What do you look for in a blog or review

[misguy]

We are on the Breakaway Jan 17th sailing, and I am planning on trying to document the cruise in a way that is helpful to future cruisers.  Besides the dailies, and the menus, what else do you want to see that is not usually covered?  I may post some youtube videos, and what have you looked for and not found.

[BirdTravels]

A balanced review that fairly assesses the ship and the cruise.

 

People like to complain. And troll the boards to try and incite commentary.  "The room steward didn't fill my ice bucket on night 3 and I didn't have ice to chill my tap water". You just roll your eyes and people who go out of their way to nit pick things which are inconsequential. "The pool is too small to fit 4500 passengers at the same time",,,, sure,,, go find a lake somewhere. 

[misguy]

I definitely agree with that.  We were on the Spirits first sailing after it came back from Asia.  We had some challenges, some of the signs were still in another language, and they didn't have the permits to dump grey water so we had to go further offshore for them to dump which put us late into Juneau.  They gave us a 25% credit for the challenges.  I happened to go by the Pursers desk and there was a lady throwing a fit.  She said that the cruise was the worst experience of her life.  I thought to myself, I want your life.  My wife and I had a great time and have been NCL cruisers ever sinc.=e.

 

[pieshops]

An objective review. As soon as I hear the whole cruise sucked I stop reading.   Impossible to have an entire bad cruise.  Even the titanic was good at one point 

[Jasonmom]

If ya forward how to get to your blog/video I'll watch.  Will be getting on the ship as you get off it.  Going to NOLO on the 24th so I'll be watching up till then.

[casofilia]

A balanced review that fairly assesses the ship and the cruise.

 

Please make sure that the important point is "Balanced".  We all like to read negatives but positives are just as important.  If you place material in the "Dear HD" box in the Atrium make sure you put as many positives as negatives!!  The HD gets too many "brickbats" and not enough "Bouquets"

[CarrieAP]

Personally I enjoy details regarding planning, logistics, and of course experiences along the journey. To be honest, I enjoy reading almost all the reviews! 

 

I’ve learned so much on these boards. Mostly though I’ve been inspired to broaden my travel horizons through the generosity of those taking the time to share their stories. 

[shrew]

I'd like to see photos of the stateroom in use. I only have one cruise under my belt and when choosing the one we're on this year, I really wanted to see photos of a certain stateroom with the Pullman bed down since I'm still a newbie and I couldn't find it. While you may not have that stateroom, posting photos of the cabin in use may very well help someone else looking at the same one.

 

[Peachypooh]

I like to see reviews where people realize that there are positives and negatives and also realize that their

positives and negatives are specific to their needs. So I look mostly for factual information first and

opinions without documentation are less than helpful. For example someone saying "I hate the Haven on

the Jewell class ships" Well why? Is it because there were annoying people, or you were expecting something

bigger, what exactly? Or "I love the casino" Why? Because you won, because you can smoke there?

I read almost all the reviews of a ship I am going to sail so thank you in advance for taking the time

to write one!

[Clay Clayton]

In addition to the usual onboard information, I appreciate learning about the bloggers pre and post cruise transportation and accommodations.  I try to do this in my blog (www.CruisinWithClay.com) as well as providing information about our  independent excursions and experiences ashore particularly when we find a little known interesting spot or restaurant.

 

Have a great cruise!

[havanadaydreaming]

I like to read a fair review.   Personally, I have very few areas to nitpick while on cruises.  I understand that some folks are happiest when they are miserable but I avoid them at all costs.  I know there are some (very few)things that I dislike about cruising that don't impact others in the same manner and vice versa.  C'est la vie!

 

I also really dig into the "why" behind the comments, pro or con, when someone takes the time to submit a paragraph instead of a sentence.  I also love a sense or humor or wit. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JerseyMom]

I look for 2 things:

 

1.  I look for specifically what the complaints are about  - I remember one review a few years ago where the reviewer called her cruise the "Cruise from Hell".  In the review I only found a complaint that on 2 occasions when the reviewer requested to have her salad dressing on the side, the waiter brought her salad with the dressing already on it.  If that was her only complaint, I think it was a bit much to call the cruise the "cruise from hell".

2.  You have to do a sanity check on the complaints - day before yesterday I read a review where the reviewer complained that they had the UBP but were charged tax and a 20% gratuity for each and every drink they ordered from a bar even after having paid the gratuity for the UDP.  If they only ordered drinks while in port then they would have paid tax but they would not have had an additional 20% gratuity on top of the 20% for the UBP. 

