(Larger Image)
|
The Unofficial Guide to Cruises (Unofficial Guides)
by Kay Showker, Bob Sehlinger
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Macmillan General Reference (1995-10)
ISBN: 0028604954
EAN: 9780028604954
Dewey Decimal #: 910.45
Paperback: 816 pages
SKU: 10235
Condition: As New
Comments: Binding: Softcover. Condition: As New.
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Amazon.com
This winner of the Lowell Thomas award for Best New Guidebook is for travelers who want to step behind the scenes of the world's top cruise lines. In keeping with the Unofficial Guide philosophy, this book pulls no punches as it reports on the nitty-gritty details of more than 120 cruise lines and 350 ships, ranking each for value and quality. The authors reveal industry secrets for getting the lowest possible fares, share helpful hints for getting the cabin you want most at a price you can afford, and give strategies for booking hassle-free air connections, making the most of your time and money on board, and figuring out who your fellow passengers will be. The Unofficial Guide to Cruises: 1999 is a great resource for tried-and-true cruise passengers, those new to cruising, and those wanting to try something fresh on their next cruise vacation. --Kathryn True
|
Book Description
The renowned Unofficial Guides are trusted by millions of readers. No other series dares to be this candidthe Unofficial Guides are the Consumer Reports of travel guides. Every hotel and attraction is rated and ranked by a team of unbiased inspectors. Value-conscious and loaded with tips that help readers avoid wasting time and money, each guide is easy to use, with detailed descriptions of a wide range of hotels and restaurants in all price categories. Readers love the rating system used to objectively evaluate attractions, hotels, and restaurants. Handy charts demonstrate how each place stacks up against the competition. The Unofficial Guides contain the most honest evaluations of the Disney parks on the market (with each ride rated and given a suggested age group), and offer proven strategies for enjoying them with a minimum of hassle. Unofficial Las Vegas rates and ranks the casinos, and provides useful strategies for beating the odds. Each guide is tailored to provide convenience and insider advice on each destination, and addresses the needs of families, business travelers, and more by giving them the lowdown on whats really worth their time and money. Also included are accurate maps, plus detailed information on shopping, nightlife, sports, and more. Look for a contemporary new cover design on this falls list!
|
Customer Reviews
|
OK guide, but much information available elsewhere.
Rating  (3)
Date: 2007-11-05
The book is okay for people who haven't booked a cruise before, but I found that much of the information they offer as an "unofficial guide" may be found at various discussion sites that are easily found through a web search.
|
|
Too much work!
Rating  (2)
Date: 2007-08-02
I was looking for a cruise to Europe--so I bought this book. Save your money. This book is poorly organized. My husband and I wasted several hours trying to figure out how this book was organized. Then we realized it was not organized at all. I actually gave up and bought another book.
|
|
Very shallow overview with little critical information
Rating (3)
Date: 2005-05-28
28 out of 29 customers found this reveiw helpful
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.
|
|
Very Good Source For Cruise Information
Rating  (4)
Date: 2003-11-23
12 out of 13 customers found this reveiw helpful
"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.
|
|
Not as complete as the "Frommer's Carribean Cruise" book
Rating (4)
Date: 2003-01-18
11 out of 15 customers found this reveiw helpful
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.
|
|
|