Active Captain Reviews - Edited or Real?

I like AC. Use it when cruising new areas and contribute reviews periodically. That being said, I don't blindly follow anything. Read the reviews and information, then make a decision based on everything I know about a given marina, etc. While I haven't made an ignore list, there are a couple of contributors that I tend to skip as their opinion seems to be so very different than mine.

Ted

As a trawler owner who travels and explores many 1,000 of miles a year. I love Active Captain and use it everyday. The reviews help me find Anchorages and docks I n new spots, now here home on Cape Cod some reviews make me say Why that spot or why that restaurant.

Hopefully Jeff is still following this thread, even though he decided not to respond further. Thanks Jeff and Karen for providing the best cruising resource available. I use it for planning trips, checking out anchorages and sometimes marinas. It is a wonderful product.


David

And now fuel prices too. That's a big help when cruising. If you see a good price on AC, just call the dock and confirm. Has saved me many $$.

I love it. Just wish I could use it more.

By way of full disclosure before I comment--I have ZERO connection to AC other than being a very satisfied user.

I just checked and I have 836 posts on AC. I've used it and relied on it and loved it for several years. I enjoy reading the reviews and as I do with Trip Advisor and other review sites, I tend to disregard the reviews that are very far out from the majority of them. Some times people have a bone to pick with a resort or marina and they post negative comments about it. I understand that and can make my own decisions about how much weight to give to someone's comments.

For the record, I enjoy reading AC and use it extensively when planning future trips. Thanks a bunch to the owners of the site for putting together a great site that has become one of my favorite tools to use.

GFC

At the risk of adding to the "me too" broken record aspect of this thread )) I think Active Captain is great. As are the printed guides we use for this area, from privately published ones to the BC and US governments' "Sailing Directions" books.

Every planning tool has its plusses and minuses. The downside of the printed guides like Waggoner are the writeups of anchorages, marinas, etc. are one person's point of view. And they are never negative. At the worst they are lukewarm.

The "downside" of Active Captain is that the reviews are by people whose credibility and standards are totally unknown to me. So like all public reviews, they are totally subjective.

But.... all reviews are like this be it Google, Yelp, Trip Advisor, you name it. So you have to lean to judge the reviews for credibility based on tne content and how they're written.

The advantage Active Captain has over all the printed guides is the information can be overlayed on the screen with charts and is available at the tap of a finger. We use the Navimatics charting app for planning and Active Captain is compatible with this.

It's just one tool in the planning and cruising process, but it's a great one and the interactive nature of it gives it a dynamic that no other cruising guide (that I'm aware of) can offer.

GFC said:

By way of full disclosure before I comment--I have ZERO connection to AC other than being a very satisfied user.

I just checked and I have 836 posts on AC. I've used it and relied on it and loved it for several years. I enjoy reading the reviews and as I do with Trip Advisor and other review sites, I tend to disregard the reviews that are very far out from the majority of them. Some times people have a bone to pick with a resort or marina and they post negative comments about it. I understand that and can make my own decisions about how much weight to give to someone's comments.

For the record, I enjoy reading AC and use it extensively when planning future trips. Thanks a bunch to the owners of the site for putting together a great site that has become one of my favorite tools to use.

GFC

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It's no different than any review site in that there will be some reviews totally inconsistent with others. That doesn't mean those aren't valid reviews as some experience different things or use different parts of a facility. I can't comment on showers as I don't use them, but docks and such I can. Also, a limitation is that some marinas only provide limited information. However, I've used the links to websites of marinas thousands of times. When cruising the East Coast there are a lot of resources available. On the West Coast it's not nearly the same though. And outside of the country is where it really was a most useful tool for us.

