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Community Guidelines
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Disclaimer
"Host" USER NAMES
Advertising Guidelines
Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Guide Services, Cruise Professionals
Harassment, Flaming, Disruption and Trolls
User Names & Signatures, Profanity and Vulgar Language
Illegal Activities
Copyright Infringements; Use of Member Content; Logo Usage; Logowear Items for Roll Calls
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Spelling and Grammar Errors
Please Browse BEFORE You Post
Posts Appear Immediately
Answer Postings on the Boards, Not in E-mail
ALL CAPS
Board Manipulation, Rich Text, Graphic Images
Private Addresses and Phone Numbers
Member Cruises
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Welcome
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Cruise Critic is a community of folks who love to cruise and we all benefit from the exchange of advice that takes place here! Our Cruise Community is a cooperative effort which depend on all of you to make it work well. If you post questions, please try to take the time to answer other members' questions as well. Cruise Critic has adopted a series of guidelines to help make the Cruise Boards easier to use and better for everyone.
Messages posted in Cruise Critic must conform to our Community Guidelines found in this area. Posts that violate these guidelines will be removed from the cruise boards without notice. Repeated violators will lose their posting privileges. We will automatically remove any subsequent inappropriate postings without warning. Please use good judgment in posting any message.
These are moderated message boards about cruising.
This is an important aspect of our Community, the very foundation that continues to contribute to the popularity of Cruise Critic. Please stay on topic within a forum. Off topic posts that do not violate our Community Guidelines will be moved to our Floataway Lounge forum.
One other other item that adds to the enjoyment of the boards -- if you post a new topic think of it as "your topic." If you ask a question, please read the answers and acknowledge that members have taken the time to reply to you. It is a breach of "netiquette" to start a topic or question in which you presumably have an interest, then ignore the subsequent discussion.
Our mission is provide a haven on the internet, if you will, that will provide a resource for those planning a cruise and for those that love cruising. Help make this a great source of information for you and your fellow travelers by sharing the name of that wonderful private island you visited on your last cruise or tell us about that fabulous shore excursions you took in Cozumel that just can't be missed! If you have any questions or comments regarding our posting guidelines or any content found on our message boards please be sure and let me know. I'll be happy to discuss them with you.
Special Note Regarding Removal Of Posts
Posts will, from time to time, be removed from our forums at the sole discretion of Cruise Critic without notification to the author or discussion participants. We may also MOVE a post to our Floataway Lounge that has veered off the original topic. All decisions regarding post removal are final.
One Account Per Person
You are permitted a maximum of one account, active or inactive. If you choose to ignore this important restriction with the intention of deceiving our members, all your accounts will be disabled. If you require a temporary user name for any reason, or if you require a user name change, please contact us. If you have forgotten your log in details and are unable to retrieve them via the system, do not create a new account, please send an e-mail to boards@cruisecritic.com.
You should also know that the discussion of our management policies and procedures -- including post deletions-- is considered off-topic discussion for our cruise boards and will also be removed without notice. As mentioned above, all decisions regarding any action taken by management shall remain final.
Looking forward to reading about all of your cruise journeys!
LauraS
Community Manager
Cruise Critic
Community@cruisecritic.com
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Disclaimer
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Cruise Critic's Cruise boards, as well as the information you read in our Member's Cruise Review area, and our Cruiser's Choice Poll are designed to help cruisers obtain cruise-related information and discuss ways to make cruising more enjoyable, and perhaps even offer you a money-saving tip or two!
On our Cruise Boards, this information is sometimes provided by our volunteer Hosts and more often by other contributors, the majority of whom use anonymous user names and are people we've never met. You have no idea who they are, what they do, or what their agenda could possibly be -- and neither do we. The only requirement for membership is a valid e-mail address.
We recognize that while we have tons of great stuff in this forum, people sometimes post messages on the boards that could be misleading, deceptive, or downright wrong. They may do this unintentionally or, sad to say, intentionally. Additionally, there are many different groups who participate, such as travel agents, public relations employees, members of the media, affinity groups, fan groups, other cruise websites etc. whose agenda may not be apparent since we are operating in an anonymous environment.
