Location: Wisconsin....about 100 miles south of the Frozen Tundra and 70 miles east of Camp Randall
Posts: 9,241
Cruise Reviews
This is not going where y'all think! My gripe is people who respond to reviews posted on the boards and have to rip someone apart for their opinion. For example, on the HAL board there is a mini-review by M.P. of the Zuiderdam that is 95% positive...however she had issues with wait staff and room steward service. She went out of her way to point out that it was a wonderful cruise except for these points. In response, some people responded that she must have gone into that cruise with a "negative attitude" or was "predisposed" to find fault.
While I find reviews that are totally negative a turn off and usually dismiss them for the most part (the same with the totally positive - I mean come on, there was not ONE little thing that didn't go well?); when someone gives an honest opinion of their cruise, who are others to say that they don't know what they are talking about? If it were me, I would be very offended that someone who did not experience what I did wrote me off as a complainer or as someone with a negative attitude.
I think we are all mature enough to distinguish between honest reviews and those that are posted just to stir up trouble. Why doubt someone who has an honest opinion?
I love it when people give, good honest opinions on things. (For example, dodge the Princess seafood calzone with all your might -- only the second time I've sent food back!)
But I am so happy to read when people had a better experience with their cabin steward on a particular ship than I did. (My favorites to date are on Carnival Ecstasy and Norwegian Sky). On the other hand, I've heard many rail their stewards on these ships.
I agree -- take a review for all the good advice they may have.
Worse than posting a review and receiving negative comments is receiving no replies at all. I posted a fairly detailed review on the Crystal forum a week ago and am still waiting to hear if anyone read it. I guess people on this board don't usually think outside the mass market box.
There seem to be some out there who have loyalty to "their" line like that some sports fans have to "their" team. And woe be to any one who criticizes any part of it. Fact is, we all learn much from negative comments, especially if they are specific. While one negative comment in an area important to me might not make me cancel a cruise on a particular ship, a group of them would give me pause. In this way, negative comments I read can save me from a cruise I might not enjoy.
In the not so distant past, cruise boards were plagued by "flamers" who made highly general negative comments and, upon questioning, it became doubtful that the person had even been on the particular ship! These seem to be on the decrease, thank heavens. But because of them, there are still those who are oversensitive about any negative comment on a line or ship they like.
Then there are those that have taken it as their personal mission to "defend" a specific cruise line.
We are very experienced cruisers and did not enjoy one particular line due to the age gap between us and 95% of the guests. The food tendded to be a bit bland...to accommodate the majority of the guests and we needed ear surgery when we got home to repair the damage from the BINGO announcements...but it was the most beautiful and well maintained ship we have ever been on..99% of our review was positive, boy did we get ripped by the the cadre of rabid supporters.
I also get irritated with those that blame the cruise line for things that have nothing to do with the ship...a bad cab driver...a nasty store clerk in a village, rain,etc.
Hey T.R. I would love to" think outside the mass market box" but.. We have the mass market income !! lolI would love to try Crystal and Seaborn and Radission, but it's not in the picture for alot of us ,yet!
If you have checked around for specials lately, you may find that those lines aren't as high as you think --- especially when you compare "apples to apples" on room sizes and inclusions. But still, there are bad high priced cruises and good low priced ones, and those who think they have to attack any and all negative comments are merely blocking the flow of information to us consumers by "scaring away" those who would otherwise review or comment. That's why I like to read all comments on cruises that interest me -- both pro and con.
Whenever I write a review I want to tell about everything, the good AND the bad. To post a review that says everything is good ro everything was bad is just not honest or observant.
Jim
Agreed! But this does not just apply to review posts. We all have our opinions and reasons for some of the things we do. However there is no reason to rip apart anyone's post. That is uncalled for and unnecessary. I have seen many posts where folks have ostrasized (sp?) others for their opinions. I now will just go to another topic rather than continue reading.
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