Everyone on Cruise Critic Negative or Cause For Concern?

[iluvdoxies]

LOL..and the Poseidon Adventure....song..There's got to be a morning after..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcLazPauA1c. :D

 

A Carnival Cruise, just like any cruise, has ups and downs in service bests and food bests. Carnival gives you the most bang for your buck with some extras that mean more to some people than others..they really made a splash with fairly uniformly large cabins no matter what level you are on and fairly large bathroom showers that have more leg room than most with shower curtains rarely clinging!!

 

I shop in Wallmart too because I now live in a small town and the economy..yes..they took some small family businesses out..but many still remain and I have an area growing enough that we just got TJ Max..an overflow budget store for all overstock at all levels of luxury and a Coldwater Creek and a Chico's very nice middle to higher end..but not luxury midwest and California style ladies clothes and good travel clothes. T shop these stores and sales. I finally got a Rival Crockpot (name brand good one) with center that lifts out in simple 3 heat settings and no timer at Wallmart because it only cost 18 bucks a couple of years ago and I now cook for a big family sometimes. one can get many good deals and name brands..perhaps a simpler model at Wallmart and in good areas in many demographics in US they are wonderful savings, Godsend's, and negotiate a good deal on goods and have ans excellent storage supply model and volume purchase..for perscriptions here..well i save 150 from my previous place in Oregon, in a few demographics..especially large cities..it has been hard for then to get into middle class areas and those are the "rough ones"....just like Carnival is a savings Godsend..to be able to take a cruise is luxury....many have forgotten IMHO...Sarah

 

I am writing this in silky black floral poly Wallmart jams next to a nice Sunbeam space heater...LOL...all purchased last 5 years in a lovely Montana one...Sarah

 

ugh I hate poly lol

[WillWorkToCruise]

This is the best story I ever heard in a sermon....

 

A parish is toward the end of a rector (head priest) search. They are interviewing the final 2 candidates. The first one shows up and runs into the sexton (groundskeeper) on the way into the church. The candidate asks "What are the people like in this parish?" The sexton responds "Before I answer, what are the people like in your current parish?" The candidate says "Wonderful! Everyone works together. Conflict is resolved easily. Supportive community." The sexton answers "You will find the people here the same."

 

Later that day, the second candidate also runs into the sexton on the way into the church for the interview. The candidate asks "What are the people like in this parish?" The sexton responds "Before I answer, what are the people like in your current parish?" The candidate says "Terrible. Everyone is power hungry. Lots of gossip and back stabbing." The sexton answers "You will find the people here the same."

 

I think sometimes people experience what they expect to experience.

[Jemery]

DW and I have always liked Carnival, but sometimes there's just a terrible cruise, like the Ocotber 25 Carnival Breeze cruise. I haven't read a single positive review of it and don't expect to, despite many positive comments about components of it such as dining and rooms; Carnival just did not respond well to changing conditions. We'll continue to take any Carnival ship on the 7 day Caribbean cruises, but they won't see us again on a cruise that involves us trusting them to get it right on a cruise where we have to fly half way round the world to get to it.

[Hotdog 52]

:)We have been on 18 carnival cruises and haven't had a bad one yet. We are easy going and enjoy the experience. just sit back and enjoy the experience.

[Brenna's Mom1]

Just remember that there are upwards of 2 million pax who cruise Carnival every year and no one will convince me that these are all "first" timers who have no clue what they are getting into...I'll bet that more than a handful have sailed with Carnival before. Considering that there might be a hundred posted "warning" or "horrible" reviews on websites the odds are deeply in favor that many, many peeps really like or love their cruising experience since they, seemingly, choose to cruise with Carnival again. Just my opinion on the validity of some reviews.

[kelkel2]

I would have to agree with those telling you to take them as a grain of salt. Sometimes I read reviews out of curiosity, but you really can't take them too seriously. I mean honestly, there are plenty of people out there who can't be pleased and never will be and it wouldn't shock me at all if some of those reviews are made by those kinds of people.

Honestly, quality of the food and attitudes of the employees can all be affected by one's perception. The food I think is great you may hate. People have opinions and they are rarely the same as someone else's. I would not let the opinions of a few people change how I feel about the cruise I have booked.

