The Unofficial Guide to Cruises 2003 (Unofficial Guides)

By Kay Showker and Bob Sehlinger

Book Overview

The Unofficial Guides? are the "Consumer Reports" of travel guides, offering candid evaluations of all the vital elements of your vacation, all rated and ranked by a team of unbiased inspectors so even the most compulsive planners can be sure they're spending their time and money wisely. Each guide addresses the needs of everyone from families to business travelers, with handy charts that demonstrate how each place stacks up against the competition. Plus, all the details are pulled out so they're extremely easy to scan. The Unofficial Guide? to Cruises looks beyond the glossy cruise line brochures to rate and rank each cruise line and ship so you can find the one that's right for you. We give the inside scoop on cabins, itineraries, service, dining, entertainment, facilities, and shore excursions, and show you how to get the very best deal when you're ready to book your trip. Includes complete coverage of worldwide cruises, from the Caribbean and Alaska to Europe and Asia. The Unofficial Guide? to Cruises, 2003 also includes: More than 120 cruise lines and 350 ships reviewed and ranked for value and quality, plus tips on how to identify the ship that's right for you Industry secrets for getting the lowest possible fare, plus extras like free vacation days The inside story on who your fellow passengers will be Proven strategies for making hassle-free air connections Tips on making the most of your time and money once you're on board

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764566318
• ISBN13: 9780764566318
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 672 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.5" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

The Unofficial Guide to Cruises 2001

For planning our first cruise, this book is excellent. Prior to reading this book, even though I had spent countless hours on the web, I was uncertain as to the best cruise choice for us. This book provides so many details that made it a simple matter to compare ships and make a decision. Especially helpful is the information on fellow passengers and recommendations to find the ship that best matches one's preferences. The detailed descriptions of the ships' features and life styles were extremely valuable in making a selection. The section on preparing for the trip and settling in is great for first-time cruise travelers. So much information is crammed in this book, and it is very well written. Would be nice to have an index, but the book is well organized so that one can easily bookmark sections of interest.

Very informative and easy to read. Good details.

This book had good details about the various ships cruising in the Carribean. It gives details about ports of call and pricing that other books don't include. I especially appreciated his detailed rating system since you can't use the star rating system anymore. He compared each ship line and individual ship thoroughly.

Very comprehensive and informative guide; humor included

This book was informative enough, entertaining enough, honest enough and impartial enough to motivate me to book my first-ever cruise. There is useful - indeed, necessary - information about every facet of a cruise, from booking the best deal, to required documents and from incredibly detailed descriptions of every cruise (and all of their ships) to a full description on what a day on a cruise is like. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is considering a cruise, particularly for the fisrt time.

An informative, up-to-date, comprehensive guide to cruises

This is a great book. I like it because it gives information but is not opinionated. It is full of practical advice on how to figure out the most important variables of a cruise, how and why to book through a travel agent, and why trip cancellation insurance is important and a good value. It includes about 20 pages of maps (cruising areas of the world). It also helps the reader think about the differences between cruises that stop at many ports of call vs. the benefits of just spending time at sea. The authors articulate the many types of cruises, and links various cruise lines, individual ships, and specific locations with categories of people you might find on that particular cruise.I never thought I would be interested in a cruise but after reading this guide I realize there are as many different types of cruises as there are people. I feel empowered to work through a travel agent with an understanding of how these industries work, knowing that if I'm flexible I'm going to get a good value.This book is a cut above your typical guide book. It has more information than you would ever want about cruise lines and individual ships including background and history on the cruise line companies. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and I recommend it to anyone who wants to research cruise alternatives. It is a great way to begin.