About the Savvy Guide

The Savvy Guide is your one-stop-shop for unbiased cruise information based on the experiences of real cruisers. The major sections are Introduction to Cruises, Know Before You Go, Choosing a Cruise, Cruise Line guides and Destination guides.

The Editorial Board is comprised of experienced cruisers dedicated to providing information that is trustworthy, comprehensive and up-to-date.

We incorporate data across many sources and evaluate its validity based on strict criteria. If you see errors or omissions, we want to know -- we will fix them (as appropriate). We never accept compensation or favors in exchange for favorable coverage.

Who writes the Savvy Guide?

The Savvy Guide is based on the experiences of real cruisers, as reflected in members' Cruise Journals, Cruise Ratings, Forums, and other feedback we receive.

This information is aggregated and synthesized by a group of dedicated, conscientious Editors.

Our Editors strive to remain anonymous. We believe that a major problem of other cruise guides is that the authors/editors become "known" in the industry and so have an experience onboard that is not representative of a typical cruiser. Editors who flaunt their role, or using it to solicit special treatment, will have their role terminated immediately.

How is evidence evaluated?

Reasonable people can disagree. Since we incorporate the perspectives of a wide range of cruisers, we evaluate evidence and draw conclusions based on the following criteria:

• Consistency: If many people observe the same thing, we consider that a strong indicator of validity. On one cruise the chef may have had an off week, or a cabin steward was brand new. But if we see trends across many members, we feel more confident drawing conclusions.
• Specificity: For example, "the food was bad" is indicative but not very useful because it's hard to know whether the author's criteria would matter to another reader. A more useful statement would be "I didn't like the rich, weird food like buttered snails and beef wrapped in liver and dough." (After all, some people really like escargot and Beef Wellington.)
• Observable evidence: For example "the drinks were cheap" is okay, but a picture of the bar menu would be the gold standard.
• Members' feedback: We take all input seriously. That said, when we are reviewing Cruise Journals and other sources, we prioritize items members have rated as "helpful".

What if I see something that's wrong or incomplete?

Please tell us!

The Savvy Guide is currently under development, so not all sections are as complete as we would like. Your input would be most welcome.

If you have comments on an individual article, each article in the Savvy Guide has a feedback link at the bottom. Click that and let us know what's wrong.

If you have other information you would like to share with us, or would like to get involved, please feel free to contact the Editorial Board.

Please provide as much information and evidence as possible, as this will help us evaluate what changes to make. The Editor responsible for that section will get back to you and make changes, as appropriate, as soon as possible.

We are very excite to have the first guide to cruising based on real cruisers' experience, and are very interested in your input.