[ExFed drvr]

Keep in mind that for every person who complains, an average of 10 enjoyed themselfs. People are more likely to write a complaint then a positive remark.

 

THats true, I worked in the service industry and was told once that if you make a person happy he will tell 2/3 people..Make someone unhappy and he will tell 10 people..Dennis

[GlendaleCruiser]

I had to do the same with inaugurals. So many people said, "don't go on the inaugurals--they are still working out the problems". While that may be true to a degree, I know that Carnival puts their staff on two weeks before passengers come on and they practice, practice, practice with each other and work on all the issues.

 

I have NEVER had a bad inaugural and the Breeze was my third. The staff is energized, they are happy to be on a brand new ship (as am I) and all three have been wonderful experiences. Most passengers are happy about it, too, and it makes for a great trip.

 

So, I don't take THAT advice.

[huneyb92]

Reviews can be helpful. I am near Baltimore and I am looking at taking a cruise next June. There are two ships that sail out of Baltimore to the Caribbean, Carnival Pride and Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Sea.

 

The Grandeur has had 3 neg reviews in November 2012 with a strong sewer smell all over the ship. I am not going to risk my money on a ship that smells bad all over so I chose the Pride.

 

The rest of the reviews I do take with a grain of salt. Some people are just unhappy.

[JUGGER]

I am leaving in less than 2 weeks for my Carnival Legend cruise. I am extremely excited and have already started putting together things to pack.

 

I think I need to stop reading reviews and information. I wan to maitain a positive attitude, but I am a little worried. I just read the most recent 5 reviews for the Legend, and they are terrible. I know everyone has their own opinion and while one person may have had a subpar experience, another person may have had the time of their life. However, out of the 5 most recent reviews, not one of them is positive. Not one. I read some earlier reviews before I booked and saw some positives and looked past some of the other negatives, but 5 of 5 negative has me worried that I am going to "get what I paid for" - the Yugo of cruises.

 

Thoughts?

hi--this is from--IRENE and JOHN--diamond cruisers--FIRST OF ALL--DON'T WORRY----53 CRUISES AND 2 MORE ON THE BILL---AND WE HAVE LOVED EVERY CRUISE--REMEMBER THE CRUISE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT---SOME PEOPLE ARE NEGATIVE--AND THEY COULDN'T BE PLEASED FOR ANYTHING--SO DONT WORRY--ENJOY AND HAVE A GREAT TIME--

[T. Advisor King]

Reviews can be really helpful for planning purposes... I like to read reviews for ships I am considering and for timeframes I am cruising...

 

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But I limit how many I read... I read mostly reviews that are favorable and limit myself to only a handful of negative reviews... I usually find that the negative ones complain about the same things... That tells me more about the cruiser than the cruise... usually the negatives are specific to the cruiser... They are circumstances that I feel the cruiser more than likely brought upon themselves... Such as, table mates or not getting clean towels because they hung them up instead of leaving them on the floor...

 

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That's interesting because I seek out the negative reviews and tend to skip over the positive ones. I don't tend to learn much from the positive ones. I don't find any planning value in someone gushing over how great the food was or how nice the staff were or how great a particular show was.

 

I read the negative reviews and for each "complaint" or "incident", I put my mind to whether it is about something I care about (e.g., we never order room service, so I don't really care if someone complains that room service was always slow), or if it is something I care about, would the problem itself be something that would affect my vacation. For example, if someone complains about a 10-minute line-up to get through the lunch buffet, I'd agree that I don't like having to wait, but in the scheme of things, I'd probably consider a 10-minute wait to be relatively minor in the scheme of things.

[Prof Peg]

I hope you have an absolutely wonderful trip!!!! And I'm sure you will.

 

The negative comments are why I read Cruise Critic very selectively. I love reading about people's trips and seeing their photos. But there's not a whole lot you can say before "some" people come in and say something snarky. They want to add one more comment to their list of many, many (worthless) comments.

 

That being said, we were on Legend for Christmas last year and it was fabulous. Beautiful decorations, festive music, great food, you know the rest. Just had to write a review, you don't have time to read it now, but I hope sometime when you're not packing for a cruise that you'll stop by.... maturecruisers.wordpress.com

 

Again have a great cruise.

 

[Perini3]

I hope you have an wonderful trip. I stoped reading all the post about there bad cruises. I think some of them are burnt out on curiseing.

