RIDICULOUS reactions to bad reviews..Stop Cheerleaders

[sharecruises]

I think there is a lot of good info on these boards...BUT....I think some of it is really really wiped out by certain cheerleaders...

 

some cheerlead for a particular cruiseline or even a fav ship..and some cheerlead for a beach bar or tour operator etc...

(on some port boards, I do think some are paid or get a kickback or work for places too)

 

when there is a "bad" or even a "lukewarm" review they circle in force...

repeating their own "good experience' review, even tho that might have been months or a year or years before...and has no relationship to what the "unhappy" reviewer is saying

 

Now...don't get me wrong..I also think some reviews are worthless or "angry" over nothing, ie, someone who is mad cause they did not get free "pop" or cause their infant in swim diapers was kicked out of a pool, or angry over bad plane connections etc...some people just like to gripe

 

but...I have seen REAL complaints, ie, a cabin with NO air conditioning yammered at "we had ice cold air">> well bully for you, the reviewer did not...how does the fact you had air conditioning that worked a month or 6 months before negate their poor experience>?

 

Likewise with beach bars/resorts/day trips...a new review may voice certain legit complaints....yet will be yammered and hammered by the cheerleaders, with their irrelevant praises of their day

 

SOME people here seem to want to batter down any "negativity"..

then when confronted by logical statements and ideas, such as the fact that things change, resorts change, management changes, things do go bad, airconditioning needs repairs, food can be bad etc...

 

then the cheerleaders take a self righteous Pollyanna attitude of "I'm on vacation so how bad can it be"..."any day on vacation is better than a day at work"..."As long as I have an ice cold Corona I don't care if I get a lounger, I can sit on my towel" or whatever...

 

they try to derail and deride a real problem..and try to act as if they are then somehow "positive" when I personally think they are passive agressive and ridiculous...

 

rah rah...LOL

 

Yes, it is fine to disagree but not at the expense of a reviewer who posts an honest review...saying "wow, it was good when I was there, I am sorry you had a bad time, maybe it is cause of xyz or xxyz" is cool IMHO...

but to deride and derail and rah rah rah rah right over top them and call them a 'complainer" is conterproductive

some people are afraid to even post a less than glowing review or the "fans" circle in on them

 

Put down the pom poms please and let the reviews have some meaning and helpfulness thanks

[spongerob]

Sometimes the people getting hammered for being Cheerleaders are doing nothing but posting their opinion, or trying to clarify something a poster has said. For example, someone was upset at a cruise line because Immigration procedures were slow and warned anyone who cared to listen not to sail this line as a result.

 

No cruise line has control over Immigration, that's the US government's fault. So I posted just that...and just as there might be cheerleaders, there are also those who have declared themselves Self-Appointed Host who immediately jumped in to claim that anyone trying to correct the OP's statement about immigration was bashing the OP.

 

We get all kinds of people, ranging from those whose rose-colored glasses are glued to their face, to those who dig as deep as they can to find complaint threads and bump them back up, to create discord. If what people post annoys you, just remember, IJAFIMB.*

 

*It's Just a Freakin' Internet Message Board

[dforeigner]

[Cathy p]

Cheri, you go girl, I agree totally with you. I think that is why we don't get many reviews. Some people on the boards may have posted 1 or 2 times and get blasted by people so they never come back. I love to read reviews good or bad and hear about experiences. I don't want anyone to candycoat anything.

Thanks again and have a super weekend.:)

[DiannaInVA]

then the cheerleaders take a self righteous Pollyanna attitude of "I'm on vacation so how bad can it be"..."any day on vacation is better than a day at work"..."As long as I have an ice cold Corona I don't care if I get a lounger, I can sit on my towel" or whatever...

 

they try to derail and deride a real problem..and try to act as if they are then somehow "positive" when I personally think they are passive agressive and ridiculous...

 

I hestate to agree for fear I will be beaten down...however, I do agree. There have been times when someone asks something like..."Should my first cruise be a short one" or something like that. And all of a sudden there are 10 posts saying NO!! YOU MUST TAKE THE LONGEST CRUISE YOU CAN AFFORD!! etc. Not everyone feels that way, but reading this message board, it's hard to see that. I was HAPPY to take a 3 night cruise as my first cruise. And it's sad that people who come here get such a one-sided response to their questions.

