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Originally posted by RobHolland:
Has the Berlitz Cruise guide 2004 been released already?

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It was released here in the UK a few months ago. It is more comprehensive than ever! Amazon.co.uk will probably have it?

It is a great reference book if you remember that it is one Man's (well a team actually) opinion and not a book of pure facts.

I heard that Douglas Ward is seriously ill?

[ 10-19-2003: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by RobHolland:
Thanks Malcolm. I will contact my local bookshop to order it. Usually it takes around 6 weeks before I receive it...

Amazon will probably be quicker?

I didn't knew Douglas Ward was ill? Is he still doing his work?

Not sure? He actually heads a team who complile the book. He does not cruise on all the ships himself. I heard that he may well not recover, although I have no facts?

I have to say he has one of the better jobs you can imagine...

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It's probably not as much fun as it sounds?

There is going to be a second volume called 'River Cruising' - which should be interesting. It's about time, in fact.

[ 10-19-2003: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

I wonder how these guys operate, is it like the Michelin star guys? Are cruise companies spotting the passengers for the Berlitz agents and try to be even better then perfect!

I still remain by my opinion that Ward had a dreamjob.. cruising in extra luxury all the time for free and annually selling a worldwide bestseller? I wish I was his successor!

[ 10-22-2003: Message edited by: RobHolland ]

Hey.....

...did he look for somebody, who will assist him???

Me?????

Yesterday i ordered at my local book-trader in Germany the Edition 2004 and the Edition for the
River Cruises, this is new.

His job is not as dreamy as it sounds, he's constantly traveling for close to 10 months of the year with very little time at home. While he certainly does his fare share of "luxury" lines, the majority of his time is still spend on mass-market ships due to their sheer numbers; don;t forget the enormous amont of time spent in airports and on planes as well!

And I can tell you first hand, when working at sea, 17-19 hour days are not uncommon.

As much as I enjoy my time spent at sea, what I truly look forward to now is coming home to my own home and my own bed.

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Originally posted by SoBe Tim:

His job is not as dreamy as it sounds, he's constantly traveling for close to 10 months of the year with very little time at home. While he certainly does his fare share of "luxury" lines, the majority of his time is still spend on mass-market ships due to their sheer numbers; don;t forget the enormous amont of time spent in airports and on planes as well!

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Poor baby. Many of us have jobs where we are gone from home at least half the year. I'm not complaining as I love to travel and get paid for it. Christmas in Switzerland and New Years in Paris, it's not so bad. Thankfully my time at the airports and onboard the airplane are on company time, I could not imagine it otherwise.

As for poor Dougie having to endure all those mass-market lines, well my heart bleeds for him. Welcome to the real world and what the vast majority of today's cruisers actually pay good money for!

I know most mass-market lines don't have "fish knives" or "interesting ceilings", but I guess one has to suffer every now and again.

If Ward really wanted to spend his time doing something useful, he would correct the VAST amount of errors in his book. They are so numerous that his book lacks creditability and is almost humorous. I for one will no longer spend a dime supporting his travel habit when the result is something less than acceptable.

Ernie - who has also met Ward on a cruise or two and worked those "15 hour days" both in the air and onboard ship.

[ 12-18-2003: Message edited by: eroller ]

And he sets the five star MS Europa as the benchmark for ALL cruise ships -- you can't do that because different ships appeal to different target groups. Of course a Carnival ship is going to be different from a Silversea ship. So how can one be necessarily better than the other? Carnival, RCI and Princess do a fine job for the MASS market, and should be judged as such, not because their selection of cheeses and breads isn't as extensive as a Seabourn or Hapag-Lloyd or Radisson vessel.

I think Fielding's Guide to Cruising does a more balanced and accurate scoring of ships.

[ 12-18-2003: Message edited by: Rex ]

I will also probably order the River Cruising version, at the very least I have never seen a good guidebook on such.

His job doesn't sound too terrible, spending 10 months a year on cruises finding things to complain about? Doesn't sound too terrible to me.

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Originally posted by cruiseny:
...doesn't sound too terrible, spending 10 months a year...finding things to complain about? Doesn't sound too terrible to me.

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I agree.

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Originally posted by cruisenj:
It's fun to sit around and complain about things.

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Even the flying aspect surely isn't that bad - I've dug up an old Porthole article from 1995 in which Ward relates, "I will not fly in coach class for anything over three hours. And I will only fly in first class for any flight over eight hours. It's not that I'm a snob, it's simply that with the amount of travelling I do on behalf of the cruise industry, I value the extra room, comfort, and slightly improved service." (Slightly???) Considering he's getting paid for that too, it doesn't sound to terrible. And with all those frequent-flier miles, he's bound to have a piece of plastic in some shiny metallic hue to flash left and right, getting him all sorts of perks the hoi polloi only dream of...