[charly61fl]

I am leaving in less than 2 weeks for my Carnival Legend cruise. I am extremely excited and have already started putting together things to pack.

 

I think I need to stop reading reviews and information. I wan to maitain a positive attitude, but I am a little worried. I just read the most recent 5 reviews for the Legend, and they are terrible. I know everyone has their own opinion and while one person may have had a subpar experience, another person may have had the time of their life. However, out of the 5 most recent reviews, not one of them is positive. Not one. I read some earlier reviews before I booked and saw some positives and looked past some of the other negatives, but 5 of 5 negative has me worried that I am going to "get what I paid for" - the Yugo of cruises.

 

Thoughts?

 

Don't worry about the bad reviews we are going to have a blast!! Its just a case of you cant please everybody and some are just impossible to ever please. Put those bad reviews out of your mind and lets make this a Legend to remember!!!

[GHDPeter]

I am leaving in less than 2 weeks for my Carnival Legend cruise. I am extremely excited and have already started putting together things to pack.

 

I think I need to stop reading reviews and information. I wan to maitain a positive attitude, but I am a little worried. I just read the most recent 5 reviews for the Legend, and they are terrible. I know everyone has their own opinion and while one person may have had a subpar experience, another person may have had the time of their life. However, out of the 5 most recent reviews, not one of them is positive. Not one. I read some earlier reviews before I booked and saw some positives and looked past some of the other negatives, but 5 of 5 negative has me worried that I am going to "get what I paid for" - the Yugo of cruises.

 

Thoughts?

 

I just read the 5 review that you refer to. Interestingly one of the bad reviews gave the cruise a 5 Star rating!

 

I read reviews, good and bad, and look at the substance of the review and then see if its consistent over time. The previous 5 Reviews in October were all positive and in the last 10 reviews the star ratings given by those reviews was always 3 stars or above.

 

I've been on cruises and read reviews by other passengers and could not believe that we were on the same cruise.

 

Some had unrealistic expectations of the cruise and others seem to blow the smallest issue out of proportion.

 

My advice is read the reviews, be aware of the real issues that might impact on YOUR holiday, and if you go into it planning to have a great time no matter what then you will!

[sjn911]

ugh I hate poly lol

 

 

LOL:p smiles..I usually do too...like cotton knit to sleep in..these are fancy pretend loungers..satin and moms..:(..they help....LOL..cute one..boy i went on and on with that one..I was tying to say..you get good at budget..and Carnival really better than a Montana Wallmart..but uniform and nice budget cruise..NOT Motel 6....LOL..Sarah

[sparks1093]

That's interesting because I seek out the negative reviews and tend to skip over the positive ones. I don't tend to learn much from the positive ones. I don't find any planning value in someone gushing over how great the food was or how nice the staff were or how great a particular show was.

 

I read the negative reviews and for each "complaint" or "incident", I put my mind to whether it is about something I care about (e.g., we never order room service, so I don't really care if someone complains that room service was always slow), or if it is something I care about, would the problem itself be something that would affect my vacation. For example, if someone complains about a 10-minute line-up to get through the lunch buffet, I'd agree that I don't like having to wait, but in the scheme of things, I'd probably consider a 10-minute wait to be relatively minor in the scheme of things.

 

This is my method of reading reviews also, but I also take it a step further and war game it- "what can I do to avoid this issue from happening to me" and "if this does happen to me what would I do to get it addressed".

 

One thing that I've noticed is that on the forums the negative reviews tend to stay at the top of the pile a lot longer because people post to them more frequently to defend the cruise line from the negative review. The positive reviews receive a few "thanks for posting" replies and they quickly disappear from the forum.

 

Maybe those that want to defend the cruise line against all criticism should ignore the negative reviews and laud the positive ones;).

[sparks1093]

I just read some of the recent Pride reviews and one reviewer complained because the bathroom didn't even have a bathtub. I didn't notice if it did or it didn't so I'm just going to have to go on the Pride again to find out first hand if the bathrooms have bathtubs or not:D.

[crusinpsychRN]

Just off Legend last week and had a BLAST! Great crew, everyone knew my name. Did have temp issues with food but once I said something it didn't happen again. Some time ago someone etched graffiti into every elevator and it was scrubbed away which left scratches all over the inside of each door. My balcony needed a paint job, the one next door was recently painted. Entertainment staff is great!

