I realize I am relatively new here

Not just here on Celebrity, but on all of the cruise line threads. Why do people ask which cruise they should take, which itinerary, which ship, which cabin, what time of year, etc. etc. So you wind up with DOZENS AND DOZENS of opinions from strangers and the opinions are all different. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

Not just here on Celebrity, but on all of the cruise line threads. Why do people ask which cruise they should take, which itinerary, which ship, which cabin, what time of year, etc. etc. So you wind up with DOZENS AND DOZENS of opinions from strangers and the opinions are all different. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

Welcome to Bedlam.

One cruiser's pleasure can be another cruiser's poison. Much of it is purely subjective. You often read of two who sailed the very same voyage and proffer opposite assessments.

My formula was simple and has served me well - - I sail the ship that claims to offer what I want. If my expectations are not met (I'm not overly fussy), I take my business elsewhere.

FWIW, we have 96 cruises under our belts, the Missus and me. We fancy, in this order - Princess, Celebrity and some NCL ships. We are not fans of the anytime dining scenario since you have to juggle around showtimes.

We used to sail Royal Carib. However, the noticeable deterioration of cuisine, et al., has removed the line from future consideration.

The only other gripe I have is the clear drive to push cruisers into pay-per-bite restaurant venues. The charges are skyrocketing and no consideration is given for the meal you bought in the main dining room. These are increasing in number because consumers choose to pay and patronize - as is their choice. Not me. A total of $70.00 or above is excessive, IMO.

Reason people post as they do? When you figure it out you will have solved the square root of pi.

Smooth Sailing.

Welcome to Bedlam.

 

One cruiser's pleasure can be another cruiser's poison. Much of it is purely subjective. You often read of two who sailed the very same voyage and proffer opposite assessments.

 

My formula was simple and has served me well - - I sail the ship that claims to offer what I want. If my expectations are not met (I'm not overly fussy), I take my business elsewhere.

Lol. Exactly! Why would I want strangers choosing my vacation? Makes NO sense to me.

I think questions about cabins are reasonable. Many people haven't seen or experienced the different classes of cabins. Those of us who have cruised a lot and participated in cabin crawls can offer some good advice.

Time of year is also germane. It can make a big difference in your enjoyment of your cruise.

The rest is pretty much opinion. Everyone's will be different. I also don't get the point of some of those questions. But it's an open forum and people can ask what they want.

Enjoy your cruise to the ABCs!

I think questions about cabins are reasonable. Many people haven't seen or experienced the different classes of cabins. Those of us who have cruised a lot and participated in cabin crawls can offer some good advice.

Time of year is also germane. It can make a big difference in your enjoyment of your cruise.

The rest is pretty much opinion. Everyone's will be different. I also don't get the point of some of those questions. But it's an open forum and people can ask what they want.

Enjoy your cruise to the ABCs!

Thank you! Yes, you are right. Opinions on cabins could be crucial.

 

 

 

Reason people post as they do? When you figure it out you will have solved the square root of pi.

 

Smooth Sailing.

(C^0.5)/R :evilsmile:

Just kidding; as you say, smooth sailing

I love pi, pie and ice cream!

I am always amazed at what I have learned on CC!

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Not just here on Celebrity, but on all of the cruise line threads. Why do people ask which cruise they should take, which itinerary, which ship, which cabin, what time of year, etc. etc. So you wind up with DOZENS AND DOZENS of opinions from strangers and the opinions are all different. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

Totally agree with most of what you said. I guess some people just lack self-confidence; perhaps some may just be looking for a reply that will reinforce their own tentative decision.

Since I like to do extensive cruise planning on itineraries that I have never been on before, to me the most helpful Q/A's are those that give me information on ports of call and associated independent shore excursions with recommendations for tour agencies.

I also enjoy reading about the experiences people have had - especially the positive ones!

I love pi, pie and ice cream!

 

I am always amazed at what I have learned on CC!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Obviously, the Life of Pi

Lol. Exactly! Why would I want strangers choosing my vacation? Makes NO sense to me.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and the various ship forums.

I agree I would never ask anyone to plan my vacation. I pick where I want to go and pick an itinerary that is interesting for me. I have only sailed on Celebrity and will be moving to a Viking Ocean ship for my next cruise. I also have started some and joined all my roll calls for each of my cruises. Great way to met people before a cruise and also find many private tours to join or organize yourself.