 

I know that's not the case all the time...but I would say it happens a lot.

[caviargal]

Eventually, the real cheerleaders are recognized as such. I for one ignore their posts as well as reviews which obviously are strongly biased one way or the other. I put more credence in a review that is detailed and balanced and have learned which posters have similar tastes to mine; these are the ones I give credence to, not the ones that trash every aspect nor the ones that think everything is simply fabulous.

 

I do not think cruising is one size fits all. And I also disagree that a cruise is what you make it.

 

It is the nastiness and sarcasm that so often is reflected in the cheerleaders posts that I personally find offensive.

[Seago2]

I agree 100% and I feel sorry for people who get nailed by suspicious cheerleaders whenever they post something bad ("Well, is there ANYTHING positive you can write?" "Drive by poster, one hit wonder"- gee, I wonder why- "Maybe cruising isn't for you" ETC ETC ETC). Carnival is bad for this and NCL has two guys that drive me nuts with their relentless cheerleading. It's so offputting- someone will post something like "I didn't like the scrambled eggs" and one will put 20 statistics about the amount of eggs used on each trip divided by the latitiude on Day Three- you get the drift.

 

But I also belong to another board, and it took me a little while but then it dawned on me that this same person was doing the same thing over there. From then on I just ignore everything he says.

 

I am always amazed by the consistently bad- or mixed- reviews of the POA or POH. Then the cheerleaders come buzzing in like angry bees, ripping the review apart. How can a person who posts something with the same persistent quality/service issues that people have been talking about for 2 years be LYING? Like everyone has the time to go to the almighty CC, register under a false name, rack up 20 posts somehow, and then post a completely fraudulent review?

 

Oh well! Maybe cruising is just not for me because I let one small thing "ruin" my cruise, and I boarded with a bad attitude, and I expect everything to be perfect. Maybe I should cruise Oceania or another upscale cruise line instead. I guess I'm just used to perfect service and exquisite foods and I don't understand that the kitchen has to feed 2,000 people. It's also clear that I've racked up 1200 posts in Cruise Before You Lose or something like that- so I am definitely a one hit (in terms of relevance) wonder. And I "thought" the captain announced that we blew an azipod and that there were no trays in the Lido- but I was wrong.

[Spikesgirl]

I agree that some people take cruiseline loyality to extremes. I've not had a bad cruise, but have preferred some over others - usually due to itineraries and not the ships. However, I'm also one of those people who likes certain shows, but don't notice when the lead characters socks don't match or how many times he has worn the same tie. Some folks just love to get into the nitty gritty details and dwell there, while missing everything else around them.

 

Other folks have a low threshold for disapointment and one thing can ruin a cruise entirely for them. Should they be allowed to post that - absolutley and without fear of being hammered. it helps when they have facts to back up their complaints, but this is a free country and it is based upon being able to speak our minds.

 

Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinon. Like Caviargirl, there are some posters I block, no matter what. I want to read all the reviews and make up my own mind. No cruise can be all good or all bad. Some people suck lemons; others make lemonade, but it should be entirely up to the indiviual as to which they prefer.

 

So, learn to recognize the cheerleaders, block them and take advantage of what I feel is one of the greatest services the web has to offer - free information and the ability to connect with others of a like mind.

 

Just my opinon - good or bad.

 

Charlie

[Happy ks]

I love reading reviews, the good, the bad and the ugly.

 

I do have to agree wholeheartedly with you regarding the Pollyanna's of each and every board out there. That they will not allow someone to have a glowing feeling about their beloved ship or line is a little silly, we all have our own opinions.

 

I do have to say that I've learned more from the bad reviews than the good ones and have known what to avoid in advance. The glowing reviews can actually be a bit boring, depending on the writer, of course. I like a well balanced review of both the ship and the ports visited.

 

What does annoy me, though, is when a person comes on and posts for the very first time and derides the cruise in every little detail. Reading through these details, you can tell these people did not do a smidge of homework, or have never traveled outside of their safety zone in the past. While I think any kind of travel is a great education, I honestly feel that the education starts before you lock your front door and head to the airport. I can then understand why the Pollyanna's attack, although I don't feel they have to be so viscous about it.

