See the good in bad cruise reviews
Have you ever been excited to take a cruise only to get discouraged after reading bad cruise reviews? Reviews aren’t always what they seem, so before you get too disappointed, take a closer look.
The first thing to look out for when reading bad cruise reviews is the reviewer himself. There are some people in this world who are never satisfied with anything and just like to complain even when they are on vacation. You also have another group of people who want something free and are complaining left and right in an attempt to receive a discount or something free. Being a former hospitality employee, I know this all too well.
On the other hand, you have people who are laid back and rarely complain about anything. These are the complaints that should speak to us the most, because if these people complain, it’s usually for a good cause.
So how do you know when to take bad cruise reviews seriously and when to dismiss them? You have to look at each complaint individually. For example, if you read a review and the reviewer has a lot of good things to say about a particular cruise line, but then complains about a room attendant’s rudeness, chances are they actually perceive the room attendant as being rude. room is rude as that is the only complaint they had. Now, that’s not to say that a completely bad cruise review isn’t justified. If a reviewer has a lot of complaints about the service, food quality, etc., but still mentions positive points, it’s probably a legitimate review.
However, if you read bad reviews of cruise ships where the complaints are about small, irrelevant issues, like not liking the color of the carpet in your stateroom or not mentioning any good points, chances are the reviewer likes to complain. A sure way to determine if that is the case is to read other reviews of the same cruise.
You also have to look at the structure of bad cruise reviews. True reviews should mention the good and bad points. Even the worst vacation has its good points, so you should be a little hesitant when making any decision based on a completely negative review. Especially if all the other reviews in this category are good cruise reviews.
When it comes down to it, your vacation is what you make it! So while you should consider the reviews a bit, you should also consider whether the issues raised in the review are enough to make you not want to take a particular cruise. Personally, I’m very laid back when I’m on vacation, so it would take several horrendous cruise reviews to change my mind. I’m on vacation and I’m going to have an amazing time no matter what the reviews say!