YouTube Serenity Cruise Review by CruiseReport

[FeliciaLee]

If these videos have already been posted, I apologize.

 

They are some great, in depth reviews from non-sponsored YouTuber's. Enjoy!

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by FeliciaLee

[Observer]

46 minutes ago, FeliciaLee said:

They are some great, in depth reviews from non-sponsored YouTuber's. 

 

 

What does "non-sponsored" mean?  Did they pay their own fares like any other guest?

[FeliciaLee]

2 minutes ago, Observer said:

What does "non-sponsored" mean?  Did they pay their own fares like any other guest?

Having watched their videos with regards to that cruise, it seemed that yes, they paid their fares and were not compensated. Crossing my fingers on that one 🙂

[cruisr]

It does say that they got things for free.  Like a cruise in a Sapphire Suite?  And they were in a refurbished suite to boot.

[Txcotn]

Interesting that some people care so much about who paid. And skeptical when the man said they made $$ with youtube not from cruise line.

[BWIVince]

1 hour ago, cruisr said:

It does say that they got things for free.  Like a cruise in a Sapphire Suite?  And they were in a refurbished suite to boot.

 

With under 15k subscribers, it's HIGHLY doubtful they got a free, full length cruise in a Sapphire Suite, unless there was some kind of extenuating circumstance that none of us are aware of.  That's a tiny following in the context of compensation.

 

Vince

[Stickman1990]

17 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 

With under 15k subscribers, it's HIGHLY doubtful they got a free, full length cruise in a Sapphire Suite….

I think you'd be surprised how the cruise companies decide who is an influencer these days, it’s certainly not only based on number of followers 
Well they certainly did receive a free cruise from Crystal as confirmed by him on You Tube in the comments section - I found it a little amusing how he covered of the “not paid to produce the video” aspect but did admit the cruise itself was complimentary 

 

[Roland4]

All of the lines do these "new ship" junkets for TAs (mostly) so this is nothing new. We have only done one, on Harmony of the Seas in 2016, on the night Trump won the election, but that is another story! The cruise is "free", but everything else, is at your own expense. They do take good care of you, and the booze flows freely, though you inevitably end up having dinner with a rep from the line who tries to tell you how wonderful everything is.

[BWIVince]

1 hour ago, Stickman1990 said:

I think you'd be surprised how the cruise companies decide who is an influencer these days, it’s certainly not only based on number of followers 
Well they certainly did receive a free cruise from Crystal as confirmed by him on You Tube in the comments section - I found it a little amusing how he covered of the “not paid to produce the video” aspect but did admit the cruise itself was complimentary 

 

 

I appreciate the correction!  I was definitely wrong.  I know Crystal had a lot of inventory to give away the past couple of months, but that level of a free cruise was more than they were giving the first couple of months (I know a couple of larger influencers who got far less), and is very generous by industry standards.

 

Vince

[BWIVince]

1 hour ago, Roland4 said:

All of the lines do these "new ship" junkets for TAs (mostly) so this is nothing new. We have only done one, on Harmony of the Seas in 2016, on the night Trump won the election, but that is another story! The cruise is "free", but everything else, is at your own expense. They do take good care of you, and the booze flows freely, though you inevitably end up having dinner with a rep from the line who tries to tell you how wonderful everything is.

 

This is where I was going with my comment...  Usually smaller influencers get the shakedown and preview cruises for free, or get a free mid-grade cabin on a full sailing...  But not typically a high grade suite on a full sailing, that's very rare and generous.

 

Vince

[Txcotn]

I still don’t see why anyone cares. I certainly don’t. 

[crickette]

2 hours ago, BWIVince said:

 

This is where I was going with my comment...  Usually smaller influencers get the shakedown and preview cruises for free, or get a free mid-grade cabin on a full sailing...  But not typically a high grade suite on a full sailing, that's very rare and generous.

 

Vince

We are "regular" Crystal cruisers.  So I can add only this to the conversation - influencers and TAs seem to get a much shortened cruise, perhaps 3 or 4 days.  Then another batch come onboard.  Also, it seems they needed to attend one or more "sessions" in the boardroom adjacent to the library on Serenity.  

[BWIVince]

3 hours ago, crickette said:

We are "regular" Crystal cruisers.  So I can add only this to the conversation - influencers and TAs seem to get a much shortened cruise, perhaps 3 or 4 days.  Then another batch come onboard.  Also, it seems they needed to attend one or more "sessions" in the boardroom adjacent to the library on Serenity.  

Yes, for a free engagement instead of a discount, that is definitely the norm.  The meeting should be more than a requirement, it should be something a legit influencer covets.  That’s their chance to ask questions, do interviews, and get answers that the crew at large aren’t usually privy to go on the record about.  A lot of times you’ll see them secure more than one such meeting, with different officers, if they’re able.

 

Vince

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed the video.  

 

I would hope they wouldn't pay for the cruise.

 

As to the length of the cruise it varies. Obviously the shake-down cruises were short and they were shake-down cruises so everything was not perfect. That is why they are called shake-down. As to other cruises it depends. They certainly aren't going to be on the longest of cruises  Often it is something like 7 to 10 days.

 

This is not something new. The only thing that is new is some call these people influencers. 