 

These two are examples of what usually causes me to dismiss anything the reviewer may have to say.  This is not to say that there are not legitimate complaints out there.  Reviews I have read for cruises during Christmas/New Year's week, Easter week and basically the month of March had led me to steer away from cruising during these times.  I try to do what I can to avoid situations that have led to bad experiences that others have experienced on a cruise.

[Oakman58]

Pictures!  I like Blogs and Trip Reports with pictures.

[david_sobe]

The good, the bad and the ugly if there is any.  Every cruise is different and everyone's perspective is different.  I like to read about any snafus along the way or little tips everyone can learn from.
I must admit, I have a guilty pleasure about reading the reviews under the terrible section.  If someone could take 50 of the best terrible reviews, it would make one awesome book.

Bad weather really turns everyone sour and people take it out on the cruise line.  One particular Bliss review the woman stated the cruise was the worst thing that has ever happened to them in their entire life.  Just imagine what a sheltered life you must have if a cruise was the worst thing that has happened to you.  She spilled water at dinner and thought the staff did not clean it up fast enough.  They complained so NCL sent them chocolate covered strawberries the next day. However, they sent them to their kid's cabin by accident instead of the parents cabin.  The mother stated she went to guest services to complain because she thought a sexual predator was trying to pick up their son because the card was apologizing for the other night.  Really?  Clearly the strawberries are coming from the cruise line.  But she stated she waited in the guest services line for 25 minutes to complain about the strawberries and the terror the the strawberries put them through.  
See, I hate to admit it but how can you not find that entertaining. Or how about one Jewel review where the woman demanded to get off at port and fly home because there was nothing to eat. There are some Bliss Alaska cruise reviews where people complain it was too cold and wet to enjoy the pool deck.  Hello!  You are in Alaska.

Funny stuff.

Edited January 13, 2019 by david_sobe

[rockfsh]

I like "live" reviews with pictures as I know how much time it takes to do those.

[Kmkub]

Like many others have said, balance is the key. It's fairly easy to spot a review with an agenda, as in, not everything was 100% to their liking, so they are going to blame the cruise line for every crying kid they encountered on board. Those are frustrating.

 

A balanced review gives the writer a ton more credibility with regard to their complaints, as opposed to someone who only reports the negative.

[senoragilbert]

If you have any special needs at all, explain them and let us know how the ship dealt with those challenges. Even if it's something like asthma or an allergy to shellfish. There aren't enough niche reviews out there. I plan to do a photo review of our cruise with attention to gluten-free meals. 🙂

[misguy]

My wife uses a wheelchair for a walker and to ride in depending on distance and terrain.  I will focus a lot on that, but I am going to try to make it complete for other aspects of the cruise as well.  I won't be able to do it live since I won't have an internet connection, but I will post it in order when I get back.  Lots of pictures and probably videos as well.  

[kfnesq]

On 1/13/2019 at 1:44 PM, david_sobe said:

I must admit, I have a guilty pleasure about reading the reviews under the terrible section.  If someone could take 50 of the best terrible reviews, it would make one awesome book.

I thought I was the only one! Don't get me wrong, when I'm doing research for an upcoming trip, I definitely look for balanced reviews.  But I do enjoy the entertainment when someone deems an entire cruise "the worst time of my life" because the room steward didn't bring ice two evenings out of seven.  So if you could point me in the direction of the strawberry one.....  🙂

[david_sobe]

27 minutes ago, kfnesq said:

I thought I was the only one! Don't get me wrong, when I'm doing research for an upcoming trip, I definitely look for balanced reviews.  But I do enjoy the entertainment when someone deems an entire cruise "the worst time of my life" because the room steward didn't bring ice two evenings out of seven.  So if you could point me in the direction of the strawberry one.....  🙂

 

2 MUST READS
Under cruise reviews NCL Bliss.  Click on terrible and scroll until you see "Norwegian Bliss-less"  and also read "Cruise from Hell".

2 of the more enjoyable cruise reviews I have read in a long time.  The Bliss-less has the strawberry story and Cruise from hell is about a family group cruise where the author alleges the NCL liason for the family was conspiring against them so they had to be extra careful not to make her mad because every time they asked a question she hung the phone up on them :  Cruise from hell is on page 3 of the terrible reviews and Bliss-less is page 4 of the terrible reviews section

Edited January 14, 2019 by david_sobe