Book Description
Cruising is the perfect way to see America’s last frontier—wildlife and wilderness abound along the state’s breathtaking coastline, and are easily seen from the comfort of a deck chair or observation lounge.
Thoroughly updated every year, Frommer’s Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call is a compact guide that’s on top of all the latest developments and offerings in the rapidly changing cruise industry. Our author, a leading cruise journalists with years of experience, has compiled candid, first-hand reviews of each cruise line and each ship. The easy-to-use ratings, detailed drawings of each ship, and honest evaluations make it easy for you to find the cruise that suits your budget and your personal style, whether you want a luxury liner with fine dining or a small-ship cruise led by serious naturalists.
You’ll also find a nature guide that helps you understand what you’re seeing, complete with illustrations of glaciers and the various types of whales. We’ll show you how to get the best deals and how to maximize your time in the ports of call—all in one concise, pocket-sized volume.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Alaskan port information.......2007-10-08
This book was very helpful in determining which cities we wanted to include on our cruise port stops, BEFORE booking our trip. We were also able to plan ahead our list of "must see and do" in each port. This book will definitely be used as a guidebook to take with us to Alaska.
Good Guide.......2007-09-12
I just returned from a cruise to alaska and found this book to be very helpful. I work in a cruise related field and found it contained great reviews of different cruise lines. Port information was easy to follow. The "voice" of the book was friendly and eager to help. I recommend it to anyone who is considering or going to Alaska by ship.
Good overview of cruising Alaska.......2007-08-10
This book is a good general overview of cruising in Alaska. It would be particularly helpful for first-time cruisers, as much of book is spent explaining how a cruise "works"-- dining, tipping, etc. I appreciated the recommendations on what to pack for Alaska, and they made several good suggestions that I wouldn't have thought of myself. The book was not as up-to-date as I would have liked (Norwegian Pearl had not sailed as of it's writing), but I guess that's understandable. There were some good suggestions for things to do at the various ports on your own, aside from the shore excursions. In all, a helpful, easy-to-access book.
Useful Information.......2007-07-12
This book has way more information than you really need to know and can be some what ponderous reading it, but I found it very useful in planning my Alaskan cruise. My Fiance and I opted for the South bound cruise from Whittier to Vancouver on the Carnival Spirit and had a wonderful trip. When you go to Alaska, you will enjoy the scenery much more than the weather.
Frommer's Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call 2007 (Frommer's Complete) by Jerry Brown.......2007-06-27
This book was just what I expected it to be. It was in perfect condition,the price was great. I received it right away after ordering.
Book Description
- Listen to a free companion podcast on Frommers.com
A cruise is a complete vacation, so it's important that you choose the one that's right for you. Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call is the most user-friendly, opinionated, and comprehensive guide you can buy before you set sail. We provide in-depth coverage on cruises departing from U.S. ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Bermuda, Mexico and Canada.
Unlike rating systems used in other guides, our system is simple. We break down the essential elements of a cruise experience (dining, activities, children's activities, entertainment, service, overall enjoyment, and overall value), and rate them from "poor" to "outstanding." Photos of each ship combine with the text to give a better sense of the very real differences among the various lines.
Most important, this is the only cruise guide that provides the real prices people pay for cruises, not just the rack rates. Other guides tell you that a seven-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas costs $1,919. You can pay that if you want to, but only Frommer's tells you that the same cruise is selling for $999. We give both the rack rates and the discount price for every cruise we review. This feature alone makes Frommer's Cruises and Ports of Call by far the most valuable trip-planning book among cruise guides.
Our authors, noted cruise experts who've personally checked out every ship sailing in and around North America, offer candid and unbiased opinions on them all. They are completely up to date, with all the latest developments and the newest ships. You'll also get complete coverage of the major port destinations, with advice on how to spend your limited time ashore.
