Rating: 
Summary: This book is wonderful.
Review: I had taken several cruises prior to reading this book, however I learn many valuable tips. This book is clear, concise and above all a "fun" read. I recommend it highly.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Information - But Too Cute For Me
Review: I will admit that "Cruise Control" is one of the best books out there to help you prepare for and enjoy a cruise. It is crammed with very detailed and helpful advice about how to get ready for a cruise, what to do once aboard, and how to prepare for the end of the cruise. A third of the book is in a solid question-answer format which is very helpful because the questions and answers are structured and very specific. Ms. Kane is also an extremely experienced traveler and has written widely on the subject. However, her writing style was a little too cutesy for me. Many times I found myself confused about what she was saying because she took too many short cuts with the language. For example, in the chapter entitled "Conspicuous Consumption" [she's writing about money] she writes, "If your destination is Totally Tourist (think the Caribbean or Mexico Riviera), you don't need to take anyone with you except George (for tips), Abe, Alex, Andy, Ben, and company." Huh? Yes, I know she is talking about Presidents' faces on money, but wouldn't it be easier for us if she just gave the denominations? The chapter on packing is manically exhausting in its detail but has good advice. I did have trouble keeping it all straight because she describes packing practically in terms of preparing for a D-Day Invasion. I'll have to read it a third time and take more notes, I guess. I think my frustration with this book comes from the fact that the book is basically very good but could have been better, easier to read and less self-conscious if Ms. Kane could have calmed down a bit and just used plain English instead of using terms like "score" for buy/purchase. While explaining what we may buy in port in Puerto Rico she states, "Rum. Don Q. Feel like a felon scoring 1.75 liter bottles at the muelle (pier) duty-free shops." The above annoyances would be insignficiant if they were not found so frequently in the book. However, don't let this stop you from buying it - this book is worth the price. I guess I'm conservative and don't like it when writing calls attention to itself so much. It should be seamless. I didn't find anything in this book to be funny..just annoyingly too cute and self-conscious.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Information - But Too Cute For Me
Review: I will admit that "Cruise Control" is one of the best books out there to help you prepare for and enjoy a cruise. It is crammed with very detailed and helpful advice about how to get ready for a cruise, what to do once aboard, and how to prepare for the end of the cruise. A third of the book is in a solid question-answer format which is very helpful because the questions and answers are structured and very specific. Ms. Kane is also an extremely experienced traveler and has written widely on the subject. However, her writing style was a little too cutesy for me. Many times I found myself confused about what she was saying because she took too many short cuts with the language. For example, in the chapter entitled "Conspicuous Consumption" [she's writing about money] she writes, "If your destination is Totally Tourist (think the Caribbean or Mexico Riviera), you don't need to take anyone with you except George (for tips), Abe, Alex, Andy, Ben, and company." Huh? Yes, I know she is talking about Presidents' faces on money, but wouldn't it be easier for us if she just gave the denominations? The chapter on packing is manically exhausting in its detail but has good advice. I did have trouble keeping it all straight because she describes packing practically in terms of preparing for a D-Day Invasion. I'll have to read it a third time and take more notes, I guess. I think my frustration with this book comes from the fact that the book is basically very good but could have been better, easier to read and less self-conscious if Ms. Kane could have calmed down a bit and just used plain English instead of using terms like "score" for buy/purchase. While explaining what we may buy in port in Puerto Rico she states, "Rum. Don Q. Feel like a felon scoring 1.75 liter bottles at the muelle (pier) duty-free shops." The above annoyances would be insignficiant if they were not found so frequently in the book. However, don't let this stop you from buying it - this book is worth the price. I guess I'm conservative and don't like it when writing calls attention to itself so much. It should be seamless. I didn't find anything in this book to be funny..just annoyingly too cute and self-conscious.
Rating:
Summary: An Indispensible Source of Cruise Info
Review: Imagine that your best girlfriend is an experienced cruiser, and you a cruise virgin who needs a hand for your first voyage. Naturally, you'd call her and steam up the phone lines with a long chat about what to wear, how to pack, and what to do if the seas get rough! And that's just what you'll get in this fun, fast, conversational book full of down-to-earth and entertaining advice. I've taken four cruises, and consider myself experienced, but this book taught me a lot that I didn't know. I'm glad I read it before my next one! If you or a friend plans a cruise, you can't miss with Kane's fast-paced, chummy manual; CRUISE CONTROL.
Rating:
Summary: So THAT'S Where She Went !