As to reviewers, I love it when those giving good reviews give information that really tells you what facilities they used and what they loved. Also, I love the negative reviewers who do it constructively and tell you exactly what they didn't like. Several times has helped us know where to request we dock in a marina and where in one we don't want to dock. I remember one that we made it clear we'd go somewhere else rather than where they wanted us to dock. They relented as we stopped away from the dock waiting for an answer. Warnings about entrances are always appreciated. It's nice to know in advance that there's not a good restaurant within walking distance. Doesn't diminish the marina itself but tells us to plan on eating on the boat the afternoon we arrive. It has helped us in the past to be warned about rude dockmasters or others there. At least we've been prepared and maybe ready to find a way to try to win them over. One we'd read several negative comments on, the first thing we did was offer him some chocolate cake. Then we asked if he'd like ice cream on it. Amazing how friendly he was. I must give my wife credit for the strategy.

I wear my AC hat when I head into town from the boat for parts or supplies. With pride!!


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's

Forkliftt said:

I wear my AC hat when I head into town from the boat for parts or supplies. With pride!!


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's

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What do you figure, that if they see that they'll give you good service thinking you'll review them? lol

Full Disclosure: I have never used AC because I rarely get time on pleasure (unfortunately) boats these days. The forums and boating mags keep me up to date on many of the goings on in the yachting industry.
Maybe I'm missing something, but Jeff and his wife are putting HUGE amounts of effort into this business and it is based in integrity. For him to try to mislead a group of cruisers by changing a "Rating" would be suicidal in the long run. His public face , from my perspective is everything in this endeavor. He seems like a straight shooter to me. Doesn't mean something won't fall through the cracks, but he knows his reputation and street cred are on the line.
I applaud his efforts and wish him good fortune for taking the entrepreneurial risk! Hopefully it will pay off in spades, then he can laugh years from now when people call him an overnight sensation.

Hard to believe the negative comments here directed at AC and Jeffrey. AC is one of the cleverest and most useful cruising assets, period. I think the principal critic above just doesn't get the AC concept at all. I don't blame Jeff for checking out...he's got better things to do

Aquabelle said:

I don't blame Jeff for checking out...he's got better things to do

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I just hope he's still monitoring this thread so he knows there are many if not almost all that support AC.

Xsbank said:

The joy of this site is that the opinions, contributions, knowledge, personal experiences that we post are entirely gratuitous. You can like, reject, ignore, enjoy, "aha" any comment or post you read. You don't even have to read them if you are pre-prejudiced against the writer. It's entirely a co-op community.

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I think if you replace the words "this site" in the first sentence with "Active Captain" you will have made my point very succinctly. Thank you!

As for the contention that legions of drones are writing AC reviews, I see absolutely no evidence of that. Every review I've read, whether I agree or disagree, seems sincere.

My only complaint about the quality of reviewers is directed at those who write just a few words, or don't update the details section, or don't update the price for the slip or mooring they just stayed at. To me that's almost worse than writing nothing at all. Although even in that case, at least I know the place still exists.

CaptTom said:

My only complaint about the quality of reviewers is directed at those who write just a few words, or don't update the details section, or don't update the price for the slip or mooring they just stayed at. To me that's almost worse than writing nothing at all. Although even in that case, at least I know the place still exists.

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I think many reviewers don't realize they can change and update the other areas, see that information as something the site does. They just think of writing their review.

I never knew you can update your original review until I was going to review a marina we were at and it prompted me to update existing one, which I did and it was a better more comprehensive review. Great resource, only wish it would work on the iPhone.

BandB said:

I think many reviewers don't realize they can change and update the other areas, see that information as something the site does. They just think of writing their review.

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How do you update a review that you posted on AC? I posted one last week and got my easts and wests reversed -. How do I fix that?

I see how you can edit the details by scrolling over and the Edit button pops up. Presumably Jeff or Karen has to authorize the edit once it is made. But I don't see how to edit my review. This is an anchorage BTW.

David

I'm touched by all of the wonderful things written in this thread - thank you.

No one in the boating world deserves a critical review about their product or service more than me. I certainly have it coming. Please know that suggestions and negative comments are heard and even desired.

We're far from wiping our hands from the development of new capabilities and ActiveCaptain is far from perfect. This is a journey for all of us. Our job is to try and do the best job possible and I strive to do that every day.

GFC said:

By way of full disclosure before I comment--I have ZERO connection to AC other than being a very satisfied user.

