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Suggestions on preparing to write a review


bookwerm1980

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I really enjoy reading many of the extensive reviews, and I am curious about how you remember all of the details for the activities that you do each day? I know for me, once I get home, the days have kind of run together and I do not always remember each day them in great detail, unless something really outstanding happened, or something upset me.

 

Is it better to keep notes every day, or is it better to actually write the review at the end of each day?

 

I am contemplating writing a review for my upcoming Valor cruise, and I have no idea how to get started, or what I should do to keep it interesting, and not feel like a burden.

 

I hope some of you that have written extensive reviews, can offer a few suggestions, and I thank you in advance.

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I wrote a very detailed review of my 2010 cruise on the Celebrity Summit (the link is below in my signature if you want to use it as an example), and I plan to do another one when I cruise next week on the Carnival Victory. Since both of these itineraries are VERY port intensive, I find the best technique is to take notes along the way. I love taking photos, and probably took over 100 pictures each day on my last cruise. Every evening before dinner, I sat down with my camera and a note pad and wrote down the number of the photo from my memory card and a brief description of what it is- be it the name of a monument, or what island I was looking at from a scenic overlook point, or whatever! I didn't have time to write out the entire review on the ship, but having the notes on my photos helped me keep track of all the details for when I wrote the review later on. I am taking my iPad with me on the cruise next week, so I plan to spend the two 4-hour plane rides and the layover time in the airport typing up my review so I don't forget too many details.

 

Last time, I used a play-by-play format where I basically walked the reader through every step of my day. It might have been TMI for some readers, but if that's how they felt, then they didn't have to keep reading! haha I found that it made it easier to remember everything I did that way. Another thing that helped was, since it was such a port-intensive itinerary, it's easier to remember what I did on each island, as opposed to remembering details from one sea day to another as I assume sea day activities would all blur together. I hope that was somewhat helpful for you, and I look forward to reading your review (if you do decide to write one!) :)

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Would have to say blog some notes daily as you wind down your night. Coming from a live report perspective, if I were to do a report at the end of the cruise, that's how I'd have to do it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Please excuse any typographical errors.

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I wrote a very detailed review of my 2010 cruise on the Celebrity Summit (the link is below in my signature if you want to use it as an example), and I plan to do another one when I cruise next week on the Carnival Victory. Since both of these itineraries are VERY port intensive, I find the best technique is to take notes along the way. I love taking photos, and probably took over 100 pictures each day on my last cruise. Every evening before dinner, I sat down with my camera and a note pad and wrote down the number of the photo from my memory card and a brief description of what it is- be it the name of a monument, or what island I was looking at from a scenic overlook point, or whatever! I didn't have time to write out the entire review on the ship, but having the notes on my photos helped me keep track of all the details for when I wrote the review later on. I am taking my iPad with me on the cruise next week, so I plan to spend the two 4-hour plane rides and the layover time in the airport typing up my review so I don't forget too many details.

 

Last time, I used a play-by-play format where I basically walked the reader through every step of my day. It might have been TMI for some readers, but if that's how they felt, then they didn't have to keep reading! haha I found that it made it easier to remember everything I did that way. Another thing that helped was, since it was such a port-intensive itinerary, it's easier to remember what I did on each island, as opposed to remembering details from one sea day to another as I assume sea day activities would all blur together. I hope that was somewhat helpful for you, and I look forward to reading your review (if you do decide to write one!) :)

 

I like the idea of taking notes, and I think that would be quite helpful. I also like to take pictures, and I usually try to take a picture of the fun times each morning so that I will know which port I was visiting on a particular day.

Thank you for your comments.:)

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If you didn't take notes, between the photos, sail and sign bill, and daily events schedule, it's usually pretty easy to reconstruct your day. We tend to take a lot of photos, so this works well for us.

