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. 

Live from the NCL Sky...Coming Soon

Stay tuned to this blog because I am about to embark on my next travel adventure. On January the 11th, I will be setting sail with Norwegian Cruise Line on the Norwegian Sky for a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas. My itinerary will take me from the home port of Miami with stops at the ports Freeport (Grand Bahamas), Nassau (Bahamas) and NCL's private island of Great Stirrup Cay.

I will be reporting live (with video and picture) so that you will be able to see the ship and the ports of call right along with me.

The video below shows some great outside shots of the ship of choice for this adventure.

NCL Norwegian Sky departing from Port of Miami from Len Kaufman on Vimeo.

When I embarked on my travel career, I knew I needed to devote my time and money to getting as much training as possible so I can be in the best position possible to help my clients. I set a goal to receive my Certified Travel Associate (CTA) designation within the first 3-5 years of being in the business and I did just that. But I also knew that personal experience is priceless and of greater value to my clients than anything learned in a book or during an online training course. So my goal is to keep myself out "in the real world" as much as I can to make sure I am seeing what my clients see in the way of service levels at various resorts or on the different cruise lines, the quality of food served and the overall condition of the hotel, cruise ship or all-inclusive property.

So stay tuned and become a follower and be a part of my upcoming journey.

Read and post cruise reviews

One Traveler's Journey Through Japan

It felt like a dream as I made the 14 hour trip from the U.S. I had day-dreamed as a child of someday visiting this place. The reality is now setting in with me. I am here. I make my way through the corridors of Narita International Airport and I am already struck with the visuals and sounds. The many styles of Japanese writing are all staring at me. It is not long before I am reminded that I am now the visitor. This is not my home. As I make my way to the train, I can already see how some stop to take a look at who I am and maybe even conjure up in their own mind of where I am from. I assume they think I am from America, but later I understand the vastness of the city of Tokyo and the cultural diversity found there as well. Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Great Britain etc are all represented in the melting pot that is Tokyo.

But I am not headed for Tokyo. My journey is one beyond the comfort of such a big city where I can somehow blend in. I was used to being a chameleon since I was raised so close to San Francisco and spent so much time being one of the masses, a native even. My train ride would take me a to a place where I would be not only be the spectator, but also the watched. It was a city removed from Tokyo and with its own identity. It was famous for its own reasons and sites, yet few westerners ever walked it streets or frequented its shops and restaurants. The train ride is now etched in my memory forever. I will never forget the young girl who was in charge of providing food and drink during the trip from her little cart. I will no doubt never forget how patient she was with me as I held their currency out in my hand and trusted her to only take what was due her for my first Japanese coke. I was acutely aware of the sounds that you heard on the journey. Sounds I had yet to fully understand.

Thankfully the English language is still being taught as their second language in their schools. I was greeted with such warmth and courtesy. I had learned already that some of my pictures and dreams that I had held in my mind about Japan were indeed true. The bows. The thank you’s. The respect. It was prevalent at the outset. I was escorted to my room and made aware that service in Japan is expected and not something to be awarded. Tips were refused and a nice courteous bow bid me goodnight.

I was now headed for the more stressful part of the trip, which was to navigate one of Japan’s busier stations outside of Metro Tokyo. I can only explain it by equating it to a sea, a sea of men and women. At times I was swimming up stream as I tried to determine which train, which staircase to take, which line? I made my way to the platform and there it was again; the sounds, the chimes. They always then led to an announcement in which I was always thankful that I could make out the town or station name which gave me confidence that I was soon about to board the right train.

I did notice the stares but soon enjoyed the fact that I was the traveler now. I was the one on the journey.

The journey was well on its way. I now found myself sitting down, shoes off, a part of an experience that I could not have imagined. The owner of the small historic home, converted now to small restaurant tells my interpreter that she cannot recall any other westerner ever stepping through her doors. She smiled and bowed to let me know how honored she felt, but it was me feeling humbled and honored. One course after another made its way to my plate. I was granted immediate respect due to my advanced chopstick training that I did before stepping foot on the plane ride over. I learned and observed that food in Japan is not just something consumed; food is considered a cultural experience, an art form and a societal event. It was a meal covering 2 hours, but filled with a lifetime worth of memories.

On the walk back to my hotel, I was given my answer to the sounds that I heard every day and all around the city. I walked to a street corner and a chime let me know when it was time to cross. I came to another corner and a different chime let me know it was time to yield. I then noticed the street walks were lined with what seemed to be a form of Braille. It was at that moment that it hit me. I was witnessing a country that had built an infrastructure around a part of their society that was suffering from the results of war. The atomic bomb left a legacy of blindness so much so that their society needed ways of going about their daily routine. The chimes or bells I was hearing in the train station were letting those who could not see know that a train was either coming or going. The chimes in the streets were protecting their people from walking into traffic. The Braille on the walkways was giving freedom to those that some consider handicapped.

It would be these sounds and images that I would carry with me forever upon my return back home. I would forever remember the sites of seeing the tall skyscrapers of downtown Tokyo then contrasted with the ancient shrine in a quiet section of Omiya. I would remember the masses being pushed on a crowded commuter train by those designated to do so and recognized by their uniform and white gloves and then compare that to being able to see the beginning of a wedding ceremony and dress dating back thousands of years at a Shinto Temple. I will never forget the bows, the respect, and the honor given me just for walking into their shop or eating in their restaurant.

As I make myself comfortable in my airline seat preparing for the 14-hour return trip home, I cannot help from looking and re-looking out the window again. I am asking myself, “Was I really here?” “Did this just happen?” And then, almost as a way of answering my own question, I look back as we ascend out of the Tokyo area and off in the horizon is what some told me would be a rarity; I see above the clouds the entire top half of Mt Fuji. It was true. I was in Japan.

This journey changed me. It shaped my perspective and opened the world to me…

Walt Disney World Pop Century Resort

Here is a little video walk-through of the Pop Century Resort at Walt Disney World. This resort gets a huge thumbs up from me. In fact, if we were trying to decide to stay at either a "Value" resort or a "Moderate" one, we would choose the Pop Century over any of the higher priced Moderate resorts on Disney property. The food court had a great variety and the 3 pools were never overly crowded. The bus system was a quick as it would be at any of the Moderates. The only negative is the room size. The rooms are smaller than the Moderates which we for sure noticed as soon as we entered the room. If you have a party size of 3 or 4, you will need to be prepared for the tight quarters. But I will say that I am not sure the slightly larger rooms at the Moderates are worth the higher price. The only other thing that you get at a Moderate resort, that is noticeable, is at least one table service restaurant option. But reviews have shown that they are not the most desirable when considering all of the other table service choices throughout Walt Disney World.

The Pop Century is divided up into decade sections which is where the resort gets its name. The theme of the resort is pop culture. You can stay in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's or 90's building. Each building is then themed for that particular decade. For example, the 70's building has a huge "8-Track Tape" at the end of each building. The 80's building has a huge "Rubik's Cube." Music from each decade plays throughout the resort's common areas like the pools and "Everything Pop" which is the shopping and eatery area in the main building.

If you are on Facebook...stop by and become a fan of my travel page and you can see more resort pictures posted showing some of the detail that Disney has put into the grounds, the buildings and the rooms... "Operation Destination Vacations."

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.