Cruise Polls

[editor@cruisecritic]

I'm curious and would love your feedback. We just ran a story on the fact that a ship that Conde Nast Traveler's readers' poll deemed the fifth best cruise vessel among mid-sized ships, was included in error. The magazine says it disagrees.

 

See the story here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=3041.

 

How much do surveys like this one (and Travel + Leisure's and frankly our own Editor's Picks poll from 2008) influence you when choosing a cruise? Will you participate in our poll about, er, surveys?

 

And of course feel free to weigh in here....

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

[bravestar]

For me, it's just another piece of the puzzle that helps me determine what selection to make. It's never the linchpin of the decision - I'm just not dazzled by the fact that I'm sailing on Conde Nast Traveler's Best Ship of 2008 or something.

[paul929207]

These surveys have no influence on my choice of cruise lines, cruise ships or destinations. My wife and I have cruised and taken land cruises all over the world, so I think I know enough to make up my own mind. So surveys like these do not influence me.

[Essiesmom]

The flaw in the polls is that only the people who read the mag. vote in the polls. EM

[ab0si]

I really do not care what Ms. X or Mr. Z care about Brand Y.

 

One of the advantages of sites like this (and your sister site, tripadvisor) is that after reading the boards for awhile, one can get a sense of:

 

1) who has similar interests and tastes

2) who knows of what they write and who just writes

3) pluses AND negatives and discussed. Of course,some people's plus are my negatives and vice versa .. hence the value of discussions over polls and surveys.

[ancldaca]

I look at all polls, including those here, as just a general guide. However, consistent low/high ratings across many different polls/sites would carry more weight.

 

I guess cars would love that ferry too. They are not allowed to board a Princess ship... :rolleyes:

[editor@cruisecritic]

Well put, Paul, I agree 100 percent.

 

The other polls that bug me -- and just saw one in the UK last week -- are the best ships polls. They don't make sense. How can Star Princess really be better than Golden or Grand? One of the categories in this poll on cruise.co.uk was "best shore excursions". Sapphire Princess won. But Princess uses the same tour guides, offers the same tours, for all of its ships that go to a certain port. So how can Sapphire be better than, say Royal or Crown?

 

Okay, climbing off my soapbox.

 

I can see doing polls about best cruise LINES for stuff, like dining, tour operations and such. But best ships, not so much?

 

Would love your opinions, pro and con, re this!

 

Carolyn

 

I really do not care what Ms. X or Mr. Z care about Brand Y.

 

One of the advantages of sites like this (and your sister site, tripadvisor) is that after reading the boards for awhile, one can get a sense of:

 

1) who has similar interests and tastes

2) who knows of what they write and who just writes

3) pluses AND negatives and discussed. Of course,some people's plus are my negatives and vice versa .. hence the value of discussions over polls and surveys.

[marshacruises]

Surveys and ratings are just the start of my search. Not everyone likes dressing up for formal night, I do, not everyone likes sitting around the pool, I don't, etc. If there are a lot of people who rate a ship as great, I will look at where the ship goes, read the experiences of Cruise Critic posters, then make my own decision.

 

There must be a lot of commuters who use the Viking XPRs to get to and from their jobs and consider it their only vacation (2.5 hours). It must be better than not cruising at all.:)

[editor@cruisecritic]

LOL, that never occured to me that cars could've voted. The auto lobbyists probably had a hand in it....

 

Carolyn

 

I look at all polls, including those here, as just a general guide. However, consistent low/high ratings across many different polls/sites would carry more weight.

 

I guess cars would love that ferry too. They are not allowed to board a Princess ship... :rolleyes:

[ab0si]

Well put, Paul, I agree 100 percent.

 

The other polls that bug me -- and just saw one in the UK last week -- are the best ships polls. They don't make sense. How can Star Princess really be better than Golden or Grand? One of the categories in this poll on cruise.co.uk was "best shore excursions". Sapphire Princess won. But Princess uses the same tour guides, offers the same tours, for all of its ships that go to a certain port. So how can Sapphire be better than, say Royal or Crown?

 

Okay, climbing off my soapbox.

 

I can see doing polls about best cruise LINES for stuff, like dining, tour operations and such. But best ships, not so much?

