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Cruise Vacations for Dummies 2007 (ISBN - 0471788635) PDF

506 Pages·2007·16.33 MB·English
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by Heidi Sarna and Matt Hannafin Cruise Vacations FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2007 s 01_788635 ffirs.qxp 10/16/06 11:03 PM Page iii 01_788635 ffirs.qxp 10/16/06 11:03 PM Page iii 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_788635 ffirs.qxp 10/16/06 11:03 PM 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_788635 ffirs.qxp 10/16/06 11:03 PM Page ii by Heidi Sarna and Matt Hannafin Cruise Vacations FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2007 s 01_788635 ffirs.qxp 10/16/06 11:03 PM Page iii Cruise Vacations For Dummies® 2007 Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2007 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: 2006934812 ISBN-13: 978-0-471-78863-8 ISBN-10: 0-471-78863-5 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1B/QS/RR/QW/IN 01_788635 ffirs.qxp 10/16/06 11:03 PM Page iv About the Authors 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. His work has appeared in dozens of other books, magazines, and websites, including Gourmet, Modern Bride, Avid Cruiser, and Travel Weekly. Heidi Sarna is a freelance writer who has sailed the oceans blue for more than a decade, often with her young twin sons and lucky husband in tow. 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’s written for many magazines and newspapers, including Gourmet, Condé Nast Traveler, Parenting, Bridal Guide, the Boston Herald, and Travel Weekly. 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, Tamar Schreibman, Mike Driscoll, Ben Lyons, Art Sbarsky, Darlene Simidian, Ted Scull, Anne Kalosh, Marilyn Green, Ken Lindley, and Alan Zamchick. Matt would like to thank his wife, Rebecca, for bearing with him during this particularly terrible, hor- rible, no-good, very bad work year. Heidi would like to thank her twin sons, Kavi and Tejas, for being such good sailors at the ripe old age of four (12 cruises and counting), and her husband Arun for putting up with the cruise biz all these years. 01_788635 ffirs.qxp 10/16/06 11:03 PM Page v Editorial Editors: Naomi Kraus, Project Editor; Jennifer Moore, Development Editor; Katie Robinson, Production Editor Copy Editor: Melissa Bennett Cartographer: Anton Crane Senior Photo Editor: Richard Fox Special Art: Richard Pacifico Cover Photos: Front cover: ©Mick Roessler/Index Stock Imagery; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands Back cover: ©Tyler Stableford/ Getty Images; Bath Beach, Virgin Gorda Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Composition Services Project Coordinator: Ryan Steffen Layout and Graphics: Stephanie D. Jumper, Clint Lahnen, Barbara Moore, Barry Offringa, Lynsey Osborn, Julie Trippetti Proofreaders: David Faust, Jessica Kramer, Techbooks Indexer: Techbooks 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_788635 ffirs.qxp 10/16/06 11:03 PM 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 ....................................................................15 Chapter 3: Choosing Your Ideal Cruise ........................................24 Part II: Planning Your Cruise.............................39 Chapter 4: Booking and Paying Up................................................41 Chapter 5: Ticking Off Your Pre-Cruise Checklist........................64 Part III: All Aboard: The Cruise Experience.........75 Chapter 6: Embarkation Day..........................................................77 Chapter 7: Wining and Dining ........................................................86 Chapter 8: Filling Your Days: Onboard Activities and Entertainment............................................................................92 Chapter 9: Keeping the Kids Busy: Activities for Children and Teens ..........................................................104 Part IV: Ship Shapes: The Cruise Lines and Their Ships ..........................................123 Chapter 10: Vetting Your Vessel: The How-to of Comparative Cruise Shopping ..........................................125 Chapter 11: Mainstream Ships ....................................................131 Chapter 12: Luxury Ships ............................................................194 Chapter 13: Small and Sailing Ships............................................225 Part V: Calling All Ports: Where to Go and Why....................................................269 Chapter 14: Preparing for Ports of Call ......................................271 Chapter 15: Landing in the Caribbean........................................278 Chapter 16: Doing Alaska in Style................................................372 Chapter 17: Meandering in the Mediterranean ........................403 Chapter 18: Exploring Other Destinations ................................442 Part VI: The Part of Tens.................................451 Chapter 19: Ten Things to Do When Your Cruise Ends............453 Appendix: Quick Concierge..............................459 Index.............................................................465 02_788635 ftoc.qxp 10/16/06 11:06 PM Page vii Maps at a Glance The Gulf of Mexico & the Caribbean ....................................................280 Florida Homeports ..................................................................................282 Miami at a Glance ....................................................................................285 Fort Lauderdale at a Glance ..................................................................287 Cape Canaveral at a Glance....................................................................290 Tampa at a Glance ..................................................................................292 Galveston at a Glance..............................................................................295 The French Quarter at a Glance ............................................................297 Antigua......................................................................................................300 Aruba ........................................................................................................303 Freeport/Lucaya ......................................................................................308 Nassau ......................................................................................................310 Barbados ..................................................................................................313 The British Virgin Islands ......................................................................315 Cozumel/Playa del Carmen Area ..........................................................319 Curaçao ....................................................................................................323 Dominica ..................................................................................................327 Grand Cayman..........................................................................................330 Grand Turk ..............................................................................................332 Grenada ....................................................................................................336 Jamaica ....................................................................................................339 Key West ..................................................................................................343 Martinique ................................................................................................346 Old San Juan ............................................................................................350 St. Barthélemy (St. Barts) ......................................................................353 St. Kitts......................................................................................................356 St. Lucia ....................................................................................................359 Sint Maarten & St. Martin ......................................................................361 St. Thomas................................................................................................365 St. John......................................................................................................367 Alaska Homeports ..................................................................................374 Downtown Anchorage ............................................................................379 Downtown Vancouver ............................................................................383 Downtown Seattle....................................................................................385 Haines........................................................................................................387 Juneau ......................................................................................................390 Ketchikan..................................................................................................393 Sitka ..........................................................................................................396 Skagway ....................................................................................................399 Victoria, British Columbia ......................................................................401 European Homeports..............................................................................406 The French Riviera ..................................................................................409 Athens ......................................................................................................414 The Greek Isles ........................................................................................417 Mykonos Town ........................................................................................418 Rhodes Town............................................................................................420 02_788635 ftoc.qxp 10/16/06 11:06 PM Page viii

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