Travel Reviews: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

By the title, you probably are assuming I am going to list some hotels, cruises or some of my other travels as my good, bad or ugly experiences.  But I am not.  This article is strictly for the purpose of addressing reviews themselves....again.

The more popular travel forums and review sites become, the more critical it is for readers to take them with a grain of salt.  Here is why I say that.  Below is an example of how the same cruise experience can be shared on some of these forums by 2 different travelers:

Traveler 1--”This cruise was the absolute worst I have ever been on.  The service was something near what you would get at K-Mart the day after Christmas.  The staff were all ogres.  The food was rancid and sent 95% of the passengers to the infirmary to have their stomachs pumped.  Our stateroom smelled of musty gym socks mixed with a hint of septic system.  The shows were at the pre-school talent level. NEVER take this cruise.  RUN RUN!!”

Traveler 2--”We just got back from our cruise aboard XYZ ship and we had the best time of our lives.  The service was 5 star.  The food was something we would expect to get while visiting the Queen of England.  Our stateroom was superb and even had the faint scent of lilac which added to the ambiance. The entertainment was straight off of Broadway.  Can’t wait to get back on this ship again.”

Now think about those 2 reviews for a moment.  How is it possible for the same ship to get 2 different reviews at such extreme opposite ends of the spectrum?  Well...the truth of how the cruise actually was and actually will be is probably somewhere near the middle as most are.  All trips, hotels, cruises etc have their good and not so good points or maybe I should call them “areas of improvement.”  But what bothers me about reviews is that so many of them are extremes and some take them as the gospel truth and make decisions based on them. 

I recently was reading on a travel forum and someone had posted some negative news and I was shocked to see how many believing that one post and acting as if it were enough for them to make a decision.  NOOO!!  Don’t do that.  Those that write VERY negative reviews are most likely in one of the following categories:

1) An extreme fan of a competing cruise line or company
2) A spoiled traveler who has a very unrealistic view of reality
3) A very unhappy person in general and nothing will make them happy
4) Someone who had a very unfortunate experience that was not typical and resolution was not to their satisfaction

Even if the negative review came from the someone who had a very unfortunate experience, other travelers should give more weight to the overall rating and not base a decision on one person’s skewed perspective.  And trust me...if you see someone who says, ”the food was hideous” on their cruise, they are not someone grounded in reality.  If someone says, “the food was always cold,”  maybe they were eating only on the fruit buffet or maybe they were coming to breakfast at a time when the buffet was about to be changed from breakfast to lunch.  Those are the details that most negative reviewers leave out of their synopsis.

So in summary...read reviews with a grain of salt if you read them at all.  Understand that every traveler has their own viewpoint of the level of service they receive and they may not be giving ALL of the story.  The "Good" reviews, in my opinion, are those who offer more than just the good side or the bad side; they will usually give detail about the good and also about why they may view something as not so good.  They are balanced and you can tell that the writer was trying to be objective.  Look for those if you want to get a true picture of how a place or a cruise might be. 

Criteria for Selecting a Hotel

A short video discussing some of the things you should consider before you select the hotel you will be staying at during your vacation. I would love to get your thoughts or comments.

Don't Be Rude!

Ok...this article as been a long time coming. I have written on the subject of staying calm while traveling and how important it is to not lose your cool when things don't go your way. Sometimes losing your cool may be justified when those in charge lack any resemblance of care when you are calmly trying to get them to recognize your reservation or accommodate you somehow because the airline canceled your flight etc. But please recognize the difference between losing your cool and being just plain rude.

Honestly though, this article is not addressing the times when things have gone awry on your travels. Nope, unfortunately I am addressing those travelers who feel it is socially acceptable to be rude just because you are "so and so" from "XYZ city" or country. Let me make this perfectly clear...rude behavior is never acceptable. NEVER! I don't care who you are and where you are from, no worker at any hotel, resort, or on any cruise line or tour bus deserves to be treated rudely.

Let me give you an example of some of my observations while traveling around our country and abroad. Mr. or Mrs. Tourist sits down at the resort restaurant in Mexico. Said tourist then begins to yell orders at his or her server from several feet away while server is trying to listen to and understand another group of foreign tourists at a table across the room. The poor server is trying to understand some of the worst examples of our English language while orders are being thrown at him or her with not even a simple thank you or a pleasant "pardon me." Mr. or Mrs. Tourist somehow has forgotten that they are the visitor in a foreign land and expect everyone around them to speak and understand as they do and to jump at their beck and call. That is just plain rude in my book.

So many times we like to complain about ABC foreign city and say they have such rude citizens blah blah blah. When, in reality, we (U.S. citizens) can be some of the most rude travelers I have ever seen.

