Do you guys feel that videos are helpful or not?

[Lena11033]

27 minutes ago, chrisgp999 said:

To the best of my knowledge, there has been no "banning of filming" by MSC.  There have been two occasions, on two different MSC ships where one pair of vloggers were told to cease and desist video recording for some yet to be documented reason.  There are plenty of MSC review videos on You Tube, including several by the hotel director on the Seaview.

 

This is why I take it with a grain of salt, it felt very one sided we have only their view of what happened. 

That being said as much as I like YT videos I wouldn't be ok with the cameras while I was trying to eat etc either. Between cameras, lightings, takes and walking through the dining rooms filming its like a tv production 

 

 

[jean87510]

On 5/16/2024 at 11:43 PM, Stockjock said:

I upload all of my videos to YouTube.  I've done this since the earliest days of YT, as it's a very convenient place to store my video files and clear space in iCloud.

I'm not sure if some of you understand how monetization works, but if you have 2,000 followers (I do, but barely), YouTube allows you to monetize your channel.  Most people, like me, make almost nothing.  I have about 1,300 videos and on a good month, I make about $22 and on a bad month, maybe $17.  I figure, as long as the videos are already there, why not?  I can buy a bottle of wine with the revenue (although it is taxable.)

There are actually people who can make a lot of money on YouTube.  I suspect that some of these cruise vloggers do very well.  Some may make over $100,000 per year.  Of course, most of us aren't semi-professional cruise vloggers.  I'm certainly not.

I'm not allowed to criticize or challenge moderators, so I won't do that.  I will say that I've had folks here complain that a recent video of a marching band in the Butcher's Cut specialty restaurant was posted, "to drive traffic to my YouTube channel."  Of course, this is utterly false.  It was shared to document a loud band playing while we were trying to have a nice peaceful dinner.  There was some good discussion, followed by the comments I mentioned (I probably have made less than a dime on that video, less than 50 hits as of this writing.)  Then it was no more.

But I wonder what people are interested in?  Are they interested in videos that share good/bad/unusual experiences?  Or if someone shares a video from their channel, where maybe they make something/nothing whatever, it's somehow not what anyone wants to see?  Rather, they'd prefer to discuss whether Yacht Club is "worth it" ad nauseum?

Speaking for myself, I really enjoy the videos,  They bring words to life.  I wouldn't like it if a semi-professional vlogger was sharing video after video from a high-volume channel, but a periodic video that shares an interesting experience from time-to-time, I think is something I would like to see.  A couple of examples were the recent Ben & David video where they were banned from recording on MSC.  In another example, I watched a YouTube video from Where's Walter, who happens to be here, but I didn't know that.  I shared his video because I thought it was useful, interesting, and I thought it was, perhaps, the most fair video I had seen in terms of addressing MSC's food quality, and I've seen plenty.

I'm curious to see if folks here enjoy periodic on-topic videos, which probably are hosted on YouTube, since it's the world's largest hosting site.  Or, should those periodic videos be banned?



 

I am glad you asked.  I love ship videos.  But here is what makes me stop watching

 

1.  the vloggers face in the video.  I want to the ship not the vlogger.  Drives me nuts.

 

2.  Jokes.  Not always relatable.

 

3.  No subtitles explaining where and what.

 

4.  Would love to see menus when showing specialty restaurants.  Also pricing for spa treatments.  Maybe a gym class list.  A drink menu for coffee places or ice cream, pizza with prices.

 

I love the ones with zero talking, subtitles, and zen music.  

[cue881]

On 5/17/2024 at 12:54 PM, Stockjock said:

One of my pet peeves, and this is not directly related to my question, is when the semi-professional vloggers create clickbait misleading titles just to get views.  Some "shocking" headline, perhaps with a photo of the vlogger's face with an astonished expression, and then you get into the video and it's nothing shocking at all.

Again, doesn't specifically relate to my question, as I find some of the videos quite helpful.  I've done brief reviews of cabins on MSC, Celebrity, NCL, Pullmantur, Carnival, and others and I've been told those were useful.  But when they try to mislead me, I find that to be annoying.

When someone does that on a video I immediately give them a thumbs down and block them.

[cue881]

2 hours ago, chrisgp999 said:

To the best of my knowledge, there has been no "banning of filming" by MSC.  There have been two occasions, on two different MSC ships where one pair of vloggers were told to cease and desist video recording for some yet to be documented reason.  There are plenty of MSC review videos on You Tube, including several by the hotel director on the Seaview.