 

That is not to say I don't believe first time posters and I don't think all first timers have to be positive. I just feel like some of them are searching an avenue to vent their anger and have no intention of staying around, learning from others here. Everyone should be welcome here, this board is not the possesion of any of its members and no one has any more legitimate claim to be here than the next person.

 

Probably the most annoying review I've ever read here was from a first time woman who had looked forward to visiting Europe for over a year, booked all her shore excursions from the cruise book and then trashed the whole thing......Because people didn't speak English to her and she had no idea what or where she was visiting.

 

All in all, if everyone was absolutely nice and everyone agreed on every topic, the board would be about 5 pages long. Different opinions are great, it's just kind of a shame there is not much more to discuss sometimes :)

[madelinerose]

I agree 100%! I take every review, good or bad, with a huge grain of salt. I will form my own opinions once I am on the ship, as it seems each cruise on the exact same ship may be completely different from the next.

 

I also do not agree that a bad cruise is better than a good day at work, at home or wherever. IMHO, a bad cruise is a bad cruise, period, no matter how positive your attitude. ;)

 

 

Eventually, the real cheerleaders are recognized as such. I for one ignore their posts as well as reviews which obviously are strongly biased one way or the other. I put more credence in a review that is detailed and balanced and have learned which posters have similar tastes to mine; these are the ones I give credence to, not the ones that trash every aspect nor the ones that think everything is simply fabulous.

 

I do not think cruising is one size fits all. And I also disagree that a cruise is what you make it.

 

It is the nastiness and sarcasm that so often is reflected in the cheerleaders posts that I personally find offensive.

[Hau Oli Tiki]

I agree with all here. I read to get educated and then make the best of my vacation. A lot of time and money are being spent. I want the best bang for my buck.

 

Of course, I can make a party with a glass of water and crackers, so I don't care about the really negative stuff. But it's nice to know stuff about tours, restaurants, common areas, hidden gems, etc...

 

Go aboard with realistic expectations. However, your experience is up to you. Have a great attitude and look forward to a fun time! Go with the flow and lighten up! Don't have any expectations except your going to eat a lot, see a lot and be some where other than your couch! Beats a day workin!

[julieanne]

I love to read several reviews on the same ship to see if everyone had the same vacation! LOL.....I try not to be passive-aggressive :D. One thing I really dislike: people interpreting my comments with their own words, instead of just reading/understanding what I said, they post it back to me with sentences I never put in there! Another thing: opinions. Yes, everyone has one and thank goodness we're all different! If the OP asks a question, just ANSWER IT! Does it have to be a war with everyone's opinion? Favorite cruiselines? Yes, I defnitely have one but, it has never stopped me from recommending one that I thought the poster would prefer based on the question they were asking! You can always say "well, it's not my preference, but yes or no"! :)

[Cruzman]

Not to offer reaction to a bad review when you were on the identical sailing and had the opposite experience. When someone posts that a ship was "dirty" without offering specifics, then perhaps it is the person writing the review that is biased. In other words, the sword slices both ways when it comes to individual biases and reviews.

[madjohn]

I love to read the reviews, especially of a ship I am going on or thinking of going on. Its funny but I think I get my info from the bad reviews: not because they are bad but becuase they usually give specific information. The thing I always try to figure out is what the type of person is who is writing it. If the peson is a clean freak (and there is nothing wrong with that) nothing is going to be clean enough on a ship, but they give great details as to the uncleanlyness and I see if it meets my standards. Another are is the food. I love to hear about the food and service. This is one of my favorite parts of the cruise, to go in and have a two hour meal each night with some good conversation and not get the bill at the end (i already paid it). The funny thing is I am not all the picky. I mean really, my wife and I think a night out at RedRobin or Applebees is fun, so as long as the food is equal to that we are happy. yes I know all you food critiques just swore to yourselves that you would never sit with me, and that is OK with me.

 

Take the info you get and run it through your own standards. I mean I have young kids but I do not take them with me but kids do not bother me as long as parents are doing their job. so if someone says a lot of kids, that does not bother me at all. And yes i am a person who says a day on vacation always beets a day at work!

