cruise who had the same category of stateroom, and all they did the entire time was complain. They complained the cabin was too small (the sizes and layout were clearly stated during the booking process), the bed was uncomfortable (I guess that's subjective, but we slept like rocks and have an exceptionally high quality mattress and box spring at home), the linens were crap (since when are Frette linens crap?), there was no bathtub (um yeah, refer to the layout you were given when booking), there was no radio (there was an iPod docking station that we used daily as described in the booking process--and what radio station did they expect to,listen to in the middle of the Med?), and the best one was that when they got back from dinner the first night, the steward hadn't unpacked for them. Not butler, steward. They did nothing but complain about everything the entire trip, we got to the point that we avoided them. The best part was that they constantly bragged about their mansions around the world and their staff of nannies, housekeepers, secretaries, etc., but he had a fit when he was charge $12 for a couple of cocktails after the open bar hour ended one night. Seriously laughable.

 

 

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[Aplmac]

Before my first two cruises, I read review to see what's what.

Including the thumbs-down reviews.

 

Upon boarding the ships, to discover there's nothing wrong with them

I came to realize that I was only stressing myself prior to cruising

and that I should stop reading -and writing- reviews!

 

 

I haven't read a review in years, and have cruised happily ever after.

I've found all the ships I've been on to be quite satisfactory

and a substantial improvement over my home environment

in that I don't have to wash the dishes or make the bed

and Wifey doesn't have to cook!

 

.

[ducklite]

Before my first two cruises, I read review to see what's what.

Including the thumbs-down reviews.

 

Upon boarding the ships, to discover there's nothing wrong with them

I came to realize that I was only stressing myself prior to cruising

and that I should stop reading -and writing- reviews!

 

 

I haven't read a review in years, and have cruised happily ever after.

I've found all the ships I've been on to be quite satisfactory

and a substantial improvement over my home environment

in that I don't have to wash the dishes or make the bed

and Wifey doesn't have to cook!

 

.

 

You kind of hit the nail, on the head. For many, vacation is nothing more than getting away from the house and it's associated chores. (That said, it takes less than a minute to make the bed, I enjoy cooking, and almost everything pops right into the dishwasher...). Others cruise to see different parts of the world without having to pack and unpack over and over.

 

For some, a cruise ship stateroom is much nicer than their home. For others the staterooms on many ships are not as nice as what they have at home. For those who typically stay in four and five star hotels, most mass market lines will be a major let down. For those who are content with a Motel 6 or Knights Inn, the average mass market cruise ship will be fantastic.

 

Some people like the glitz and neon Las Vegas style decor while others prefer a subdued color palette. That is something that will also skew your perspective one way or another. There are four star hotels in Las Vegas that you couldn't get me to stay at because they look cheesy with all the neon. I get a headache just hinting about it. Others are happiest in a suite covered in animal prints and decked out in neon.

 

 

 

 

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[Eng23]

Very good point. On our B2B last year we were in the same cabin for two weeks. The first week our steward was barely OK--it was one of the few (very minor) complaints we had about the entire experience on that ship. They rotate to a different section each week, so the second week we had a different steward who was fantastic.

 

I think that some people also have different expectations of cabin quality, based on what they are used to. People who routinely stay in Four Seasons are not going to be happy with the cabin on the average mass market ship. We were very happy with our cabin in Windsurf, it was cozy for sure, but we never felt cramped and thought the bedding, furniture, towels, toiletries, etc. were all of good to excellent quality. There was another couple in our cruise who had the same category of stateroom, and all they did the entire time was complain. They complained the cabin was too small (the sizes and layout were clearly stated during the booking process), the bed was uncomfortable (I guess that's subjective, but we slept like rocks and have an exceptionally high quality mattress and box spring at home), the linens were crap (since when are Frette linens crap?), there was no bathtub (um yeah, refer to the layout you were given when booking), there was no radio (there was an iPod docking station that we used daily as described in the booking process--and what radio station did they expect to,listen to in the middle of the Med?), and the best one was that when they got back from dinner the first night, the steward hadn't unpacked for them. Not butler, steward. They did nothing but complain about everything the entire trip, we got to the point that we avoided them. The best part was that they constantly bragged about their mansions around the world and their staff of nannies, housekeepers, secretaries, etc., but he had a fit when he was charge $12 for a couple of cocktails after the open bar hour ended one night. Seriously laughable.

