Lost in reviews

[badissa]

:confused:

 

Hello all,

Here is my dilemma: I want to book my next cruise during the 2nd week of Jan 07 with a Western carribean itinerary......sounds simple right? Here is the dilemma part:

I cruised with Carribean Princess last year and it was amazing! I don't want to be dissapointed with my next cruise. My friends and I definetly want to try a new line. NCL has a great itinerary out of NYC but the ship (Dawn) has horrific reviews and its 11 days! RCCL and CAR both have decent ones but now I can't decide cause I have made a full time job out of reading reviews! Basically heres the deal: I want a BIG ship, lots to do, fabulous food, and an excellent stateroom. PLEASE help steer me in the right direction! Lots of details...............thanks in advance!

[JolieMadam]

Just my two cents for what it's worth......once you have been to the Eastern Caribbean, the islands in the Western Carib. do not compare.....in fact they were a disappointment for me. Because I've also sailed with HAL and RCCL, don't think you can go wrong with Princess.....elegant ships and the accommodations and the dining are great.

[CaptData]

Try Freedom of the Seas.

[2Cruise4Ever]

I'm curious how you found so many horrible reviews of the Dawn. We went on her last year and absolutely loved it. You may have only read a few reviews and if you'll notice, most of those folks are complaining about things that NCL has no control over (i.e. missed port due to weather, etc.). Try reading a few more and you'll see most people who have sailed on the Dawn loved it. We just booked her again for next June. We absolutely can't wait!!! :D

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Please take any reviews you read with a grain of salt just as you probably take movie reviews with a grain of salt. If you have ten different people review the same ship, you'll get ten vastly different opinions.

 

I would say that would especially be true of the biggest ships because so many people are on board and they all have different preferences and priorities.

 

You don't really know what is important to the reviewer. It may not be what is important to you. I loved passing time on Freedom of the Seas studying the artwork and sculture, architecture and design details, but I'm certain many passengers never paused to give it a look.

 

There was a delightful silver or chrome life size bull dog in the Prominade in front of the coffee shop. I'd sit at a table and watch dozens and dozens of folks pass right by and never even look at it! Many children loved it, though.

 

I use this example to illustrate the point that one reviewer's point of view may have little to do with what is important to your cruising experience.

[sweetpea-2]

:confused:

 

Hello all,

Here is my dilemma: I want to book my next cruise during the 2nd week of Jan 07 with a Western carribean itinerary......sounds simple right? Here is the dilemma part:

I cruised with Carribean Princess last year and it was amazing! I don't want to be dissapointed with my next cruise. My friends and I definetly want to try a new line. NCL has a great itinerary out of NYC but the ship (Dawn) has horrific reviews and its 11 days! RCCL and CAR both have decent ones but now I can't decide cause I have made a full time job out of reading reviews! Basically heres the deal: I want a BIG ship, lots to do, fabulous food, and an excellent stateroom. PLEASE help steer me in the right direction! Lots of details...............thanks in advance!

 

All I can tell you is I went on the Dawn and out of New York and had a fantastic time......much better than I did on CCL......freestyle is the best.....everyone has their own opinions and some people expect the world delivered on a gold platter....I go to have fun, as long as the food is great, which it was and far better than CCL I must say................the room was clean, evreyone was friendly and we had such a great time we're booked again for 2/18/07 :D

[Nebr.cruiser]

Like other posters said, take reviews lightly. Remember that for some strange reason people with complaints are much more likely to speak up than those who had positive experiences. I think we tend to remember the few things that do go wrong instead of all the things that are great. Also, of course, everyone's expectations and perceptions differ; we've never had a bad cruise and have enjoyed each one. Have some been better than others? Sure. Have we had some negative experiences? Sure. But never enough to spoil a whole cruise. Nothing in life is perfect, but attitude is everything!

 

That said, I've never been on NCL, but I have a hard time believing that, except in exceptional circumstances (serious illness, fire, etc.), it could be so bad as to ruin a whole cruise.