It Seems a Third of Tripadvisor's Reviews are Fake - Is Cruise Critic Just as Bad?

I take all reviews with a grain of salt. I would not book based on one outstanding review and I would not cancel due to one horrible review.

I have been posting on trip advisor for years. My typical review is one where I have had an especially good experience. However, once, an outfit (in Iceland) totally left us stranded at the dock and I reflected that in a bad review. My issue: TA allows the business to respond to a review, but does NOT allow the original poster to contradict that response. So even though they came back with a totally inaccurate version of the event (and admitted it when I subsequently contacted them by email) I was not able to get in the 'final word'.

I have been posting on trip Advisor for many years without a problem. I gave up on YELP because they were not printing my reviews.

The only thing I cannot understand about CC is people who have over 100,000 posts .Are they on line 24/7 ?

Many of those folks post single word posts to up their standing.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

You are to be mistaked, I am not a Russian bot of interweb. I am blood of red american

 

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Forums mobile app

Just read this article that claims that one third of Tripadvisor (Cruise Critic's parent company) reviews are fake. Makes me wonder if the same is true for CC. My gut says no. What do you think?

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/09/23/one-in-three-tripadvisor-reviews-are-fake-with-venues-buying-glowing-reviews-investigation-finds.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I consider them all fake and gave up on on-line reviews years ago based on my own experiences. The most memorable was a hotel in London I'd booked only to discover subsequently some fairly nasty reviews. It wasn't five star but it was (is) more than adequate for me.

 

I also measure reviews against places I know and have been to and they bear little resemblance to my reality. The world is filled with too many fusspots who worship at the Church of Our Lady of the Perpetually Outraged where the congregants will loudly complain about everything and anything and sites like Trip Advisor and this one give them platforms for their whinging.

 

 

Hi

 

I post reviews to Trip Advisor. Not terribly many, but quite a few. They aren't fake.

 

As others have said, you need to take all with a grain of salt. You need to read enough of them to understand if all or most are saying the same thing.

 

One thing I do like about Trip Advisor and somewhat on this site as well, is that you can ask specific people, a specific question about "whatever". You don't always get a response, but very often you do. You pretty much always can get multiple responses to a general question.

 

Considering the reasons you go to a site like Trip Advisor, I would say, for me, it is a good source of information. Certainly better than not having it. As one poster on this site very often suggests when someone asks about a particular place, getting a good guide book can be very informative. When I started travelling that was the only way to get information about places you had never been to. It may seem very limited compared to the access of information we have today, but it was true then as well as today, you have to learn how to interpret the information you are taking in.

I tend to focus on the middle of the road reviews, three stars out of five.

And you can tell quickly by the tone of a review if it is helpful. I find the 'hate this resort/hotel/cruise line because it rained during our whole vacation' reviews quite funny.

I've been a TA member longer than I've been on cruise critic. I've posted good and bad on both without issues. My rule of thumb for both sites is if they have 5 reviews or less, I immediately throw them out. I also throw out overly positive and overly negative reviews then look for consistent reviews on similar observations. It is not 100% effective but close enough for me to get a peek under the curtain and I've been satisfied with the results.

I have seen a news expose on how many of those travel review sites (Trip Advisor specifically one of them) censor the poor reviews in order to retain their relationship with the travel venues. The specific report I saw alleged that there were several victims of various crimes (assault, rape, kidnapping, murder) at well known resorts in Mexico and the reviews detailing those experiences as part of their review and those reviews have been removed and the poster informed that their review was removed because it contained unsubstantiated claims. Upon being provided copies of police reports and such the reviews were still removed and subsequent postings of the reviews were also removed. Obviously one could easily make the resonable conclusion that leaving these reviews visible online may very well have prompted other victims to choose a different venue for their tourism. When I look at online reviews, I use the lens that the reviews I am able to see may well be only the ones someone wants me to see.

