Bad Reviews From Cranky People

[eetonaee]

If you go to a restaurant and don't like what you are served chances are you will eat it anyway and you may get the cost deducted from your bill if the restaurant thinks they may lose you as a customer.

 

My experience on a ship is if you are served something you don't like the server will bring something else and make sure you are happy or will bring you yet another choice.

 

I also realize that I am on a mass market cruise line that is serving up to 3000 people in the same evening. I believe that those who want a gourmet meal every night should eat only in the specialty restaurants or cruise on the high end cruise lines that may charge them 2 -5 times what they are paying.

[jbrambach]

Realize that some people are just chronic complainers - this seems to be what makes them happy.

We once sat at a lunch table with a single elderly man and he complained about everything and how HAL does everything better than Princess - I asked him why he was here and he answered "why, the price of course" and continued to complain.

Another lunchtime episode - a gentlemen was complaining because there was no sugar on the table - I called a waiter over and requested some and he brought it. I handed it to the complainer and he said " why are you handing that to me, I don't use it". I asked him why he was complaining about it and he answered "well it just should be on the table for anyone that wants it.

Go figure.

Ron

Past experiences similar to the two you wrote are why I always request a table for 2.

[woodofpine]

Surprisingly, most people are not that well grounded in reality (myself included). Most are heavily grounded in their perception, perspective, and present emotional condition which they believe is 'reality'; it isn't. It is pretty distanced from 'reality'.

 

Couple that impairment with the fact most people don't communicate and articulate their perceptions that well - much less the true reality present. Thus, most criticisms appear either half baked or burnt to a crisp by an utterly insane cook!

[coiran]

Past experiences similar to the two you wrote are why I always request a table for 2.

 

I am beginning to think that might be best - we usually like to sit at a table of 6 or 8 but often get complainers or "one-uppers" - neither of which I can take.

Ron

[CalGal777]

I've never met a cruise I did'nt like.....

[Ethel5]

I really hate it when a post starts off with.............

 

WARNING!

 

I'M NEVER GOING ON PRINCESS AGAIN.

 

BEWARE!

 

Usually from first time posters :rolleyes:

[MarinaDCA]

When I first found cruise critic I was absolutely amazed by some of the negative reviews. The things that some people let "ruin" their vacations make me go :confused:

 

Me and DH are first time cruisers... it comes down to this for us... we get 6 wholes off work, we get to go a nice warm tropical place for 8 days, we don't have to make our own meals/wash the dishes... we'd be with books on our balcony! We are heading into this saying it is going to be awesome, even if every little thing (or even every big thing like missing a port or something) does not go our way. In fact its down right impossible for nothing at all to go wrong. It will be something or other... a meal I didn't like, too much noise somewhere, surly service from a single staff member, whatever it is, it will happen and I think its best to roll with it.

 

Some negative reviews are legit, but they usually also tell about what they liked/enjoyed or what went well. It when the review is all negative or worse when the trip was ruined by some outside force (the airlines, the person's own poor planning, the weather) and they blame the cruise line/ship.

 

My favorite bad review was a lady whose 14 day cruise (omg...2 weeks off of work :::drool:::) was ruined because smoked salmon was only available for 6 of those mornings. Sure it sucks that she couldn't get what she wanted for breakfast some days, and its annoying...but what about the amazing 14 day cruise? Surely there was more win than fail? I am scared of encountering these hyper picky people in person on the cruise. Not interested in hearing the complaining live and in stereo :D

[GTO-Girl]

I have never had a bad cruise. I've had some cruises that I've enjoyed more than others....but never a bad one.

 

Heck on our last cruise I managed to fall on deck and I really screwed my knee up. Even though I had to spend the whole last day in my room, it did make for some funny moments with my husband trying to help me hop on one foot out on the balcony or into the bathroom.

 

And since I had to disembark in a wheelchair we were whisked off ahead of everyone and were in the parking lot about 7:15.... :eek: See there's always something positive to every situation. :D

 

And before you ask....."no I did not ask for any compensation".....because I'm a klutz....end of story

[esmo]

If I had believed some of the reviews I read about the Golden Princess prior to our first cruise I never would have taken a cruise!!! Happily I decided to take everything with a large shaker of salt and we had a wonderful, wonderful time. What I find amazing are two reviews of the same cruise - one raving that all was wonderful, nothing al all went wrong and the second one saying all was horrid and they would never go on such and such line again! Were they on the same cruise or in parallel universes? ;)

[wizard-of-roz]

I walk with a Service Dog; I enter an elevator, on a formal night [not too full, there's room to maneuver], a lady standing in a corner opposite me says; "I don't like dogs", I say I'm sorry you don't.

