What are your Cruise Review pet peeves?

[Cruisin' Chick]

Many posters have made some valid points in their list of "pet peeves". I would certainly agree with the suggestion that folks use paragraphs or even breaking their review up by using subheadings.

 

On the other hand, just because you are not interested in something, that does not mean that it should not be part of a review. I am not the least bit interested in your experiences with art auctions or casinos, but no doubt some readers are and read these sections. Reading a review is much like reading a daily newspaper. You do not have to read all of it!

 

Several folks have said that they do not want to hear about pre-cruise hotels. I disagree. The pre-cruise experiences interest me even if you do not care about such things. For example, we have many cruises under our belts, but have never cruised out of New Orleans. Since we are taking a cruise out of New Orleans this April, I have been looking for tips for places to stay and things to do and yes, I check the "New Orleans" threads of these boards often. When I read a review by someone who sails out of New Orleans, I am really interested in what they have to say about their pre-cruise experience. My pre and post cruise aspects of a cruise are just as important to me in the enjoyment of my vacation. Again, it is similar to reading a newspaper. If you are not interested in something, skip over it. I would be willing to bet that by now, some people have skipped over my post!:D

 

I liked what you said. But I guess many will think it's silly of me to post that.:D;)

[CptSticky]

My review pet peeve is really bad grammar or a lot of obvious spelling mistakes, missed words, etc. Like you, I dislike when the reviewer complains about the weather being bad as if the cruise line is at fault. Glaringly incorrect statements bother me, too. For instance, someone once said in a review that the lunch buffet was only open for an hour a day. The way it was phrased indicated that they were talking about the main Lido buffet, which is open for many hours each day.

 

My favorite parts of reviews are usually food porn and a lot of photos!

Mine is duplicate posts:eek::p Oh, wait, we were talking about reviews:D

[JimAOk1945]

A couple of my pet peeves are people who start a review and never finish it, and those who take several days, or even weeks, in between postings. I've come across a few like that.

[Koshlong]

1. Posters who give a 5 star rating and then go to talk about the things that they didn't like. It's very misleading.

 

2. Reviews that indicate that the writer did NO research or planning, but "magically" found CC in time to complain about everything.

 

3. Not being able to ask for details or clarification.

 

4. The number of perfect reviews. I'm a teacher and know how hard it should be to get a perfect score. I rarely read the 5 star ones....they give virtually no information.

 

[Karysa]

It's probably rain at some point on every one of our cruises' date=' but I wouldn't think to downgrade a cruise based on weather. If weather is really important to someone, then they should research the typical weather for a region and month and decide if they want to risk it. If you want guarantee warm weather, then probably a Caribbean cruise would be the best choice...but you'll probably get some rain, even if it doesn't last a long time unless there's a tropical storm or hurricane in the area.

 

Even an Alaskan cruise wouldn't necessarily mean colder weather..the week before our Alaskan cruise in August 2004 there had been a heat wave in the northwest and in the Alaskan ports, very mild temps. We ran into a couple just getting off their cruise right before we headed to the port and they said they wore shorts all week (of course, they could be from a normally cooler area...). It got cooler by our second day, and was foggy in one port and rainy on our last sea day, but we absolutely enjoyed our cruise. We went in with the idea that it would be much cooler than back at home (not difficult as it was 114 degrees the day before we left home to start our tip).[/quote']

 

 

Like I said people are all different and some people handle this better than others. We missed our plane trip over the Misty Fourdes due to fog and if we also would have missed the sail in to see the Sawyer Glacier because of weather, the two things that I was looking most forward to I would have still enjoyed the cruise but not as much.

 

I have read Caribbean ship reviews when I knew the ports had experienced bad weather and sure enough the usual 4 and 5 star reviewed cruises were mostly 3 star.

[screwsmcernst]

My pet peeve is when a review is written by a cruiser who has been on multiple cruises, on the same ship, in the same year, and they complain about there not being enough variety.

 

The next pet peeve is when they nit-pick. "My cruise was ruined because I had a cracked tile on my bathroom floor." or "There was a rust spot." :eek: If something is broken, and it is crucial to the function of the ship, then yes, it may affect their experience. I usually stop reading when there is nit picking.

[NoobCruise]

I get annoyed when people reply by quoting a post with half a dozen photos. It's not so bad when only one person does it, but there are often several people doing it, and then you have to keep scrolling through the same photos, over and over, just to find the new post.

[donaldsc]

my review pet peeves:

 

1: long reviews with no paragraphs.

If it is one big block of text with no breaks, I will not even try to read it.

 

2: pages of a review on pre cruise stuff. I don't care how long you waited in the airport, what you ate on the plane, the check in process at the pre cruise hotel, etc. I will skip right over all of that to get the the actual cruise review.

 

3: sweeping generalizations, usually negative. i.e. "the food was inedible"

Really, so you didn't eat anything on the ship all week?

 

Lois

 

4: Personal information about the OP. I do not really care who your are or how many cruises you have taken.