 

 

 

Sent from my Acer Chromebook R11 (CB5-132T / C738T) using Forums mobile app

I have seen a news expose on how many of those travel review sites (Trip Advisor specifically one of them) censor the poor reviews in order to retain their relationship with the travel venues. The specific report I saw alleged that there were several victims of various crimes (assault, rape, kidnapping, murder) at well known resorts in Mexico and the reviews detailing those experiences as part of their review and those reviews have been removed

TripAdvisor used to have a rule against mentioning violent crime in reviews, they changed the rule, maybe because of the exposé.

TripAdvisor used to have a rule against mentioning violent crime in reviews, they changed the rule, maybe because of the exposé.

 

Not exactly. We are part time residents of Puerto Vallarta and follow the TA forum for that city. There are some forum regulars who quickly censor anything negative...especially if its about violence. With TA one has to merely click on "report inappropriate content" and they take off the post. The result is that TA forums are over censored by folks who have their own agendas which do not include the truth. In the case of Puerto Vallarta, some of the most valuable contributors left TA and started their own private Facebook forum where its OK to be honest.

 

Hank

Not exactly. We are part time residents of Puerto Vallarta and follow the TA forum for that city. There are some forum regulars who quickly censor anything negative...especially if its about violence. With TA one has to merely click on "report inappropriate content" and they take off the post. The result is that TA forums are over censored by folks who have their own agendas which do not include the truth. In the case of Puerto Vallarta, some of the most valuable contributors left TA and started their own private Facebook forum where its OK to be honest.

 

Hank

Valid point. A handful of civic boosters can report a negative forum post and it will automatically be removed. A member can ask to have a post reinstated and in a just world TripAdvisor would sanction the civic boosters who abuse the reporting system, however sanctioned members (if there are any) could open a new account and continue the unacceptable practice.

 

Reviews are handled differently than forum posts. Requests for review removal are handled by real people, I think, although the real people may live outside the US and have English as a second language.

I've used and relied on Trip Advisor reviews for several years, with no complaints. As for the article from the OP, the HTML address told me to expect sensationalism, not truth.

All this talk of fake reviews reminded me of this prank :')I read last year:

 

https://www.vice.com/amp/en_us/article/434gqw/i-made-my-shed-the-top-rated-restaurant-on-tripadvisor?espv=1

 

While it is true it isn't a circumstance that would normally occur it does go to show how easy it is to manipulate review sites algorithms. But I think it also goes to show how seriously people out there take reviews. People were so desperate to visit this restaurant just because it was in the top 10 on TA:o. When did TA rankings become so prestigious? :confused:

Based upon some of the responses on this thread, my reviews would be suspect as I’ve only posted positive reviews. I can assure you that my statements have all been accurate and truthful.

 

Spending my entire career in Customer Service Management has made me very reluctant to bash a company based upon one encounter.

I’ve seen the pain in employees eyes that have been trashed due to some demanding, unrealistic clients.

 

I’ve just returned from a one week trip to 4 cities, 4 hotels and numerous restaurants. My reviews will be posted in the next few days and it will be the first time that I’m posting a negative review for a dirty hotel. The remainder are all positive.

 

I rely on TripAdvisor and have never been steered wrong.

What I read on CC positive or negative I consider that the opinion of the OP. We would never book or not book a cruise line or a ship based on someone else's opinion.

I've used and relied on Trip Advisor reviews for several years, with no complaints. As for the article from the OP, the HTML address told me to expect sensationalism, not truth.

The actual study was done by The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hotel-and-caf-cheats-are-caught-trying-to-buy-tripadvisor-stars-027fbcwc8 Unfortunately, it is behind a paywall so I posted the Fox article which reported the results of the Times study. It seems to be an accurate representation of the Times study. You are of course perfectly free to deem false and sensationalized any information you wish based solely on it having been reported by foxnews. Many do.

Just read this article that claims that one third of Tripadvisor (Cruise Critic's parent company) reviews are fake. Makes me wonder if the same is true for CC. My gut says no. What do you think?

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/09/23/one-in-three-tripadvisor-reviews-are-fake-with-venues-buying-glowing-reviews-investigation-finds.html

 

I don't know about a third but I do know there are people here who post fake reviews and lie about their cruise history for the purpose of bashing certain cruise lines. It's usually due to their objectophilia wth their favorite line. Kinda sad if you think about it.