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I wrote a very detailed review of my 2010 cruise on the Celebrity Summit (the link is below in my signature if you want to use it as an example), and I plan to do another one when I cruise next week on the Carnival Victory. Since both of these itineraries are VERY port intensive, I find the best technique is to take notes along the way. I love taking photos, and probably took over 100 pictures each day on my last cruise. Every evening before dinner, I sat down with my camera and a note pad and wrote down the number of the photo from my memory card and a brief description of what it is- be it the name of a monument, or what island I was looking at from a scenic overlook point, or whatever! I didn't have time to write out the entire review on the ship, but having the notes on my photos helped me keep track of all the details for when I wrote the review later on. I am taking my iPad with me on the cruise next week, so I plan to spend the two 4-hour plane rides and the layover time in the airport typing up my review so I don't forget too many details.

 

Last time, I used a play-by-play format where I basically walked the reader through every step of my day. It might have been TMI for some readers, but if that's how they felt, then they didn't have to keep reading! haha I found that it made it easier to remember everything I did that way. Another thing that helped was, since it was such a port-intensive itinerary, it's easier to remember what I did on each island, as opposed to remembering details from one sea day to another as I assume sea day activities would all blur together. I hope that was somewhat helpful for you, and I look forward to reading your review (if you do decide to write one!) :)

 

deladane, I going on this itinerary in May, and I cannot get enough information about it...can't wait for your review...no such thing as too much info!

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deladane, I going on this itinerary in May, and I cannot get enough information about it...can't wait for your review...no such thing as too much info!

 

Haha I will try to make my review extra detailed for you!!! :)

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On my past cruises, at the end of each day before retiring for the evening, I look over my pictures, get rid of the bad ones and reconstruct the day. When I return home, I clean up the notes and type a clean review. This time, I will take my tablet (my Christmas gift to myself :D) to make it so much easier by typing into a word document and then all I would have to do is upload pictures and match them with the days.

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Thanks for all of the responses!

I am not sure if I will be able to write each night, simply because after a full day of DoD's and being out in the sun most of the day, I usually am so tired at night when I return to the cabin, I usually go to bed right away. I am the type of cruiser that stays out all day, I only return to the cabin to change, or unless I have forgotten something.

I think that I am going to try to jot things down throughout the day. I will not have my laptop with me, but I will have my iPad, so hopefully I will be able to keep track of things.

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I always have my iPhone with me and make notes on the notepad throughout the day. If the day slips away, I'll make notes of everything I can possibly remember at the end of the night. Keep your Fun Times so you can have them to reference to. Take lots of pictures. When you get to writing, be sure to do it in Word or something so it can be saved occasionally. You don't want to write something long, only to have your computer freeze and you lose it all. I upload my pictures to photobucket and then write each installment as I go. Allow your personality to come through in your writing style. Have fun on the Valor. I sailed her last year and will again next year. I have a Valor review in my signature you should check out. I hope this helps! I look forward to reading your review when you return! :)

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I did my first review in September. In the beginning of the cruise, I took a few notes of smaller details I wanted to remember to mention, but then, I was havingtoo much fun to bother lol for the most part, I followed my photos. I took over 1000 photos on a 7 day cruise, so didn't have to try to remember too many details. (It was Alaska. How can you NOT take +1000??? lol) and you'll be amazed how photos take you right back so you don't have to struggle to remember.

 

I did a short review of the ship, service, accomodations etc separate from our destination and ports. Then I did a long trip report of Alaska separately. Some people were booked on our ship on a different itinerary in fall/winter and were only interested in the ship, while others were booked on an Alaskan cruise, but on different lines and ships, and didn't care about details of our ship.

 

I did the ship review first and just attached photos directly to my posts from my laptop. They were all added to the very bottom of the post and were very small and unimpressive. Scroll to the bottom of the first post to see what I mean

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1704697

 

About half way through my trip report, I asked how to embed them so they show up big and within the post like this

 

7987291779_268938532c_b.jpg

132 Pilot boat by Rescue-Diver, on Flickr

 

I didn't want my pics of Glacier Bay to be tiny footnotes at the bottom of my posts. So I had to stop mid-stream and set up a Flickr account and get all my photos uploaded and organized, then continued on with my report (Glacier Bay starts on post #41 in case anyone's interested).

