Drift Away, with Cruise Travel Magazine

Do you enjoy taking vacations on the open sea? Does the vast, seemingly infinite stretch of ocean give you a greater thrill than standing on dry land? If you can answer yes to those questions, then Cruise Travel magazine might be worth reading. This magazine is published once every two months and its pages are dedicated exclusively to cruise vacations.

What Can I Find in This Magazine?:

Cruise Travel has a few standard sections/articles that can be found in every issue. They are:

Features- Each issue of Cruise Travel includes three featured articles that include the "Port of the Month", "Ship of the Month", and "Cruise of the Month". The magazine selects a popular site where tourist ships often dock, a specific cruise line’s ship, and a specific full- length cruise to feature in each issue. These change each month, and they can include most any city, cruise line, and destination in the entire world.

New Ship Review- If a cruise line has introduced a new line of ship recently, you can read all about it in this area. Cruise Travel breaks down the basic features of the ship and includes lots of enticing photographs to grab the reader’s attention.

Letters- These are the letters that readers have sent in, for publication in the magazine. These are not necessarily question and answer sessions. They are letters that state opinions, give advice, or comment on an article from the previous issue. On some letters, the editors at Cruise Travel will post a response comment, in italics, but on most of the letters, all you get is the actual comments sent from the reader.

Preview- This department is located at the back of each issue. It's simply a preview of what to expect in the coming issue of Cruise Travel and it includes the upcoming "Ship of the Month", "Port of the Month", "Cruise of the Month", "New Ship Review", and other special features.

Ports of Call Index- This is a reference guide to cruise lines that are going to be at various popular ports of call in the current season that corresponds to the date of each magazine issue. Only the more popular ports are included here, like Bahamas, St. Thomas, St. Martin, Bermuda, Cozumel, etc. You just lookup a port, and this table will show you which cruise lines are headed there this season.

Cruise News- This is an informative section that keeps the cruise enthusiast abreast of any current changes in travel laws, regulations, new cruise lines, new routes, and anything else that would be important to cruise travelers.

Cruise Views- You will find this article on the last page of each issue of Cruise Travel. It is comprised of one, full- page article about cruise vacations. It can be most anything- from a story about a particular luxury cruise ship packed with amenities to a personal story about a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on the open sea.

Other Articles- Besides all of the standard features listed above, which are found in each issue, Cruise Travel also has other articles that vary from month to month, but always center on something related to cruise vacation travel. Here, you can find articles on a particular world city (one that's next to a coastline, of course), a profile of a cruise line, an article describing a specific type of cruise (like on the Great lakes, Panama Canal, etc.), and virtually any other article that water- lovers will enjoy.

Pricing:

Cruise Travel has a steep cover price of $5.99, which is a bit much for such a short magazine. If you really love to read about cruising, then I recommend buying a one- year subscription, which currently sells for $19.95 for 6 issues, reducing the per issue cost down to about $3.32.

Final Thoughts:

Cruise Travel is an enticing magazine, even if you don't necessarily enjoy cruising or have never given it much thought. The articles almost always include clear, crisp, full- color pictures that capture the reader's attention and set his/her fantasies into motion. Who can look at a picture showing the view of the open sea from a cabin, a fancy Caribbean port, or a couple embraced next to a pool and not dream about what it would be like if they were currently in that very same place?

Each issue of Cruise Travel is full of lots of advertisements, which is expected for a travel magazine. As soon as you open the front cover, you are greeted by a list of cruises that are currently on sale, showing the price, number of nights, destination, cruise line, and ports of call, along with a web site and toll- free number to call, if you want to make a purchase. About 70 percent of the magazine's pages contain some sort of advertisement.

This magazine does include lots of helpful information for the cruise traveler. From the Cruise News department, all the way to the misc. articles, you can fins lots of helpful tips. One article might advise you on the best way to pack for a cruise vacation. Another article might give some handy advice on how to best manage your time when you visit a popular port city. Some of it is obvious, but other parts are not and they can really prove to be valuable, especially if you are new to the world of cruise travel.

Cruise Travel is a short magazine- only about 65 pages in length, which is one of its downfalls. With a $5.99 cover price, I expect a little more in a magazine. Still, this is a good magazine to buy if you have any interest in traveling over the open sea. The photos alone will make you drift off into a fantasy land where the only cure will be a vacation aboard a luxury cruise liner. This is one of the better cruise travel magazines available, so if you like to cruise, subscribe today. You won’t be disappointed!