Cruise Vacations for Dummies 2007 (ISBN - 0471788635)

506 Pages·2007·16.33 MB·English

by Heidi Sarna and Matt Hannafin

Cruise Vacations

FOR

DUMmIES

‰

2007

s

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01_788635 ffirs.qxp 10/16/06 11:03 PM Page iii

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by Heidi Sarna and Matt Hannafin

Cruise Vacations

FOR

DUMmIES

‰

2007

s

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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
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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

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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.

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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

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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

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