Civility on CC Board

[OCruisers]

I think Tomc nailed it for me. Sometimes even the most trivial or off hand comment can come across to the reciever as rude, argumentative, or snide when that wasn't the sender's intent. Actually I count myself lucky to have only gotten into one circumstance here with somebody who felt I was out of bounds with my comments. :o

 

So True! Never allow RUDE people to spoil your day! :D :p

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[kakalina]

Valentine's Mom & Mr. Black: Welcome to the playpen. We have been on many, many HAL cruises and have always come away with new friends; some longer lasting than others ;) .

 

I have found the boards here to be a font of knowlege and a good primer for what to expect on board. We have found the folks here to be friendly and helpful. This is the only message board I've ever dealt with so I can not compare it to others.

 

I have "met" quite a few folks here that I can't wait to meet in person and some I have met through these boards have become dear friends.

 

Enjoy your cruise, don't worry about what others are thinking, you won't ever see them again ( most likely) anyway!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Yes, Dave:D ... the HAL boards are way friendlier! Once you get the "lay of the land" you'll find these boards a great place to visit. But it takes awhile.

 

Are some over-critical sometimes? Probably ... but often that's a result of a fierce loyalty to the cruise line and all its employees. And believe me, there's some really strong loyalty here.

 

Sandifer, you have nothing to worry about onboard ... I've met some great friends on HAL ships. And if you're new to the HAL board, give it a chance. You will find that someone who's your friend one day may pounce on you the next. Just let it roll off you and think nothing of it ... and as many have mentioned you have to remember it's just words on a page.

 

The people who complain the most about how they're treated still keep coming back. So it can't be all bad;) . We all make mistakes. We all sometimes write something that doesn't come across the way we mean it. So it's good to give people the benefit of the doubt. If someone is continually obnoxious, just ignore them. I sure do.

 

ValentinesMom, hi!:) Royal must be like Celebrity ... that is one tough board as Dave says. I love to cruise Celebrity and I've never met anyone I didn't like on a Celebrity cruise.

 

So the board has nothing to do with the wonderful experience you'll have on HAL.

[SANDY BEACH]

Posts here are some times very strong. I have found a wealth of information from many loyal cruise critics and always enjoyed my time on the boards until yesterday. One negative comment in all the months I've posted to defend against another negative comment and now I feel like a criminal and feel I should leave. I didn't even start it. Thanks to all of you that have answered my questions and helped to make my cruise experiences so special. Smooth sailing to all.

[herb]

I've found everyone here at the HAL board very helpful when we were looking into booking our Oosterdam cruise and I was very grateful for all the answers to my questions regarding the ship, cabins, etc.

My wife and I are looking forward to our first HAL experience and we'll be taking my mother along (she has sailed on HAL before and really enjoyed her cruises).

When we come back from our Scandinavia cruise this summer we'll start looking into shore excursions for Mexico and I'm sure I'll get alot of help from everyone here at this forum as well as the Mexico forum.

[patwell]

Hello....I too am new to this board. Posting anyway as I've been reading fairly regularly as I consider booking my first HAL cruise next fall on the Westerdam. I've been mostly on the Cunard board as I will be sailing the QM2 in Dec and my fellow passenger Bramcruiser, who posted earlier, hit it pretty much on the head. We have had a fairly rough dose of negativity recently which I'm sure would put any newby off rather fast. It almost did to me when I first considered Cunard, but I hung in, found a wealth of helpful information and some very nice people and realized that it's best to ignore the negative posters. While I know it's impossible to always "read" the tone or intent of a post, it can make one reconsider their choice of cruise line...or ship.

 

I'll certainly do a search for the HAL secrets thread and look forward to reading and copying it for my future trip. We have one as well on Cunard...'what not to miss on the QM2"...a really wonderful collection of ship info by past pax. When it starts getting negative and depressing one of the long time posters will bump it up where it will be seen again by the new folks.

 

I guess it's just important to remember that the people we wil cruise with are no different than the people we cross paths with everyday..some we enjoy, others aren't our cup of tea. With the size of ships today it would seem a pretty easy thing to just avoid the unpleasant ones and enjoy your own day.