Treat the cruisers here the same way you'd treat anyone you'd met for the first time. This is important because anyone is welcome to participate in our community. You shouldn't make a cruise decision just because some stranger (or even an online friend) talks it up. Basically, you shouldn't treat cyberspace any differently than you would real life.
The fundamental concept is that you should NOT totally rely upon the information or opinions you read. Rather, you should use what you read here as starting points for doing independent research on cruise lines, ships, hotels, shore excursions and bargain-hunting techniques. Then judge for yourself the merits of the material that has been shared in our forum.
We do not guarantee the completeness of any information provided on our cruise boards. We cannot read through the thousands of messages we receive each day, but do make an effort to check out all the hyperlinked web sites. We cannot research each one for accuracy. That isn't why we're here. Staff members and our volunteers are here to provide you with an environment that is free from advertising and soliciting, free from harassment, vulgarity and disparaging statements, as well as providing you with a safe haven brought together by those sharing a mutual interest: cruising!
We encourage you to utilize the reporting system built into the board system; you'll find a Report a Post icon located in the upper right hand corner of the posting. Use it! We will review the report and take appropriate action.
On the other hand, we work very hard to ensure that all published reviews are coming from real people. We review every review submitted for publication to make sure that they meet our criteria and pass all of our fraud testing. Cruise Critic takes accusations of review fraud very seriously and remain vigilant in preventing fraudulent reviews from appearing on our site.
If you are concerned with the authenticity of a particular review, e-mail us at community@cruisecritic.com. We'll research it and take appropriate action. Tell us the date, title of the review, and any other information that may help us with the particulars of your situation. We value your help and appreciate it when you alert us to a potentially fraudulent situation.
In the end, you are responsible for your own cruising decisions. Cruise Critic will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a reader's reliance on information obtained on our forums or in any of our published member content, or in a hyperlinked area.
As cyberspace continues to evolve, the freedom and openness from which we all profit can make us the target of touts, shysters, and frauds. These people could infect our forum, just as they infect other parts of the world. Please proceed with caution, do your homework, and be wary of those who post hyperlinks to strange web sites.
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"Host" USER NAMES
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Hosts Are Here to Help Out; Their Opinions Are Their Own!
You will see some people with the "Host" prefix on their user names around our Community. These people are the official Hosts of our community. Their primary purpose is to keep our forum running smoothly, with politeness and good humor. They perform a variety of tasks, especially answering your questions about the information available within Cruise Critic, and explaining how to navigate our forum.
Many of our Hosts contribute to various discussions. They are free to contribute, or not contribute, as they see fit. Their opinions are their own. Cruise Critic does not regulate what the staff says about a location, cruise line, shore excursion or travel provider.
Our volunteers are drawn from a wide circle of daily life. Most of them are experienced travelers -- either realtime or "armchair." All are outside the travel field in their professional lives. You should not believe that our hosts have any additional insight or information simply because they have a "Host" prefix to their name. Cruise Critic hosts are not representatives nor employees of Cruise Critic.
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Advertising Guidelines
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Advertising Is Not Allowed On Cruise Critic
Cruise Critic has strict guidelines prohibiting blatant advertising, commercial sales and solicitation posts on all of our message boards.
Our Cruise Boards are meant to be a cruiser's exchange of advice and tips where cruisers can talk about their travels -- not a marketplace for advertising and selling services. There are thousands of cruise professionals online and if we didn't insist on a non-solicitation policy the cruise boards would be very quickly overrun with nothing but ads.
Cruise Critic defines advertising as an individual or company's attempt to generate business or other commercial enterprise, either directly or indirectly, by using our Cruise Board. Solicitation includes, but is not limited to, requests to be E-mailed, the posting of phone numbers for your business, and the referring to or posting of one's own Web site address.
There shall be no third-party recommendation of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted.
Touting of your personal cruise agent or cruise line "personal cruise consultant" (or any other venue by which you purchase a cruise) is not allowed on our message boards. Postings that contain "tell them John sent you" will be removed without notice.
This means you should not ask about someone's travel agent, nor should you respond in kind. Offering to email someone your travel agent's name or info is also not allowed, nor is asking members to email you for the information.
Cruise Critic will remove violations of the "third-party recommendation" guideline without warning. Additional posts will result in permanent suspension of your posting privileges.
