There are a number of sources for video tours and reviews of cruise ships that are worth considering in the process of buying a cruise or getting ready for one.  Some get very specific, showing and rating dining, activities, shore tours and more.  Considering the personal experience of the individuals who produce these videos can be a nice tool to consider along with the recommendation of your travel agent, written reviews on websites and printed material available through the cruise line.  Adding in a favorite blogger or two brings a nice well-rounded base of knowledge to base decisions on which cruise line, ship, itinerary, stateroom category and more resonates with each of us, individually.  One such source of information that is often overlooked and thought of as ‘just a commercial’ is very nicely done video produced by the cruise line itself.

Faulty Thinking Leads To Faulty Decisions
Where that ‘just a commercial’ thinking goes overboard is in the belief that a vast disparity exists between what the cruise line wants us to believe and what actually happens or is apt to happen on board their ships.

I disagree and have seen how very closely the cruise line depiction of what they are all about plays out in real life.  Thus, the reason we stick to still photography on this website, going out of our way to show how very closely the actual experience resembles that depicted on cruise line video.  To me, this is the cruise line putting its best foot forward, much like the press trips I write about from time to time.  My thought:  This experience depicted in a video should very closely emulate what I see, feel and experience onboard any given cruise ship.  Most of the time that happens.

Ok, Maybe The People In The Video Are More Attractive, Still…
Sure, the video may have been shot on a sunny day and it’s raining when we are there.  Obviously, there will be different humans happening by on the day we visit some amazing destination than the random travelers seen in anyone’s video.  Reasonable people can get over that and see the big picture, accurately depicted in the video library of many cruise lines.

A Tiny Investment Brings A Gigantic Return
This new one from Princess Cruises is said to depict the onboard experience.  To be totally accurate that might say to depict the onboard experience for any reasonable person who has a good attitude and is there to fully engage all the cruise line has to offer.  Frankly, that marvelous onboard experience described in a video or, for that matter, a personal friend who has been there and done that, is not going to come to you, bust down your stateroom door and yank you out into the wonders of the world.  Still, just a step or two in that direction and the right cruise line will absolutely take that experience home, to you.

Such is the case with a number of Viking River Cruise videos that we have performed a reality check on, comparing the video expectation to the actual experience. (see below) We saw that recently in a series of basic experience videos featuring the Travel Channel’s Samantha Brown, one of a number of totally believable travel information sources.  This new one from Princess Cruises also accurately describes the feel of being on board one of their ships, head screwed on right.

One of the best we have seen, an effort from Carnival Corporation to capture the general nature of a cruise vacation and all it has to offer is titled Message In A Bottle.  This one gets a big thumbs up for accurately describing the feel of a cruise vacation and the life-changing results one can have.

 Also see:

• Accuracy Check: Viking Christmas Markets Video Vs. Reality
• Accuracy Check: Viking Portraits Video vs. Reality