 

John:D

[CMurph]

I agree with the original poster. It is sometimes amazing to see completely opposite reviews for the same cruise, but people are different and view things in their own way. It really irritates me when someone posts their opinion and someone else responds and tells them that they are wrong. I will read both the negative and positive reviews and decide for myself how those opinions may or may not affect my cruising experience. I do appreciate when others respond with "I had the opposite experience" or "I did not find that to be a problem"....but, I feel it is not necessary for people to get upset and try to discredit the poster for expressing their opinion.

[Cathy p]

John, I am with you. I get hammered from my roll call because I like the Dead Lobster and Don Pablos both chain restaurants.:eek: Shame on us, however, a bunch of people must like them as they keep building them.:D By the way have never been to Red Robin, how is it?

[sharecruises]

So much good input here...I do agree that one should take reviews with a grain of salt ...and pepper LOL

 

The "3 day cruise" is another perfect example of NON helpful posts here tho...if someone dares to ask a valid question for an upcoming 3 day cruise they will find the thread hijacked with "only a 7 night for me, everything else is too short"...and "3 night cruises have the party kids on them , blah blah">> now, yes sometimes people ask about the pros/cons before hand so they are asking for opinions. BUT if they are already booked on a 3 nighter they may just want to know how many swimsuits to bring or what to wear for formal night or how much for their onboard account...they did NOT ask people's opinions of short cruises LOL

 

This also is very prevalent on the Ports boards...for instance last year I did NOT want to do stingrays....does not appeal to me, I asked for OTHER options on the Grand Cayman board...to hear

 

1) the good time someone had feeding stingrays

 

2) how someone's 7 year old kid loved the stingrays at stingray city

 

3) how good Captain so and so is or how good xyz stingray city tour is...

 

4) I even had one person tell me that if I did not want "to have fun why go on a cruise" LOL> that was my fav..

 

and so on...it simply deterioates from there...

\

I did go to Grand Cayman, minus stingrays and had a nice time.

 

One size does not fit all...different strokes for different folks

 

the same thing happens on the Belize board if someone dares to ask for excursions OTHER that cave tubing...you get to hear how great it is, get told "do not be afraid", hear how someone's 6 year old loved it...and then someone gives you the url to the private cave tube guy again LOL

 

Pom Pom Poms LOL

[surfklutz]

Wow - you could have read my mind. I agree with you completely. A completely peaches and cream review board is not very helpful to anyone - especially when there are so many choices for cruising.

 

It drives me nuts when some registers a complaint in a review and they are met with skeptical eye as though you are making it up. Or they are told that they somehow failed by not not ignoring the problem and making the most of your cruise. Somehow, I doubt these people would sit still if something happened to them to make their cruise not what they expected.

[Seago2]

So much good input here...I do agree that one should take reviews with a grain of salt ...and pepper LOL

 

The "3 day cruise" is another perfect example of NON helpful posts here tho...if someone dares to ask a valid question for an upcoming 3 day cruise they will find the thread hijacked with "only a 7 night for me, everything else is too short"...and "3 night cruises have the party kids on them , blah blah">> now, yes sometimes people ask about the pros/cons before hand so they are asking for opinions. BUT if they are already booked on a 3 nighter they may just want to know how many swimsuits to bring or what to wear for formal night or how much for their onboard account...they did NOT ask people's opinions of short cruises LOL

 

This also is very prevalent on the Ports boards...for instance last year I did NOT want to do stingrays....does not appeal to me, I asked for OTHER options on the Grand Cayman board...to hear

 

1) the good time someone had feeding stingrays

 

2) how someone's 7 year old kid loved the stingrays at stingray city

 

3) how good Captain so and so is or how good xyz stingray city tour is...

 

4) I even had one person tell me that if I did not want "to have fun why go on a cruise" LOL> that was my fav..

 

and so on...it simply deterioates from there...

\

I did go to Grand Cayman, minus stingrays and had a nice time.

 

One size does not fit all...different strokes for different folks

 

the same thing happens on the Belize board if someone dares to ask for excursions OTHER that cave tubing...you get to hear how great it is, get told "do not be afraid", hear how someone's 6 year old loved it...and then someone gives you the url to the private cave tube guy again LOL

 

Pom Pom Poms LOL

 

"R-E-G-G-I-E! That's the way we spell Reggie! GO A-1!!"

