Customer Reviews

Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships (2002) (Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships)

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We purchased this book for the purpose of the ratings of the cruise ships. Sometimes the brochures from the cruise line can be a little deceiving. As we have not traveled by cruise yet, we have spoken with quite a few that have and the book mirrors their reviews rather closely the book just put it together so well. Each ship receives points on many facets of the ship from service food to amenities. This is very helpful. Though I will agree with the other reviewers that the writer tends to reuse his paragraphs for similar ships. Though the information may be true it does get a little boring re reading the exact same thing over and over again

Buy this book for the rating of the ships; however if you are looking for more detail for example food menus, on board amenities or more detailed things like that, then get Sterns Guide to the cruise vacation.

All in all this is an excellent book for learning about each cruise ship. We do like the rating system and the description again though he may reuse his words in other reviews.

Who knows cruise ships like a former cruise ship employee? No one. That's why Douglas Ward's quarter century of experience with the "back of the house" makes fascinating reading.

Don't look here for tips on how to save money on cruises. Don't expect Mr. Ward to tell you which cruise to take. Don't even rely on him to be competely unbiased - Cunard (his ex-employer) and other British lines fare better than their U.S. based counterparts.

Instead, what you can expect is painstaking detail and some surprising insights. Want to know whether if a ship has a smoke free dining room? He'll tell you. Fussy about your towels? Discover which lines use luxury cotton, and who settles for cheaper blends. Want to stroll and take in some sea air? Find out the vessels that feature wrap-around promenade decks. Readers will learn which ships have the most space and best crew-to-passenger-ratios, as well as the others that are always so crowded you'll have to bribe someone to get a deck chair. And did you realize you have to bring your own shampoo on Carnival cruise ships?

The book does have its drawbacks. Ships are listed alphabetically, rather than by cruise line. As other Amazon readers have pointed out, many reviews have repetitive descriptions. And the aforementioned bias in favour of ships that serve a decent afternoon tea may disconcert American readers!

That said, Mr. Ward is one of the few cruise reviewers willing to criticize as well as praise. He'll warn you about annoying repetitive announcements, about waiters who can't speak English, and design flaws that exacerbate the ever present line-ups. You'll also find listed here charter cruise ships overlooked by other reviewers, and excellent ship histories that track when a vessel changed hands or was refurbished.

You'll get the most out of this book by reading a cross section of reviews for ships from different lines. If you've cruised before, check what Mr. Ward liked and hated about a ship you know. That way you'll get a feel for his priorities and preferences, and how they differ from your own. Remember that movie critic who hates every film you like (and vice versa)?

Douglas Ward's Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising is updated yearly, and for my money is a better value than any of its cruise review counterparts.

The first part of the book (on crusing) is informative, but the second part of the book (on cruise ships) is flat. Be forewarned: reviews of same-class ships on each of the cruise lines read the same! "The Unofficial Guide to Cruises 2002" far outshines this book, which capitalizes on Douglas Ward's name and forsakes quality.

This work is detailed and provocotive in that it will have the reader comparing vessels & cruiselines thoroughly. If read prior to sailing, there'll be no surprises.

I have purchased this book for the past several years for the single reason that it is very informative with basic facts and figures. If you are interested in specifics of ships such as tonnage, crew and passenger size, and other factual information, it is fine. However, I have been on over 300 cruises myself and have worked for several major cruise lines for years. I find Mr. Ward to be extremely bias and a down right anti-American snob. He insults anything he can about American service and hospitality, including mentioning the cheeses from America being of poor quality (I hope he doesn't visit Wisconsin anytime soon!)ans with statements like, "Americans eat anything put in front of them on their plates", etc. I also disagree with about half of his reviews, as do most major publications, such as Conde Nast Traveler which rates large cruise ships very differently. I do agree with some of the reviews, however he places so much importance on things such as afternoon high tea(fine if you are British and 85 years old), whether the jelly and jam is in glass jars or disposable containers(gasp!), and the percentage of cotton vs poly blend in the sheets and towels. Sure, perhaps this is nice to know, however, what Mr Ward does not seem to bear in mind is that over 75% of the Cruise Passengers in the world ARE the Americans whom he is insulting and buying this book. Cruise vacationers care more about issues such as entertainment, ship safety, health inspections, and many other facts which he consistantly fails to mention in specifics. Cruise Lines vary from ship to ship with entertainment quality. Very often one cruise line will have several different producers in charge of shows which means quality can fluctuate from very good to mediocre from ship to ship within one line. Some ships have brand new, state of the art shows, while some ships, due to the high expense of new shows keep the same tired shows for years. Some get an old show from a different ship and passengers can see the same shows they saw years before. Yet he rates all ships the same throughout one single cruise line. Also, Even though a ship may be the exact same layout as another, as cruise lines often mass produce one "class" of ships, each also has it's own distinct flavor, style, and some are maintained better than others. Each ship also has it's own head chef and food does vary in quality within each line, yet he once again groups ratings exactly the same for an entire cruise line. If you have purchased this book, you know the snobbery and the annoying repetitive information I am mentioning. If you have not bought this book, look elsewhere, or you will be disappointed. If you ARE Berlitz, you will realize Dougals Ward who self claims to be the "Leading authority on cruising in the world" is not what he claims, or perhaps was back in 1950's Britain. Today however, most cruise ship passengers, whether first time cruising or a 300 cruise veteran, want young, fresh attitudes, ideas, and more important details that will actually have an impact on their vacation.

The authur, while informative, uses a lot of the same language to describe the many different ships. For example, the sentence, "Standing in line for embarkation, disembarkation, shore tenders, and self-service buffett meals is an inevitable aspect of cruising aboard all large ships." appears in almost all large-ship reviews (and a few medium sized ship reviews, too). Also, all the reviews on (now bankrupt) Rennisance Cruises' R-class ships are word-for-word identical. They even get the identical score on a 2000 point scale, too. I even noticed one paragraph that was repeated in the same review and other editing marks in the text (proofreading errors). Carnival's "Destiny" class ships receive the identical score while their "Fantasy" class ships scores vary by only five points with five of the eight ships in the class receiving the identical score. While I did expect that ships from the same line and class would receive similar scores, given that 60% of the raiting is based on ship-board experience that should vary such as service quality and food preparation. there should be some variation. The "side bars" are just repeats of what the authour wrote earlier in a separate chapter. The book lists ships alphabetically, although grouping by cruise line would help immensely. I personally feel that "The Unofficial Guide to Cruising" is a much better buy as it not only provides information on the ships, but on how to get the best deal, too.