Customer Reviews:
this book is very honest.......2007-07-13
I have always turned to Frommer's for honest reviews of just about any destination. Their website is full of great info too
Great Starting Place.......2007-06-08
I have cruised many times before and found this book to be quite honest in its observations. We are sailing to Hawaii and I was able to find the information I wanted. I think this is a great resource for anyone considering a cruise vacation.
Book Description
• New anchors on Gold Rush History, Glaciers, and Whales
• An illustrated wildlife glossary
• Completely revamped cruise line and cruise ship chapter
Customer Reviews:
Great Introduction to Alaskan Cruising.......2007-04-13
My wife and I bought this book late last year to help us plan for an upcoming Alaskan cruise. I had never cruised before and she had only been on one cruise to the Bahamas many years ago. Fodor's gave us everything we needed in one book. As usual for Fodor's, they gave great descriptions and suggestions for all the ports of call for sailing vessels from the Seattle/Vancouver area, up to the northern coast of Alaska. Each port of call game with all the usual Fodor's helpful tips, suggestions and maps to get you around.
What sold me on this book over others was that unlike some others, Fodor's didn't just go over all the ports of call but also all the cruise lines, ships, and cruising in general. For a first time sailor it was very helpful. Packing, tipping, planning, travel to and from, breadowns of each ship, what they're demographic is like, food on the ships, and a whole bunch of other information. For the experienced sailor this may all be stuff you've seen before but for a newbie like me it was great. I highly recommend this book.
Book Description
Cruising is the perfect way to see America’s last frontier—wildlife and wilderness abound along the state’s breathtaking coastline, and are easily seen from the comfort of a deck chair or observation lounge.
Thoroughly updated every year (unlike the rest of the competition), Frommer’s Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call is a compact guide that’s on top of all the latest developments and offerings in the rapidly changing cruise industry. Our author, a leading cruise journalists with years of experience, has compiled candid, first-hand reviews of each cruise line and each ship. The easy-to-use ratings, detailed drawings of each ship, and honest evaluations make it easy for you to find the cruise that suits your budget and your personal style, whether you want a luxury liner with fine dining or a small-ship cruise led by serious naturalists.
You’ll also find a nature guide that helps you understand what you’re seeing, complete with illustrations of glaciers and the various types of whales. We’ll show you how to get the best deals and how to maximize your time in the ports of call—all in one concise, pocket-sized volume.
Download Description
Cruising is the perfect way to see America’s last frontier—wildlife and wilderness abound along the state’s breathtaking coastline, and are easily seen from the comfort of a deck chair or observation lounge.
Thoroughly updated every year (unlike the rest of the competition), Frommer’s Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call is a compact guide that’s on top of all the latest developments and offerings in the rapidly changing cruise industry. Our author, a leading cruise journalists with years of experience, has compiled candid, first-hand reviews of each cruise line and each ship. The easy-to-use ratings, detailed drawings of each ship, and honest evaluations make it easy for you to find the cruise that suits your budget and your personal style, whether you want a luxury liner with fine dining or a small-ship cruise led by serious naturalists.
You’ll also find a nature guide that helps you understand what you’re seeing, complete with illustrations of glaciers and the various types of whales. We’ll show you how to get the best deals and how to maximize your time in the ports of call—all in one concise, pocket-sized volume.
Customer Reviews:
Frommer's Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call.......2005-08-21
This book was great ...I read it from cover to cover and it gave me incredible information even about the cruise ship we were on that the line did not share with us. Would highly recommend it.
A Handy Guide for Cruising Alaska.......2004-09-03
I bought this book before an Alaskan cruise this summer, and found it to be invaluable, both for researching before hand and enjoying the ports of call on our cruise.
It's small (so it's easily portable), and chock full of information about all the ports. We used it constantly during the trip!
A tip - I bought this book in addition to the bigger Frommer's Alaska. The bigger book contains all the same info as the little one, along with details on a lot of places not covered in the cruising book. So don't buy both - decide how much of Alaska you want to see, and just get the one that suits your travel plans.