As I understand it, the two vloggers were asked to stop filming because a guest in the Yacht Club didn't want to risk being filmed on the cruise.   It immediately made me think someone was cheating on their spouse and didn't want any evidence being recorded!  Who knows?  There are plenty of videos on YouTube recently so I do not believe MSC had banned filming.

[morpheusofthesea]

38 minutes ago, cue881 said:

 It immediately made me think someone was cheating on their spouse and didn't want any evidence being recorded! 

Or they are in the witness protection program ?

Edited May 19 by morpheusofthesea

[Damo74]

I always watch them, and if I’m about to book a new cruise, I research it thoroughly and I find YouTube one of the best ways to get information. I especially enjoy the ship tours/room tours etc and I then search YT for info on the port and destinations.

Keep doing what you do!

[chisoxfan]

12 hours ago, cue881 said:

As I understand it, the two vloggers were asked to stop filming because a guest in the Yacht Club didn't want to risk being filmed on the cruise.   It immediately made me think someone was cheating on their spouse and didn't want any evidence being recorded!  Who knows?  There are plenty of videos on YouTube recently so I do not believe MSC had banned filming.

Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.William Shakespeare 

[chrisgp999]

19 hours ago, cue881 said:

As I understand it, the two vloggers were asked to stop filming because a guest in the Yacht Club didn't want to risk being filmed on the cruise.   It immediately made me think someone was cheating on their spouse and didn't want any evidence being recorded!  Who knows?  There are plenty of videos on YouTube recently so I do not believe MSC had banned filming.

That may be the case with this pair's most recent video.  About two years ago they were told to stop recording the Marketplace Buffet serving area on the Virtuosa.  Reason for this action by MSC were not documented.

[ray98]

I am a planner by nature and I do watch a good bit of video content for upcoming trips and such.  My go to is content is stuff that is straight to the point without the 'influencer' aspect that has taken over.  I absolutely refuse to watch anyone who throws around the click bait titles or creates drama for view.

 

That fill a void as long as you filter our the influencers.

[Stockjock]

37 minutes ago, ray98 said:

I am a planner by nature and I do watch a good bit of video content for upcoming trips and such.  My go to is content is stuff that is straight to the point without the 'influencer' aspect that has taken over.  I absolutely refuse to watch anyone who throws around the click bait titles or creates drama for view.

 

That fill a void as long as you filter our the influencers.

I've got a few vloggers who I have liked in the past, but they're doing so much click baiting in terms of their titles and preview graphics, that I've started unsubscribing a few of them.  I understand that titles like "shocking" and "bad" or "surprising" can get them more hits on YouTube, but it can also allow existing subscribers to the point where we tune them out.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Every successful YouTuber I know of uses click baiting. That is partly how they became successful, but they also have to deliver content.

[Fogfog]

Will look for video - If we are looking for specific answers 

That said--most is REALLY poor. Bad music. Click bait titles/graphics. Gum smacking, chewing with their mouth open and waving food at the end of the fork they are holding like a shovel.

There is one that produces nice work that we stumbled upon and have returned to to look for information. That channel also has an IG.

Yet, by and large, the click bait titles and such are 🤮

 

 

 

[Huntingdon1701]

I use videos a lot in between cruises or for planning. I thought your posting of that video was entirely relevant and appropriate to the forum, as it showed something out of the ordinary and that many people would like to know. 

[Stockjock]

19 minutes ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

I use videos a lot in between cruises or for planning. I thought your posting of that video was entirely relevant and appropriate to the forum, as it showed something out of the ordinary and that many people would like to know. 

That's how I felt about it.  I thought it was odd that a quasi-marching band would barge through a specialty restaurant when we were trying to enjoy dinner.  Was interesting to see if others felt that way or not.

It gets frustrating, at times.  I try to post what I believe to be interesting and relevant content, and take the time to write out my thoughts, and to a much lesser extent, do short videos in order to try to help and perhaps entertain others, only to have them gripe and complain to the moderators.  To be clear, I'm not criticizing the moderators, but perhaps those folks who seem to gripe about many things, or find something dark and sinister where it doesn't exist.  My view is one of appreciation to those who make an effort, even when, at times, it might be slightly off the mark.

[Huntingdon1701]

5 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

  My view is one of appreciation to those who make an effort, even when, at times, it might be slightly off the mark.

 

Agreed. Too many people here, and everywhere online, don't scroll past when they should. If something's not relevant to you, just move past it.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

That's how I felt about it.  I thought it was odd that a quasi-marching band would barge through a specialty restaurant when we were trying to enjoy dinner.

 

I would find it odd at Ruth's Chris or Cowboy Star and certainly on the Queen Mary 2 or even NCL Bliss, but I am beyond anything on Carnival or MSC surprising me. I just take it in stride.