 

5: Photographs of the OP or your dog. Who cares what you either of you look like.

 

6: Food pictures. I have been behind you in lines at the buffet. Get out of my way so I can get my food.

 

7: Bad pictures - this is my worse peeve. Has anyone noticed that almost all the pictures included in a review are horrible at best. If it is a crap picture, do not post it so that we can see that you do not know how to take photographs.

 

8. Reviews that take longer to read than the length of the cruise. Reviews should be short and to the point. The word is "review", not "diary". There is a difference.

 

9. Reviews with bad punctuation, spelling, proper use of upper and lower case letters. You begin a sentence with an upper case letter. You end the sentence with period. The word is "I", not "i".

 

DON

Edited January 7, 2015 by donaldsc

[DirtyDawg]

8. Reviews that take longer to read than the length of the cruise. Reviews should be short and to the point. The word is "review", not "diary". There is a difference.

 

DON

 

But Don this is Cruise Critic where the moto is "Why say something in 10 words when I can write 500 words about how I feel.";)

[dhill]

:eek:

I posted my honest opinion about the way RCCL does Owner suites compared to the way NCL does suites - both on both lines newer ships. There are pros and cons to both lines, but basically, I feel that NCL does suites much better than RCCL by providing more guest amenities and guest touch points through the butler and concierge. My hope with the review was the RCCL would read it and take action to upgrade the way they do suites and also that someone who wanted a comparison would understand the differences and know what to expect regardless of which line they chose. I did point out the good things about the RCCL ship as well as the things that could be better.

 

So my pet peeve is that we are supposed to be Cruise Critic and we are supposed to critique different cruises and compare and contrast, but even, when I tried to do this in a very fair and informative way, I found myself being attacked by RCCL "cheerleaders" who don't realize I'm trying to help RCCL make their suites better. If I can help a great cruise line like RCCL improve by telling them the difference between the customer experience on their ship and the customer experience in the same class cabin on their nearest competitor from a guest's perspective, then I believe I am doing them a great favor. The most important thing for any business in the service industry is understanding what your customers want and appreciate.

 

At times the cruise line specific "cheerleaders" try to get in the way of that which is, sadly and nonsensically, to their own detriment, IF they are indeed cruisers on that line at all. Sometimes I wonder if the "cheerleaders" here really are here to be honest with the cruise lines about their cruises. Maybe some of these people are actually trolls attempting subterfuge in order to undermine these companies, telling them they are perfect the way they are, and applying pressure to anyone who tells the truth in their reviews to silence them, while, in fact, cruising other lines. I hope not, but at times, their irrational, attacking and illogical posts look that way to me.

 

really long replys

[FamilyCruiseDiva]

As repeatedly mentioned by many others, I too am often annoyed by poor grammar. However, it is so common these days that trying to make those offenders aware of it seems pointless.

 

Several months ago, Weird Al Yankovic released a new song & video, "Word Crimes." When I find my head is about to explode after reading a wall of all lower-case, misspelled text, watching this video helps me to lighten up and laugh it off.

 

Please do an internet search for it and have a laugh!! :D

Edited January 7, 2015 by FamilyCruiseDiva

[Cruzaholic41]

A couple of my pet peeves are people who start a review and never finish it, and those who take several days, or even weeks, in between postings. I've come across a few like that.

 

That is my pet peeve. I can't stand reviews that take so long for the op to write. If your'e going to write a review, write it. Otherwise, don't start what you can't finish in a timely manner.

[Karysa]

As repeatedly mentioned by many others, I too am often annoyed by poor grammar. However, it is so common these days that trying to make those offenders aware of it seems pointless.

 

Several months ago, Weird Al Yankovic released a new song & video, "Word Crimes." When I find my head is about to explode after reading a wall of all lower-case, misspelled text, watching this video helps me to lighten up and laugh it off.

 

Please do an internet search for it and have a laugh!! :D

 

I believe that correcting grammer is against cc rules. It's considered impolite and a form of bullying from what I understand.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Karysa
tried to correct grammer as not to offend

[FamilyCruiseDiva]

I believe that correcting grammer is against cc rules. It's considered impolite and a form of bullying from what I understand.

 

I didn't know that, but that is a good idea. :)

 

It's not something I would likely do in a public forum (although those in my personal life can testify that they are not exempt for my oh-so-gentle reminders lol), but it's probably difficult for some to resist teasing even perfect strangers about spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.

 

Please forgive the run-on sentence. :p

[Karysa]

I didn't know that, but that is a good idea. :)

 

It's not something I would likely do in a public forum (although those in my personal life can testify that they are not exempt for my oh-so-gentle reminders lol), but it's probably difficult for some to resist teasing even perfect strangers about spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.