Worth It's Weight in Klondike Gold.......2004-08-16
I have never been on a cruise, but I am a savvy seasoned independant world traveler, (including over a dozen trips to Alaska), and I thought this book was an incredible resource! Alaska cruise options these days seem almost endless. There are more than 17 cruiselines taking more than 700,000 paasengers a season to Alaska! Juneau alone, receives over 450 passenger ship port of calls annually. Competing cruises are almost as indivdual as you are. This guidebook does a great job of laying out and encapsulating the many diverse cruise choices. When you finish reading this guide you will not only know which cruiseline you are interested in and which route, but you will likely know which individual ship you want to cruise on!
Visiting wedsites or talking with a travel agent are a poor substitute. Cruiseline websites provide lots of details, but lack comparative information. In addition, they are not going to tell you if their cabins are tiny, or the food is mediocre. Save visiting the cruiseline websites until after you read this guidebook to get more detail and photos - when you have narrowed the field.
Travel agents, no matter how good they are, simply don't have the time to dsseminate the volume of information in this book. But after you read this book and if you decide to use a travel agent, you will walk in well-informed and your agent will be quite impressed. It will also save them time and breath!
Whether your cruise is a once-in-a-liftime trip or an annual event, ...this guidebook is an invaluable resource.
Book Description
Cruising is the perfect way to see America’s last frontier—wildlife and wilderness abound along the state’s breathtaking coastline, and are easily seen from the comfort of a deck chair or observation lounge.
Thoroughly updated every year (unlike the rest of the competition), Frommer’s Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call is a compact guide that’s on top of all the latest developments and offerings in the rapidly changing cruise industry. Our author, a leading cruise journalists with years of experience, has compiled candid, first-hand reviews of each cruise line and each ship. The easy-to-use ratings, detailed drawings of each ship, and honest evaluations make it easy for you to find the cruise that suits your budget and your personal style, whether you want a luxury liner with fine dining or a small-ship cruise led by serious naturalists.
You’ll also find a nature guide that helps you understand what you’re seeing, complete with illustrations of glaciers and the various types of whales. We’ll show you how to get the best deals and how to maximize your time in the ports of call—all in one concise, pocket-sized volume.
Download Description
Cruising is the perfect way to see America's last frontier wildlife and wilderness abound along the state's breathtaking coastline, and are easily seen from the comfort of a deck chair or observation lounge. Thoroughly updated every year (unlike the rest of the competition), Frommer's Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call is a compact guide that's on top of all the latest developments and offerings in the rapidly changing cruise industry. Our author, a leading cruise journalists with years of experience, has compiled candid, first-hand reviews of each cruise line and each ship. The easy-to-use ratings, detailed drawings of each ship, and honest evaluations make it easy for you to find the cruise that suits your budget and your personal style, whether you want a luxury liner with fine dining or a small-ship cruise led by serious naturalists. You'll also find a nature guide that helps you understand what you're seeing, complete with illustrations of glaciers and the various types of whales. We'll show you how to get the best deals and how to maximize your time in the ports of call all in one concise, pocket-sized volume.
Customer Reviews:
Great for deciding on a cruise line or ship.......2006-06-07
If you have never cruised, this book is an excellent introduction for what to expect from a cruise, shore excursions, incidentals, travel insurance. Brown and Golden go in depth in comparing the different cruise lines and ships. The information presented is very up to date.
I bought this book primarily for port information, therefore the individual cruise ship information, however detailed, was of no use to me because I already booked my cruise. If you are in the process of deciding on a cruise line this book is very helpful.
The port information is excellent, it's provided as a very easy read. Frommer's gives the current admission prices for attractions and also gives excellent tips on specific excursions as well as contact numbers. The information here is better than anything of I found online.
Highly recommend with Anne Vipond's Alaska by Cruise Ship.
Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call 2006.......2006-04-29
This book has its strengths and weaknesses. If you are very early in the planning stages of an Alaskan Cruise this is a great book to help you select which cruise line and ship you should select. It is the strongest of the books I reviewed in describing the strengths and weaknesses of the various cruise ships. In fact over ? of the book deals with ships not the actual trip. There are shorts sections on the various ports of call. There is not a lot of depth to really get you excited about what you might want to do. Most ports have about four pages that offer walking tours, best cruise line excursions, local operator excursions and shopping.
Book Description
Because of their isolation from one another, each of Alaska’s Inside Passage communities is unique, with a personality and ambience all its own. Russian-accented Sitka has little in common with the busy, working city of Ketchikan. State capitol Juneau has both metropolitan amenities and easy access to the glorious outdoors. Skagway flaunts its vibrant Klondike past, while Haines offers charms in a lower key. This informative guide covers these and all the other major destinations along this popular route, including native culture spots in the Alaska panhandle. Reliable recommendations for where to stay and dine include both haute and rustic while activities span a variety of adventures: a historical walking tour, a whale-watching cruise, fishing, or flight-seeing to name just a few. Sidebar essays feature topics such as “Ferry Breaks” — sightseeing options for visitors with only a two- or three-hour layover — and “Good Buys,” showcasing items created and sold only at that destination. Easy-to-follow walking tours keyed to detailed town maps let visitors stay on track or veer off the beaten path.
Customer Reviews:
Cruising In Alaska.......2007-05-12
This book, though small in size, holds a lot of information. Nine of us are doing an Alaskan cruise tour this summer and I am sharing this book with the group--it is really helping us make our touring decisions.
Just What A Cruiser Needs for an Inside Passage Experience.......2007-04-16
I have not yet taken my Alaska cruise, but I am so happy that I discovered this book. Each Port of Call is listed and then suggestions are made for different lengths of time that you might be there. As an example, for Ketchikan, the reader gets a slice of the local history and facts (climate, etc)with a map of the town. Next, recommendations of things to do in four hours are listed. This includes a suggested walking tour of the city, if you just want to be sure to hit all of the main sites within walking distance of the ship.
Both sights and tours are discussed, including listing several tour companies that provide different options for travelers (again, using Ketchikan tours by bus, classic car or horse drawn carriages are available - details are provided). The next section gives recommendations for travelers who will be at the Port for a full day and then there is a section on visiting for two or more days.
Be warned that this is not a picture book. While there are a few pictures, you will find much more details than pictures. This book is designed to help the cruiser plan what sights they want to visit and provides excellent detail of the different sights, tours and shows that are available.
I am very excited about this book and have started planning what I'll be doing once I hit each stop on my cruise next September. I highly recommend this book if you want to know as much as possible about the area and the options, rather than just taking cruise sponsored tours or shopping.
Inside the Inside Passage.......2006-04-29
This 250-page book contains factual information regarding many activities at the ports of Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Haines and Skagway. The ports activities are divided up by the amount of time you have to participate in the activity. This is a text heavy book without many images. The descriptions are short and concise including addresses and contact numbers for the activities. The problem is that there is not enough of a description or recommendation to allow the reader to pre-plan which activities they really would like to do.
Book Description
Inside Passage Walking Tours: Exploring Major Ports of Call in Southeast Alaska, by Julianne Chase, is ideal for Alaska cruise ship passengers or anyone else who wants insider advice on what to see and do on a limited schedule.
The best way to experience Southeast Alaska,s premier destinations -- Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Sitka -- is on foot, and Inside Passage Walking Tours is the ideal personal tour guide. Inside Passage Walking Tours is an indispensable guide for cruise ship passengers who like to explore on their own, business travelers, state ferry riders, and individual boaters and sailors.
Author Julianne Chase works with one of the major cruise lines. She has walked each route numerous times and offers tips on side trips, alternative paths, and what to wear and carry. For the more adventurous walker, she describes two nearby wilderness hikes for each town, while boxed "quick facts" detail population, commerce, and weather statistics.
Each walk includes historic sites, Native American and other cultural information, the best lookouts and vistas, suggested dining spots (mentioned under "Grabbing a Bite" in each section), local personalities, events, shopping areas, maps, and photographs.