I have witnessed foreign travelers in Japan turn up their noses as they read a menu and then have the gall to ask someone who can barely understand every other word..."don't you have something with chicken in it?" Or they get mad at the Japanese server because their eggs were not cooked exactly like the way we are used to here in the U.S.

Please remember when you are traveling abroad (no matter where you are from), you are the visitor. You are the foreigner. You are the guest and show some manners for Pete's sake and represent your own Country with respect and humility. No one deserves to be treated rudely ever! You, the traveler, are the one speaking funny when you are in a foreign country so remember that and speak slow and be courteous if you are not easily understood and think about how others feel when they come to your Country and have a hard time communicating in your native language.

Do you have some examples of rude behavior that you have witnessed during your travels? Share them with me. Thanks for reading and please leave a comment, even if you disagree.

The Real Cost of a Cruise

I can say without hesitation that the best overall vacation a person can take is cruise vacation. My first cruise a few years ago made me forever a cruise enthusiast and addict. It is great way to see different parts of the world all in one trip and only have to unpack one time.

A cruise can also be one of the most affordable ways to "get away" from it all. Notice though that I said it “can be.” A cruise can be extremely affordable if you understand what is involved with a cruise and know what costs are above and beyond the advertised cruise fare. That is my purpose with this post. It is not to sell you on cruising as a form of vacation, but it is to help you understand all costs involved.

In some of my previous “travel tips of the week” episodes, I have addressed different aspects of cruise vacations such as excursions, which cruise to select and even cabin selection, but I have yet to address the topic of understanding cruise costs. If you are a first time cruiser, you need to know what the TOTAL cost of the cruise will be.

So first of all, unless you live within driving distance of a cruise port, you will need to add airfare to your cruise cost. Airfare will naturally vary depending on where you are flying from and to so make sure you look into the cost of your flight before making a decision on a certain cruise.

Second, assuming you will be flying to the city where your cruise will begin, you will need to add in the cost of getting from the airport to the pier. These costs are called “transfers.” Again these costs will vary depending on which pier you cruise out of. Some port cities have airports very close to the pier so the costs are less while others (like Port Canaveral) are at least 45 minutes to an hour away from the closest airport and costs will be higher in that case. Transfer costs also vary depending on the type of transfer you choose. Some like to hop in a cab and use taxis for their transfers while other vacationers prefer something like a private SUV or car service, which will add to the costs. You will have a variety of options when it comes time to pick your transfer, but make sure you get those costs factored in again before you decide on a particular cruise.

Third, I always recommend for my clients who are flying into a port city to fly in the day before the scheduled cruise departure date. That will give some flexibility to the schedule in case of flight delays. The last thing you want to do is schedule a flight in on the departure day of your cruise and then hope everything goes according to plan. The cruise will leave even if you are not on board on time so give your self some space for error and arrive the day before. So with that said, you should also then add in the cost of a pre-cruise hotel stay. I will again not give any pricing info since hotel costs are so varied from city to city.

Fourth and finally, you should always consider adding trip insurance to the cost of your vacation. A cruise line will usually not offer you any form of a refund if for some reason you need to cancel your trip at the last minute. Trip insurance can offer that extra peace of mind after you make that final payment for your trip. Again…make sure you understand this...the cruise line will leave without you. If something delays your flight or comes up at the last minute that keeps you from getting to the pier on time, you will NOT be able to convince that cruise line captain to wait just for you or your family. Cruise insurance, depending on the carrier and the policy purchased, can help you out when the unforeseen happens so make sure you consider it and calculate it is to the total cost of your cruise.

I hope I am helping you see that there are external costs that have to be added in so that you understand the true cost of a cruise vacation. In future posts, I will be addressing more about the costs of a cruise including costs that someone can incur once the ships leaves the pier and the vacation begins so please stay tuned...

Hotel Reviews...Take Them With A Grain Of Salt!

Travel Tip of the Week: Should I Buy Travel Insurance?

Hope this answers some of questions that revolve around the subject of travel insurance.

Travel Tip of the Week: Stay Calm!

If you are the type to not stay calm when things are not going your way during your travels...this video is for you.

Travel Tip of the Week

Welcome to my Blog

This blog is for the purpose of providing trip reviews and videos of vacation destinations around the world. I hope to provide a well rounded approach to travel reviews including resorts, hotels, flights, cruises, all-inclusive packages etc.

I am also a Disney Specialist and can help with any of the Walt Disney destinations including Disneyland in California as well as Disney Cruise Line.

If you would like to receive free information about any travel destination here in the U.S. or abroad, please send me a message and I will be glad to help.

Also...take a moment to visit my travel website at www.operationdestination.com and browse through my free travel tips.

Thank you and try to make every vacation a "true vacation" and truly leave your troubles and worries back at home.