 

 

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Sounds like you were sailing with Thruston Howell III and Lovie on the SS Minnow....:D

[ducklite]

Sounds like you were sailing with Thruston Howell III and Lovie on the SS Minnow....:D

 

It was pretty surreal. We still aren't sure if they actually were what they claimed to be. It seems that people with the wealth they claimed to have would have booked a higher category cabin and probably brought the kids along with the nannies and assistants along with them. She also whined the entire time about the lack of Internet access.--which was available for a fee. When we told her that we used free wi-if at the various cafes in port for the cost of a coffee or glass of wine, she said that was too expensive. Smh.

 

 

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[Eng23]

It was pretty surreal. We still aren't sure if they actually were what they claimed to be. It seems that people with the wealth they claimed to have would have booked a higher category cabin and probably brought the kids along with the nannies and assistants along with them. She also whined the entire time about the lack of Internet access.--which was available for a fee. When we told her that we used free wi-if at the various cafes in port for the cost of a coffee or glass of wine, she said that was too expensive. Smh.

 

 

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I'll bet you they were also one upper's. You know the type where if you have done something they have also done the same, except they did it better than you.....:cool:

[ducklite]

I'll bet you they were also one upper's. You know the type where if you have done something they have also done the same, except they did it better than you.....:cool:

 

Ten times better. We heard in great detail about their 20,000 s/f home in California, the Swiss ski chalet, and the penthouse condo someplace, can't remember where. The list just went on and in to the point that it became absurd. We would try to change the subject to something like, "Did you have fun in port today?" and would get a five minute lecture about how boring it was compared to "insert name of place here," or how dirty/expensive/whatever it was, and then they'd go right back into how the Frette linens weren't up to their standards, and the bananas on the fruit plate in the room should be more or less ripe or whatever their fresh new complaint of the day was.

 

There were only three couples on that entire cruise that people avoided as the week went on. The two "swingers" who had been caught having adult fun In the hot tub (gross, this was not a lifestyle cruise), and the "rich" people who couldn't talk about anything other than their wealth and how bad they thought the cruise was. We have kept In touch with a few of the people we met on that cruise (one has become a treasured friend) and we are still laughing about the absurdity of it all.

 

 

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[iheartbda]

Not every weathy person necessarily spends lavishly on things for which they care little. Everyone has their own priorities or idiosyncracies. I know of a couple who gives thousands and thousands of dollars to their university as well as hosting many large affairs at their home for charities and generously giving to those as well.

 

Yet, she buys everything at thrift stores. She too would think wifi is too expensive for the price of a cup of coffee, yet she will purchase a $5,000 pearl necklace, of course offering $3,000 instead. She did manage to get it for $3,000 and had it shipped so she wouldn't have to pay the tax on it.

 

However, they don't one up everyone.:)

[Eng23]

Ten times better. We heard in great detail about their 20,000 s/f home in California, the Swiss ski chalet, and the penthouse condo someplace, can't remember where. The list just went on and in to the point that it became absurd. We would try to change the subject to something like, "Did you have fun in port today?" and would get a five minute lecture about how boring it was compared to "insert name of place here," or how dirty/expensive/whatever it was, and then they'd go right back into how the Frette linens weren't up to their standards, and the bananas on the fruit plate in the room should be more or less ripe or whatever their fresh new complaint of the day was.

 

There were only three couples on that entire cruise that people avoided as the week went on. The two "swingers" who had been caught having adult fun In the hot tub (gross, this was not a lifestyle cruise), and the "rich" people who couldn't talk about anything other than their wealth and how bad they thought the cruise was. We have kept In touch with a few of the people we met on that cruise (one has become a treasured friend) and we are still laughing about the absurdity of it all.

 

 

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Wow! :eek: A 20,000 sf home. No wonder their cabin on this cruise seemed small.............:rolleyes:

But, no mention of their private 110' yacht with the 100,000 thread count linens.....

Edited November 30, 2013 by Eng23

[ducklite]

Not every weathy person necessarily spends lavishly on things for which they care little. Everyone has their own priorities or idiosyncracies. I know of a couple who gives thousands and thousands of dollars to their university as well as hosting many large affairs at their home for charities and generously giving to those as well.

 

Yet, she buys everything at thrift stores. She too would think wifi is too expensive for the price of a cup of coffee, yet she will purchase a $5,000 pearl necklace, of course offering $3,000 instead. She did manage to get it for $3,000 and had it shipped so she wouldn't have to pay the tax on it.

 

However, they don't one up everyone.:)

 

I agree with you. That said, the way these two described their wealth and never ending list of name dropping of who their wealthy friends were, they should have been the guest in someone's private yacht or rented their own.