I try and move myself and Brenda as far away from her as I can. We stop at a floor and 2 more people get on the elevator; a woman & her husband, dressed in a lovely, formal gown & tux, the woman spots "Brenda" and says; "I love dogs, and miss my own, may I touch her", I say, "How wonderful and, of course you may!" And, she maneuvers herself closer to me and Brenda. She leaves the elevator with a big smile and a wink to Brenda.

The "dog hater" moves closer and says; "may I touch your dog", I say, "please do!" We became very fast friends [in that elevator] and she would stop to touch or talk to Brenda every time we bumped into her.

Moral of the Story: Everyone has some love inside them....it just takes another lovely person [or a dog] to bring it out!!!!!

[Grannycb]

I wrote a review of our Alaska b2b cruises that were very good. I couldn't wait to share our wonderful experience. I didn't write a review for a cruise where so many different things went wrong that I was ready to come home after just a few days. It was a very good cruise for most of the other cruisers on that ship. I'll leave it to them to write the review.

[JulesNJ]

There is a little positive to bad posted reviews...

 

So we just got back from our 1st cruise on the CB - prior to leaving I basically read 4 months of comments and reviews from passengers who thought the ship was either tackily decorated, overly-crowded, served mediocre food, hired disgruntled employees, had a ridiculous buffet set-up, had no towel animals, had bad entertainment, was too big and difficult to get around - shall I go on? :rolleyes:

 

Hubby and I came back on 8/22 and loved everything about Princess - we got on that ship with zero expectations because of these bad reviews and comments.

 

Princess exceeded our expectations and believe me, my husband can be a picky man, especially with food and service. He was blown away with the food and service, as was I ESPECIALLY considering they catered to over 3,000 on that trip!

 

So thank you negative posters - you were wrong about everything regarding the CB and because of you, we did not board her with high expectations - and Princess exceeded them:D

 

I won't even look at another cruise line after our experience with Princess. It's Princess all the way with us now and we are looking at cruise # 2 to Alaska.

[choochella]

It is their nature for some to be constant complainers. I agree that I'm on vacation, worked my butt off to deserve this cruise. I'm not working, cooking, cleaning, etc. Sure, there may have been a few cruises where some things went wrong. But, we just brush it off and make due with what we have and where we're at. Some people feel that the world and all around them "owe" them something. Our world has become so "me,me,me" instead of what can I do for you? mentality.

 

I try to avoid constant complainers. They have a tendency to bring everyone down who are all around them. We always do anytime dining just for that reason. We first tried traditional and sat with a couple that did nothing but complain. They must have been constant travelers because the crew bent over backwards to try and please them. Ever since, we like meeting different people. Sure, we've sat with complaining people, but realized that our tablemates will be different the next night.

 

Whatever happened to: "do unto others as you would have done to you".

Did I say that right?

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

I think the problem with whingers is that they think that because they are paying "X" amount of dollars they are entitled to one on one service. It just isn't feasible on the big cruise ships (although they come close).

 

I travel not expecting a great deal and sometimes that is just what I get and other times I get blown away by the surroundings and the service. I am talking land tours as well as cruises.

 

A little smile goes a long way.........

[sillysailor 1955]

I feel bad when I read a review that is not positive because it means a fellow cruiser did not enjoy his cruise. For some people a cruise is a major expense that may have been looked forward to for quite some time. To come away so disappointed after spending a lot of money on, perhaps, their only vacation of the year is a sad situation IMHO.

 

I feel CC boards are a place where we can relate our wonderful and not so wonderful experiences to our fellow cruisers. Who are we to judge whether something important to someone else is valid.

 

If you're tired of reading negative reviews, don't read them. It's a simple as that.

 

Lew

 

 

I agree with you the world would be really really boring if everything was "perfect" . I for one would like to hear both sides and form my own opinion. You said it best "if you don't like the negative reviews, don't read them.;)

[sillysailor 1955]

I walk with a Service Dog; I enter an elevator, on a formal night [not too full, there's room to maneuver], a lady standing in a corner opposite me says; "I don't like dogs", I say I'm sorry you don't.

 

I try and move myself and Brenda as far away from her as I can. We stop at a floor and 2 more people get on the elevator; a woman & her husband, dressed in a lovely, formal gown & tux, the woman spots "Brenda" and says; "I love dogs, and miss my own, may I touch her", I say, "How wonderful and, of course you may!" And, she maneuvers herself closer to me and Brenda. She leaves the elevator with a big smile and a wink to Brenda.