 

Thanks to those of you whose advice and suggestions have been very hekpful to me in considering a first HAL adventure. Cheers, Penny

[SDHALFAN]

Sometimes it seems to be that many people on the HAL Cruisecritic Board are often very judgemental in answering questions. I am even reluctant to post this because I am afraid it will just invite some responses that I would rather not read. I have not sailed on HAL before; I have sailed often on Celebrity. Now with a cruise scheduled soon on Hal, I am a little worried that I will find the same attitudes on ship that I sometimes find on this board. I try to behave well on ships and expect others to do the same, but it disturbs me to think that I might be constantly judged, in terms of dress, tipping policy, etc. Please tell me it isn't so.[/quote

 

 

Hi Sandifer, and welcome to the HAL board.

 

I see that you have "sailed often on Celebrity" and are about to take your first HAL cruise. You have some trepidation - that's understandable - and now you are worried that you will find the same attitudes on a HAL ship that you sometimes find on this board. Don't give it a second thought - just relax and prepare to enjoy your cruise and understand that the people who post on this board are just like the people that post on the Celebrity board. There are some really nice people on the Celebrity board and there are some who constantly judge others in terms of dress, tipping policy, etc., in fact they can get down right nasty at times, just like here.

 

Have a wonderful cruise aboard a HAL ship and please let us know upon your return how the HAL cruise compared to a Celebrity cruise.

 

Vallerie:)

[LHC]

I have found in the last 9 months that most of the responders are courteous, kind, and very informative. The regulars Heather in Florida, Rev. Neal, JHannah, and many many others are regular nice and kind individuals, oh and how could I forget Brian!

Everynow and then there is a controversial topic or a Hot, unhappy person who just blasts away. Take these as a normal response from a misery human being, or a hormonal female, or just a hothead responding without thinking.

As my mouth and brain work very quickly, I have to be extremely careful not to spew when angry....some things are harder to eat and swallow the second time around.

Some people I have learned from reading the boards,are those that God has set aside to make you possibly rethink a position, not a bad thing but sometimes perceived as such. Some just like taking an opposing view and running with it (remember we have lawyers on this board too)!

Just write and read and enjoy. Overlooking some short comings. I find that when people truly speak out of turn, the thread dies quickly.

Linda

[Sandifer]

Thanks for all the nice and very civil responses to my original posting. Maybe I was just overreacting to some things that I had recently read on the Boards. Looking forward to my first cruise on HAL.

[HeatherInFlorida]

.................. While I know it's impossible to always "read" the tone or intent of a post, it can make one reconsider their choice of cruise line...or ship.

 

...............

 

 

Oh, Penny, I hope not!!! Never reconsider a line or a ship based on anything you read here. As someone posted earlier, the vast majority of people you'll meet up with on a ship aren't posting here.

 

So you could reconsider the board, but please don't reconsider a ship based on what people write here.

 

Believe me it took a long while (and I mean at least a year) for me to feel even slightly comfortable here. But eventually you find your niche and the kind of threads where you're comfortable. And it doesn't hurt to learn the ability to let it all roll off you like water off a duck's back:) .

 

(and thanks so much, Linda ... you made my day!!!:) )

[patwell]

Thanks Heather...I appreciate your concern. When I was first considering QM2 I found these boards and was intrigued with the info available. Unfortunately one of the first things I read was a SCATHING review of the QM2...this person must have walked around with a clipboard and found fault with everything!! It really made me stop and think...luckily I found other reviews of the same trip he had taken and all were glowing. I have been on the boards long enough now to sift out the chronic complainers and get what I am looking for from others who are most helpful. But I wonder how many new people who haven't the travel experience get put off by some of the negative posters.

 

I'm eagerly waiting for our cruise on QM2 but not til Dec!! HAsn't stopped me from shopping for it as I just returned today with the gown to-die-for!! Qm2's schedule has her sailing all next winter from NYC and I have no desire to do that so I am looking at a HAL cruise from Lauderdale. Just so much easier for us....we live in SC but have a vacation home on Hutchinson Island so sailing from Lauderdale for us is a breeze. HAL got such good reviews and offers the type of cruise we prefer. We're a little too old for rock climbing walls and the like. Thus I've been hanging out here and reading as I did with QM2 only now I'm looking ahead and in time will surely be asking for advice about the Westerdam as she is doing an itinerary next Nov that we like.