I just checked and I have 836 posts on AC. I've used it and relied on it and loved it for several years. I enjoy reading the reviews and as I do with Trip Advisor and other review sites, I tend to disregard the reviews that are very far out from the majority of them. Some times people have a bone to pick with a resort or marina and they post negative comments about it. I understand that and can make my own decisions about how much weight to give to someone's comments.

For the record, I enjoy reading AC and use it extensively when planning future trips. Thanks a bunch to the owners of the site for putting together a great site that has become one of my favorite tools to use.

GFC

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Ok I got tired after 3 pages. GFC's comments are spot on as are B&Bs.

Being new to boating, not understanding all the cruising guides out there, I came upon Active Captain and found it useful.

Bit that was before I got the gps puck to work on the laptop. once that happened, my world was transformed. No longer did I have to know the names of each bend in the icw.

I could make tomorrow s cruise plan and instantly see what was accessible and/or adjust the trip accordingly.

Now that I am in Europe, I cannot begin to tell you how much I miss AC.

Just as b&b mentioned, buying products on Amazon, many times you need the reviews to figure out how to install it or get it to work.

AC is the same way, there is always a range of opinion to guide your own decision.

Coming into strange marinas, even with the Google sat picture, is still so much MORE stressful not having the experience of others to learn from and plan for.

So far in these first weeks, that has been the most stressful part of th is cruise, far worse than the crappy wx or being on a relatively tight time schedule.

Finland, Sweden and Norway will be some of the best cruising grounds I may ever see, yet not having anchorage information really will take some of the fun out it for me.
In the US, someone will have mentioned: "watch out for that big assed rock just past the entrance" or "it gets shallow on the NE corner."

And the the guides trying to be a European AC are only electronic versions of the printed guides.

And if you don't like ac, then don't use it.

Lastly, for the negativos, you bring up an example of companies using boiler plate reviews.

Yes, that is actually cost effective if:

you are selling millions, and
your customer base is to lazy to actually read even a few reviews, but instead just look at the number for the avg review. "Look honey, it got a 5, it must be good"

And they don't notice that 90% of the reviews are ONE line.

Ok. I have guilted myself into writing reviews for AC during my summer travels.

Wxx3 said:

Now that I am in Europe, I cannot begin to tell you how much I miss AC.

Ok. I have guilted myself into writing reviews for AC during my summer travels.

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Good, gotta start getting more European info somehow, you're in a good position to lead by example.

Glad Jeff has been seeing this. I too like AC very much, especially the marina info. And I've tried to do my part, as well.

-Chris

I am sitting here wearing my AC hat too. I have done several bad reviews of marinas over the years. I am especially hard on marinas that share the heads/showers with the Tiki Bar...or any bar for that matter. Usually the problem is that those who build marinas and resorts and bars are not used to spending the night there. None of my reviews have been edited out and I have jumped on some of the best ones.

I think that AC has done a terrific job and criticizing Jeff is akin to criticizing Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi or Harry Chapin or my next door neighbor, Ed.

seasalt007 said:

I think that AC has done a terrific job and criticizing Jeff is akin to criticizing Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi or Harry Chapin or my next door neighbor, Ed.

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Wifey B: Omg, you didn't really type that....it was dictated and that was spell correct? Now your next door neighbor Ed...that dude I don't know about. You have just written a classic humor line.

BandB said:

What do you figure, that if they see that they'll give you good service thinking you'll review them? lol

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That's sort of the rub... We have a great old time Hardware store near the boat- unique in many ways and close to the marina. A couple of times now I have mentioned the AC site and possible benefit of that kind exposure to the owner. HoHum.. No interest at all.
So far as my hat- it now has character with a few drips of 5200 on top- I just wear it to hopefully perceived as a gnarly old Salt. You can't just purchase an AC cap. U gotta earn it too!!


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's

Active Captain and Cruisersnet are two of the best tools everybody should study and use before making any trip!

windmill29130 said:

Active Captain and Cruisersnet are two of the best tools everybody should study and use before making any trip!

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We use both and also Waterway Guide.