 

I recommend getting your photos on a host site first, then when you start your review, you can quickly embed your photos. I think embedded photos make reviews ten times better. LOTS of CC fanatics love to cruise vicariously through others reviews/reports :)

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for my first cruise and review, I just jotted down a few quick notes in Evernote on my Nook at the end of each day. That plus the pics were enough for me to reconstruct the week when I did the review. Then again, I am a consultant for a living, and so thus I am forced to reconstruct a week's worth of billable hours out of a few short notes every week, so this is a normal pattern for me. For sure, if you don't write down stuff it will blend together in your memory after you get back.

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I always have my iPhone with me and make notes on the notepad throughout the day. If the day slips away, I'll make notes of everything I can possibly remember at the end of the night. Keep your Fun Times so you can have them to reference to. Take lots of pictures. When you get to writing, be sure to do it in Word or something so it can be saved occasionally. You don't want to write something long, only to have your computer freeze and you lose it all. I upload my pictures to photobucket and then write each installment as I go. Allow your personality to come through in your writing style. Have fun on the Valor. I sailed her last year and will again next year. I have a Valor review in my signature you should check out. I hope this helps! I look forward to reading your review when you return! :)

 

I have read a couple of your reviews in the past, I will reread the Valor review before I leave in 2 weeks. I was on the Valor this past May, so I am familiar with the ship. I do appreciate your suggestions.

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I did my first review in September. In the beginning of the cruise, I took a few notes of smaller details I wanted to remember to mention, but then, I was havingtoo much fun to bother lol for the most part, I followed my photos. I took over 1000 photos on a 7 day cruise, so didn't have to try to remember too many details. (It was Alaska. How can you NOT take +1000??? lol) and you'll be amazed how photos take you right back so you don't have to struggle to remember.

 

I did a short review of the ship, service, accomodations etc separate from our destination and ports. Then I did a long trip report of Alaska separately. Some people were booked on our ship on a different itinerary in fall/winter and were only interested in the ship, while others were booked on an Alaskan cruise, but on different lines and ships, and didn't care about details of our ship.

 

I did the ship review first and just attached photos directly to my posts from my laptop. They were all added to the very bottom of the post and were very small and unimpressive. Scroll to the bottom of the first post to see what I mean

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1704697

 

About half way through my trip report, I asked how to embed them so they show up big and within the post like this

 

7987291779_268938532c_b.jpg

132 Pilot boat by Rescue-Diver, on Flickr

 

I didn't want my pics of Glacier Bay to be tiny footnotes at the bottom of my posts. So I had to stop mid-stream and set up a Flickr account and get all my photos uploaded and organized, then continued on with my report (Glacier Bay starts on post #41 in case anyone's interested).

 

I recommend getting your photos on a host site first, then when you start your review, you can quickly embed your photos. I think embedded photos make reviews ten times better. LOTS of CC fanatics love to cruise vicariously through others reviews/reports :)

 

I will set up an account before I leave. thanks

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I suggest a few notes during the day with the date, and perhaps the time. If you wait till the end of the day you may be too tired to do it. You also may not want to be carrying your ipad or such during the day, risking losing it, so carry a pen and some paper, or a small voice recorder. Have fun.

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I suggest a few notes during the day with the date, and perhaps the time. If you wait till the end of the day you may be too tired to do it. You also may not want to be carrying your ipad or such during the day, risking losing it, so carry a pen and some paper, or a small voice recorder. Have fun.

 

I am thinking about just bringing a notepad and write my notes during the day.

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Another suggestion - please list your entire itinerary/ports of call in your first post about your review. I get that you may be on so and so ship, but its also great to know where you have been. If I'm looking for excursion ideas, knowing the ship name is no help and I may not want to read your review to find out where you went. At least if you list the ports, I have something in that review to look forward to.

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I used to take the stationary they supplied me and would right down bullet points. When I got back, I would fill I'm on the memories, this way the details dropped off. Too much detail makes for a boring review.

