have you ever cancelled a trip due to bad reviews?

[hlb76]

I was just wondering if anyone actualy has cancelled due to reviews. I have been sailing in and out of about every thread on this board lately. slow at work gives me plenty of time as well as looking for hints on our upcoming vacation. I keep reading should I cancel posts but just can't believe anyone actually would. I take all reviews with a grain of salt. Not everyone has the same tastes or expections of there vacation. I read one review that someone hated it and would never sail again because the staff was bad food was bad ship missed a port etc. The next review on the same cruise was the best they have ever been on!

[KruznKel]

I was just wondering if anyone actualy has cancelled due to reviews. I have been sailing in and out of about every thread on this board lately. slow at work gives me plenty of time as well as looking for hints on our upcoming vacation. I keep reading should I cancel posts but just can't believe anyone actually would. I take all reviews with a grain of salt. Not everyone has the same tastes or expections of there vacation. I read one review that someone hated it and would never sail again because the staff was bad food was bad ship missed a port etc. The next review on the same cruise was the best they have ever been on!

 

NO we have never and will never cancel a cruise or vacation based on somebody else's opinion.. too each their own as they say.. and until we try it for ourselves and make the judgment.. what anyone else says is just water under the bridge;)

[DGP1111]

I've cancelled a shore excursion based on consistently poor customer reviews, but never an entire vacation.

[Pollensalta]

No. Most of the negative reviews I've read are from people who are spoiled and entitled with unrealistic expectations. I have never been on a "bad cruise" ... there have been small moments where I have been displeased with something, but I'm not going to let one minor thing ruin an entire cruise.

[cruisekmc]

I've read some awful reviews about the same cruise that we had been on and loved. Every line is different, every cruise is different. We met someone on a cruise one time that was on their 36th cruise. They said they enjoy the differences with each cruise and each cruise line and make the most of each one they are on. That's the trick.

 

Have to say the only cruise we didn't enjoy that much was the QM2..it was a beautiful ship, but not a "cruise line". It is an oceanliner and rather than a large area around the pool there was a ballroom, pool was very small. It was fun to have experienced it though.

 

There are some people that just don't know how to have a good time and relaxl! Luckily we can.:)

[hlb76]

Glad I am not the only one that feels this way. I admit I take into consideration reviews when picking shore excursions. I just dont think anything could ruin my cruise. If the waitstaff in the MDR was bad I would either talk to someone or try eating else where if I could not look past it. I think as far as food goes I ahve had things I like better than others. my example is the ceaser salad in MDr and pizza place I love had it a few times room service and did not care for it. I just wont order it there, I have enough other options.

 

yes I have had a few road bumps but never really with the staff or the ship more so with guests. They are the ones that can make my vacation not so nice. You know the rude table mates, chair savers, line cutters, seat savers, parents letting there kids run wild etc. But you get "those" kinds everywhere.

[golfadj]

Before I book a cruise will read a dozen or so reviews and than use that to make a final choice.

 

That has influenced my choice of ship on a few occasions.

 

After that we are going on the cruise.

[Traveler353]

I was just wondering if anyone actualy has cancelled due to reviews. quote][/color][/size]

Nope

[mudpievelour]

When I am considering a cruise, I will read a lot of reviews of several ships. Then I will take the majority into consideration. I try to remember what's important to them may not be all that important to me. Reviews might keep me from booking a particular cruise, but once I'm booked, I seldom read any more reviews. I've made my decision, and that's final.

[tiggerman101]

It would take a lot of various reviews to even think about it. I just don't go by a lot of reviews due to the fact that everyone is different. I also realize it is easier for some people to remember the negative things over all the positives. I remember my partner and I planned a week long trip to Universal Orlando about 5 years ago. We booked one of the hotels on the Universal property. I began reading reviews and started to get really nervous about some of the things I read. I had envisioned walking into a hotel room with ripped drapes, mold all over the broken tiles in the bathroom and bed sheets with stains all over them. In truth it was a great hotel and we had a blast there. I learned not to take such things so seriously. I just read between the lines now.

 

I will say that I am very much anticipating reviews from the upcoming Celebrity South America/Antarctica cruise. This is the first year they are doing this intenery and we are booked on it for next year. Since it is a two week cruise with a four day Antarctica "Drive by" I am very curious to know what exactly is seen, etc. It is a big investment and if a ton of negative reactions come back then we will rethink our plans.

[osiebosie]

No, I would not cancel after reading regular reviews. As stated, opinions are just opinions.

 

When I read reviews, though, I am looking to see if there is something wrong with the ship. When we sailed on the Holiday, the propulsion system was broken, and we cruised the gulf of Mexico in winter for five days, sailing in circles. That was not a good cruise. So when people say any cruise is better than nothing or work, I disagree.

 

Anyway, there had been problems with Holiday for a couple of weeks before we boarded, and if I'd known about CC then, I'd have known about the propulsion issues. We would have changed the cruise when we had the chance.

 

So, I now always keep an ear and eye out for major problems with the ship.

 

Shay

[G'ma]

No way. I read all reviews with as much salt as I can find.

 

If I have a question or a concern....I'll read as many reviews as I can on different forums....then will go to the internet and look around for valid information from objective reviewers or travel writers or headlines in travel newspaper dedicated to the travel industry.

 

I've cruised enough to know that not everyone is going to be happy with everything all the time. I know that there are folks who wouldn't be happy unless they were assigned a personal servant and chef when they boarded....and those who find minor annoyances "horrible experiences".

 

With 2000-3000 people on a ship week in and week out, if there were serious problems on any given ship, there would be more than a handful of people reporting it.

 

Then there are those who haven't done their research, haven't read a darned thing on a website or bothered to read their documents or welcome aboard brochure. They don't know what to expect but have some preconceived idea of what a cruise should be. Those are the folks who usually come on the forums and bash their latest ship.

