Cruise Vacations For Dummies ® 2005 (Dummies Travel)

• Getting the best deal (few people pay full boat; consider the brochure price like a “sticker” price)
• Choosing the best cruise for your interests, schedule, and budget
• Ways to make your cruise more romantic
• Planning a family-friendly cruise
• What to expect onboard—from cabin size to spas, sports, entertainment, and gambling
• Popular cruise destinations, including the Carribbean, Alaska, the Mediterranean, and more
• The major cruise lines and their vessels
• Mainstream ships, luxury ships, and alternative and sailing ships

Cruise Vacations for Dummies 2005 was written by Jerry Brown and Fran Wenograd Golden; cumulatively, they’ve been on more than 100 cruises. Fran is a columnist for concierge.com and the Boston Herald travel section, and co-author of Frommer’s European Cruises and Ports of Call and Frommer’s Alaska Cruises and Ports of Call.

With their vast cruise experience, the authors give you tips and tidbits on:

• Travel insurance, packing tips, passport requirements, tipping, and more
• Top attractions and best shore excursions at major ports of call
• Wining and dining (a main attraction in itself)
• Activities onboard

The “Quick Concierge” appendix and comprehensive index help you find what you want to know fast.

"Cruise Vacations for Dummies" provides great detail about everything you'd want to know about cruises (*but were afraid to ask), and provides so many useful tips that it's hard to summarize everything, but it includes information on how to make your cruise more romantic, how to plan a family-friendly cruise, even how to gamble, plus how to choose the best shore excursions -- whether you're planning a cruise in the Caribbean, Alaska, the Mediterranean, or a more remote destination -- and how much and whom to tip.

Unlike other cruise books, "Cruise Vacations for Dummies" serves as a kind of Consumer Reports on cruising with its objective reviews of the major cruise lines, their fleet, itineraries, food, entertainment, atmosphere, and cabin choices. In fact, whether you're considering a top-of-the-line experience, like on a Seabourn or Windstar, a popular-priced cruise, like on a Carnival, or a cruise to Alaska (Holland America) or to an alternative destination, like Antarctica, the reviews are great for first-timers and for experienced cruisers, alike.


Great Overview of Cruising   July 16, 2005
Lisa Shea
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

The For Dummies series covers just about every topic that exists, and cruising is no exception. Learn about cruising from the ground up with this informative book.

I have a number of books about cruising, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. Cruise Vacation is a great overview of what cruising is all about, with information given on the most commonly used ports and destinations. There's also a page or two on each main cruise line and what its strengths and weaknesses are.

The beginning of the book goes over the basics - passport and documentation, what to expect on a cruise ship, how you pay your bills, what duty-free is all about, and so on. The next section helps you compare the cruise lines, describing each main line and providing comparison charts of the typical rates for the ship and the fleet's specifications. They update the Dummies book each year, so make sure you get a current book to get valid rates.

The rest of the book - almost the second half of the book - is taken up with descriptions of the various port towns and destinations. If you're leaving from Tampa, for example, you can see maps of the area and learn about interesting things to do before you sail off. You can read through the descriptions of the various destinations and see which ones appeal to you, and start to prioritize your choices.

Where some other books are sure to point out the bad AND good of the locations and ships, Dummies seems much more oriented towards always talking up the good. This makes it less of a "consumer reports" and more of a "promotion of the cruise industry". Cruise descriptions include "outstanding features" and "super deals" - but not any listing of what to watch out for. The very few times they give warnings, they are of the quite obvious kind - i.e. Disney cruises are full of kids, and honeymooners seeking romance should be aware of this.

Still, the book gives a great overview, and is well recommended.



Cruise Vacation GUide   May 26, 2009
Yorkie (Floral Park, NY USA)
This is a must have for any first time cruiser and a continued resource for experienced cruisers. The information contained in this book is very useful and valuable.


Great Info in easy to read format   January 16, 2006
N. Butler (Melbourne, Australia)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

We loved this book, as this was research for our first ever cruise we found it very interesting. Would recomend to any one who has never cruised before and would like info.


World Ventures & Mike Azcue Cruise vacations   February 27, 2007
K. Khosravani (Los Angeles)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

I really liked this book. It reminds me of Mike Azcue, Wayne Nugent, Wes Melcher, Dan Stammen, Robert Oblon and Marc Accetta who got involved in World Ventures and it great cruise packages for average people. My friends Dave and Yvette Ulloa went to a few of these great trips and just loved it. I highly recommend cruise vacations book that shows so many great vacations and packages out there.