 

Please forgive the run-on sentence. :p

 

 

Not everyone is so polite. If correcting spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors were permitted the post counts on some folks would be crazy high! ;):p I have noticed this sort of behaviour on occasion. It usually occurs when tensions are running high and the post normally does not last long.;)

Edited January 7, 2015 by Karysa
sp

[JimAOk1945]

That is my pet peeve. I can't stand reviews that take so long for the op to write. If your'e going to write a review, write it. Otherwise, don't start what you can't finish in a timely manner.

 

Exactly! I would much rather read a review about a cruise that took place months, even a year ago, then to read it in maddening increments with weeks or months in between postings. It would be great if people would write their entire review, and after it's complete, copy it to CC.

[AZ Ocean Lover]

There were two things recently that actually caught my eye that I really liked -- one review was written by the 13 year old daughter. It was fun to read about the cruise experience from a young girl's perspective (and it was written quite well).

 

I like to hear about the food experience (even though it's subjective) but on a recent forum review, the reviewer took a picture of the menu and then pictures of the food. For some reason, this made it much more interesting. So often you are looking at food and don't know what it is.

[SteveH2508]

I can cope with most grammar/spelling horrors (I teach 16-19 year olds!), but dinning, desert and room stewart do grate somewhat.

[LOVINCRUIZIN]

My pet peeve is when a review is written by a cruiser who has been on multiple cruises, on the same ship, in the same year, and they complain about there not being enough variety.

 

The next pet peeve is when they nit-pick. "My cruise was ruined because I had a cracked tile on my bathroom floor." or "There was a rust spot." :eek: If something is broken, and it is crucial to the function of the ship, then yes, it may affect their experience. I usually stop reading when there is nit picking.

 

I am with you, Linda....they need to GET OVER IT :D

[LOVINCRUIZIN]

I can cope with most grammar/spelling horrors (I teach 16-19 year olds!), but dinning, desert and room stewart do grate somewhat.

 

 

clever :eek:

[Cruisin' Chick]

As repeatedly mentioned by many others, I too am often annoyed by poor grammar. However, it is so common these days that trying to make those offenders aware of it seems pointless.

 

Several months ago, Weird Al Yankovic released a new song & video, "Word Crimes." When I find my head is about to explode after reading a wall of all lower-case, misspelled text, watching this video helps me to lighten up and laugh it off.

 

Please do an internet search for it and have a laugh!! :D

As a former proofreader, I really enjoyed Weird Al's video. But then, I'm a major fan of his (even went to two of his concerts -- and I'm not even a 16-year boy:D).

 

Exactly! I would much rather read a review about a cruise that took place months, even a year ago, then to read it in maddening increments with weeks or months in between postings. It would be great if people would write their entire review, and after it's complete, copy it to CC.

 

I don't type reviews directly into Cruise Critic. Instead, I use Word (as well as Photobucket for the photos) and then copy and paste in segments into a thread for this forum as well as one or two others, and into a blog. I don't want to make each post too long. The six photo limit of Cruise Critic does help me break up my report.

[wdblake]

Annoyed

 

Reviews that tell you absolutely nothing but are more about what a good or bad time was had. I would like to know specifics. Details! Telling me the food, service , entertainment was "good" or "bad" is a complete waste of writing space.

 

People who think the staff are their best friends. Believe me that your cabin steward or waiter sees thousands of people over the months they serve. They don't remember you. Do you remember the name of the waitress at that restaurant you ate at two years ago?

 

People who post to brag about their suite or butlers. I get it, you have money but how does that help me plan my cruise?

 

Good

 

Telling me what you did in port. Maybe I might like your shore experience. Offer specifics!

What particular dish was yummy or really bad.

Helpful tips like where the best place to find a chair or best time to hit the hot tubs.

 

I guess I would sum it up by saying give me as much useful info as possible instead of a "How I spent my vacation" report.

 

I must say that my wife and I have gleaned many a useful tidbit from detailed posts from considerate people who want us to know what things we should do to make our experience better.

Edited January 7, 2015 by wdblake

[Porthopper101]

 

8. Reviews that take longer to read than the length of the cruise. Reviews should be short and to the point. The word is "review", not "diary". There is a difference.

 

DON

 

This one is supposed to be live, but it has been going on over a year. I did not read it. Anyone who starts by saying "Hi Guys" I am done.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1947801

 

 

M

Edited January 7, 2015 by Porthopper101

[donaldsc]

As repeatedly mentioned by many others, I too am often annoyed by poor grammar. However, it is so common these days that trying to make those offenders aware of it seems pointless.

 

Several months ago, Weird Al Yankovic released a new song & video, "Word Crimes." When I find my head is about to explode after reading a wall of all lower-case, misspelled text, watching this video helps me to lighten up and laugh it off.

 

Please do an internet search for it and have a laugh!! :D

 

 

DON

Edited January 8, 2015 by donaldsc

[Markanddonna]

Thanks, I almost sent it to my DD and SIL as they are English teachers but then that cunning... linguist part made me hesitate. It could get them in trouble if they showed it to their students. Still, very funny!

 

BTW- I still dangle some participles.