Review: Pam Kane has been a long-time favorite author of computer professionals, especially those of us who work in the area of online communications and security. A highly respect colleague and author, Charlie Bowen, called her "The best storyteller in cyberspace." Her books were always incisive, error-free, top-notch professional and, as a bonus, her trademark sense of humor shone through even the driest subject. Now we know. She's been cruising. Wondering where she had gone, I checked in with amazon.com to see if she had written anything new in the computer world and found CRUISE CONTROL. Could it be the same Pam Kane. The one who played with yo-yos with Cliff Stoll, who wrote "Cuckoo's Egg". The first words in the book proved that it was Pam, certainly. It is impossible to miss her totaly unique style. Most computer wonks do not cruise. I do. I will probably cruise more now that Internet hookups are becoming available and am looking forward to Norwegian SKy. I will never wear a tuxedo (it would not match my sneakers) and I am glad Pam told me I will never have to. She has NOT lost her touch. Who else could dumb down ships' terminology to "pointy end" (bow) and "round end" (stern) without offending somebody who already knew it? If a computer geek's recommendation is worth anything, take my word for it. This is a book worth reading even if the closest you ever got to a cruise is typing http:// ... and cruising the Web. You will be on a cruise ship, carrying your laptop, before you know it.
Rating:
Summary: Pam's Books are always Informative & Entertaining
Review: Pam tells me just what I need to do to go on a cruise. I am a 'groupie' of sorts when it comes to Pam's publications. I could never have endured this past cruise to Bermuda if it wouldn't have been for Pam, as her advice and hilarious tidbits helped me excessively. I read all of Pam's publications in Porthole Magazine. She's so entertaining to read. If you are planning a cruise, Pam's new book for a first time as well as a travelled veteran is a MUST!
Rating:
Summary: This book is a "must-read!"
Review: Pamela Kane has produced a "keeper" with her knowledgeable and refreshingly-humorous how-to book, "Cruise Control." This book is not about how to select the perfect ship, but how to survive "pre-cruise panic" and ensure that your cruising experience will be an enjoyable one - starting at home, and continuing once you're aboard. Her clever writing style adds some spice to the usually-bland library of books about cruise ships and cruising. For example, I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair while reading one of her innovative suggestions for ensuring that your window on the promenade deck is not made from two-way glass. My wife and I have been on 11 cruises, and most of Ms. Kane's suggestions read like they came from our own mouths. She's "right on!" This book should be mandatory reading (and studying) for first-time cruisers, and even those with many sailings behind them can find some new information and glean some helpful tidbits from this witty paperback. It belongs in every cruiser's library!
Rating:
Summary: This book is a "must-read!"
Review: Pamela Kane has produced a "keeper" with her knowledgeable and refreshingly-humorous how-to book, "Cruise Control." This book is not about how to select the perfect ship, but how to survive "pre-cruise panic" and ensure that your cruising experience will be an enjoyable one - starting at home, and continuing once you're aboard. Her clever writing style adds some spice to the usually-bland library of books about cruise ships and cruising. For example, I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair while reading one of her innovative suggestions for ensuring that your window on the promenade deck is not made from two-way glass. My wife and I have been on 11 cruises, and most of Ms. Kane's suggestions read like they came from our own mouths. She's "right on!" This book should be mandatory reading (and studying) for first-time cruisers, and even those with many sailings behind them can find some new information and glean some helpful tidbits from this witty paperback. It belongs in every cruiser's library!
Rating:
Summary: This book is a "must-read!"
Review: Pamela Kane has produced a "keeper" with her knowledgeable and refreshingly-humorous how-to book, "Cruise Control." This book is not about how to select the perfect ship, but how to survive "pre-cruise panic" and ensure that your cruising experience will be an enjoyable one - starting at home, and continuing once you're aboard. Her clever writing style adds some spice to the usually-bland library of books about cruise ships and cruising. For example, I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair while reading one of her innovative suggestions for ensuring that your window on the promenade deck is not made from two-way glass. My wife and I have been on 11 cruises, and most of Ms. Kane's suggestions read like they came from our own mouths. She's "right on!" This book should be mandatory reading (and studying) for first-time cruisers, and even those with many sailings behind them can find some new information and glean some helpful tidbits from this witty paperback. It belongs in every cruiser's library!
Rating: 
Summary: Cruise Control
Review: So Mrs. Kane cruises alot. Her primary concerns are eating in the main dining room and dressing to impress, but that was only after packing to impress. So if you want to read a 16-font 110 page paperback and then spend two weeks packing and using on board politicing to arrange your main dining room eating, this is the book for you. If you need information on activities, spas, who to complain to (other than the dining room), notlosing money in the casino, entertainment, on board activities other than eating and shopping for affordable souveniors(not $200 jade necklace) read Frommers.
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