 

Would love your opinions, pro and con, re this!

 

Carolyn

 

It is a good soap box, so don't lose it. :)

 

The problems with "Best cruise line for (food) -- replace with any catagory at will."

 

1) Let's say that responders and proportional to passengers. Since people answering the poll are likely repeat passengers, they LIKE their cruise experiences. Therefore the larger lines win.

 

2) External factors will not be excluded. In the example I gave, while I asked about food, folks who don't like tuxes and gowns will downgrade those lines which have formal nights.

 

3) The questions do not qualify the respondents. For example, in the sample question, there should be a qualifier, such as: If the choice was White Castle, Domino's Pizza or starvation, which would you choose? Anyone not choosing starvation would be disqualified. :) (For left coasters: think Jack-in--the-Box, but then downgrade it fro White Castle). Just as validly, those who like sliders should not have to relay on my answers.

 

In general, I think polls are the wrong tool for assisting one in making most purchases. (there are partial exceptions for some things: warranty service, was it delivered on time, did it work out of the box, etc.). they are helpful for SELLERS of products an services who need to reach their target markets. But, note the "target" in that statement. Crystal and Seaborne really could not care less if their product appeals to those not willing to spend more than $X/day for a cruise. Carnival (the line, not the conglomerate) could not care less about those who want, can pay for and WILL pay for luxury.

 

On the consumer side, if I want and will pay for luxury why would I care and am 74 years old, the inclusion of twentysomethings thinkng of upgrading to Carnival from easyCruise invalidates the poll out of the box (and the same is equally true if you reverse the players).

 

Different strokes for different folks. One strange example: The dear departed Orient Lines (when it was still independent) would have gotten from me the worst rating in food and the best. Worst: the stuff they served passengers. Best: ordering (unofficially, but it worked) from the crew kitchen for the Filipino crew. If you like Filipino cooking AND knew how to pull this off, you were in foodie heaven; otherwise, you ate LOTS of salad.

[Happy ks]

I find them interesting, but would not base my choice on polls. I'm more inclined to read actual person reviews and even then I read more than one online site.

 

I've always found it odd for people to compare cruise lines based on food. We've cruised on 7 different lines and it all seems to be pretty much the same, similar to hotel banquet food. Maybe because I worked at a hotel years ago and ate banquet food frequently I don't find it all that spectacular.

 

BTW, Carolyn, one of my favorite places to be on CC while not on the boards is the review board. Now that is a valuable tool to help make a choice :)

[smeyer418]

I have always discounted this list. Its mostly nose in the air time. They don't like the mass lines much.

[printingchick]

My decisions are influenced far more by cruise reviews. I take member reviews on CC very seriously - and have since my very first cruise.

[bumbles]

Well put, Paul, I agree 100 percent.

 

The other polls that bug me -- and just saw one in the UK last week -- are the best ships polls. They don't make sense. How can Star Princess really be better than Golden or Grand? One of the categories in this poll on cruise.co.uk was "best shore excursions". Sapphire Princess won. But Princess uses the same tour guides, offers the same tours, for all of its ships that go to a certain port. So how can Sapphire be better than, say Royal or Crown?

 

Okay, climbing off my soapbox.

 

I can see doing polls about best cruise LINES for stuff, like dining, tour operations and such. But best ships, not so much?

 

Would love your opinions, pro and con, re this!

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn, what I find really amusing is that oftentimes they offer prize incentives for filling out these surveys/polls. The opportunity to win these prize offerings wind up on sweepstakes & contests lists all over the internet. People who have possibly never cruised in their lives will submit their 'favorites' just for the chance to win one of the prizes. This totally skews the results...I do not believe in these polls one bit!

[editor@cruisecritic]

Interesting point, bumbles, wasn't aware of that....

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn, what I find really amusing is that oftentimes they offer prize incentives for filling out these surveys/polls. The opportunity to win these prize offerings wind up on sweepstakes & contests lists all over the internet. People who have possibly never cruised in their lives will submit their 'favorites' just for the chance to win one of the prizes. This totally skews the results...I do not believe in these polls one bit!

[flamomo]

"Best ship" is too subjective and too wide a category to have any value.

