My excursion review: too hot for Celebrity

Celebrity sent me an email asking me to review an excursion I took (CitySightseeing 4-hour tour from Port Everglades to Miami). This excursion was post-cruise, and I had a day to kill before flying back home, so I decided to take it.

It was an awful experience, so when the review email came in, I gladly complied. I got an email this morning:

Subject: Your review has been moderated

It cannot be published to the website, but.. —

 

gergles,

 

Our staff has read your review and values your contribution even though it did not meet all our website guidelines. Thanks for sharing, and we hope to publish next time!

You'll note nowhere do they specify what guideline I allegedly violated (and I made very clear not to violate any of them, since I was writing a negative review and figured X might be a little overzealous in their 'moderation'.)

Celebrity, what are you guys scared of? You can't have reviews where you don't let the bad ones get posted. If I violated some guideline (I didn't), you should have said where it was and offered to let me edit the review so it does meet them.

Here is the full text of the review Celebrity decided was too 'in violation' to post:

An absolute trainwreck of an event

 

This event was so disorganized and so far from what is advertised on the ship that I absolutely cannot recommend anyone participate in good faith. First off, the pickup time was at 8 am but we didn't leave Port Everglades until nearly 10 am due to disorganization and confusion on the part of the tour operator. Secondly, the brochure distributed on the ship indicates a 4 hour tour. This is not what is delivered; we were back at MIA airport by 12:45 and like I said, we didn't leave Port Everglades until 10 am. Third, the brochure indicates a hop-on, hop-off bus service. You do not have that. Your luggage is stored on your bus, and you MUST stay on your particular bus, meaning you can't spend the day in Miami. Fourth, the brochure discuss a walking tour at South Beach, showing you some of the sights along the boardwalk. You don't get that; you are dropped off at a restaurant that I assume pays the bus company a kickback and told to be back on the bus in 45 minutes, completely on your own. Finally, you are CONSTANTLY hounded for tips for the driver, guide, and then the driver of the van that will take you to FLL if you choose to end the trip there. Despite the joke level of service, they still want you to pay them even more money, which is absolutely unbelievable to me. The tour is nice. You do see some nice sights on the trip from Port Everglades to South Beach, and if the weather is nice, it's a lovely trip. However, the false advertising and disorganization is just too much. I cannot recommend you take this trip, and am very disappointed in how under-delivered the experience was.

Folks, is this not something you'd want to read before choosing that excursion? I can't for the life of me figure out why X refused to post it and it really ticked me off.

Thank you for posting this. I have a cruise booked next February and we have a late flight on disembarkation day. I was considering taking one of those tours but did read some negative feedback somewhere else, mostly about having a long delay before actually leaving the terminal which cut into the overall time.

Celebrity sent me an email asking me to review an excursion I took (CitySightseeing 4-hour tour from Port Everglades to Miami). This excursion was post-cruise, and I had a day to kill before flying back home, so I decided to take it.

 

It was an awful experience, so when the review email came in, I gladly complied. I got an email this morning:

 

 

 

You'll note nowhere do they specify what guideline I allegedly violated (and I made very clear not to violate any of them, since I was writing a negative review and figured X might be a little overzealous in their 'moderation'.)

 

Celebrity, what are you guys scared of? You can't have reviews where you don't let the bad ones get posted. If I violated some guideline (I didn't), you should have said where it was and offered to let me edit the review so it does meet them.

 

Here is the full text of the review Celebrity decided was too 'in violation' to post:

 

 

 

Folks, is this not something you'd want to read before choosing that excursion? I can't for the life of me figure out why X refused to post it and it really ticked me off.

I don't see anything wrong with your review and it is definitely something that I would like to read if considering a tour.

Not sure what was so bad about it (besides the service) that Celebrity declined to post it.

I wish that everyone would do what Sandy1975 has done.

I always read reviews and I appreciate reviews such as this.

This recently happened to someone else: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2173651

I've read a few bad reviews of excursions on Celebrity's website -- so they seem to be generally "allowed".

I suspect what got it "moderated" (as someone that has spent some time in the role) was the talk about the company getting a kickback for taking you to the restaurant.