[So_Tweetie]

Interesting to read the different opinions and preferences from everyone about videos.

 

Over the years I have learned not to post links to my channel here, even non-vlog content that is direct and as to-the-point as I can be. Those posts usually receive self-promotion accusations and eventually get deleted.  

 

On 5/17/2024 at 11:57 AM, brovol said:

I hate background music, unless its whats actually playing in the scene. 

 

Creators often add background music to cover up copyrighted content in the original audio.

[noobcruiser]

I do use YT videos a lot for vacation research (and cooking and diy).  I haven't watched your video, but I guess I am more curious about what rule\guideline you were supposed to have broken?  IF potential monetization was the issue, would you be allowed to post a video if you turned monetization off (and stated such)?

 

Personally, I would love to see a new forum dedicated to Vloggers in the "Digital Photography & Cruise Technology" section.  Why not embrace new (20 years old) ways of sharing content?

[Stockjock]

1 minute ago, noobcruiser said:

I do use YT videos a lot for vacation research (and cooking and diy).  I haven't watched your video, but I guess I am more curious about what rule\guideline you were supposed to have broken?  IF potential monetization was the issue, would you be allowed to post a video if you turned monetization off (and stated such)?

 

Personally, I would love to see a new forum dedicated to Vloggers in the "Digital Photography & Cruise Technology" section.  Why not embrace new (20 years old) ways of sharing content?

To my knowledge, there is no rule specifying whether it matters if a video is or isn't monetized.  I suspect that most worth watching, are.

I can't speak for anyone else, but the only issue I could see would be if a high-volume vlogger was constantly posting video after video here with the obvious or apparent intent of driving revenue to the point of annoyance.

Fortunately, I can't recall seeing any examples of that happening, thus far.

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 5/18/2024 at 7:58 PM, cue881 said:

immediately made me think someone was cheating on their spouse

Maybe they were in witness protection…

[Georgia_Peaches]

I watch video room tours and ship tours. Often I will turn the volume off or play the video a 1.5 times speed. I find many videos helpful and prefer to watch the more amateur ones bc they appear to be more genuine to me. 

[KittyCruz]

We'll watch videos to get an idea of the ship, rooms and the amenities.  If there is too much talking or really bad music I will skip it because life is too short.  

 

I agree with everyone on the clickbait ones, they're a waste of time and something I consider quasi amateur reality show productions.  I don't cruise for drama but rather to see the world,  relax, eat and drink too much for a week while someone else does all the house work.

 

As for being told to stop filming, I respect that.  If you are making it a "production" that really needs to be addressed and approved prior with the line you are sailing on, because it distracts from others hard earned vacations and on that same note, one should be equally respectable to those who may not want their soul stolen in the form of video or photographs for whatever reason (witness protection, boss didn't know i was on vacation, children present, etc...)

 

 

[nferr]

I like watching the videos because you get a good honest view of the ship etc. If I don't relate to what is being offered I stop watching. Nobody's forcing anyone to watch a video.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 5/29/2024 at 9:07 AM, KittyCruz said:

As for being told to stop filming, I respect that.  If you are making it a "production" that really needs to be addressed and approved prior with the line you are sailing on, because it distracts from others hard earned vacations and on that same note, one should be equally respectable to those who may not want their soul stolen in the form of video or photographs for whatever reason (witness protection, boss didn't know i was on vacation, children present, etc...)

 

If "because it distracts from others hard earned vacations" is the standard by which we may stop others from behaviors we don't like.... then men trying to wear shorts in the MDR, not wearing a coat in the MDR on Formal Night, children being loud, children splashing people, people hoarding loungers, one person "reserving" 15 seats in the Main Theater, and virtually anything that distracts me from my hard earned vacation needs to cease immediately.

[DaKahuna]

@Stockjock I enjoy well formatted videos that convey a message.  I do not like videos that are speed walks through the ship.  As an example, earlier today I was watch one where the lady was describing the bathroom and then started talking about the walk in closet while the camera was still panning around the shower. 

 

Another example are some of the video's of the buffet where the person is walking so fast you can't even see the displays well.  

 

When it comes to meals - I prefer still picture vs videos.  The last thing I want is to watch someone chewing their food. 

 

I prefer reading CC stores about experiences, good or bad, rather than watching someone sitting at a desk or on a couch telling me about it.  

 

As for your video of the band in Butcher's Cut -- I watched and appreciated it.  I would have said something to the maitre'd about it as I also agree that it was totally out of place and very disruptive to the atmosphere of the restaurant.