 

I am not sure if all of you have watched all three videos but it was not all accolades.

 

By the way, on the shake-down cruises travel agents were on board. Some posted on social media. Others sent notes out to their clients and/or to their colleagues to send to their clients. Not everything was glowing.  Same went for the media on board.

 

Crystal or any company cannot control what is said.  True if someone is completely negative they likely won't be asked to return but as I've watched this and similar videos, read articles, whether it is Crystal or some other line it's not 100% glowing.

 

As to this not being new even back in the day if you would pick up magazines on cruising such as Porthole and another one whose name escapes me, they would cover one to three ships in each edition and the write-ups were pretty positive. In fact, I would argue more positive than some of the current videos and write-ups.

 

Only difference is back then they weren't called influencers.

 

But as I said I enjoyed the video so really could care less whether or not someone got a free cruise. And for those who have not yet sailed old Crystal or sailed old but not new Crystal it's a great way of seeing what things look like today IMHO.

 

Keith

[cruisr]

I know two influencers and they told me that they never report anything negative as they want the gravy train to continue.  I do not base any decisions on influencers.  Nor do I believe everything they say.  It’s a “business” with a marketing plan to continue the “business”

 

I trust reports on here more than influencers.  Of course there is also confirmation bias.  if someone loved Crystal they more than likely support 100% an “influencer” that supports Crystal and raves about it.

[BWIVince]

21 minutes ago, cruisr said:

I know two influencers and they told me that they never report anything negative as they want the gravy train to continue.  I do not base any decisions on influencers.  Nor do I believe everything they say.  It’s a “business” with a marketing plan to continue the “business”

 

I trust reports on here more than influencers.  Of course there is also confirmation bias.  if someone loved Crystal they more than likely support 100% an “influencer” that supports Crystal and raves about it.

I think that’s how you separate the amateurs from the pros.  The influencers who provide more value and expertise are the ones with a better balanced approach, and they tend to be the ones with more followers.  (Drama sells clicks, to a point.)  The ones that think the key to success is to create a fluff piece are generally and ultimately limited in their audience, which means lower platform revenue… So they’re shooting themselves in the foot.  The real pros know that.

 

Vince

[Keith1010]

For those who think everything was positive I would watch the video they did in the new Sapphire Suites.

 

I have stayed in the Classic Sapphire many times and toured this one a couple of time in August.  

 

I thought he gave a very informative report and he did highlight some areas where it could be improved or things they needed followup on.

 

He noted it would be good to have an App for the iPhone that mimics what is on the tablet.  He said the nightlights were great but too bright. He said in the bathroom if you stood on the threshold it would rattle and might disturb the other person.  He noted that there was a rattle the first night on the verandah and the AC was not working properly and it was too cold. He did note they corrected both after it was reported.  He thought the square top toiletries were hard to handle in the shower. He noted there was no full length menu in the suite.

 

He also noted that not every suite on Serenity has been refurbished such as the Sapphire suite he and his wife were in.

 

Yes he really liked the Sapphire.  And some of his suggestions others have made.

 

If he promoted anything it was the Visa Company they used to get their passport renewed.

Like most things you might not agree with it all including what he liked or even some of his suggestions.

 

Keith

 

 

 

[FeliciaLee]

Apologies for not reading the pinned comment! This is terribly disappointing, but on the plus side, the videos were in depth and very nice.

[TER777]

Here’s a video on the Symphony’s inaugural. 

 

[KenzSailing]

On 11/8/2023 at 4:41 AM, BWIVince said:

I think that’s how you separate the amateurs from the pros.  The influencers who provide more value and expertise are the ones with a better balanced approach, and they tend to be the ones with more followers.  (Drama sells clicks, to a point.)  The ones that think the key to success is to create a fluff piece are generally and ultimately limited in their audience, which means lower platform revenue… So they’re shooting themselves in the foot.  The real pros know that.

 

Vince

 

Well, yes and no.  I started following a lot of these folks during The Unfortunate Hiatus while I was trying to sort out alternatives.  I watched a lot of videos from one couple.  Their differentiator was really high quality video, well edited. It was especially good at the food porn.  I watched as they climbed the influencer tree to better and better comps,  all the while making the very infrequent "that course was a bit off" comment.  Everything else on their cruises was perfect.  I no longer follow them.

[BWIVince]

8 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Well, yes and no.  I started following a lot of these folks during The Unfortunate Hiatus while I was trying to sort out alternatives.  I watched a lot of videos from one couple.  Their differentiator was really high quality video, well edited. It was especially good at the food porn.  I watched as they climbed the influencer tree to better and better comps,  all the while making the very infrequent "that course was a bit off" comment.  Everything else on their cruises was perfect.  I no longer follow them.

I have to say that food is the one area where influencers kind of tread carefully on their wording more often than any other element…. It can be such a subjective subject that you have to be careful of what is your preference and what is an actual execution or conceptual error, and even the most critical bloggers seem to kind of tiptoe through it sometimes on high-end lines.  That said, I’ve seen the same ones absolutely skewer dining on some ships where it’s deserved and there are legit problems…. Like so many vlogs on MSC, or especially Margaritaville.  Lol

 

Vince