Berlitz Ocean Cruising & Cruise Ships 2005 (Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships)

Rating:
Summary: Inconsistent, repetitive, and inaccurate.
Review: Perhaps this tome, or "bible" as the publisher calls it, should be laid to rest with this 20th edition! Having purchased several issues of this book over the years, I find that Mr. Ward and/or his team of reviewers are either allowed little time aboard these ships to actually witness them firsthand, or are more interested in bulk than substance.

Spliting the book in two pieces, the reader first is thoroughly exposed and taught about ALL aspects of modern cruising: Introduction to cruising; picking the right ship; ports and regions, etc. All very useful information, and while not particularly telling, probably effective enough and certainly thorough.

The second portion of the book are the actual reviews of the ships. Here is where the clumsy inaccuracies and bulky repetitive commentary are unavoidable and unfortunate. In a past version of this work the author wrote one review for identical sister ships and would refer you back to the initial review - now we have eight reviews for all of Carnival's "Fantasy" class ships. Had each review actually told us something unique about each ship that would be all well and good, but the text is a carbon copy that has been not-so-cleverly cut & pasted from one ship to the next. Most embarassingly, often times the editor has accidentally cut a portion of the review, re-inserted it for another ship (to make the text appear slightly different) but neglects to remove it from the original place in the review thereby having duplicate text! Not sure if this should be the responsibility of the author, the editor, or the renown and revered Berlitz?

Furthermore, the editorial page asks for the reader to write to Mr. Ward with corrections to outdated information. If the author knows that "Sovereign of the Seas" has had a recent refit and now has a bar/lounge called "Bolero's", how is it that he doesn't know that the dining rooms are no longer called "Kismet" & "Gigi"??? If the "Zuiderdam" has "a complete wrap-around promenade deck, which is enjoyed by many", why does the review go on to say, "....has an exterior promenade deck - something new for this traditional cruise line. Although it DOESN'T go around the whole ship...."??? Additionally, Holland America Line ships (Zuiderdam) have ALWAYS had wrap-around promenade decks.

One last gripe. Since I HAVE been reading (and buying) this book over the years, it is also apparent with this edition that the author is now borrowing word-for-word text from past ships in past texts. I guess the former Rotterdam (1959) which used to be, "like a well worn shoe" is now valid for the QE2.

For 1st time cruisers, this book is too textbook-ish and reads like a manual. For experienced cruisers, stick to brochures and online reviews from passengers like yourselves. Personally, I won't be spending another $25.00.