Another huge plus: Chase set up her book so that the walks are all circular routes. A person can start anywhere on the route, make their way along the entire tour, and finish right back where they started.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Guide.......2005-09-14
What a fantastic guide for Alaska cruisers!!! This book helped us make the most of our time in the ports of call.
Incredibly helpful!.......2002-10-17
We took this book with us to each port that we went to and were able to find a number of little off-the-beaten-path treasures as a result. The book gives detailed directions that even the directionally-impaired (like myself) can follow, and offers street names, landmarks, and amounts of walking time in order to assist you in getting from place to place.
In our case, our scheduled shore excursion in Juneau was canceled, so we just set out with the book. We got to see parts of Juneau that nobody else on our tour saw, and really enjoyed getting to know the city better. Some of the port towns in Alaska are very touristy, and this allowed us to plot out our own routes that would take us away from the crowds to see some of the lesser-known but just as fun landmarks. In both Juneau and Ketchikan, we found this book invaluable. I highly recommend it for anyone planning a cruise to Alaska - and especially for those who are doing it on a budget. By touring Juneau on our own instead of through a ship-planned shore excursion, we saved nearly five hundred dollars. Great book.
Inside Passage Walking Tours.......2000-09-14
Not too much, not too little and good fun.
This cute little book is easy to read, and full of all the right kinds of stuff. I didn't have to waste time sussing things out on my own. I knew what to expect before I got to each location, and when I did arrive I knew what to do every step of the way.
Good on ya, Julianne Chase .. great book!
Lightweight and complete.......2000-08-31
This book is so handy for the way it fit nicely into my, well, hand while I was walking around. I was able to refer to it so easily, letting it guide or remind me what I wanted to see and do. But I also read it before I went on my trip and loved the historical and hands on information like trail permits that helped me plan ahead. And I liked the fact that the author grew up in Juneau and she writes like a local with insider's knowledge and so you get more personal tidbits of info, easy to read, like a friend at your elbow.
great for cruise ship passengers.......2000-08-31
Sure, Alaskan Cruise Ships offer guided shore excursions which usually entail a bus tour. But Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Sitka are all so much better on foot!
If you decide to check out these ports of call at your own pace, be sure to get this great little book. I loved it because it fit right in my pocket. The maps were easy to follow, simple to understand, and the advice was right on the mark. It's ideal --especially if you're on a limited time schedule. The author even suggests a few terrific dining spots in each town. She also notes them again with a knife and fork icon right in the text description of the tour, so you can't miss them as you go along.
You'll be sure to enrich your Alaskan cruise if you bring this book!
Book Description
Walk on a glacier near Juneau, kayak through a fjord, gorge yourself at an outdoor fish bake, cast your line for Alaska king salmon or find yourself in the company of whales—Fodor's Alaska Ports of Call 2006 offers all these experiences and more! Our local writers have traveled throughout the region to find the best hotels, restaurants, attractions and activities to prepare you for a journey of stunning variety. Before you leave for your trip be sure to pack your Fodor's guide to ensure you don't miss a thing.
The San Francisco Chronicle sums it up best —"Fodor's guides are saturated with information."
- We update our Alaska Ports of Call guide every year. You won't find a more accurate, current guidebook anywhere.
- Unlike other travel books, Fodor's guides rely heavily on local experts who know the territory best.
- We give you the planning tools you need to tailor your trip. We give options for all budgets. You make the choices.
-----------------------------------
With Fodor’s you get much more than a guidebook–we make it easy for you to customize your dream vacation.
Visit
www.fodors.com to find up-to-date travel bargains, mini-guides to worldwide destinations, information on local festivals, dazzling drives, maps, vacation planning tips and much more!
And, for more insider secrets, visit “Travel Talk” and “Rants and Raves” online at
www.fodors.com/forums to get advice from other travelers like you.
