Customer Reviews

The Unofficial Guide to Cruises (Unofficial Guides)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We all love books with titles like these. They are going to tell us the "real" truth behind the corporate line. How well does this book live up to its promise?

First, the basics of the book. The first 130 pages holds background information - why cruises are cost effective, maps of key cruising regions, and so on. The rest of the book - which is about 660 pages total - is a ship by ship review of the main ships that you can choose to cruise on.

I bought this book, so obviously I was keen to hear the "secrets" :) But unfortunately, even though this version of the book came out only a year ago, I already see a large number of inaccuracies in it. It's not really a surprise - as much as they claim to be "unofficial", there is no way a group of reviewers (or especially the 2 who claim primary credit for writing this book) can go back and visit every ship listed, every year. But that means that either 1) the information is therefore inaccurate, or 2) they fall back on what the company reports, meaning they are no longer an unbiased 3rd party.

In addition, just what information are they giving you? I turned right to the Norwegian Majesty as I am looking to cruise with them shortly. They give stats like cabin count, draft, beam, etc. Undoubtedly they got those from the cruise lines, and didn't measure them themselves :). They list the decor colors, the names of the restaurants, the items in the cabins (desk, TV, etc.)

Really, the entire review (which is about 2 small pages long) is a transcript of information found on corporate pages. It says things like the Sky Deck has lounge chairs, rest rooms and showers. It really doesn't have any subjective information at all.

With the thousands of reviews available online, from people who DO go into the good, bad and ugly of each cruise line, I have to admit I was disappointed. Let's say I wanted to choose between the several cruise lines running to Bermuda, I don't know that these write-ups would really help over the official information found on the cruise ships' websites. With the information in the book not necessarily being accurate or up-to-date, even what they do show isn't something I could rely on fully. And given how much the price is for this book, it's really not very price-effective given how few pages are actually applicable for a given person.

That's not to say that the book is "bad" in any way. The beginning section is quite helpful, if basic. It talks about planning ahead, making sure you're in town a day early so that you don't risk missing your ship. It gives general advice on what to pack.

But again, you really do far better with web offerings - because instead of giving general advice on packing for "all cruises everywhere" (which has to include both Alaska and Jamaica), the web can give specific advice for specific lines going to specific destinations. Even two ships both going to a single island can have vastly different dress codes.

If someone doesn't have a web connection, and wants a general quick-reference book for scanning (say in the waiting room of a travel agency), this might be a good book to have. But if you're a cruiser who has a destination in mind, or a specific cruise ship in mind, this information is really far too brief.

I'm going on my third cruise, and have a slightly itchy feeling that I might like to try a somewhat different cruise next year. I bought this book because of its detailed rating system (two scales: one for quality and one for value)and because of its detailed coverage of scores of ships and cruise lines. I'm glad I did, even though it still doesn't include everything I'd like to know (one of these days someone will write a cruise guide that includes sample floor plans and relative sizes of different classes of cabin--but it hasn't happened yet!).

I personally found this guide to be helpful even though I would qualify as both an experienced cruiser and a devoted internet searcher (see review below). It has very good information on how and why you might want to figure out your own air transportation, which cruises are for you and which aren't, and is pretty accurate in summing up cruise ship ambience. I particularly enjoyed the "This cruise recommended for..." and "This cruise not recommended for..." sections, which really help you to narrow your list down to precisely those ships that offer what you want--even if you want a luxurious but not stuffy sports minded cruise without waterslides!

I wish it had had an index, and I found some of its Cunard Line information inaccurate, but even still I am glad to have this book on my travel reference shelf.

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.

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.

Showker's cruise guide is right on target, what the Fielding guide once was before the reviews became dated. I love her focus on value for money, descriptions of fellow passengers and the comprehensive coverage of all aspects. Great for first timers or the experienced cruiser.

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.

I am planning my honeymoon cruise with my bride, and I was feeling completely overwhelmed at the beginning of our quest to plan the voyage. I feared being "taken" and going into even more debt (you don't even want to know how much the wedding costs!).

I bought this book to bring me up to speed fast and protect me from tourist traps for wasting money. The book has been an excellent primer and reference guide, all in one. The first hundred or so pages teach you about the history of cruising and present cruising market, gives guidelines for choosing the cruise package right for you, and lists ways to capture those elusive "deep discounts." The second section (the next several hundred pages) gives detailed discriptions of the cruise lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, etc.) and reviews of the individual boats in the line; detailing dining options, crew, tipping, recreational activities and more.

The only knock on this book is that it promises to be critical of the cruise lines (saying it is an "unofficial" guide, so it can be negative) but it never is critical. It rates some boats as a 5 out of 10 on quality and a "C" on value, but it will go on to say that the boat is "exquisite" and "lavish" and leaves the reader wondering why the boat deserved the much lower rating ...

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.

"The Unofficial Guide to Cruises 2003" is a well written book that is a quite complete guide to virtually all cruises that you might realistically be interested in. The detail on different ships and lines is excellent, though I personally think that the Berlitz book "Ocean Cruising & Cruise Ships 2003" is more detailed on the ships themselves, and is generally easier to use than "The Unofficial Guide to Cruises 2003," though both have strong and weak points.

The strength of this book is in the complete and clear explanations of every aspect of a cruise for someone new to cruising. Some people like the breakdown by separate quality and value scales, but I didn't find it particularly user friendly, and often was scratching my head trying to resolve the grades received with narrative about particular ships. Once again, I think Berlitz has a more straightforward numerical system where it is clear why each ship got the overall score that it got.

While I prefer the Berlitz book marginally, this is also an excellent book with it's own unique viewpoints and strengths. My strategy has become to use the two books in tandem, as together there is a complete picture that neither book completely captures on it's own. Overall a noble effort and in the end this book is recommended for anyone considering a cruise, especially first time cruisers.

I had already booked my cruise when I purchased this book. I was looking for details on shore excursions, shipboard info and how to get to the port of Miami. Frommer's Carribean Cruise book had more of the information I was looking for. This "Unofficial Guide to Cruises" would be good if you were trying to decide which cruise to take. But again, there wasn't any information on what I was looking for in shore excursions, sightseeing, maps, etc.