Customer Reviews

Berlitz Ocean Cruising & Cruise Ships (Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I now own the 1995, 2000 and 2003 editions of this guide, and this new edition is, as it claims to be, indeed a <<complete>> guide to the world of cruising. My previous review of the book seems to have been helpful to 123 readers, so I feel encouraged to rewrite and update my views on this new edition.
There are many cruise ship guides on the market, but none as complete and thorough as this one which gives very detailed reviews of no fewer than 254 cruise ships, ranging from the modest <<Funchal>> to the, some would say, immodest <<Voyager of the Seas>>. Certainly there is a very important first section dealing with many aspects of the cruising experience, but thankfully not the huge amount of space that many cruise book writers feel they must devote to descriptions of ports and cruise destinations. There are many other travel books that can give you that information. The major part of the book [around 75%] is devoted to the very detailed descriptions, reviews and ratings of the individual cruise ships, each review giving a general description, accomodation, dining, entertainment, and, very importantly, <<weak points>>. You may not agree with all of Douglas Ward's comments, but he is generally very fair in his criticisms.
Some reviewers feel that Mr. Ward is too <<european>> in his viewpoint, but my own view is that although Carnival, Princess or Royal Caribbean are excellent introductions to cruising for first-timers, each with their own particular strengths, however it's sad to see so many cruisers who won't venture past their <<comfort zone>>, and this is where Mr. Ward's expertise comes in. Most cruisers won't have the means, nor perhaps the desire, to travel on his top rated ship <<Europa>>, but his description of life aboard such a superb ship makes a mouth-watering read.
One reviewer took Mr. Ward to task for a perceived <<anti-american>> stance, however I can detect no such bias. Rather, his approach is truly international, unlike most cruise ship writers who look at the cruising scene only from the american perspective. The most interesting cruises are those which have a truly international clietele. If the ship were full of only Los Angeleans, or Londoners, or Sydneysiders, it would be a very dull cruise indeed.
The inclusion of colour photos and maps in this new edition makes a welcome innovation, as are the descriptions of ships, like the Queen Mary 2, that are yet to be launched. Some may argue that the cruise enthusiast can find all he or she needs to know on the internet, however I would counter that few writers could compete with Ward on completeness or detail in their reviews. The blurb on the back cover claims <<includes simply everything you ever wanted to know about cruise ships>> and I woud have to concur with this judgement. It's a great read, both for the experienced cruiser, and the novice - and I defy any non-cruiser who delves into it to resist after sampling Ward's enthusiastic tome. Good reading - & Good cruising!

Douglas Ward returns to a format, in his 2003 edition, that enables the reader to compare similarly-rated ships in a manner that distinguishes between cuisine, service, entertainment, etc. Therefore, his critical eye and high standards combine to provide the reader with the tools to choose a sailing so that, by disembarking, they'll be thinking of their next cruise vacation. Indeed, this thorough analysis is a "must have" for any person selling cruises, contemplating their first cruise, or their fifteenth voyage. Don't leave home without it!

Before I purchase any cruise-related books, I prefer to verify the information I know to be true. While I have been on three different cruise lines and ships, my wife has been on many more. Based on our experiences, this book has accurate information about what to expect on the ships listed.

Nearly every ship in every cruise line has a summary or review in this book. For each ship the vital statistics (Passenger Count, year built etc) are provided. I've chosen a cruise based solely on that information before, and Berlitz's information is quite thourough. Berlitz then continues and assigns a numerical rating to each ship based on five or six factors which also has it's own numerical rating. Once again, my wife and I found nearly every rating to be in line with our experiences. Most importantly, the comparisons between ratings (for example comparing the NCL Sea with the Celebrity Horizon) seemed to be accurate in our opinion. Based on this information, we have purchased this book to plan our next voyage.

My chief complaint about this book is that there are times when the written parts - that is to say the opinions expressed - are a bit superficial and do not provide much insight. This varies widely from review to review with some ships having a wealth of information and others having little to offer.

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who is a die-hard cruise planner who wishes to have all of the information prior to booking. It should not be your only resource, but it is a wonderful place to begin.

Berlitz does it right with this release - although as soon as something like this is published, it's outdated. But it's worth the $23.95. This title is good for the beginner as well as the experienced cruiser. Most of the information is relevant and accurate.

Douglas Ward does a splendid job of presenting the world of cruising to readers. He divides the book into several sections from: Who Goes Cruising? to Typical Extra-cost Items. Almost 700 pages. There's even a section for the physically challenged. The Booking and Budgeting section is excellent, although I think that the part where the services of a travel agent are questionable are overplayed. You can't ask questions to an Internet page when you're trying to book a cruise AND it's kinda unfair to call up an agent just to ask a quesion without any intention of booking...

I am fond of this book for giving detailed information on most major cruise ships currently afloat. There is virtually nil on the actual itineraries, but there is an abundance of insight into the technical details of the ships themselves, and more importantly excellent analysis of a ship's ambiance, which is critical for making a good decision on whether to cruise on a specific ship or not (e.g., the differences between a Celebrity ship and a Carnival ship).

Before I consider a cruise on a specific ship, I open this wonderful book up and read the entry for that ship, and have never been disappointed with the informative analysis and technical information. I just finished a Bermuda cruise on the Celebrity 'Horizon,' and found the book to be right on target, and the cruise to be perfect.

One minor nitpick, that does not really detract from the overall value of the book (but would be nice in future editions) is the general absence of information on the ships that specialize in coastal cruising in Norway (Norwegian Coastal Voyage). I know that is a fairly specialized area, but there are many other specialized ships in here.

If you are interested in itinerary details, this book is of limited use, but if you use it in the planning stage, you will greatly increase your chances of a great cruise suitable for you.

This is a very informative book for anyone comtemplating a cruise and I can highly recommend it.

This book can only be described as a very excellent summary level reference guide for the over 260 ships covered. If you need to have more indepth review, please look elsewhere (unofficial cruise guide would be an excellent choice). However, if you don't mind shelling out the cash to purchase this book, it's an excellent reference material (similiar to a view from 5,000 ft above).

I'm happy with this reference book, but I also have plenty of "duplicative" books (Unofficial cruise guide, Frommer's caribbean cruises and ports of call, Alaska by cruiseships, Passporter Disney cruise lines, and various other titles).

The book provides detailed information on vritually every cruise ship alfoat. A good portion of this is useful, too, like the eletrical current in the cabin, or if the ship has a movie theatre. However, the ship reviews do need some work. They come across as hypercritical, and seem to be written based on traditional British cultural expectations. They do provide a breakdown of how they arrived at their scores, but this causes some problems. They compare luxury ships such as the QE2 with mainstream ships like the Fantasy. This is innapropiate because people have different expecations from a luxury ship as compared to a mainstream liner. There are some minor innacuracies, too. The main dining rooms on the Paradise are the Destiny and Elation, not the Destiny and Paradise as the book states (I sailed on that ship twice). Also, the book implies that the Carnival Destiny uses a new facility at the Port of Miami. However, the Destiny has been based out of San Juan, PR since at least 2001 (I have all the brochures).

In summary, if you can overlook the minor errors, this book makes a good, concise reference book.