Customer Reviews:
Compact and Concise Tool.......2006-03-12
Having already chosen our cruise, we looked for a compact guidebook that focuses on the ports we will visit this summer. Fodor's Alaska Ports of Call is an excellent choice for those who have already chosen their cruise. Descriptions of the cruise lines and ships are minimal in comparison to other Alaska cruise guides such as Frommer's. However, there is ample information on what to expect once aboard your ship and how to prepare for the cruise. For the individual ports of call, there are concise and helpful descriptions of the cities, sights, excursions available, and restaurants. With the limited time available in each port, this guide will assist traveler in understanding the highlights to prioritize their time. The book is small and lightweight making it an ideal guide to take along on the days off the ship.
Book Description
A cruise is a complete vacation, so it's important that you choose the one that's right for you. Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call is the most user-friendly, opinionated, and comprehensive guide you can buy before you set sail. We provide in-depth coverage on cruises departing from U.S. ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Bermuda, Mexico and Canada.
Unlike rating systems used in other guides, our system is simple. We break down the essential elements of a cruise experience (dining, activities, children's activities, entertainment, service, overall enjoyment, and overall value), and rate them from "poor" to "outstanding." Photos of each ship combine with the text to give a better sense of the very real differences among the various lines.
Most important, this is the only cruise guide that provides the real prices people pay for cruises, not just the rack rates. Other guides tell you that a seven-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas costs $2,099. You can pay that if you want to, but only Frommer's tells you that the same cruise is selling for $649. We give both the rack rates and the discount price for every cruise we review. This feature alone makes Frommer's Cruises and Ports of Call by far the most valuable trip-planning book among cruise guides.
Our authors, noted cruise experts who've personally checked out every ship sailing in and around North America, offer candid and unbiased opinions on them all. They are completely up to date, with all the latest developments and the newest ships. You'll also get complete coverage of the major port destinations, with advice on how to spend your limited time ashore.
Customer Reviews:
Frommer Has a Winner Here.......2005-12-24
I hate most of the Frommer Travel books. They take the fun out of travel and have very few photos.
This book is different. Here they came up with something very useful and novel for the traveller. When you go on a cruise normally you do not have a clue. You just follow what your travel agent recommmends. But anyone that has taken an extended cruise or two knows there are big differences betweeen boat lines and routes etc.( I like Holland America myself). So here is a nice review of what boats and crusies are available, it describes the boats, and where they go and what you can expect including on board entertainment. All great stuff.
Highly recommend 4 or 5 stars. Buy before you talk to the travel agent.
Book Description
A cruise is a complete vacation, so it's important that you choose the one that's right for you. Frommer's North American Cruises & Ports of Call is the most user-friendly, opinionated, and comprehensive guide you can buy before you set sail. We provide in-depth coverage on cruises departing from U.S. ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Bermuda, Mexico and Canada.
Unlike rating systems used in other guides, our system is simple. We break down the essential elements of a cruise experience (dining, activities, children's activities, entertainment, service, overall enjoyment, and overall value), and rate them from "poor" to "outstanding." Photos of each ship combine with the text to give a better sense of the very real differences among the various lines.
Most important, this is the only cruise guide that provides the real prices people pay for cruises, not just the rack rates. Other guides tell you that a seven-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas costs $2,099. You can pay that if you want to, but only Frommer's tells you that the same cruise is selling for $649. We give both the rack rates and the discount price for every cruise we review. This feature alone makes Frommer's North American Cruises and Ports of Call by far the most valuable trip-planning book among cruise guides.
Our authors, noted cruise experts who've personally checked out every ship sailing in and around North America, offer candid and unbiased opinions on them all. They are completely up to date, with all the latest developments and the newest ships. You'll also get complete coverage of the major port destinations, with advice on how to spend your limited time ashore.
Customer Reviews:
Frommer's Cruises and Ports of Call.......2005-10-31
Cruise section is more up to date than ports of call. Very useful.
