Cruise Vacations for Dummies 2006 (ISBN - 0764598309) PDF
Preview Cruise Vacations for Dummies 2006 (ISBN - 0764598309)
by Heidi Sarna and Matt Hannafin Cruise Vacations FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2006 EDITION s 01_598309 ffirs.qxd 10/20/05 10:35 AM Page iii 02_598309 ftoc.qxd 10/20/05 10:36 AM Page viii Plan your trip with For Dummies Covering the most popular destinations in North America and Europe, For Dummies travel guides are the ultimate user-friendly trip planners. Available wherever books are sold or go to www.dummies.com And book it with our online partner, Frommers.com � Book airfare,hotels and packages � Find the hottest deals � Get breaking travel news � Enter to win vacations � Share trip photos and stories � And much more Frommers.com,rated the #1 Travel Web Site by PC Magazine 01_598309 ffirs.qxd 10/20/05 10:35 AM Page i Available wherever books are sold. Go to www.dummies.com or call 1-877-762-2974 to order direct. The fun and easy way™ to travel! U.S.A. Also available: Alaska For Dummies Arizona For Dummies Boston For Dummies California For Dummies Chicago For Dummies Colorado & the Rockies For Dummies Florida For Dummies Los Angeles & Disneyland For Dummies Maui For Dummies National Parks of the American West For Dummies New Orleans For Dummies New York City For Dummies San Francisco For Dummies Seattle & the Olympic Peninsula For Dummies Washington,D.C.For Dummies RV Vacations For Dummies Walt Disney World & Orlando For Dummies EUROPE Also available: England For Dummies Europe For Dummies Germany For Dummies Ireland For Dummies London For Dummies Paris For Dummies Scotland For Dummies Spain For Dummies OTHER DESTINATIONS Also available: Bahamas For Dummies Cancun & the Yucatan For Dummies Costa Rica For Dummies Mexico’s Beach Resorts For Dummies Montreal & Quebec City For Dummies Vancouver & Victoria For Dummies ™ 01_598309 ffirs.qxd 10/20/05 10:35 AM Page ii by Heidi Sarna and Matt Hannafin Cruise Vacations FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2006 EDITION s 01_598309 ffirs.qxd 10/20/05 10:35 AM Page iii Cruise Vacations For Dummies® 2006 Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online at http:// www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Frommer’s is a trade- mark or registered trademark of Arthur Frommer. Used under license. All other trademarks are the prop- erty of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITH- OUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGA- NIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEB SITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMEN- DATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEB SITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT TRAVEL INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME AND THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE OF PRICES. WE THEREFORE SUGGEST THAT READERS WRITE OR CALL AHEAD FOR CONFIRMATION WHEN MAKING TRAVEL PLANS. THE AUTHOR AND THE PUBLISHER CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EXPERIENCES OF READERS WHILE TRAVELING. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2005932795 ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-9830-2 ISBN-10: 0-7645-9830-9 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1B/QX/RR/QV/IN 01_598309 ffirs.qxd 10/20/05 10:35 AM Page iv About the Authors Heidi Sarna is a freelance writer living in New York City with her husband and toddler twin sons. Coauthor of Frommer’s Cruises & Ports of Call and a contributor to several other guidebooks, she also writes regular travel columns for Frommers.com and Porthole cruise magazine. She has written for many magazines and newspa- pers, including Gourmet, Conde Nast Traveler, Parenting, Bridal Guide, and Travel Weekly. Matt Hannafin is a freelance writer, editor, and musician based in Brooklyn, New York. Coauthor of the upcoming 1,000 Places in the U.S.A. & Canada to See Before You Die (a sequel to the 2004 best- seller) and Frommer’s Cruises & Ports of Call, he also writes regular travel columns for Frommers.com, the Boston Herald, and Porthole cruise magazine, and has contributed to dozens of other books, magazines, and Web sites, including Gourmet, Travel Weekly, and Avid Cruiser. Authors’ Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the many travel writers and experts who have contributed their opinion and expertise to this and other recent Hannafin-Sarna productions, including Christina Colon, Mike Driscoll, Art Sbarsky, Benjamin Lyons, Darlene Simidian, Rebecca Tobin, Ted Scull, Anne Kalosh, Marilyn Green, and Ken Lindley. Thanks also to Fran Golden, a good friend and author of the first several editions of this book. Lastly, big thanks go out to Rebecca Morris and Arun, Kavi, and Tejas Sarna for their eternal forbearance. 01_598309 ffirs.qxd 10/20/05 10:35 AM Page v Editorial Editors: M. Faunette Johnston, Production Editor; Michael Kelly, Development Editor; Naomi Kraus, Project Editor Copy Editor: Jennifer Connolly Cartographer: Andrew Murphy Senior Photo Editor: Richard Fox Cover Photos: Front Cover: © Gary Buss/Getty Images; Alaska, Prince William Sound Back Cover: © Neil Emmerson/ Robert Harding World Imagery/ Getty Images; Blue domed churches, Thira in the Cyclades of Greece Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Composition Services Project Coordinators: Michael Kruzil, Jennifer Theriot Layout and Graphics: Stephanie D. Jumper, Barbara Moore, Barry Offringa, Lynsey Osborn, Julie Trippetti Proofreaders: Laura Albert, Leeann Harney, Carl Pierce, TECHBOOKS Production Services Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: 01_598309 ffirs.qxd 10/20/05 10:35 AM Page vi Contents at a Glance Introduction ......................................................1 Part I: Getting Started .......................................7 Chapter 1: Choosing Cruising: The Best of the Best ....................9 Chapter 2: Is a Cruise for Youse? The Whats, Wheres, and Whys ..................................................................17 Chapter 3: Choosing Your Ideal Cruise ........................................29 Part II: Planning Your Cruise ............................43 Chapter 4: Booking and Money Matters ......................................45 Chapter 5: Ticking Off Your Pre-Cruise Checklist ......................68 Chapter 6: Embarkation Day ........................................................78 Part III: All Aboard: The Cruise Experience ........87 Chapter 7: Wining and Dining ......................................................89 Chapter 8: Filling Your Days: Onboard Activities and Entertainment ..........................................................................96 Chapter 9: Catering to the Kids: Activities for Children and Teens ..........................................................108 Part IV: Ship Shapes: The Cruise Lines and Their Ships .........................................127 Chapter 10: Vetting Your Vessel: The How-to of Comparative Cruise Shopping ..............................................129 Chapter 11: Mainstream Ships ....................................................135 Chapter 12: Luxury Ships ............................................................189 Chapter 13: Small and Sailing Ships ..........................................217 Part V: Calling All Ports: Where to Go and Why ...................................................263 Chapter 14: Preparing for Ports of Call ......................................265 Chapter 15: Landing in the Caribbean ......................................272 Chapter 16: Doing Alaska in Style ..............................................360 Chapter 17: Meandering in the Mediterranean ........................391 Chapter 18: Exploring Other Destinations ................................430 Part VI: The Part of Tens ................................441 Chapter 19: Ten Things to Do When Your Cruise Ends ..........443 Chapter 20: Matt and Heidi’s Ten Favorite Cruise Experiences ................................................................451 Appendix: Quick Concierge .............................455 Index ............................................................461 02_598309 ftoc.qxd 10/20/05 10:35 AM Page vii 02_598309 ftoc.qxd 10/20/05 10:36 AM Page viii
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