Cruise Critic reviews

[Arizonasunshine]

5 hours ago, doowopbob said:

We always do the drink package and have never had to sign a chit.  You give them your card and they ring it up and give your card back.  Also on Azamara the liquor included is very basic. If you want anything better you pay for it. You couldn't even get the same wine two days in a row.

Not accurate, Azamara does change wines daily, but if you find one you really like all you have to do is ask your server, he or she will get it for you.

[doowopbob]

34 minutes ago, Arizonasunshine said:

Not accurate, Azamara does change wines daily, but if you find one you really like all you have to do is ask your server, he or she will get it for you.

That was not our experience.  We had to go to the front desk and complain before we could get the wine we wanted if it wasn't the wine of the day.  Asking our server did nothing.  It was several years ago so maybe their policy has changed.

[Arizonasunshine]

35 minutes ago, doowopbob said:

That was not our experience.  We had to go to the front desk and complain before we could get the wine we wanted if it wasn't the wine of the day.  Asking our server did nothing.  It was several years ago so maybe their policy has changed.

I just returned from 30+ day cruise on Azamara (April 27-May 26) and asked for our favorite wine on several occasions in different dining venues,  it was never a problem. Sometimes they run out, this has happened on other cruises, but not the norm. Never had to go to the head waiter to get this done, but would not hesitate to do so. It's really a pretty common request.

[keithm]

On ‎8‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 11:37 PM, ak1004 said:

After reading the last Riviera review, I decided to compile a list of cruise lines with average review rankings. Here is the list:

 

Viking 4.59

Azamara 4.36

Crystal 4.28

Seabourn 4.19

Celebrity 4.15

Oceania 3.99

Royal 3.99

Holland 3.97

Princess 3.94

Silversea 3.92

Regent 3.92

Carnival 3.92

Cunard 3.91

NCL 3.76

Costa 3.28

 

Few comments:

 

I was surprised to see Viking and Azamara getting the highest marks. I always considered Oceania, Viking and Azamara being in the same category, but below the "luxury 4". Crystal and Seabourn marks are not surprising (although I expected them to be ranked above Viking and Azamara), but Silversea and Regent?? same as Carnival? And Oceania same as Royal, and below Celebrity? The difference between 3.99 and 4.15 might not seem big, but considering that most lines are in 3.90-4.30 range, it is pretty significant and very surprising, at least to me. I would put Celebrity close to Princess and Holland.

 

Thoughts?

 

Quite surprising, though it shouldn't be. Each line certainly has it's loyalists! As a whole, however, I take CC reviews with a grain of salt. This can be said with mine as well, I'm sure! CC cruisers are really a tiny blip compared to the overall cruising public. Where I tend to "write off" a review is no real explanation as to what some dis like. Some do go into detail, but a surprising amount seem to just "bash" a line & then move off to do the same on another line. There's a few OP's out there that go from one blog to the next to foment an argument. Some make me wonder if they've actually EVEN been on a particular ship. One could fake a cruise just by gathering reviews from a particular blog & take it from there.

[Hawaiidan]

On 8/2/2019 at 8:09 PM, ak1004 said:

Did some more digging, and it looks like relatively low Oceania ratings were skewed by the smaller ships.

 

Riviera/Marina got both 4.12 average ratings, but four other ships all got under 4. Insignia was the worst, with 3.61 average rating. Nautica 3.98, Sirena/Regatta 3.80. 

 

btw, this is consistent with Berlitz ratings, where Riviera/Marina got 1599/1594, Sirena/Regatta 1398, Nautica/Insignia 1393.

 

Viking also gets very high marks from Berlitz (1690 area), Crystal gets ~1680.

Remember  Viking is double-dipping  because it has a HUGE cadre of  thousands upon thousands  of past river boat passengers who think  their Viking river is the end all-be all..  AND the huge ad campaign  Viking has put out declaring it the best line in the world and even recommended by Jesus........... Propaganda to make even Joseph Goebbels  blush !!!  Just keep telling people how to feel  and they will........       I also think that Old Berlitz might get a visit from MR Green  on a regular basis....

[mdpa]

I appreciate the effort of the OP to compile and post the ratings.

 

That said, my conclusion is this effort has proved the numerical ratings of the cruises is useless (actual perspectives and opinions are likely helpful).

 

Why am I so confident? Because I have cruised with Silversea twice and Celebrity once. The overall experience with Silversea blows away Celebrity and the price differential is reflected in the marketplace. I'm looking forward to my first Oceania cruise this month and hoping this line proves to be a level of luxury that I can occasionally afford. I plan to give Celebrity one more try on an Asia cruise in January and hoping I receive decent value relative to the price. The combination of onboard booking promo, credits for an issue, and a decent price for the itinerary is having me give them one more chance.

[UDSpud]

While part of the high survey results for Viking Ocean are deserved, their "what we are" and "what we are not" helps limit poor reviews.  Some will complain about an Oceania cruise if there are children under 18 on board and Viking does not have to worry about this.  The same situation exists with casino's.  People who want them may not sail Viking and will not  complain about  "no casino's" (or any casino related complaints)

 

My new Travel and Leisure cruise survey as Viking rated highest in their category and arrived several months after I received a letter from Viking requesting I vote for  them in the Travel and Leisure survey.  I chose to vote for Oceania with my $$,$$$.$$.

[ak1004]

I have no doubt that Silversea, Oceania and Regent have to be rated significantly above Celebrity. I also don't think Celebrity should be ranked above Princess and HAL - they provide very similar level of overall experience. But yes, we know the power of good marketing - both Viking and Celebrity are ranked higher than you would expect. 

Still doesn't explain the big difference between Oceania and Azamara.

 

I'm pretty sure that pricing plays a big role as well. If you asked people to rank ignoring pricing, I'm pretty sure Regent and Silversea would be ranked much higher. But people expect from those lines much more than carnival or Royal.