 

You really gave me a laugh with your "water off a duck's back" comment. Many years ago I gave seminars for high producer sales people and the title was "water off a ducks back"...had to do with rejection and how to handle it...came complete with a session of mimicing a duck shaking the water off his back side. And the symbolism always seemed to work for them. So I shall practise that little maneuver myself! Thanks for the laugh...and the advice. Cheers, Penny

[Bramcruiser]

Thanks Heather for the encouragement to Penny here over at the HAL boards. Penny was absolutely correct in some of the aspects - that sometimes negativity just breeds negativity and if there are no positive responses back then one questions why they have ever joined in the first place. To be honest I never felt this way over here at the HAL board. Yeah, there has been some incidents but the people here are fairly civilized and are helpful.

 

To be fair, the Cunard bunch turned out to be a decent bunch as well but I felt exactly the same way as Penny when I first decided to join the Dec 2 QM2 cruise. One would think that Cunard sold out to Disney and stopped providing a quality service and that only those people of average means who shouldn't be there where the only ones booking and embarrasing those far superior to the rest of us. The comments started getting downright insulting which I never experienced the same level here. Fortunately someone mentioned the negativity over at the Cunard board and instead of a flame war.......................the average joe came out and started to commend the line for all the good aspects and gave helpful advise , along with a few fun pointers, to us newbies. So in comparison I was exactly the same as Penny over there. I must admit that it really is not that way at Cunard and those negative people who made us feel that way are either gone or laying low. We now know more so I doubt Penny and I would let people do this to us again.

 

I know what you mean Heather about taking some time to feel comfortable here. I still feel like an outsider despite being here since last fall. However, I don't believe its a deliberate snub. I think the crowd here is more tight and sometimes a newbie has to earn the trust and respect of the others. However, I never felt that an outsider was a bad person in the land of HAL.

 

Penny, welcome to HAL and I hope things do go your way in booking the Westerdam for 2007. I still think HAL is a good fit and the iteniary you are looking at looks great. And I'll definitely BBQ for you on my balcony on the QM2 in Dec.

[HeatherInFlorida]

A final note on the "insider"/"outsider" feel sometimes on this board (and way more so on the Celebrity board) ... sometimes it does seem to take a while to kind of break into the group that seems to have formed. But everyone is truly very welcoming especially as they get to know you more. It's kind of like moving onto a street where a lot of people know each other. After you're here awhile you get to know people and get along with some better than others, but there's always someone you will like.

 

As far as the negativity, once you're here for a long time you do come to realize that we have "visitors" from time to time who come in to stir the pot and try to rile everyone. I'm as guilty as the next one in giving into it and fighting back. And I kick myself every time I "bite". But they always end up getting bored and go away. The people who linger here are honestly people who just love to cruise ... mostly on HAL.

 

And then there's me who prefers Celebrity just a bit, but they forgive me for that;) .

 

All in all, when the chips are down and you learn the duck routine, it's a great bunch of people who love to talk about cruising between cruises.

 

Penny, our next cruise is also in December. I love the planning and the shopping and the looking forward. It's half the fun:) ! So enjoy ... and I hope you love the Queen Mary.

[Bramcruiser]

So Heather, does this mean you decided on the Prinsendam after all? That cruise leaves on the same day as Penny's (and my) QM2 cruise. We have to wave at each other from our respective ships!

 

David

[tomc]

patwell - post #36

Unfortunately one of the first things I read was a SCATHING review of the QM2 ... this person must have walked around with a clipboard and found fault with everything!!

There is a classic HAL review somewhere on the Internet; it is so incredibly negative, to the tenth degree, that it approaches being funny. But the guy is serious. He found things wrong that nobody but someone obsessively attentive to small details would have noticed. I'm surprised he didn't send the water in the toilet out for chemical analysis. Maybe he did and I missed it.

[RevNeal]

Tom,

 

I'd love to read it. Got any idea what ship it was for and any other details that might help me find it?

[HeatherInFlorida]

So Heather, does this mean you decided on the Prinsendam after all? That cruise leaves on the same day as Penny's (and my) QM2 cruise. We have to wave at each other from our respective ships!

 

David

 

Yes! We did! But we're out of FLL. Aren't you going out of NY? I'll wave anyway:D .

[patwell]

Thanks Bramcruiser....appreciate the welcome here and your camaraderie over on our Roll Call. And you're so right...no one's negativity will spoil our cruise, no matter which ship it's on. By the by, will a 40 lb kingfish do for the "barbie"??

 

Heather...we'll definitely wave if you're leaving Lauderdale on Dec 2nd. I'll be the one with the grin from ear to ear...can't miss me! I love your "tag line" by the way. I hug my big fur person every chance I get! He's a big Golden Retriever who has just become a certified Therapy Dog so he can share all that goldie love with people who could use a little cheer in their day. We're soooo proud of him, and the hugging part comes very easy!

