Which cruise should YOU choose?
24/09/2009
Each year thousands of people head off on a cruise holiday for, hopefully, the trip of a lifetime. But with so many cruise lines, destinations and offers to choose from, how do you make sure you pick the cruise that’s right for you?
The Berlitz Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships 2010 by Douglas Ward claims to be the ‘bible’ of cruising with its no-nonsense advice and honest reviews. It remains the only source of independent star-rating of virtually all ocean going cruise ships worldwide.
Certainly the book contains a wealth of information within its 690 pages, boasting detailed reviews of more than 270 cruise ships rated using an internationally recognised rating system, hot tips on how to get the best value for money, and details on the strengths and weaknesses of the top cruise lines.
What’s right with it?
This book contains a LOT of information, but the book is well laid out with sections such as ‘Choosing the Right Cruise’, ‘Ships and their Ratings’ and ‘Practical Information’ making the information more accessible.
Douglas Ward recognises that people will want different things from their holiday, and structures the book accordingly, so you can check out any category from river cruises to ecotourism, as well as cruises on large, major line ships, and small independent companies. Equally the rating system is broken down: as well as an overall Star rating, individual ratings are given for Ship, Accommodation, Food, Service, Entertainment etc.
Again, Ward understands that whilst some are seeking a gastronomic experience, others will value good service or top class entertainment. The fact that the reviews are independent gives you confidence that you are getting an honest opinion, and it’s useful that the review includes a ‘Who is this suitable for?’ section, so you can get an idea of what your fellow passengers might be like.
Particularly helpful is a section in the contents page listing the location of all the Tables and Charts – in case you just want to cut to the chase and get a quick answer or comparison on something. Charts cover subjects such as ‘The Top Cruises for Children’ and ‘100 Popular Shore Excursions’ as well as the all important ‘ How the Major Cruise Lines Score on Cuisine and Service’ – a vital ‘at a glance’ comparison chart.
Visually the book is very good too with plenty of the colourful images that make you want to jump in the car and head straight off to your nearest travel agent.
What’s wrong with it?
The book uses US Dollars rather than UK Sterling, which can be distracting and the author occasionally uses terms or phrases that may not be immediately familiar to the cruise ‘virgin’, without an explanation of what they mean. For example, there is a table on Carnival Cruise lines which separates the ships into ‘Fantasy-Class’ ,’Destiny- Class’, ‘Dream-Class’ and ‘Spirit-Class’....but the book doesn’t tell you what categorises these ‘classes’. Another detractor is that largely identical reviews are given for sister ships on the same line. Whilst these ships are probably very similar, presumably there must be some kind of difference?
In the ratings system the ratings might be better expressed as a percentage, as each category is 'out of' a different number. For example, The Queen Victoria scores 425/500 for the Ship, 329/400 for Food, and 83/100 for Entertainment. This means you constantly have to check across to see what a score is ‘out of’.
It would be much clearer if these figures were expressed as 85%, 82.25% and 83% respectively – then you can immediately see that the ship scores slightly lower for food. There is also very little information on excursions and no rating system for these. Bearing in mind, for a lot of people, the ‘cruise’ is just a means to an end - to see places of interest, it might be helpful to include more information on what’s available onshore from the cruise lines. Currently, only 2 pages are devoted to this subject, with another 2 pages containing a chart of ‘100 Popular Shore Excursions’.
Overall – 8/10
The Berlitz Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships 2010 by Douglas Ward is published by Berlitz on 28th September 2009, RRP £16.99. Available in all good bookshops and online from www.berlitzpublishing.com