How much are you influenced by reviews?

[hog88]

IMHO, if you really look at the reviews for a ship you will find maybe a couple hundred (just a guess) and out of that say 40% of them are negative. That's a heck of small % considering 3,000 to 4,000 people get off of these boats every week.

 

Personaly, I've been on the Dream and loved it, just to lazy to write a review.

[dchi72]

It all comes down to expectations. Some people think they are booking a five star experience.

 

Cruise lines are about volume. Sometimes when dealing with volume things go haywire. Despite what some reviews will make you think no one on the ship is trying to ruin a vacation. They want you to have a good time. If you are enjoying yourself, tips go up.

 

Lots of people take to boards like this and gripe LOUDLY in hopes of getting something in return. They figure if they bash hard enough an official Carnival lurker will see thier complaint and reach out to them.

 

The majority of people on the cruise do not let your wardrobe or its malfunction ruin thier vacation. I really have to wonder about someone if thier satisfaction level derives from my choice of attire.

 

I always disregard the opinions of the top and bottom reviewers. They usually have an agenda. The exception is if there is an overabundance of positive or negative reviews. That indicates a trend.

 

Carnival ships are inexpensive (not cheap) and we should not expect the same level of service as you recieve on the Queen Mary.

 

Things that would put a damper on my cruise:

1. Running out of alcohol

2. Running out of food

3. Getting sick

4. Not getting to spend all 7 days away from the house

5. Having to spend any time in the life rafts

6. Not getting to cruise again

[sweetsixteencruisers]

We take everything with a grain of salt! Our attitude is "Don't sweat the small stuff." Your cruise is what you make of it. If you look for the negative, you will find it of course.

Wishing you a great cruise!

 

~Sweet~

[justbeme2001]

I am cruising in March 03 this will be my 4th cruise (i know not a lot compared to some on here lol) but I have been on 3 different ships where I read reviews about how terrible the ship/service/food etc was and I have had a wonderful time on all of my cruises! I plan on having a great time when we go in March as well.. it is all about what you make out of it.. I also could care less what people wear to dinner in the mdr or if the waiter remembers my name as long as he is nice I am good.. I think some people have an unrealistic idea of what they want on vacation and are way to harsh on the reviews they post. Book the cruise and have a great time!!!

[ccruisequeen]

Not very- the ship selection we have here on the West Coast is so limited that we adjust to what we can get :rolleyes: ;)

[sylent]

I agree with Firefly, any Carnival ship you choose is going to be relatively similar.

 

I choose a cruise based on itinerary first, price and ship secondary. I don't look at reviews at all prior to booking.

 

However I do enjoy reading reviews of the ship and ports after booking to see others experiences.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[firefly333]

I agree with Firefly, any Carnival ship you choose is going to be relatively similar.

 

I read a post saying how flavorful the food is.. and to me its so bland, I want more spices. I want it to kick my taste buds up a notch.

 

Or one person says for sure, absolutely RCL has better food.. then the next person.. for sure .. absolutely Carnival has better food.

 

Food reviews can drive you crazy. Who would you believe? they are such opposites. HAL has great food .. the next.. Carnival has better food by far than HAL.

[OCruisers]

Reading reviews is an intertaining and often helpful thing to do ... but they've never kept us from going on a ship.

 

Sometimes, there are helpful tips about the ship that are nice to know in advance.

 

:D Then, there are times when people really dislike something that we wouldn't mind at all and would probably even enjoy.

 

LuLu

[fpslim]

I gave up on cc reviews long ago

[nybumpkin]

I read reviews. I also write reviews - here on CC I've done reviews of all of our cruises except our first (didn't find CC until after the cruise:o). However, I use reviews to figure out what I might like to do on board and in port. And that's what I hope my reviews do for others. I'd never decide for or against a ship based on a review. Right now we're booked for next summer on one of Carnival Legend's Baltic cruises, so I'm reading reviews of ships that have sailed that itinerary. (We've sailed on Legend before, so we know all about the urns.:p)

[QTPieTrader]

I always read as many reviews as I can prior to a cruise. IMHO more reviews are written by people who encounter problems - than those who do not. (Probably because we don't want, or anticipate problems.)

 

Therefore, I take all negative reviews with a large grain of salt.

 

I believe that people who look for the best will generally find it.. (and visa versa).

 

We were fogged in one time and were delayed getting on our ship. That was OK.. We enjoyed our time seeing Galveston a little more. But some cruisers on the same cruise wrote such terrible things that one would think Carnival deliberately rented fog machines to ruin their trip. lol

 

QTPie

[KG1924]

I read a post saying how flavorful the food is.. and to me its so bland, I want more spices. I want it to kick my taste buds up a notch.

 

Or one person says for sure, absolutely RCL has better food.. then the next person.. for sure .. absolutely Carnival has better food.

 

Food reviews can drive you crazy. Who would you believe? they are such opposites. HAL has great food .. the next.. Carnival has better food by far than HAL.

