Cruise Ship Ratings – The Truth About Cruise Ratings
How much emphasis should we place on cruise ship ratings? Can one person’s experience be enough of a reason for another to either take a holiday on the same ship or give it a miss?
Cruising has become such a big part of our vacationing lives in the past decade that rating a cruise ship makes commonsense. There are many review sites popping up all over the internet with cruise experts giving their opinions but did you know the cruise lines themselves actually pride themselves on getting their customer’s feedback.
It’s the one way they know how they can improve one’s cruising experience. Getting cruise ship ratings really has nothing to do with the actual ship itself. What we mean by this is the ship’s sea worthiness is never really in question otherwise it wouldn’t be allowed to leave port.
It’s the other things which combine to make the experience enjoyable. Things such as cuisine, recreational activities, lodging and most importantly, the crew.
Here is a shortlist of what people base their cruise ship ratings on:
– Cuisine… cruise ships pride themselves on award-winning cuisines as well as 24-hour dining availability. A cruise ship rating should consider the quality of the food, number of restaurants available on board, and the different types of cuisine as well.
– Ports of call…where a ship docks during a cruise; how long it stays there; it’s ability to load and off load passengers.
– The entertainment value…how good was it? Was it excessive? Are there enough activities to keep the passenger amused and whether there are appropriate activities for the children. Ships offer on board theaters with newly released movies, a piano bar, late night clubs, casino, lectures, and art auctions, to name just a few options.
– The crew… without a doubt the crew can make or break a cruising experience. Most ships crews are made up of different nationalities and experience levels working together at any given time. Cruise ship ratings put a lot of weight on the ambiance and passenger service.
– Price is another major factor. If the cruise is expensive then intending vacationers want to know what they get for the price. Those taking advantage of the cheaper fares probably don’t put as much emphasis on cruise ship ratings although it’s still a factor.