I do ask specific questions about ports of call, venues on the ship, procedures such as OBC and other items over the years. I find most posters are very helpful and full of good information.

I do ask lots of quesiton on Cruise Air forum.

I do read many of the luxury ship forums and read various ship reviews and" live from..." posts I find there and on Celebrity forum.

We got the recommendation on what cruise line and ship from our TA for our first cruise, as well as our second. In those days, CC didn't exist. We found a nice comfy spot on Royal ships. We traveled as a family and often with extended family with 3 generations so we had elderly passengers as well as children and it seemed to offer something for everyone. Now the family is more scattered and the children have all grown up, but we still cruise together at least once a year. Their excitement over the rock-climbing wall, flow-rider and other activities have been satisfied and they've found that the ports interest them more than the ship. I looked at cruise critic over the years to see if there was a different cruise line, different experience that might interest us. I looked at all the questions, opinions on the food, the itinerary when planning our next cruise. Since we hadn't cruised on Celebrity before, we found it helpful to see what people thought about the cabins, food, venues and what Celebrity offered that was different from Royal...both the pros and the cons. Even the ones that complained about their cruise gave us a sense of what might bother one passenger but wouldn't necessarily bother us about the cruise line, cabin, food, etc. I guess that's why people find it helpful to ask questions. I'm sure a couple of the cruises we were on weren't considered perfect by other people's standards and they were favorites for us.

Asking which ship, what time of year, and the type of cabin are actually VERY GOOD questions. :)

Some questions are difficult for us to answer on this board like how is the food or what should I do on shore. We don't know what people like but loads of questions are very important that may not be readily available on line; Some example's might be.

How are the kids clubs

Where are the smoking areas and what is the smoking policy.

Dress code, I bring this up on Celebrity as I challenge anyone to tell me the different between smart casual and evening chic or the bigger question, "What are designer jeans.: Special nights for dining.

Specialty dining...

I could go on forever....

I guess I'joined the Forums then.

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oops

I think lots of people are looking to have their ideas confirmed....They are looking for confirmation of the FACTS they have researched (what is include in the suite life for a RS?) and then OPINIONS (is it worth paying for a RS compared to a SS?).

All of us lack confidence at times and can benefit from the experience of others. Some of the factual information you can gain is really useful in choosing rooms etc and the opinions are always so varied you do get to consider everything from every angle possible.

I think most of us make choices about what we read, posts we comment on....I also think a real strength of CC are the number of posters who are willing to go to so much effort in their responses to help others. So, I wouldn't book my cruise or base my vacation plans based just on the views of CC posters (I enjoy planning my vacations too). However, I have, and will continue to value and respect the knowledge and opinions I can read on here and often modify my plans and ideas based on information gained.

,,,,,

....I also think a real strength of CC are the number of posters who are willing to go to so much effort in their responses to help others. So, I wouldn't book my cruise or base my vacation plans based just on the views of CC posters (I enjoy planning my vacations too). However, I have, and will continue to value and respect the knowledge and opinions I can read on here and often modify my plans and ideas based on information gained.

I totally agree and think it is good to keep an open mind and get exposure to different points of view from different sources.

Then you can choose for yourself what looks most appealing to you. There is always something new to discover.

Don't you read reviews? I do, because I like to know why something was good or bad. When asked which cruise line, ship or itinerary, people will often also give their reasons why, and give extra details that I won't find on the cruise line website. Of course it's subjective, but when someone answers that they love a particular cruise line because every other night is black-tie formal, that tells me something important. Or someone who says that the food was great because liver and onions was on the "always available" menu. It's not really what other people liked, as why they liked it.

Some ask questions simply to have an idea to decide, not an instruction.

I've been on over fifty cruises, but I still learn things from others here at Cruise Critic. I even still ask questions here once in awhile, not just answer. For one thing, cruising is expensive and one can make very expensive mistakes if one isn't alerted to certain matters of particular concern, such as type of cabin and best times of year to cruise.

Another important reason to ask questions is that one can avoid embarrassing and awkward pitfalls such as those we encountered on our very first cruise before Cruise Critic existed and really had no way to ask or no idea even what to ask.

I don't think anyone who asks questions here means to have Cruise Critic writers plan their cruise for them. It would be best to seek a reliable travel agent for that degree of input, but it is helpful to ask and see what differing opinions are, then make an informed decision.