 

This is so true! Carnival fans swear they have the better food, RC fans claim the complete opposite. Personally, I don't see much of a difference other then options available. I really only remember 2 REALLY good foods on either Carnival and RCL. The first is escargot on both lines. I would never order it anywhere else, but on a cruise...why not??? And anything covered in butter is absolutely great in my book. The only other thing that stands out are the pretzel dogs on the Oasis. I LOVED them!! Probably had one every day. Now I'm going to bet a pretty large percentage of people think it's just junk food (which it is) and would never eat it especially with so many other options. But I love them and want another one. But this does not make or break my cruise. I'm obviously not a foodie....

[Sargent_Schultz]

My wife and I and our son and his family are planning to book the Dream for next August, but after reading some recent reviews I am reluctant to book it. Many of the recent reviews are terrible and have made me have second thoughts. I realize these reviews can vary among passengers on the same cruise and it is not uncommon to have one review very negative and another very positive for the same week. It could be that the change in their itinerary caused by hurricane Ernesto affected some more than others. What is disturbing is that many of the negative comments were about food, over crowded pools, lack of enforcement of rules in the dining room and serenity area, and mediocre service. These negative comments cannot be attributed to weather. Do you take these reviews seriously or ignore them?

 

I do not take them seriously at all. I have been on some alleged cruises from hell and had a completely different experience.

 

In general, people who are unhappy are very much more vocal than satisfied customers. Remember there are usually thousands of passengers on any given cruise and while one or two might have legitimate complaints, I think many more either are chronic complainers or other attitude issues, unrealistic expectations, or believe it or not, fake.

[novinha]

My wife and I and our son and his family are planning to book the Dream for next August, but after reading some recent reviews I am reluctant to book it. Many of the recent reviews are terrible and have made me have second thoughts. I realize these reviews can vary among passengers on the same cruise and it is not uncommon to have one review very negative and another very positive for the same week. It could be that the change in their itinerary caused by hurricane Ernesto affected some more than others. What is disturbing is that many of the negative comments were about food, over crowded pools, lack of enforcement of rules in the dining room and serenity area, and mediocre service. These negative comments cannot be attributed to weather. Do you take these reviews seriously or ignore them?

We haven't been on the Dawn but we were in port with them once. They looked like they were having a great time even though we were all together on a bus in 90 degree heat with no AC on the bus.

[AmberTeka]

A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless they start with the water temperature being too hot for Dear Wife and her special diet not just so...and Grandmama was not remembered by name by the overworked waitor...........those...........I trash.

 

The others..when I am going to book a cruise..i read as many as I can..I love them.

[AmberTeka]

I agree with Helen 100%. We personally don't like crowds. Having read reviews about the Dream before we sailed, everybody said it was so great. By the second night, we were tired of having to dodge 30 people just to get through a hallway. The same with steakhouses. 95% of the postings say how great they are. We didn't like it at all.

 

My advice, if the reviews pertain to something that you enjoy, pay closer attention to them. If you don't gamble and people say the casino is smoky, I wouldn't worry about it. If they say the buffet meals are horrible and you always eat in the MDR, I wouldn't worry about it. If they say a ship is overcrowded and you don't like crowds, I'd take their advice.

 

We have been on the Dream Twice and thinking about booking it again. The food was fine. The Dinner Club was great. The shows were better than on most ship lines..exception NCL. Trivia and activities..often. Good crowds. Ship was sparkling clean. Clean. Photographers were a pest.

Lots of people..elevators could be a challenge..but other venues to eat lunch other than Lido..Pasta Station..Plaza BBQ......Stagger lunch time..eat at one or two.....

 

Carnival ships are a lot alike. They are all excellent value..and often dismissed as inferior because they don't cost as much. I note their prices now...looks like there is parity.

Sail on the Dream. You will have the time of your life..Hot tubs..slides for the kiddes..you could easily eat yourself to death...ditto ice cream yourself to death..drink yourself to death..whatever your vice.....and be entertained while doing it....

[Sargent_Schultz]

The only crowds I notice are when people try to all show up to eat at the same time. Go when it isn't crowded and there are no crowds.

 

Sometimes people complain because they had to wait 30 minutes to get something at the buffet when in reality, they lined up 29 minutes before it opened. Or want a calzone at the pizzeria and it took a whopping 8 minutes to bake. Or all of the shore excursions end at the same time and the people all decide they want something from the deli.

 

It is impossible for the entire ship to be crowded at the same time. If you encounter a crowd, go somewhere else and come back later. ;)

[ib4cruzn]

My wife and I and our son and his family are planning to book the Dream for next August, but after reading some recent reviews I am reluctant to book it. Many of the recent reviews are terrible and have made me have second thoughts. I realize these reviews can vary among passengers on the same cruise and it is not uncommon to have one review very negative and another very positive for the same week. It could be that the change in their itinerary caused by hurricane Ernesto affected some more than others. What is disturbing is that many of the negative comments were about food, over crowded pools, lack of enforcement of rules in the dining room and serenity area, and mediocre service. These negative comments cannot be attributed to weather. Do you take these reviews seriously or ignore them?