 

Funny story, I have a friend who is very wealthy. A few years back I gave him a world of grief because he had one sport coat, one pair of slacks, two dress shirts, two pair of jeans, three other shirts, a couple of ratty t-shirts, a pair of cut offs, and that's about it. Now I wasn't saying he should go out a buy closets full of clothes, but had gotten gotten ridiculous. When he was married his wife would buy him clothes, but after his divorce he didn't buy them and just wore things until they fell apart without replacing them. I finally got him to go to Bloomingdales or wherever and get enough clothes to last a week.

 

 

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[ducklite]

Wow! :eek: A 20,000 sf home. No wonder their cabin on this cruise seemed small.............:rolleyes:

But, no mention of their private 110' yacht with the 100,000 thread count linens.....

 

On, I forgot about the custom made chair she had bought for her dressing room that cost her $20,000 or something ridiculous like that. Seriously, even if I had something like that, I'd be embarrassed to admit I had spent enough to feed a poor country for a week on it.

 

 

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[MermaidWatcher]

A week ago, I was purchasing something for my upcoming cruise, and the store clerk stated that she would never go on a cruise--she couldn't swim! I didn't ask if she was thinking of Caribbean islands or the Titanic.......

 

I just love that one. I have a brother in law who says the exact same thing. The funniest note is that every time he says that, I inquire if he could fly up and perch in the tree in his yard, alluding to the fact that he takes airplanes to go on vacations every year, yet obviously is not able to fly. But all I get is :confused: :confused:, as it goes straight over his head.

[Gloria Mundi]

When I read hotel reviews I tend to throw out the high and the low ones and read those in the middle, focusing on the details. If someone doesn't like room service and I'm not likely to order it, that's immaterial. If they hate the gym or the pool is tiny, well, that's important to me. (My TripAdvisor reviews are ALWAYS detailed. How useful is "the service was lousy", "staff had a bad attitude" or "I didn't like the food"?) I suspect the same is true for cruise reviews.

 

From what I read here there are tons of different expectations. For me, a cruise on a giant ship with the Party-till-u-Puke crowd is my idea of a vacation from hell. It may be exactly what the Spring Break crowd is looking for. Our up-close-and-personal-with nature Alaska cruise last year in the tiny ship with a tiny stateroom would be a huge disappointment for someone who wanted Broadway shows and a casino. (I don't think Thurston and Lovie would have liked it, either.) We loved it so much we're going back next year.

 

My advice to the OP is to pay special attention to the Board of the line for which she works, if she works for a particular line. They all have different styles and appeal to different groups. I suspect the worst reviews are from people who got on a cruise that was wrong for them.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Gloria Mundi

[PixieLegal]

When I read hotel reviews I tend to throw out the high and the low ones and read those in the middle, focusing on the details. If someone doesn't like room service and I'm not likely to order it, that's immaterial. If they hate the gym or the pool is tiny, well, that's important to me. (My TripAdvisor reviews are ALWAYS detailed. How useful is "the service was lousy", "staff had a bad attitude" or "I didn't like the food"?) I suspect the same is true for cruise reviews.

 

I truly agree. I think its really tough until you experience things for yourself. And because people are so diverse as well as cruise ship options I guess it comes with the territory. I notice a lot of different reviews on the short trips with older ships. We were thinking about taking NCL's Sky quick Bahama trip but the reviews tend to be soooo mixed! We may just have to sail and make our own minds up!

[ducklite]

"The service sucked" is something I'll ignore. "We had service issues when we were overcharged for our room and it took an hour to sort out, despite the written confirmation being presented, the housekeeper kept banging on our door starting at 7:00 am despite the Do Not Disturb being hung out, and the bartender spilled a drink all over me that ruined my blouse and didn't even apologize," is something that will put up a huge red flag.

 

 

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[hansolosmom]

"The service sucked" is something I'll ignore. "We had service issues when we were overcharged for our room and it took an hour to sort out, despite the written confirmation being presented, the housekeeper kept banging on our door starting at 7:00 am despite the Do Not Disturb being hung out, and the bartender spilled a drink all over me that ruined my blouse and didn't even apologize," is something that will put up a huge red flag .

 

Agree totally with this. Something nebulous doesn't help, something concrete does.

I know someone else mentioned this, I always pay attention to a review and pick out the good and bad. Some reviews focus on such nit-picky things which seem to 'ruin' someone's cruise. Those I take with a grain of salt.

 

Also again we're all different, that's why they reviews are so varied. I think due to the fact people have such different expectations when going on a cruise that there will never be a trend when looking at reviews