Have you ever been excited about taking a cruise only to feel disheartened after reading bad cruise reviews? Reviews aren't always what they seem, so before becoming too disappointed you need to take a deeper look at them.
The first thing you have to consider when reading bad cruise reviews is the reviewer themselves. There are some people in this world who are never satisfied with anything and simply like to complain, even when on vacation. You also have another set of people who want something for nothing and will complain left and right in an attempt to receive a discount or something for free. Being a former hospitality employee I know this far too well.
On the flip side of that you have people who are laid back and rarely complain about anything at all. These are the complaints that should speak to us the loudest, because if these people are complaining it's usually for 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 all good things to say about a particular cruise line but then voices a complaint about the rudeness of a room steward, chances are they truly perceived the room steward as being rude since it's the only complaint they had. Now that is not to say a completely bad cruise review isn't justified. If a reviewer states many complaints about service, quality of food, etc but still mentions good points, this is probably a legitimate review.
However, if you read bad cruise reviews where the complaints are for small, irrelevant issues such as not liking the color of the carpet in their stateroom or mention no good points what so ever, chances are the reviewer just likes to complain. A sure-fire way to determine if that is the case is to read other reviews for the same cruise.
You also have to look at the structure of bad cruise reviews. True reviews should make mention of the good and bad points. Even the worst of vacations have their good points, so you should be a bit hesitant to make any decisions based on one completely negative review. Especially if all 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 give reviews a bit of consideration, 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 make me change my mind. I'm on vacation and going to have an amazing time no matter what any review has to say!