 

Here's what I know. No cruise company is going to be successful if they run a sloppy operation with bad food, sloppy maintenance, unpleasant and rude personnel, disinterested cabin staff and lousy entertainment.

 

As long as you chose to cruise on a "major" cruise line, you'll have no problem and will have a great time. Just don't expect to be treated like you are the "queen of all things" and the only passenger on the ship worthy of attention.

[cruzeluver]

When planning our first cruise a few years ago, I started reading reviews online and was horrified by some of the terrible things I read. Review after review for the ship we were scheduled to sail on were just awful. Inedible food, rude staff members, deplorable conditions of the ship, etc.

 

We went and had a great time. To this day I still don't get where all that negativity came from.

[pe4all]

It would take a major problem with a ship to have us cancel a cruise. We sailed the Destiny (SJ) when she was having known a/c problems, we sailed Miracle when she was having known propulsion problems. These are not "major" to us. It takes a lot to have us complain about anything on vacation. The only way we would cancel a cruise is for a health issue/death/work issue. We can put up with anything else!

[JaniceW]

No way. I do read all reviews prior to booking and then make a decision. This past December we sailed on the Destiny and after I booked I began reading many negative reviews. I wasn't about to cancel as I have never taken a cruise I didn't enjoy but I did adjust my expectations based on what I had read. We had a wonderful vacation and since I knew in advance about long lines at the buffet and some minor plumbing problems, I was easily able to shrug off these minor inconveniences and focus on having a good time.

[Djptcp]

I have not cancelled a cruise because of bad reviews. However, I have not chosen a particular cruise line because of bad reviews or just a general feeling that we would not be happy with them. I doubt DH and I would ever sail on Costa or MSC, definitely never on Disney (makes sense because we don't have kids, don't enjoy being around kids, and there isn't a casino on the Disney ships). But I wouldn't cancel a booked cruise because of bad reviews because they are so subjective. We hated NCL's freestyle cruising and I wouldn't recommend it, but others love it. We are all different and one woman's trash is another woman's treasure.

[papillon cruiser]

When I first started cruising I did cancel a cruise do to bad reviews. As a matter of fact I think Carnival does get a lot of bad reviews so I cruised another line back then and was afraid to take a Carnival cruise. I was talked into sailing on the inspiration as it was a close port and been a Carnival fan ever since. So no I don't listen to bad reviews anylonger. Now hotels that is another story. I see bed bugs and I find a new hotel.

[VOLLEYBALLDUDE2000]

We had a deposit on an RCCL cruise sailing from the DR on a southern Caribbean. When we found out it was an "infused" cruise meaning 95 % spanish locals and 5% english speaking, we got scared (we read lots of bad reviews when the destiny was sailing out of SanJuan) and switched to the Legend out of Tampa.

[anticostiguide]

No. Most of the negative reviews I've read are from people who are spoiled and entitled with unrealistic expectations. I have never been on a "bad cruise" ... there have been small moments where I have been displeased with something, but I'm not going to let one minor thing ruin an entire cruise.

 

 

Checkmate!!!!!! Couldn't have said it better and this is from a 1st time cruiser ( cruised dec 20-27 Valor);)

[dan40]

Back when I did read reviews, I saw a scathing one of just about every cruise I had taken. Same ship, same date, yet I never experienced any of the complaints or met anyone who did. Simple solution, I stopped reading reviews, period. Any reviews, cruise, book, movies, restaurants, all are just someone's opinion and I form my own opinions [some have noticed that.:D:p]

 

Some years now and I've never been sorry for NOT reading reviews.

 

Cruising, book publishing, movie making, restaurant dining are all multiple billion dollar industries serving untold millions of people EACH. They all must be doing most things right. Why bother paying attention to complainers?

[dznymom]

I don't put much credence in any review whether gushingly positive or rabidly negative, or even the carefully constructed well-balanced review. Reading reviews is just a part of my pre-cruise reconnaissance mission.

 

That said, I considered cancelling my upcoming Destiny B2B because of information I got from reading reviews. Final payment (AKA the point of no return :p) was due right around the time she was having the last round of propulsion problems and ports were being skipped. I choose my cruises as much for the ports as any other reason, so that was a concern. It wasn't the reviews so much as the fact that it was pretty apparent that Carnival didn't have the situation under control and I wasn't sure I wanted to gamble on things getting fixed. Anyway I have decided to proceed, and other than long lines at the buffet everything is going to be peachy keen!

 

So, in my opinion reading reviews can be helpful but mostly they are just fun to read while waiting to board the next ship.

[grandmato4]

Never would we cancel a cruise because of some bad reviews. But we do adjust expectations at times when multiple reviews have similar concerns discussed of things that matter to us. Every cruise is a bit different than the one before it and after it as its filled with mostly different passengers and staff changes along with Mother Nature's effect on different cruises.

[MrPete]

Never.

 

But it reminds me of a land trip I almost once cancelled.

 

I traded in a timeshare once to go to Myrtle Beach. After doing so, I found a review website saying how bad everthing was about this place, that the balcony faced the building next door, and the otherside bordered the parking lot that was always noisy.

 

After much debate, I went anyway.

 

I got there, and found I had a LONG, HUGE apartment that was oceanfront, a view to die for, and everything else that exceeded expectations.

 

[lady_cruiser]

Count me in as a NO. I like to make up my own mind.

 

It all depends on how you look at a situtation. Read Bobstacks review on The Conquest. His ship left a day late (22 hours to be exact) because of fog in Galveston. They had a port cancelled and the other two port times were changed but he still made the best of it.

 

Here is the link to his review http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=61265

[5waldos]

No but if the Splendor has one more oopsie I am considering seriously switching.