Maybe they are (I'd bet it's at least possible/likely) and maybe they aren't -- but an accusation like that, even given as opinion ... well ... it's quite incendiary.

Celebrity really should be more transparent though, especially when it's a negative review like yours where it seems like there's a lot of information they'd want about the product they are selling.

I tend to agree it was likely the "kickback" accusation that got the review axed. Although directed at the tour company (not Celebrity), it's probably the reason someone may unilaterally invoke some editorial privilege.

Aside from that, the opinions about arrangements, duration and service seem fairly presented.

My guess, the "kickback" and "demands for tips" comments are what got it flagged. ANY accusation of impropriety will prevent a review from being published. Carnival has the same guidelines.

If not for those comments, as honest as they most likely were, it probably would have been published.

On he plus side, at least you were able to stop off for lunch. We didn't get that option for our post-cruise tour, and we got to the airport past 1;30.

I'm sure the term "False Advertising" didn't help either.

I've read a few bad reviews on the Celebrity site and find that if the comments are factual and not inflamatory they do get published.

To the OP, sorry your cruise ended on a bad note. Thanks for giving everyone a heads up.

Good possibilities listed on why certain parts of the review would be considered inappropriate. Additionally the comment about why the tour left late might be another flag. You said it was the tour operator bit being organized and I wonder if the timing might have been related to customs, delayed departure, or other passengers being late? I am not saying it was, but I was wondering if there may have been some circumstances that were not related to tour operator?

Obviously you had some good points and a bad experience.

1. Tour left late and therefore it was shorter than advertised.

2. You were told that you could not Hop On and Hop off because you had to stay with your luggage. (Seems really odd)

3. Too much mention of extra tips.

4. You visited some great sites and enjoyed the shorten tour.

5. Based on your experience you would not repeat the tour nor recommend it to others.

I would hope that a review sticky to the facts although negative would have been accepted.

By the way I did a post cruise tour once that included a boat tour in Fort Lauderdale and I really enjoyed it, but it was not sold as a Hop On Hop Off tour. I certainly would not have enjoyed your tour and thank you for reviewing and posting.

...Folks, is this not something you'd want to read before choosing that excursion? I can't for the life of me figure out why X refused to post it and it really ticked me off.

Perhaps you should post this review here on it's own thread under a title where those interested in the tour will find it in a search of this forum, something like: Celebrity's Post Cruise Miami Tour Review - A Trainwreck of an Event"

Perhaps the speculation regarding kickbacks is against the guidelines (although it doesn't violate any of them that I can tell.)

However, you get exactly one shot at publishing a review, and if they 'moderate' it, it disappears forever and you cannot edit it and resubmit. I feel quite strongly X should not be censoring negative reviews completely - they should edit content they find objectionable or tell you what it is so you can edit it yourself.

This still suggests to me they are not interested in negative feedback but are instead interesting in everything being 4 and 5 star reviews.

Perhaps the speculation regarding kickbacks is against the guidelines (although it doesn't violate any of them that I can tell.)

 

However, you get exactly one shot at publishing a review, and if they 'moderate' it, it disappears forever and you cannot edit it and resubmit. I feel quite strongly X should not be censoring negative reviews completely - they should edit content they find objectionable or tell you what it is so you can edit it yourself.

 

This still suggests to me they are not interested in negative feedback but are instead interesting in everything being 4 and 5 star reviews.

Agreed and agreed (that is, they should be transparent about the criteria they are using and allow you to modify a review that doesn't meet the guidelines they state).

I can understand why Celebrity (or any company) might not want to be in that business -- folks feel passionately about their experiences and may not always take kindly to proposed edits that they believe impact the "heart" of what they, as a reviewer, are trying to express.

With that said -- there's hardly any company moderated forum (IMHO) that's going to let someone make unsubstantiated allegations about kickbacks.

I hope you do make that specific post that was suggested -- I know I'd take it seriously (and would most likely not take such an excursion), and I hope you also contacted them directly about a tour that is so far from the stated description. You can't be the only one disappointed by something that veered so far away from what was described.

I'd think they'd at least want to refund you some part of what you paid.

I realize that's not on topic for this - but I'd be very unhappy in that circumstance as well.

