Berlitz - Berlitz Cruising and Cruise Ships 2020

How To Use This E-Book

Getting around the e-book

This Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your next cruise, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

About Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships

The e-book is divided into two main parts: the first part helps you define what you are looking for in a cruise vacation and advises you on how to find it. It provides a wealth of information, including a look at life aboard ship and how to get the best from it. Specialist cruises are discussed, too, culminating with that ultimate travel experience: the around-the-world cruise. Please note that, although price indicators are supplied for such things as alternative restaurants, spa treatments and other items, prices may have changed.

About the Ship Ratings

The books second part and main section profiles 300 ocean-going cruise and expedition ships. From large to small, from unabashed luxury and exclusivity to ships for the budget-minded, they are all here. The ratings and evaluations are a painstaking documentation of Douglas Wards personal work. He travels throughout the world and sails for up to 200 days each year. All evaluations are made objectively, without bias, partiality, or prejudice. Most of the statistical information contained in the ship profiles has been supplied by the cruise companies. Passenger comments are taken into account in the final evaluations. You are welcome to send details of any errors or any updated information to Douglas at: .

Please note that Douglas Wards constant ship inspection schedule means he is infrequently on land and is no longer able to answer letters. However, every comment received will be studied and will help maintain the authority of the next edition for the benefit of all.

From the Author

Welcome to the 2020 edition of Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships the books 35th year of continuous publication.

The cruise industry is fiercely competitive, and any marketing opportunity is seized upon and hyped to the utmost. Cruise industry awards often in the form of magazine or online readers polls provide a perfect such opportunity and are extremely valuable to the cruise companies.

Yet these polls are only ever as good as the number of people who vote in them, the number and types of ships, and the criteria established for measuring quality. For example, if a magazine initiates a readers poll and no readers have cruised aboard a Spanish- or Romanian-speaking ship, it will not receive any votes. Votes go to the most-traveled ships, which are not necessarily the best. Magazines never state their criteria or methodology. The results are therefore unreliable and subjective.

At Berlitz, we state our criteria, clearly and honestly. Thats why the Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships 2020 is the most authoritative and dependable guide on the market. Whats more, this book is totally independent and is not supported by sponsorship or advertising.

Over 6,350-plus days at sea

In welcoming new readers, I should mention my background for assessing cruise ships on your behalf. I first fell in love with ships when, in 1965, I sailed aboard Cunard Lines 83,673-ton ocean liner RMS Queen Elizabeth at that time the worlds largest passenger ship (one of the eight-strong Cunard fleet). Coincidentally, it was also the year that The Beatles had a hit with Ticket to Ride. I worked on the final transatlantic sailing of RMS Queen Elizabeth and, three weeks later, joined Queen Elizabeth 2 (known affectionately as QE2) in the John Brown shipyard on Scotlands Clydebank.

The first edition of this book, personally reviewing, testing, and evaluating 120 ships, was published in 1985, when cruising was viewed as expensive and uncommon. Today, the book is the most highly regarded source of comparative information for cruise purchasers, cruise industry executives, cruise travel agents, and crew members alike.

To date, I have taken over 1,120 cruises and 159 transatlantic crossings, plus countless Panama Canal transits, shipyard visits, numerous ship-naming ceremonies, overnights, and maiden voyages.

This book is a tribute to everyone who has made my seafaring experiences possible, especially my mother and father, and I thank the cruise lines for their assistance during the complex scheduling, sailing, inspection, evaluation, and rating processes.

Douglas Ward

2019 Apa Publications (UK) Ltd.

Table Of Contents

Introduction

Choose the Right Cruise

Types of Cruising

The Cruising Experience

The Cruise Companies

Practical Information

The Ships and Their Ratings

Tables and Charts

The Ship Listings

New to Cruising?

Are you all at sea about cruises, when it seems like everyone around you has taken one, but you havent? Heres what youll need to know before you first step aboard.

Over 70 companies operate around 350 ocean-going cruise ships and provided cruise vacations to more than 27 million passengers in 2018, and so the choice is huge.

Its an obstacle course, like trying to choose between different models of car; you start with a base price, then choose all the optional extras before getting the model you want. In other words, its not the inclusive vacation that you thought you were buying, but an unbundled product that requires you to make decisions.

The good news is that an ocean cruise can be a memorable vacation, but after your first cruise, be prepared for the feeling of addiction that so often hits.

The trick? Find the right ship and cruise to suit your needs whether you are a solo traveler, a couple, a family with children, or simply well-traveled.

What exactly is a cruise?

A cruise is a change from everyday life on land. It is a (mostly) pre-paid, hassle-free vacation. You sleep in the same bed each night, the ship takes you from destination to destination, and only one currency is used on board.

Everythings close at hand and there are always polite people to help you. It facilitates multi-generational togetherness, solo adventuring, and total escapism. And, some of the worlds most beautiful places are best seen from a cruise ship.

Why take a cruise?

Value for money. A cruise represents excellent value for money, considering everything that is provided. As its mostly pre-paid, there are few financial decisions to make once on board.

Convenience. You may be able to drive to your port of embarkation (doorstep cruising). If not, the cruise line or your booking agent can make all the arrangements, including flights, baggage handling, and transfers to and from the ship. Once on board, you simply unpack once!

Comfort. A cabin or suite is your home away from home. It can be as small as a cubicle (at about 60 sq ft/6 sq m), as large as a villa (at over 4,000 sq ft/372 sq m), or anything in between.

Good food. Dining is one of the pleasures of a cruise, and all your meals are included from breakfast through to late-night snacks; most ships can accommodate specific dietary needs.