Other Cruise & Travel Sites
Cruise Critic reserves the right to approve or deny links which lead directly to or link to cruise-related material or message boards that are not located within Cruise Critic.
Additionally, we respectfully request that you do not use our forums to promote or advertise other cruise-related websites.
Miscellaneous
Bascially, an ad is an ad. So, please no posting of "looking for roommate" type posts, tour shares (except in ROLL CALL threads), giveaways, ebay links, etc. etc.
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Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Guide Services, Cruise Professionals
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Travel Agents
Travel agents (and their associates, employees or designated representative) are encouraged to participate in the discussions on the Cruise Board and establish themselves as experts on a particular topic by responding to members' inquiries with useful answers.
In doing so, you are welcome to sign your name and note your professional business. You may not use your business name as your Cruise Critic user name. You may sign your posts with your first name only. You may not list your phone number, business location (city or state), web site address, contact info or e-mail address. You may not include your location and/or website address in your Cruise Critic profile. Responding to member's inquiries on the boards with an ad for your services is not allowed. Only items of a general nature may be discussed on the forums by any travel agent.
Cruise Critic considers requests to be E-mailed for additional information as soliciting and will return those postings to any travel agent trying to sell or promote themselves on Cruise Critic. Additionally, attempts to circumvent our rules may result in your company name being censored from our forums.
Other Cruise Professionals, Tour Operators, Destination Website Owners, Guides and Property & Business Owners
Cruise Professionals, tour operators, tour guides and property & business owners (and their associates, employees or designated representative) are also encouraged to participate in the discussions on the Cruise Board and establish themselves as experts on a particular topic by responding to members' inquiries with useful answers. They may not, however, list or refer members to their World Wide Web sites. They may not include their "business name" in their signatures, nor may they include their website link in their profile. No promotional material or conducting tour business, is allowed. This includes mentioning pickup locations, scheduling times of tours, confirmation of events/deposits/e-mail receipt, etc (and any other discussion determined to be of a customer service nature in the sole discretion of Cruise Critic. Only items of a general nature may be posted on the forums.
Local experts living in ports of call are encouraged to contribute, as long as their recommendations are general in nature. Those living in ports of call who recommend individual business or tour operators will find that their posts have been removed and their posting privileges suspended.
*Effective February 12, 2006* - While we welcome the legitimate recommendation of tour operators, guides, property & business owners in ports of call, please post your recommendation in response to a request for that specific information.
Cruise Critic considers requests to be E-mailed for additional information as soliciting and will delete those postings by any tour operator, guide or anyone trying to sell or promote themselves on Cruise Critic. Additionally, attempts to circumvent our rules may result in your company name being censored from our forums without notice. Please, abide by our Community Guidelines so that legitmate recommedations by our members regarding guides and tour operators may remain on the forums!
From time to time, Cruise Critic management is contacted by Tour Operators/Guides/Business who request removal of negative posts about their company. Cruise Critic will not remove negative posts from the boards at the request of any tour company, cruise line, store, shop, taxi company, driver, guide, etc.
One-Post Wonders
This phenomenon essentially amounts to single or multiple posts created by a brand-new member which tout tour operators/businesses in ports of call. Posts of this nature will be removed from the boards without notification to the author. Cruise Critic considers these types of postings an attempt to circumvent our rules and may result that company name being censored from our forums without notice.
Cruise Critic reserves the right to remove any material from our message boards without notification to members, the author or the company being recommended.
Members of the Media, Law Firms and Other Companies
Members of the media, employees of law firms, and other companies who desire to obtain information from our members *must* obtain permission from the Community Manager (community@cruisecritic.com) before posting on any of the forums within Cruise Critic. There are no exceptions to this policy. Posting/inquiries not approved by the Community Manager are removed without notice.
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Harassment, Flaming, Disruption and Trolls
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The harassment of our members is not allowed.
Cruise Critic is committed to providing an online environment that is free from these types of harassing postings. Please, don't attack another poster or group of posters. Do not harass, threaten, embarrass, or do anything else to another member that is unwanted. This means: don't say bad things about them, don't keep sending them unwanted Instant Message notes, don't attack their race, heritage, or their sexual orientation, etc. If you disagree with someone, respond to the subject, not the person. Postings of this nature will be removed from the boards.