[RetireeWannabee]

I don't put much stock into what anyone else likes. Reviews, "Best" this or that, "Most Popular", these aren't things that generally appeal to me. I tend to go my own way and will do a ton of independent research to determine what's best for me.

 

I don't necessarily find such things silly, I just don't find them to be helpful To Me.

[2Cruise4Ever]

Polls are so very subjective (just like reviews). What makes one person happy may make another unhappy. I put much more stock in CC reviews. I'll read dozens of them before I make a decision. But, I also know that my worst day on a cruise is better than my best day at work. So, even though I read the reviews, I still may make my decision no matter what is said. I put no stock in polls whatsoever (except those here on CC because I know that poll-takers are avid cruisers for the most part).

[Aquahound]

I say this in general....

 

I have found poll results to be at least somewhat accurate. When you look at them, you tend to see the ships that cruisers right here on CC boast as their favorites....eg Celebrity Constellation, Mariner of the Seas, so there has to be some merit to them.

 

What I have found to be odd, though, is when a particular ship is high in the polls and an exact sister ship isn't even mentioned.

[Grandpaul]

How can you rate cruises without the cost being factored in?

[editor@cruisecritic]

Exactly! I was saying the same thing, that how can Star Princess be significantly better than Grand or Golden? Or Summit and Constellation. Sure there are differences -- captains and hotel directors all make a significant impact, positively or negatively. But I mean, consistently rating one ship in a class over another is just ridiculous....

 

Carolyn

 

I say this in general....

 

I have found poll results to be at least somewhat accurate. When you look at them, you tend to see the ships that cruisers right here on CC boast as their favorites....eg Celebrity Constellation, Mariner of the Seas, so there has to be some merit to them.

 

What I have found to be odd, though, is when a particular ship is high in the polls and an exact sister ship isn't even mentioned.

[editor@cruisecritic]

You really can't, Grandpaul, and thanks for raising the question. We have a relatively new "value for money" category in our editorial ship reviews and what that means is -- are you getting what you paid for (and then some?)?

 

My expectations on a 4 night, $100 Bahamas cruise on Norwegian Sky (a somewhat "old" ship) would be a heck of a lot different than on a 14-night South America cruise on Seabourn that was $400 a day.

 

So Seabourn might (or might not) rate a higher score on cabins, service and food -- but the crucial rating is value for money. If it scores a 4 (good but not exceptional) and Norwegian Sky scores a 4.5, well, the former performed badly and the latter performed well.

 

I remember only a few ships that have really surprised me for the good and I factored the average cruise cost into the overall ranking. One was RCI's Jewel of the Seas, about 6 months after its launch. It was exceptional. Another, more recently, was MSC's Fantasia, three weeks after launch. Excellent. Exceeded expectations (though it's important to note that expectations, after its first two cruises after launch were somewhat disastrous were fairly low). A trip on Silversea's Silver Wind on the other hand, failed, expectation-wise for reasons noted in the review.

 

It's complicated.

 

And there's no way a simple "best ship" poll can begin to provide the info and guidance that most of us look for when choosing not only a cruise line but also an individual ship.

 

Carolyn

 

 

 

 

 

How can you rate cruises without the cost being factored in?

[Grandpaul]

Absolutely correct Carolyn. A couple key phrases there, "expectations" and "value for money". That is how I rate a cruise for the most part. But those phrases encompass many things. Not the same as picking Miss America.

[spongerob]

How can anyone say that one ship is "best" until they've tried them all?

 

Now, if you'd like a volunteer to try them all for you, I'll give you my drect number...:)

 

Even then, it would be tough. One of our very best, and one of our very worst cruises were on the same ship.

[ILoveScotland]

Thanks, Carolyn, for asking the question.

 

In my opinion, polls are fun to read, but that's all.

 

We make our decisions based on itinerary more than anything else. Other than that I just love being on the sea and think sea days are great.

 

We rarely go to shows or participate in activities and often eat in the buffet at night rather than the main dining room. So, these days, a comfortable cabin preferably with a balcony and good service from all of the ship's crew are all that's important. But in many ways my favorite cruises remain the two Windjammer Barefoot Cruises DH and I took in the mid 1990s, and those ships would not have made it to the top of any poll.