A Great Overview - Start Here then Get Details Elsewhere.......2005-06-12
This massive book (691 pages) manages to touch on just about every major cruise ship and port of call that there is in cruising. You get a little taste of everything.
First, you get about 100 pages on the basics of cruising - how to get a good price, what to wear, how a cruise ship works. That will get you started on what a cruise trip is all about.
Next, you get 300 pages on the actual cruise ships. While this seems like a ton of pages, they actually only do 1-2 page reviews of each ship in most cases. In many cases it's a review not just of that ship but of that ship class. For example if Carnival has 4 ships that are similar, you could get one review that covers all 4 ships, with small mentions of things that stand out on a given ship. Since no ship is REALLY identical to other ships, this isn't great.
That being said, I really found the information given here to be FAR more valuable than in similar books. They actually review based on real information from real humans, not just copying from the cruise line's book. They tell you about "ridiculous 108 square feet" cabins. They warn you that on the Promenade deck, you're likely to have joggers running past (and peering in) your windows. They warn you which areas are noisy, they point out which lounges are usually not found by the masses and therefore are perfect places to escape from the noise.
The rest of the book is a quite good write-up of the main port locations. Many people travel in to a port town and consider the port town part of their vacation. This area includes maps of the area, what to see, directions to the docks, and other information.
I was a little put off by the 2005 in the title, implying that you had to buy a new book every year. On one hand you want to get a relatively new set of information - but even with this being "2005" I found errors in pricing. Obviously they can't update every single page in this every year. So it's a trade-off. Again, the book provides good guidelines but should never be taken as absolutely true.
There is obviously no way that one book can cover ALL information on all towns, ships and ports!! Again, this is a sampler. You look through to find out which items appeal to you. Then you should get a full book on that ONE TOPIC. If you're going to Bermuda, don't expect this book to give you the full details. You should get a book on Bermuda.
However, for what this book does, it does it very well. It takes you from the point of not knowing about cruising at all to the point of knowing what your options are and having a top-5 list to persue further. At that point it's time to go to those cruise line websites, to go the forums, and to get some books on specific ports. That will get you the detailed information you need to make your final decision, and to enjoy your cruise!
Lots of Good Information.......2005-02-27
As a person looking to take a cruise for the first time I found most of the info I was looking for in this book. It contains very detailed descriptions, especially of the various cruise lines and the type of activities, food and service that they offer. Of course, the opinions expressed are of the authors only and your taste may vary considerly. But overall they give a fairly objective assessment of the wide range of cruising experiences offered. Recommended.
A great place to start.......2004-12-26
Whether you are a seasoned cruiser and are looking for something new or have never cruised before this book is very handy. I have cruised three times but was not sure where I wanted to visit next and which cruise line I wanted to take to get me there so I borrowed Cruises & Ports of Call 2005 from the library. I spent the greater part of an afternoon studying cruise lines, ships, itineraries, and cabins. It immensely helped me choose which cruise was right for me because it went into a very detailed description of the ins and outs of each port and line out there.
thorough and fun!.......2003-07-04
this was a pretty good guide geared towards cruisers--only buy if you're interested on going on a big name cruise ship. port information was good for st. john, st. thomas, barbados, and aruba. the info on martinique was not good. the author described martinique's main town as cosmopolitan, people dress like paris, fort du france looks like new orleans. i don't know when he went to martinique. martinique was seedy and falling apart.
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Cruises
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Alaska by Cruise Ship: The Complete Guide to Cruising Alaska with Giant Pull-out Map (5th Edition)
Frommer's Alaska 2007 (Frommer's Complete)
Fodor's Alaska Ports of Call 2007 (Fodor's Gold Guides)
Alaska & Canada's Inside Passage Cruise Tour Guide: City Maps, History, Native Culture Plus a 6-Foot Fold-Out Map of Cruise Route from Puget Sound to (Cruise Tour Guide)
Frommer's Vancouver & Victoria 2007: With coverage of Whistler (Frommer's Complete)
