Reviews….do you read them??

…I know I do….whether I’m booking a hotel, a day trip, a cruise or whether I’m buying something new for my kitchen, a new car….whatever it may be I always have a quick look at the reviews on line. They usually help with my decisions and give me a good idea of might suit or what we will like but I do try not to let them influence me too much because of course they are based on opinions of people you don’t know.

I like to do my research before I book my holidays whether that be a cruise or a hotel. As the cruise/travel agent in the family it’s left to me usually to choose our holiday destination or our cruise and with this comes the pressure of getting it right. Of course if it’s a cruise I know what will suit my family, what ships to choose, what type of cabin we would prefer, so it’s easy for me to book us a cruise confident we are all going to love. When it comes to hotels around the world this takes more research on my part to get it right for us. I read the reviews on various sites, speak to other people that have been there and this helps me with the decisions and helps me to get it right!

You of course  have to take some reviews with a pinch of salt, surely the reviews where every aspect of the cruise are terrible can’t be true. I think usually what happens is that something upsets your cruise holiday, and this then spirals and you begin to notice lots of other points that perhaps aren’t quite as you expected. I think it is really important if something does go wrong or there is something you aren’t enjoying you don’t allow it to spoil the rest of your cruise. The same goes for any kind of holiday not just a cruise.

Remember when you are reading reviews don’t take each review as fact, skim over a good few and you will soon get a balanced view of what it’s like. Obviously if every review you look at says the food is terrible, there is a strong chance it may not be the best cruise food you have tasted. However if it’s just one persons opinion and the others don’t mention it I would put that down to the personal preference of that particular cruiser.

Another tip which seems so obvious is to do your research and read the reviews BEFORE making your booking. It’s no good booking the cruise you think is for you on line to find out actually it’s not what you thought it was. Read the reviews, give us a call and ask all those questions..that’s what we are here for, to guide you and make sure the cruise you book is the one for you! It takes me back to my last cruise on board Navigator of the Seas, a week’s cruise from Southampton in May of this year, as our first cruise as a family we loved it and knew it was half term so expected there would be lots of children on board…over 1000 to be precise! The passengers that had booked the cruise themselves with very little research had not realized it was in fact a school holiday cruise were very upset and shocked at the number of children on board!

Here at cruise.co.uk we have the best review section on our website, you can choose your cruise line, your ship, you can read honest and real reviews from our customers. I often sit and have a read of some of my customers reviews and I really do enjoy them. What better way to find out about a cruise you are possibly looking to book than from someone who has experienced it themselves first hand.

Do you read reviews, do you use our website to check them out before booking your cruise? Or do you not bother reading any reviews and make you own mind up once on board? I would love to hear your thoughts as always and do get in touch if I can help with any questions or quotes.

Until next time Abbi x