 

Yo, I hear ya- I'm not trying to touch any sting rays, either.

 

But I dare you to ask how to swim with the dolphins- you'll get flames from so many sides both you AND the dolphins will be toast...

[buddyjo143]

One reason I go to the review section is to read a multitude of reviews at one time. I can look at a particular month or itinerary (if a ship changes routes) and see what people had to say.

 

I look at the very bad reviews and the very good reviews and split the difference:p

 

At least when I read the reviews there are no rebuttals. When you read these boards you will find discussion. Hopefully respectful but certainly different views.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

This also is very prevalent on the Ports boards...for instance last year I did NOT want to do stingrays....

 

OMG! What's wrong with you?!?!?!? :eek: If the ship's crew had known, I'm sure they wouldn't have let you off the ship!! We loved, loved, loved the stingrays, so you absolutely MUST love them, too! ;) LOL

 

Seriously, I agree with you on the cheerleaders. Personally, I enjoy reading reviews--wish there were more--but, any review that is totally negative or is reported as 100 percent perfection I don't take to heart. Like most posters on this thread, I want to hear the good and the bad to help me as I make my family's vacation plans.

 

And, I'm another who doesn't believe that a bad cruise is better than being at work. I love my job--if I were having a miserable time on a cruise, I really would rather be at work! How sick am I?!? But, I do believe that a cruise--to a certain extent--is what you make it. Just like every other vacation venue. That's just another way of saying go with a good attitude. To be honest, there aren't a lot of activities on a cruise that I'm all that crazy about--we don't do the bar thing, spend little time in the casino, and rarely go to the shows. But, we still have a great time on a cruise because we go with a good attitude expecting to have a great vacation.:)

 

Since we're all so opinionated, I hope we'll all write reviews of our next cruises. I'll be happy to read each of them--the good parts and the bad. :)

 

Cheers!

Jayne

[Aquahound]

So far, the OP's opinion has been very popular. And let me say now that I do agree with what the OP said.

 

One thing though. There is a reviews section of this website to post reviews. When someone decides to post their review in the boards, they are asking for responses. Hopefully, they do expect good and bad.

[RetiredMustang]

So much good input here...I do agree that one should take reviews with a grain of salt ...and pepper LOL

 

The "3 day cruise" is another perfect example of NON helpful posts here tho...if someone dares to ask a valid question for an upcoming 3 day cruise they will find the thread hijacked with "only a 7 night for me, everything else is too short ...

 

the good time someone had feeding stingrays

 

Pom Pom Poms LOL

 

Some biased observations (but no rah rah rah!):

 

3-day cruise. These are perfect for people who don't know if they like cruising or not. I'm retired Navy, so there was no question about being seasick ;) .

 

But, I had been on many "cruises" on ships whose names began "USS..." The DW got me on the first non-Navy one by pointing out that I did not have to stand watch on the bridge from midnight to 4 a.m., that the food was probably better, and that the roommates were much prettier and much more congenial. :D

 

The 3-dayers are the perfect way to find out if cruising is really for you. If not, you're not out that much time/money and if yes, you can book the 7-day or longer cruise as soon as you get back!

 

So far as Cayman goes, we have fed the stingrays twice and had fun, and snorkeled on Cheeseburger reef. Maybe next time, we'll just go to Hell. :cool:

 

Seriously, I think some people _do_ go overboard. We like HAL, but know that there really are some things that could be better, and I hope we are not considered "cheerleaders"! I'm just glad that Carnival Corp. has kept each line's niche market pretty much intact. For those who don't know, HAL, Princess, Cunard and others are all part of the same corporation, but it has so far had the sense to keep the separate niches for each line.

[Mary_Jo]

It's not just reviews, I just "saw" someone get roasted for asking a question about tips. I could not believe it. It really discourages open communication which is what I thought CC was all about. I know I think twice before posting.

 

MJ

[Seago2]

It's not just reviews, I just "saw" someone get roasted for asking a question about tips. I could not believe it. It really discourages open communication which is what I thought CC was all about. I know I think twice before posting.

 

MJ

 

Mary Jo- have fun on the Spirit! Ask me any tipping questions and I'll be glad to answer. I don't need to ask who went mental on that topic- I can guess.