Monday, April 23, 2012

Cruising the World


Cruising can be a very relaxing vacation. The vacationer is pampered with nice rooms, attentive staff, great food and entertainment. However if you don’t do your research ahead of time then your cruise can go wrong very quickly. You could have a great experience on one cruise, and yet another cruise by the same company can be a disaster. Online research is one venue of getting the scoop from different cruise lines, but it is difficult be sure that the reviews or even the website are done by professionals or amateurs.

The book I use for good unbiased information is the Berlitz CompleteGuide to Cruising and Cruise Ships. This book gives you the histories of all the cruise line from Carnival Cruise Lines to the smaller European river cruises. In a convenience format, it will help you choose your Cruise Company and ship. It also gives you tips on how to make the most of your money and avoid rip-offs. The book details the pros and cons of most cruise lines. The book is unique from most cruise books because of the details on individual cruise ships currently afloat. This is useful information since the quality your cruising experience will vary from ship to ship. They rate each ship and honestly state the strength and deficiency of each ship.

Fodor’s has a couple of books on destination cruises, The Complete Guide toEuropean Cruises and The Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises. In both books, Fodor’s gives details on what you can do in each port of call within the time constraints of the ship, usually 4-5 hours. Of concern for most cruise novices is on how to get off the ship for a port of call and get around the area. Don’t worry, these books state in the front of each chapter where the ship will be docked, how to get ashore, and transportation needs. Also the books inform you if any local currency is needed, any extra charges, and safety concerns that a cruise tourist needs to know about. In every location that they mention, the books provide a map of the country and the local area.

Don’t have time to read all these great material? The library does a smaller cruising book titled Cruising: All Questions Answered. It answers many of the basic questions like where to go, the cost, excursions, cruising companies, and others. It does a great job getting to the heart of the matter: how to have a great cruise. This book however does not detail individual ships.

Armed with this information and a destination in mind, your next cruise can be a memorable experience.

1 comment:

  1. You have very good information on cruising world. Do share some thing about Rent a yacht in Dubai

    ReplyDelete