Customer Reviews

Alaska by Cruise Ship: The Complete Guide to the Alaska Cruise Experience

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Anne Vipond's straightforward style, well-conceived organization, and excellent content make this book indispensable for Alaska-bound cruisers. Anne patiently describes all the major cruise ports in Alaska and the Inside Passage. The detailed town maps with keys to the text descriptions are excellent. Descriptions of various attractions meaty, yet brief. The thing that is most attractive about this book is its focus on activities interesting to cruisers, as opposed to the long list of hotels and restaurants common in other guide books. Anyone taking a cruise to Alaska will find this book invaluable. It seems to be the only reference available that provides assistance in planning your trip to make maximum benefit from your time in each port.

This is all you need to plan your time while on your Alaska cruise. I wanted a book that would enable me to make decisions about where to go when in port, what to see, what to not bother with, and how to amuse myself and my family. Like everybody taking a cruise, we wanted to get as much out of it as possible! This book is an indispensable guide to what you will see on your Alaska cruise. It describes the various ports of call, has maps of the towns, suggestions for what to do with your free time, what not to miss. Having this book precluded me from lugging around 3 different books and grabbing all those touristy brochures along the way. Have you chosen Alaska for your cruise destination? Then take this book along. Highly recommended.

Excellent coverage of Alaskan ports, including most of the minor ports visited by smaller ships. Essential for the Alaska-bound travelers who wish to maximize their experience in ports of call. By using the walking guides and descriptions of attractions, readers will be able to visit the high points of each port, and skip destinations with less appeal. Helps to cut down on the expense of shore excursions by suggesting interesting alternatives. Also assists you to choose the correct shore excursion for your interests. If you're traveling to Alaska, this is an essential companion. Also contains information on weather, dress, culture, and what to expect in general. Many maps and illustrations add an additional dimension of clarity to the excellent text. - Steve Pickering at DoctorCruise.com

I just got back from Alaska (June 04) this book had great information. I definitely recommend getting it a MONTH before your cruise and reading it through. Getting it the day before is a little late :(

I am going on a cruise to Alaska this August and this book has all the information about the areas of Alaska that you can visit, so I feel for the money, it is an excellent investment! However, I would suggest purchasing the current Frommer's guide to go along with it because it has the most current and up to date contact informaton for all of the excursions that you can take when you are at port in the cities you will be visiting.

If you are planning an Alaskan Cruise this is the book to get. I wish I'd had it before signing up for the cruise - I would have picked one that stopped at some of the cities that our cruise won't be stopping at. The book does a great job of talking about cruises in general without giving too much attention to any one cruise line. The book was real handy in choosing which shore excursions to take. If you're taking a cruise to Alaska, this book is much more handy than the Eyewitness Guide Book for Alaska which only covers on-land sightseeing.

If you have absolutely no idea what you want to see, or where you want to go, then this book could help you. However, if you shop on Amazon.com, you can get the same information this book provides at any of the cruise websites.

The information in this book is basic and cursory, and it provides no real helpful tips. I was looking for hints on what shore excursions to pick, where to eat in port, etc. I didn't find anything remotely helpful. I haven't read the other cruise guides, but certainly would NOT recommend this one unless you are starting to plan a trip and know absolutely nothing and don't like to read online.

Excellent general guidebook for cruisers to Alaska, especially
first-timers! Filled with helpful maps and color photos. Even has street maps of Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle. Highly recommended!

We checked out a few Alaska guidebooks before planning our September/07 Alaska cruise and found most lacked the cruising information we needed to help us pick a cruise. We found Ms. Vipond's writing entertaining and thoughtful and her specific information on the types of Alaska cruises that are available (round trip or straight line) very helpful. She also goes into the region's history, native peoples, wildlife, port attractions with lots of detail on shore excursions which helped us sort out our choices.

On the cruise, the guide's detailed port maps and the large Alaska pullout map at the back of the book were indispensable. And unlike many other guides, this one has hundreds of color photos which are useful to identify wildlife, spot attractions and gave us an idea of what we would see on various shore excursions. We never left the ship without it.

I found this book helpful in deciding just which Inside Passage Cruise to take and which ship to book on. There is a lot of information that can become dated. That is why I got the latest edition. I am booking for early in the cruise season 2007 while reading it in 2006.