Do not post details or private information about any other person. Do not attempt to impersonate another person, either real or virtual.
Postings that have been placed on the boards to disrupt the flow of conversation or otherwise disrupt Cruise Critic members' enjoyment of the Community will be removed and you run the risk of losing your posting privileges. This would include, but is not limited to, the posting of essentially the same message over and over in response to different threads on the forums or ultilizing the features of our Community to transmit messages of a personal nature. However, the determination of what constitutes "disruption" will be the sole determination of the Community Manager.
Guideline Reminders
From time to time we may issue Guideline Reminders which is specific to an issue we have had with one of your postings. This reminder is for you to review the board guidelines that you agreed to when you became a member. A Guideline Reminder is a permanent part of your member profile that only you can see. Repeated board violations and Guideline Reminders may permanently restrict your access to the message board.
When you’re issued a Guideline Reminder, an e mail is sent to the email address you used when you registered here at Cruise Critic. It is your responsibility to make sure your email address is current. If you don’t know whether you received a Guideline Reminder, you can check your User Profile or spam folder. Be sure and add community@cruisecritic.com to your email application as an address that you will accept emails from.
If you have a question about a Guideline Reminder that you’ve received, please write to community@cruisecritic.com.
Final Note
Cruise Critic is a privately-owned Company and your participation within our Community is a privilege, not a right. Management reserves the right to take action against any member who is deemed to be devoted purely to disruption or consistently violates our Community Guidelines. This action will result in the complete banning of your username, e-mail address and IP address. All decisions regarding removal of posting privileges are made on a case-by-case basis, and shall remain final.
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User Names & Signatures, Profanity and Vulgar Language
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Although we are often amused and awed by the creativity of our members when in comes to the selection of a USER NAME for use in the community, Cruise Critic reserves the right to change and/or delete any USER MAME in our sole discretion. Please do not create names that are vulgar, inflammatory or are intended to be promotional in nature.
The use of profanity and foul or vulgar language is not acceptable. Keep in mind that members come in all ages and all have access to our Cruise Boards. Using asterisks to blank out several letters of a word is *still* considered a violation if the vulgarity is discernible, as are acronyms for a series of vulgar words. There are far more powerful ways to get a point across. Discussions of any nature that Cruise Critic staff feels inappropriate for the Cruise Boards will be removed.
Signatures
Cruise Critic may, at our discretion, change or remove inappropriate graphics or text from online signatures and profiles without notice. This may include vulgarity, nudity, political statements, and or any other content we feel inappropriate for our cruise community.
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Illegal Activities
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Cruise Critic prohibits the discussion of illegal activities on our Cruise Boards, including (but not limited to) the posting of pyramid scheme/chain letter/make money fast-type information, as well as any activity that is considered against the law, such as illegal drugs.
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Copyright Infringements; Use of Member Content; Logo Usage; Logowear Items for Roll Calls
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The posting of large blocks of text obtained from the Internet, online newspapers, web sites, magazines, etc., defeats the purpose of our Cruise Boards. All of this information is available to everyone online, and doesn't add to the idea of sharing firsthand experiences and cruise advice. Also, the majority of information out there is protected by an author's individual copyright. Therefore, we will remove such information from the message boards. You may LINK via url to the information.
However, Cruise Line press releases are welcome on the boards, if you clearly indicate the source.
Posts in Foreign Languages
Our forums are accessible from around the world. We welcome the participation of everyone. All we ask is that if you POST in your native language, that you simulaneously post your questions/comments in English -- in the same post. These are moderated message boards, and each and every posting is read by a volunteer moderator. They must be able to understand your posting to allow it to remain. Additionally, you will receive a far greater response to your question if you consider that the majority of our cruise community do only converse in English. Thank you for your cooperation.
Use of Content
You hereby grant Cruise Critic the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display any message posted in Cruise Critic's message boards or in our published member reviews (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or later developed.
Use of Cruise Critic Logo
All inquiries regarding usage of the Cruise Critic logo and name should be directed to: community@cruisecritic.com.
Creation of T-shirts & Other Logowear for ROLL CALL Gatherings
We think it is wonderful that people sailing together often create logowear for their cruise, often creating a snappy name and offering it for purchase to those sailing on their cruise. For usage of the Cruise Critic logo in this endeavor, please contact: community@cruisecritic.com.