 

So do food pictures.

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When I did my first review (Dream 2010 - Eastern), I took a couple of notes, not many (an my review was short). I didn't do a review at all for our second cruise (Dream 2011 - Western). But for our third cruise (Freedom 2012 - Southern), I did a very extensive review (it is in my signature). I took a preprinted paper for each day (it had a place for the date, and I included whether it was a sea day or which port we were visiting), it had a place where the night before I would list the events we were planning on doing (if they didn't get done, they got crossed off), and there was a big section that was for notes (I listed the high points of things done, funny things that happened, etc ... I didn't list every single thing as I was pretty sure I would remember most things). I took plenty of pictures (I took pictures of all the food we had in the MDR - it was more helpful when our party had different things instead of everybody getting the same things). When we got home (which wasn't for two weeks after our cruise as we remained in Florida to visit with my parents, then went to Hawaii to visit with my daughter and meet my first grandchild) and I went through all my pictures, I picked out which ones would go well with what I was going to write (and wrote the picture numbers down on the sheet and section that they would accompany).

 

I do agree with perfect stranger in the thoughts of don't start your review and ignore it for a month ... if you are going to start your review, be prepared to continue with it till it is finished (even if you only put one day up each day, you are at least keeping things going and not leaving folks in limbo). There was someone that also did the same itinerary on the Freedom as we did, I was very much looking forward to their review, but it just sort of stopped at day three (I think we went on our cruise, and returned and I had my review up before the other review got finished ... and they cruised in March, we cruised in June).

 

I plan on writing another review for the Breeze when we go on her in June.

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I used to take the stationary they supplied me and would right down bullet points. When I got back, I would fill I'm on the memories, this way the details dropped off. Too much detail makes for a boring review.

 

So do food pictures.

 

Although I appreciate you responding, I am going to have to disagree with you. I enjoy all of the details that people include in their reviews, and I also enjoy the food pictures. I don't find them boring at all.

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I used to take the stationary they supplied me and would right down bullet points. When I got back, I would fill I'm on the memories, this way the details dropped off. Too much detail makes for a boring review.

 

So do food pictures.

 

When I did my first review (Dream 2010 - Eastern), I took a couple of notes, not many (an my review was short). I didn't do a review at all for our second cruise (Dream 2011 - Western). But for our third cruise (Freedom 2012 - Southern), I did a very extensive review (it is in my signature). I took a preprinted paper for each day (it had a place for the date, and I included whether it was a sea day or which port we were visiting), it had a place where the night before I would list the events we were planning on doing (if they didn't get done, they got crossed off), and there was a big section that was for notes (I listed the high points of things done, funny things that happened, etc ... I didn't list every single thing as I was pretty sure I would remember most things). I took plenty of pictures (I took pictures of all the food we had in the MDR - it was more helpful when our party had different things instead of everybody getting the same things). When we got home (which wasn't for two weeks after our cruise as we remained in Florida to visit with my parents, then went to Hawaii to visit with my daughter and meet my first grandchild) and I went through all my pictures, I picked out which ones would go well with what I was going to write (and wrote the picture numbers down on the sheet and section that they would accompany).

 

I do agree with perfect stranger in the thoughts of don't start your review and ignore it for a month ... if you are going to start your review, be prepared to continue with it till it is finished (even if you only put one day up each day, you are at least keeping things going and not leaving folks in limbo). There was someone that also did the same itinerary on the Freedom as we did, I was very much looking forward to their review, but it just sort of stopped at day three (I think we went on our cruise, and returned and I had my review up before the other review got finished ... and they cruised in March, we cruised in June).

 

I plan on writing another review for the Breeze when we go on her in June.

 

Yes, I agree with you. I have read quite a few reviews that have gone on and on, for weeks on end. I understand that life gets in the way, but it is frustrating for the people that had been following the review.

I do like your idea about the preprinted paper, maybe something like an outline or something simple to follow each day.

I am getting so many good ideas, and I appreciate each and every one of them!

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