 

The "dog hater" moves closer and says; "may I touch your dog", I say, "please do!" We became very fast friends [in that elevator] and she would stop to touch or talk to Brenda every time we bumped into her.

 

Moral of the Story: Everyone has some love inside them....it just takes another lovely person [or a dog] to bring it out!!!!!

 

Great story, however maybe the first lady had a bad experience with a dog - I bet she didn't mean to offend you. But alls well that ends well:)

[samcraig]

This reminds me of the classic Woody Allen line from Annie Hall

 

One says "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible."

The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions."

[Thumper69]

Next thing you are going to tell me is that "lifts" are not things people put in shoes to make them appear taller!

 

But they never call lifts "drops".:rolleyes:

[beannie]

The only bad reviews that annoy me are the "first" post of a poster that is a bad review! I have wondered how they find these boards imply for their one-time post of a bad review. So I never respond to first time poster with the bad review but so many get into it not realizing that most likely it is a troll and often that poster has not even taken the cruise that they review!

 

 

 

You hate the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned. I belong to a couple of boards and just love it when we get the "troll" one time wonder poster. I just laugh. They must have a miserable life to start with.

[RockinRobin]

I think the problem with whingers is that they think that because they are paying "X" amount of dollars they are entitled to one on one service. It just isn't feasible on the big cruise ships (although they come close).

 

I travel not expecting a great deal and sometimes that is just what I get and other times I get blown away by the surroundings and the service. I am talking land tours as well as cruises.

 

A little smile goes a long way.........

 

I've been wanting to ask this question for a long time. Do you think that the price one pays for a cruise can affect expectations and enjoyment of the cruise experience? My husband and I have cruised in balcony cabins and inside cabins. Never a suite. I'm afraid that we could have certain higher expectations if we spent more money and could change the way we feel about our cruise. Is this a dumb question, or do you think that the people who complain are the ones who spend the most money?

 

BTW, our most memorable cruise to date is the one in the inside cabin. It had more to do our fellow cruisers and the fact that we were out and about meeting people and making new friends.

[houch]

I just read this thread and really enjoyed it, some very clever posts. I giggled at many. I too, get tired of the negative stuff here on CC. No trip anywhere is ever perfect, but you aren't working and you are seeing things you haven't seen before. You are blessed to be able to do this, there are many folks who will never get these opportunities.

 

I love cruising, I don't expect perfection so I am never disappointed. I especially love Princess!

[Sosher]

I think the complainers aren't trying enough of those wonderful fruity drinks on board. If you can't have fun on a cruise, any cruise, you can't have fun anywhere!!

[grandmato4]

Nope not tired of the bad reviews. The really cranky ones just make me shake my head. The good thing about reading reviews is that I can stop reading anytime I wish as no one is forcing me to have to read them.

 

I appreciate that not everyone that takes a cruise is as obsessed with knowing every detail of cruising as many of us are here on cc. :D We so often think and say (sometimes not very nicely) "they should have known better" but in reality unless one is obsessed with finding out ahead of time what you should know that many have no idea they need to know they are not going to know until it is too late and they are going to be unhappy with some aspect of their cruise. Cruiselines are not alone in this, but cruiselines do leave a lot of room for assumption in many things. And unfortunately we all know what happens when one assumes.;)

 

It's not just those new to cruising but those that have cruised many many time can be just as uneducated. Had as tablemates in the DR on a cruise once a couple that had done over 70 cruises. This was their 40th with this particular cruiseline. She was certainly on the top tier of those feeling "entitled" because she had cruised so many time.:eek::( Listening to her at dinner each evening was a combination of interesting, frustrating, and downright laughable as it was purely amazing to me how many things she had no clue about (although she cerainly thought she knew it all :eek:) when it came to cruising and in particular policies and procedures of the crusiseline we were sailing. She was a nightmare for our waiter and the maitre'd so I can only imagine how the rest of the crew felt about her. Her review of our cruise would certainly be much different than our review but I'd still find it interesting to be able to read it.

[Putterdude]

I do think that from time to time people do have a legitimate reason to complain such as the folks that were on the last cruise of the Golden before she went into drydock this spring. We had a Chirstmas cruise to Hawaii that didn't live up to our expectations due do a very crowded ship and some very noisy young men who were in the balcony cabin next to us....but it certainly did not spoil our whole cruise. Then again over cooked eggs benny seem to be a good reason to have your cruise ruined and write a grumpy review.:rolleyes:

[billet]

Sounds to me like this is a complainers thread about the complainers :D