We ask that the person creating these shirts be sailing on that specific cruise; and that any additional "fees" collected by the creator are used only for shipping/handling of the t-shirts. It is our belief that no one should be making a profit from "selling" anything to our members; but do believe they shouldn't have to front anyone the price of a shirt or shipping costs. We appreciate everyone's compliance with this directive.
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Spelling and Grammar Errors
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It is important to remember that everyone makes mistakes at one time or another, and that there are many users who use English as a second language, especially on our Cruise Boards. There are also a number of people who suffer from learning disabilities and who have difficulty noticing their spelling mistakes. Do not make comments on the spelling and grammar of other users. It is simply not a productive expenditure of energies.
Cruise Critic Cannot Correct Your Posts
Please review your post carefully for typos, incorrect dates and spelling errors.
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Please Browse BEFORE You Post
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Browse a topic first to see if your question has already been asked or answered by someone else. Also, many of the major cruise lines forums have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) topic that has been created by our members. Give that a try first. Browsing is your #1 best resource! Please post your messages in an appropriate topic so that you'll receive the best possible response. It is very time consuming to move misplaced messages that are in the wrong topics.
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Posts Appear Immediately
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We do not review messages before they are posted and you cannot delete your own messages once they are posted. As much as we'd like to, our volunteer staff is too busy to delete messages for you, extend spell-check services or rescue you from a momentary lapse in good judgment! ;) If you don't see your message after posting it, close your browser or click your "refresh" to see your posting. You'll see it -- and so will everyone else!
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Answer Postings on the Boards, Not in E-mail
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Please try to answer message board posts on the boards instead of E-mail when appropriate. There is a lot of great information that we're all missing because it is passing through private E-mail. There are of course times when private E-mail is more appropriate but if you have information that would be helpful to many people, please try to come back to the boards and post it rather than replying to a posting through E-mail.
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ALL CAPS
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Typing in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is considering shouting by many, so please double check your caps lock key before posting.
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Board Manipulation, Rich Text, Graphic Images
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The creation of additional user names by members with the intention to deceive Cruise Critic members, or to inflate their opinions by manipulating a discussion will not be allowed. These users will be banned from posting on the boards, user names blocked as well as all resulting IP addresses associated with said user names.
The use of these features on our message boards can greatly enhance your online Cruise Board experiences. However, postings that are difficult to read, too BIG or too small, too light in color, etc., will be returned to you so that you may repost. Please do not manipulate postings on the boards by "bumping" topics to the top of the forum. Members will assume something of value has been posted, only to find that the newest posting is nothing more than a "bump post". This only wastes everyone's time.
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Private Addresses and Phone Numbers
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It is best not to post your real name, address or phone number publicly on the boards. We will remove this posts automatically. Also, think carefully before posting too much other personal data on any public message board forum.
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Member Cruises
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Cruise Critic recognizes that our Community Members like to meet each other on board their cruises by planning a Group Cruise. We encourage our members to do so. To assist you in planning your cruise, please avail yourself of Cruise Critic's Member Cruise Program.
Decision-making discussions regarding the 'who, what, where, & when' of your group cruise are welcomed on all forums. After booking through our Program, you may continue answering questions about your group cruise on any forum here at Cruise Critic. All members booked on a Cruise Critic groups may include links and pictures to the group cruise information in their signatures. However, those booked should frequent the special forum set up just for your cruise to have "fun" until you sail!
We respectfully request that forums set up for our Member Cruises be frequently only by those who have booked the sailing.
Only official Cruise Critic Group Cruises may be promoted anywhere on our cruise forums. This includes graphics, links, banners and references to any non-Cruise Critic Group Cruise. Any promotional material posted on the forums about non-Cruise Critic Group Cruises will be removed without notice.
Changes to Guidelines
Please note that Cruise Critic will, from time to time, make changes to these Community Guidelines without notice to reflect current climates within the Community. Additionally, every single issue that might possibly arise would be impossible to address within these guidelines. Therefore, just because a certain issue isn't raised here, doesn't mean it will be allowed (or disallowed, for that matter) within the Community.
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Priority Access to Members-Only Deals