 

Easy to navigate the ship. You'll have a great time!

[avatheps]

OP, You have answered your own question in these past 4 pages. Reviews should be taken with the proverbial "grain of salt", especially reviews by those choosing to be professional critics. Just look at the wealth of firsthand knowledge you have to draw from here at CC. I personally think these CC forums are the single best tool, along with a good internet search engine, in making your cruise a great experience. Don't be intimidated by the rare snob or mad at the world types you will occasionally run across. They normally make themselves known at long drawn out threads over paying gratuities or the new beverage packages. Have a great cruise!

[sweet angel]

We were on the Legend from 11/25-12/2. We didn't love it and didn't hate it. We went in with an open mind and were pleasantly surprised about some things and disappointed about others.

 

In a nutshell, we liked the decor, which was not as tacky and gaudy as we expected. We were happy with our cabin (8E balcony). Most of the comedy shows were funny. All areas of the ship were kept clean. I loved that they provide bathrobes in the cabin.

 

We were disappointed with the food, entertainment and activities. I heard many repeat Carnival cruisers with the same gripes that week. In Carnival's defense, it could very well have been just an off week. I hope it was.

 

We still had fun, but found ourselves slightly bored. After all is said and done, it's still vacation!! It is what you make of it. I hope you have a fantastic time!

[sweet angel]

Just off Legend last week and had a BLAST! Great crew, everyone knew my name. Did have temp issues with food but once I said something it didn't happen again. Some time ago someone etched graffiti into every elevator and it was scrubbed away which left scratches all over the inside of each door. My balcony needed a paint job, the one next door was recently painted. Entertainment staff is great!

 

Easy to navigate the ship. You'll have a great time!

 

Perfect example of two people having different experiences! We were on the same cruise! Always read reviews (mine included) with a grain of salt.

[DeloreanGirl]

I know what you mean.

 

Before our British Isles cruise, I was reading all about the snarky food comments, terrible mattress comments, how beat up the ship was, and then as if that wasn't bad enough, the left propulsion engine blew and the ship was dead in the water for 2 weeks just a month before our sailing. Then I heard about bad weather, etc. I was TERRIFIED that our once-in-a-lifetime trip would be ruined.

 

When we got there, the ship was clean, the food was great, service was excellent, no mechanical errors, and the weather was superb.

 

It was the best cruise ever.

 

Lesson learned: close your eyes, get excited, and get on that boat! "It is what you make of it!"

[BarnyardCruising]

My advice is read the reviews, be aware of the real issues that might impact on YOUR holiday, and if you go into it planning to have a great time no matter what then you will!

 

Exactly. I'm about to sail on the Legend and have read every review posted over the last year. You have to read the entire review and pick out what is relevant to you, the way you like to vacation and what you're expecting.

 

After all that reading, I gather that the Legend is aging, has hit or miss crew, food so you won't go hungry and so-so entertainment. If you're going in thinking it's a high-end experience and you're going to feel pampered in private luxury, you're going to be disappointed. Some of the super negative reviews seem like people were expecting a floating Four Seasons for about $150 a night. If you want snap to attention staff and French Laundry dining, you need to add another zero to that cost.

 

Others that are somewhat negative are just telling it like it is. And I believe this because even some of the more glowing reviews take issue with the food and entertainment quality.

 

None of this means I won't have a great time with my family. Provided that you're traveling with people you actually enjoy being around, you can take what the Legend offers, the vast beauty of the sea and the warm sun and water of your ports of call and make it into a great vacation of your own.

[8esther8]

After all that reading, I gather that the Legend is aging, has hit or miss crew, food so you won't go hungry and so-so entertainment. If you're going in thinking it's a high-end experience and you're going to feel pampered in private luxury, you're going to be disappointed.

 

Well, I would be disappointed if everything was mediocre as in the above comment, but it never is. I think the food is better than RCI, the cabin steward actually knows your name, I'm amazed at seeing crewmembers painting and cleaning all day long, the beds are fantastic. Plus I get to go to four different countries and sit on my own balcony and watch the ocean. How can that be bad?

 

The thing that I wouldn't do again is go on a cheaper, 3-4 day Bahamas cruise again. That does feel like Walmart. :o