Planning a cruise? Dreaming of going on one? Read Cruise Travel!
by
alexdg1
,
in Movies, Books at Epinions.com
,
Jul 9, 2005
Pros:
Cruise-minded readers can get lots of info on various aspects of shipboard travel and destinations.
Cons:
Magazine is too slim, and subscription is expensive.
The Bottom Line:
For those who are planning a cruise, or simply dream about it, Cruise Travel is a more-than-adequate publication.
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Author's Review
In spite of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001 -- or maybe in some unconscious act of defiance in response to them -- more Americans than ever are going on cruises. Whether it's on a short hop to the Bahamas from Miami or a transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2, tens of thousands are reserving cabins aboard such huge ocean liners as Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas, Holland-America's Oosterdam, or NCL America's Pride of America, which is the first U.S.-flag cruise ship to be commissioned in over 50 years.
For those who are contemplating spending part of their summer vacation on a cruise (or just dream about it), Cruise Travel is an informative, eye-catching, and somewhat entertaining bi-monthly magazine dedicated to ships, ports, schedules, and prices.
Each slim issue -- less than 60 pages in average -- contains seven major feature articles covering the following categories:
Port of the Month
Cruise Trends
If You Only Have a Day In....
Company Profile
Ship of the Month
Port Attraction
Cruise of the Month
2005 Summer/Fall Cruise Calendar
In addition, Cruise Travel has four regular Departments:
Letters
Cruise News
Preview
Cruise Views
Not surprisingly, Cruise Travel's goal is to inform potential passengers about cruise ships, ports of call, the various cruise lines, new ships, industry trends, and schedules and fares. The articles are relatively short; in the August issue, a story about Buenos Aires (which I didn't know was a cruise destination!) takes up three pages and features five photos and a sidebar titled Know Before You Go. The style is typical of travel-industry articles -- informative without being didactic, giving a would-be cruiser a taste of the port of call without giving away too much.
Also not surprising is the fact that all the ads are either for cruise lines such as Princess, Holland-America, and American Cruise Lines, or for booking outfits like CruisesOnly, Cruise Planners, Norweigan Coastal Voyage, Inc, and eCruises.com.
The only quibble I have about Cruise Travel is that considering the slimness of each bi-monthly issue, the price is a bit high. There's no single-issue price printed on the cover, but in the masthead there's a section that gives the following pricing information:
U.S. Subscriptions $34.95 per year, Canada $40 (GST included), foreign $55.00, U.S. funds.
Nevertheless, for those who are planning a cruise, or simply dream about going on one, Cruise Travel is a more-than-adequate publication.
Subscription Office:
Cruise Travel Magazine
P.O. Box 342, Mount Morris, IL 61054
Web Site:
www.cruisetravelmag.com
Subscription Addiction
SuperMagDeals. com