I don't know about a third but I do know there are people here who post fake reviews and lie about their cruise history for the purpose of bashing certain cruise lines. It's usually due to their objectophilia wth their favorite line. Kinda sad if you think about it.

 

Now that is really pathetic! :mad:

It's usually Carnival cruisers

The fundamental problem with reviews is that they are written by people - paid or otherwise. ....

 

So true, my first Celebrity cruise on the Summit out of San Juan. The cruise was fantastic in every way possible. End of crusie at the airport waiting in check-in line, there was a couple behind me and couldn't help hearing the lady going on and on about how bad the cruise was and my friend and I said quietly to each other 'wow wonder what she sailed on'. Our wait in line was really long and eventually we were talking to the couple and SURPRISE SURPRISE they were on our sailing. Huh ... how the heck could that be???!!!!

 

I always took reviews with a grain of salt knowing that so much goes into 'reviews' and but this experience definitely made that even more real. The lady even said all the things that made their cruise so bad and we just could not relate, things she mentioned seemed so minor and things I just brush off. I think her expectations were really high whereas my friend and I were just feeling happy to be able to cruise at all (though we are no push overs and have expectations too). I still think of them from time to time and that was years ago now.

 

I now read reviews more for tidbits of info and I read a bunch and average them out.

So true, my first Celebrity cruise on the Summit out of San Juan. The cruise was fantastic in every way possible. End of crusie at the airport waiting in check-in line, there was a couple behind me and couldn't help hearing the lady going on and on about how bad the cruise was and my friend and I said quietly to each other 'wow wonder what she sailed on'. Our wait in line was really long and eventually we were talking to the couple and SURPRISE SURPRISE they were on our sailing. Huh ... how the heck could that be???!!!!

 

(snip)

It's entirely possible that their trip was not as positive as yours. Perhaps their room had unresolved mechanical issues. Perhaps their waitstaff were not as good. Perhaps their excursions were mishandled. Lots of possible differences on large ships.

 

It is, of course, entirely possible that they were among the permanently pissed off who could not say anything positive. But it's equally likely you both had legitimate reasons for your opinions. It's wrong to dismiss their opinions out of hand.

It's entirely possible that their trip was not as positive as yours. Perhaps their room had unresolved mechanical issues. Perhaps their waitstaff were not as good. Perhaps their excursions were mishandled. Lots of possible differences on large ships.

 

It is, of course, entirely possible that they were among the permanently pissed off who could not say anything positive. But it's equally likely you both had legitimate reasons for your opinions. It's wrong to dismiss their opinions out of hand.

 

That was my point, there are too many variables to be able to put total weight into ONE review and I know their trip clearly wasn't as positive as mine as she told me all about it in line. I did not dismiss their opinions, where did I say I dismissed their opinions? Instead what I was trying to say was read many reviews and average them out ... or pick ones that you wish to believe and move on. Equally, use many sources. I now look for the little messages in a review instead of the overall 'worst ever' or 'best ever' broad brush as there are definitely those that will be happy about everything and those that are hard to please ... just a fact of life.

 

Happy cruising!

CC reviews I disregard have these types of comments in them:

 

- all the food was inedible

 

-all the staff were rude or incompetent

 

- we had bedbugs and the staff didn't care

 

-it was our first cruise and everything was perfect!

Just as with TA, it’s easy to determine if a CC review is fake. Check the posting history of the poster. If a poster just joined and has very few posts, but yet takes the time to write a very negative or very glowing review, those posts should be suspect as fake.

Not necessarily. I don't cruise very often, and don't post much. But I will rate good service with glowing reviews and also say if it was very bad.

 

Sent from my SM-T350 using Forums mobile app

I just checked my trip advisor profile, and I have posted 215 reviews with almost the same # of photos.

 

My reviews range from Australia and New Zealand to Tahiti and Hawaii, across Alaska, through the continental US, almost every major island in the Caribbean (Cuba is a big exception), the Yucatan and Central America, and over to Italy, Greece and Split Croatia.

 

They are all real.