Sorry you had a bad time on your last tour. I don't understand why it would have been described as a HOHO when the luggage was on the bus. That is just plain wrong.

Celebrity sent me an email asking me to review an excursion I took (CitySightseeing 4-hour tour from Port Everglades to Miami). This excursion was post-cruise, and I had a day to kill before flying back home, so I decided to take it.

 

It was an awful experience, so when the review email came in, I gladly complied. I got an email this morning:

 

 

 

You'll note nowhere do they specify what guideline I allegedly violated (and I made very clear not to violate any of them, since I was writing a negative review and figured X might be a little overzealous in their 'moderation'.)

 

Celebrity, what are you guys scared of? You can't have reviews where you don't let the bad ones get posted. If I violated some guideline (I didn't), you should have said where it was and offered to let me edit the review so it does meet them.

 

Here is the full text of the review Celebrity decided was too 'in violation' to post:

 

 

 

Folks, is this not something you'd want to read before choosing that excursion? I can't for the life of me figure out why X refused to post it and it really ticked me off.

Straight away without even reading any further " kickback" you simply can't put that in and expect it to be published on their website, it's a straight out accusation without any proof.

Straight away without even reading any further " kickback" you simply can't put that in and expect it to be published on their website, it's a straight out accusation without any proof.

"I assume ... kickback" is a statement of opinion, based on how the restaurant dropoff was handled and advertised. It is perfectly reasonable to post.

Perhaps X is not publishing your review because they are no longer offering it.

We have a November Cruise from Miami so I looked this up in our cruise planner.

The 4 hour tour is to the Everglades with airport drop off. They have two tours listed with a total of four reviews averaged out to **** each

There are two Miami Hop on Hop Offs now listed as 1.5 hrs with no reviews and no stars.

I honestly have no issue with Celebrity or any other cruise line editing and selectively choosing reviews to post on its website. It is in the business of making a profit and selling these things after all.

That's why 3rd party websites probably contain a whole lot more useful posts with both god and bad.

Always "consider the source". I expect a company to do nothing but prevent a glowing positive image of itself, it'd be a bit odd for one to just let its customers post negative things about them. So for this reason, reviews on services by a particular company on their own website, while useful for learning about tours, may not provide the downside to those same tours.

The upside to completing the celebrity reviews, even if they don't get published, you know at least someone in the company is reading them, and perhaps making observations about multiple complaints against any particular operator. We don't really know what's happening int he background.

Hope OP posts the review, names and no. of the excursion on the ports board or cruising from Fla. Bd.. will be helpful to folks checking there.

we have had good experiences with post cruise excursions from X in a few ports including Barcelona...The one from FLL that goes around the area on the Carrie B paddle wheeler was very enjoyable...ended at FLL airport.......but this one sounds like a dog!

I have seen neg reviews posted on the website so not sure why it did not make the cut...??

Apparently the truth hurts. I always went by the advise of if you may like the answer then don't ask.

I would post the review in as many places as possible.

It appears to be a scam besides extortion.

Happy cruising 🇺🇸🚢🇺🇸🌞

I posted a pretty strong critique about an excursion when asked, no reply and it never made the review section at celebrity.

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I posted a pretty strong critique about an excursion when asked, no reply and it never made the review section at celebrity.

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk HD

How many stars did OP give your review? I'm wondering if I decide to post another review, if I should leave the text the same but give them a minimum of three stars instead of one or two.

If Celebrity only wants positive posts, why not just write them themselves. One would presume from this thread that they don't publish negative reviews.

How's that for getting balanced, unbiased reviews folks????

OP I liked your review. But it may have not been too hot for Celebrity. Too libelous maybe. ;) I could just imagine the lawyers at corporate going apoplectic reading you review!:D

If Celebrity only wants positive posts, why not just write them themselves. One would presume from this thread that they don't publish negative reviews.

 

How's that for getting balanced, unbiased reviews folks????

Always "consider the source" I say. Like most news stories on Fox news and how different they can be than on MSNBC.

For X, they have ability to post lots of glowing reviews to sell lots of excursions, everyone is happy. But if I want real info, I need to go to a 3rd party site to get the good bad and ugly all in one.