 

Tom C....thanks for warning me about this review. I'd hate to stumble on it! Sounds like the Cunard obsessive compulsive guy. I almost feel sorry for people like that who can't find any joy in life. thankfully I'm a bit more "board savvy" now and better able to ignore these obvious rants.

Cheers, Penny

[Bramcruiser]

Yes! We did! But we're out of FLL. Aren't you going out of NY? I'll wave anyway:D .

 

No No No! The QM2 trip of December 2 is also out of Fort Lauderdale so we may even cross paths at the terminal on the same day without knowing it. I'll definitely keep an eye out for the Prinsendam and wave to it anyway. It would be extra kewl if both our ships went by each other too.

 

Penny, bring along the "Hello Prinsendam" banner for your balcony!

 

David:)

[SDHALFAN]

Tom,

 

I'd love to read it. Got any idea what ship it was for and any other details that might help me find it?

 

 

Tom.

 

I would love to read the review also.

 

It is truly amazing the ability (?) some people have to nitpick. My husband and I were on the first leg of the Rotterdam's Inaugural Grand World Voyage back in 1998 and for some reason were invited, along with three other couples, to a Q and A session with the Captain and the Hotel Manager. They of course asked us how we were enjoying our cruise and how did we like the ship, etc. My review was very short and succinct, and I quote, "I'm having a wonderful time and I absolutely love the ship, she is gorgeous". I was totally floored when one of the other invitees complained that there was some dirt on the floors of the public restrooms - how much time does this man spend in the public restrooms? Anyway, the Hotel Manager replied that it was not dirt, it was simply the residue from the grout process and that it would dissipate very quickly with the daily cleaning process. This gentleman had about 20 other complaints but I just tuned him out I'm afraid since I had no idea how he found anything to complain about.

 

Now, I'm pretty sure that I may have visited the public restrooms as often as the aforementioned gentleman but I never noticed any "dirt" on the floors. Maybe I'm just not picky enough - or maybe I'm just too busy having a good time to find anything to complain about.

 

Valerie:D

[Grumpy1]

I love your "tag line" by the way. I hug my big fur person every chance I get! He's a big Golden Retriever who has just become a certified Therapy Dog so he can share all that goldie love with people who could use a little cheer in their day. We're soooo proud of him, and the hugging part comes very easy!

You need the bumper sticker I saw the other day... My Golden Retriever is smarter than your Honor Student :D

[julia]

Very interesting thread!

 

I've been an active member of cruise critic for six years now (I know my post count doesn't reflect it, but it was reset a few years back, and I frankly don't really post unless I feel I can contribute). These boards have been an invaluable source of information and amusement to me over the years! I tend to gravitate towards whichever board I currently have a cruise booked with, and I too have been amazed at the differences between them. I've spent time on RCI, Princess, Carnival & HAL's boards and although I don't have a cruise currently booked on HAL, I often come to this board to peruse the conversations. The posters here are (for the most part) fun and informative. So to the OP.... please don't feel judged by anyone, either on yor screen or onboard your ship. Most people are too busy living their own lives to really judge yours. Have a lovely cruise!

[patwell]

Grumpy1....I LOVE it!!! HAve to keep an eye out for that one! Cheers, Penny

[tech]

You will love Hal. On board you just go your way and have fun your way.

 

Most of the people are too busy having their own fun to notice what others are doing.

 

Unless one streaks naked down the pool area !

 

However, there is a pack or clique on this board that does seem to indulge in group attacks.

 

You will know them when you see them and you can go the other way.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I'm so excited that we'll get to see the QM2 in Lauderdale! I didn't know that! Look for us on the starboard side (I made an exception ... we're always on the port). Our cabin is #197 which is the very last one on Promenade Deck. There are only 4 balconies on that deck and ours is the farthest toward the stern.

 

I'll definitely wave to the Queen Mary!!!

 

Grumpy, I have a bumper sticker that says "My dog is smarter than your honor student", but I finally put it on my fridge instead. I got some pretty nasty looks:o !

 

Penny, good for you with your Golden being a Therapy dog!!! They are awesome. My avatar and tagline are in honor of our cat Sammie (15) who is terribly ill we're having to say good-bye. Thank you for noticing and give your dog an extra hug in her memory ... I'd really appreciate it:) .