 

Only an idiot would ingnore them. Even BIG boys.

 

This is Cruise Critic. Those folks who really DO have a life come here for the reviews.

 

Heed them or not. I've gleaned a substantial amount of knowledge here and I feel somewhat obligated to pass it on. If you don't believe my review, well, I've done my job.

 

Some have been outstanding. Just not lately...

[ib4cruzn]

I do not take them seriously at all. I have been on some alleged cruises from hell and had a completely different experience.

 

In general, people who are unhappy are very much more vocal than satisfied customers. Remember there are usually thousands of passengers on any given cruise and while one or two might have legitimate complaints, I think many more either are chronic complainers or other attitude issues, unrealistic expectations, or believe it or not, fake.

 

How do you spot the fake ones Sarg? Just wondering.

[tiercel]

That is a tough one. I consider the nature of the complaints. However, I remember the reading many negative reviews about the Fascination just before I booked the cruise. Turned out to be the best cruise I have had to date. So one just has to evaluate the information on his own, but realize there are usually so many sides to any story.

[halos]

My wife and I and our son and his family are planning to book the Dream for next August, but after reading some recent reviews I am reluctant to book it. Many of the recent reviews are terrible and have made me have second thoughts. I realize these reviews can vary among passengers on the same cruise and it is not uncommon to have one review very negative and another very positive for the same week. It could be that the change in their itinerary caused by hurricane Ernesto affected some more than others. What is disturbing is that many of the negative comments were about food, over crowded pools, lack of enforcement of rules in the dining room and serenity area, and mediocre service. These negative comments cannot be attributed to weather. Do you take these reviews seriously or ignore them?

 

If I had listened to reviews I would have never tried NCL and I wound up LOVING it. The only way to know if you will like a cruise line or even a specific ship is to try it yourself.

[katiel53]

I guess I put some stock into what people say and then what I can to make things better for us. For example, people have complained about the buffet's being crowded. I know it is at 9-10AM when a lot of people are waking up and going to breakfast and again at noon. I know if I go to the buffet at 10:15 or before 9 or so, there isn't a long wait.

 

We don't usually eat dinner at home until 7 or so, therefore, we try to either eat about that time if we have MTD or if not we do late seating. Noon is not the time for us to go to lunch. If we go about 1:30, easy peasy to the buffet.

 

I have read so many complaints about the smell. We have been on Dream 4x so far and yes, on occasion we have smelled it. BUT for a few seconds only. I have also smelled that on other ships so it's not a big deal to me.

 

I have read complaints about the food and some I agree with and some I don't. I don't cruise to eat meatloaf, fried chicken or mac and cheese. I have a wonderful husband who has problem swallowing foods so these soft foods are great for him.

 

Are there things I don't like on a cruise? Of course, especially the people, kids or adults who talk loudly in the halls late at night and another one is having ribs served on the first elegant night. The beard who drummed up that combo obviously hasn't ever dressed up! I also don't enjoy karaoke, but there are those who do. Most things that annoy me are inconveniences such as people not being allowed to get off the elevator before someone tries to push/shove his/her way on and not allowing those with walkers or wheelchairs to board before others. To me, that's just being rude and I have learned that I can't control the self-centered people.

 

I guess my point is that I do read the reviews and learn from some of them. Those that are all glowing, to me, are either from someone who has never cruised before, or someone that sees all things through rose colored glasses. On the opposite spectrum, those reviews that are all negative make me hope I don't ever sail with the the authors.

[Sargent_Schultz]

How do you spot the fake ones Sarg? Just wondering.

 

I assume they are all fake. I prefer to live my own life and form my own opinions. If I even look at reviews, it is to try to learn about ship features and photo ops, not what someone's opinion of them are.

 

Hotel and restaurant reviews are others you can't always believe. Some have been proven to be written by competition.

[loxley]

I agree with Helen 100%. We personally don't like crowds. Having read reviews about the Dream before we sailed, everybody said it was so great. By the second night, we were tired of having to dodge 30 people just to get through a hallway. The same with steakhouses. 95% of the postings say how great they are. We didn't like it at all.

 

My advice, if the reviews pertain to something that you enjoy, pay closer attention to them. If you don't gamble and people say the casino is smoky, I wouldn't worry about it. If they say the buffet meals are horrible and you always eat in the MDR, I wouldn't worry about it. If they say a ship is overcrowded and you don't like crowds, I'd take their advice.

 

You are oh so right. I hate crowds. I don't care what they offer, I will never cruise on those huge ships. Just too many people and too little room.

[nybumpkin]

My thoughts as well. Sarge, did you do a Baltic cruise? I thought you had, but I can't find anything on it. I'm trying to figure out shore excursions.