Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships 2002 (Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships, 2002) (Paperback)

by Douglas Ward (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2002 rates over 240 major and minor ships cruising the world's oceans and waterways. Providing all the advice the first-time or experienced cruiser will ever need, this is the essential guide to choosing the perfect cruise. With over 275,000 copies sold since its first publication in 1986, the Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships has been hailed as the definitive cruising guide by the cruise industry and travellers alike.

About the Author
Author Douglas Ward is considered to be one of the world's foremost authorities on cruising and cruise ships and is president of the Maritime evaluations Group, an independent international agency that rates cruise ships worldwide. He has been involved in cruising for over 30 years, spending more than 4,300 days at sea, aboard more than 850 cruises.

Product Details

• Paperback: 663 pages
• Publisher: Berlitz Guides; Revised edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 283157840X
• ISBN-13: 978-2831578408
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,089,842 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

123 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2000, December 9, 1999

By	Max Petterson "Cruiseabout" (Gold Coast, Qld., Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Berlitz 2000 Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships (Paperback)

There are many cruise ship guides on the market, but none as complete or as thorough as this one, which is written for people who cruise, as opposed to people who think they may like to cruise. Certainly there is a certain amount of space devoted to the basics of the cruising experience, but thankfully not the huge amount of space that many cruise book writers feel they have to devote to descriptions of ports and cruise destinations. There are many other travel books that can give you that information. The major bulk of the book (around 70%) is devoted to very detailed descriptions, reviews and ratings for over 240 cruise ships, ranging from the small and modest JASON, to the huge, and some would say immodest, VOYAGER OF THE SEAS. This is where the author, Douglas Ward, excels. His descriptions, comments and ratings are fair and relevant. You may not agree with every judgement, particularly if you are a fan of the Carnival line (their highest rated ship comes 82nd on his list), but let's face it, Carnival is a great line for first time cruisers, but for many seasoned cruisers, a SECOND Carnival cruise is not something we would put very high on our cruise wish list! I would rate this book as indispensible for all travel agents and cruise enthusiasts. The only minor criticisms I could make are: RATINGS: a rating system out of 1000 rather than 2000 would enable readers to compare ships more easily, via a percentage system (for example, the highest rated ship is given a score of 1799 - if this were to be, say 900, it converts easily to a 90% approval rate - a little easier to comprehend) WHATEVER HAPPENED TO...?: Over the years well known ship names disappear through name changes, company take-overs, sinkings or delistings, and I would love to see a section of Ward's book covering, not just the current year, but going back several years, detailing exactly that - whatever happened to...? Finally, although I rate Ward's book as tops in it's field, I also enjoyed the enthusiastic chatty style employed in Slater & Basch's FIELDING's WORLDWIDE CRUISES. They group ships according to cruise lines, and give an overall evaluation of each line as well as individual ships, however do not review as many ships as Ward does, concentrating on the major or larger cruise line operations. Nevertheless, a good second opinion, should you want one.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Berlitz 2000 Review, March 17, 2000

By	Bill A. Belt (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Berlitz 2000 Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships (Paperback)

My library currently has about 200 published travel books in it and this book is one of the best I have added to the library. It is factual and since we have traveled on several of the ships we found it to be accurate and up to date.I think you can count on the information 100%. Well worth buying if you are looking for hard facts and up to date data about specific ships.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for Rating the Cruise ships., March 8, 2002

By	Robert J. Mendez "robertj668" (Fort Worth, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.