How to get honest reviews of cruise opportunities

If you have been considering taking a cruise, then you understand that there are a lot of factors to keep in mind. When taking the time and effort to put together a wonderful vacation of this sort, you will want to be sure that everything goes just as planned.

However, it can be hard to know which cruise line or ship offers the best service. If you rely on the travel agencies or travel sites to give you insight, you will end up finding out that amazingly all cruise ships are the best in the industry and they all have the very best service available!

However, if you want to find true, unbiased cruise line reviews, read on!

Hit online travel forums

Travel forums are great because REAL PEOPLE go online there and post their REAL EXPERIENCES. And since most travel forums are hyperactive, feel free to register on the site and ask your own questions about the cruise ship and other travellers’ experiences. Contribute now by submitting your own concerns or read what others have to say on a discussion thread on the GrownUps Community Forums!

If you find yourself in a situation where you see a lot of good reviews about a cruise line and then the odd extremely bad review, check out the profile of the one who gave the negative comment. Sometimes, forums have users that just love to give bad opinions about everything. By checking that specific user’s previous comments, you can better judge on how much weight you want to give his/her negative feedback.

Speak to the professionals 

Ask your travel agent which is the most booked cruise ship of the season (or last year) and if it received good reviews from their clients. If you have a really good contact in a travel agency, it really is not hard to ask him or her to give you an honest opinion about a particular cruise line. As advised, start by asking the most booked cruise ship of the season and then move on to ask about previous travellers’ feedback about the cruise ship. Often the travel agents have gone on the cruises themselves so will be able to give you a first-hand experience.

Visit review sites

Check out online cruise line review sites. Luckily for you, there are cruise ship review sites out there now, where people who have taken a cruise ship vacation go and basically rate the cruise line based on certain criteria. Visit sites such as Cruise Reviewer to get a good picture of price, service, value, and other direct from travellers.

Get visual

Check out travel magazines. Go to your local magazine shop and buy not just the latest copy but a few back issues of a travel magazine as well. Browse through the pages and see the cruise ship that’s most talked about!

A cruise line vacation can be the best vacation you’ll ever have if you do your homework. You’ll find the luxurious stay, exciting destinations and romantic sunsets all worth it!

 By Joe Deacon