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Originally posted by BigUFan:
Porthole is a pretty good one. Supposedly it started as a B2B, geared towards agents and all, but now it appears it's more of a B2C.

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Yes, Porthole did start as a B2B type publication but for a few years now I have begun to suspect it has been taken over by the folks who put out the "For Dummies" series of books. The range of actual information of any value that can be gained from reading it is highly questionable and I don't think I've bought a copy for two or three years now. I own several older ones, including the first newsstand issue from 1994, of course the information in them is now outdated but they are fun to read.

Now Porthole is glossy, fancy-looking, and utterly useless to the cruise enthusiast.

Cruise Travel is a much better consumer-oriented magazine, having little of Porthole's flash, but at least having some real information and interesting ship reviews, etc.

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Originally posted by Michael534:
If only Ships Monthly were easier to find here in the states.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
What are all these B's and C's?

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B2B = Business to Business
B2C = Business to Consumer

In other words, a 'B2B' magazine might be marketed, say, at travel agents and cruise line executives. When Porthole was B2B, you'd find adverts for port authorities (come dock your ship here, your passengers will love it), airlines (we'll get your passengers to the port fast and on time), interior design firms (let us redesign an area of your ship), photography concessions (we have more experience chasing passengers with cameras than anyone else), spa concessions (Hmm...wonder which one ?), news fax services...

A 'B2C' magazine like Cruise Travel would have ads for travel agents (great deals on this or that cruise) or cruise lines (cruise us).

The Cruise Travel Magazine address is:
www.cruisetravelmag.com. It's a great magazine and reasonably priced.

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Originally posted by titanicsteve:
I can never seem to get any cruise mags over here in Ireland!! Can you guys reccommend a good choice for me? Is it a case of having to order them from abroad?!!

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I do not see why you should have any trouble with finding magazines... I think you are in Northern Ireland which means most of them aren't even coming from abroad, just across the Irish Sea and not even across any national borders... I would think you have usual UK newsstands, etc. over there? Like WHSmith? If so, I think you would be able to get, say, Ships Motnthly quite easily... Then again, what do I know, I don't know why I'm even bothering to answer this question .

Look at some online stores. I subbed to Ships Monthly last month through www.emagazineshop.com
The sub is £24pa, but for all orders over £20, the site is giving a £10 discount, so for £14 you can't go far wrong.

My first copy arrived a couple of weeks ago and it's great. Not just cruise ships though, if that's what you mainly want. There's a great centre spread poster of a 'cut-out' SS United States, and a good article on the ferries and liners laid up in Limassol by Peter Knego. Quite a few pages on the BC [British Columbia] Ferries. Worth every penny.

The ebsite above for Cruise Travel, doesn't indicate any extra charge for overseas, but on other sites it appears to be around $30 for 6 issues [bi monthly]. I haven't yet found it on a UK site.

The web site is: www.ocean-liner-society.com

E mail is:
sealines@ocean-liner-society.com

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Originally posted by cruiseny:

Now Porthole is glossy, fancy-looking, and utterly useless to the cruise enthusiast.

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Wow, I guess I have a nasty habit of opening up major cans of worms.

I suspect I should be trashing my Porthole subscription? I have to admit that I see what you mean about the "fashion-show" mentality. The magazine does appear to be less about cruising per se and more about destinations.

[ 07-09-2002: Message edited by: BigUFan ]

I found two themes...and mind you things may well have changed by now.

1. Gee whiz reviews of very ship featured in a month by month basis. Every thing was, gosh, great. I did not see a true review, as would be done by a critic who was not working for an ad-supported medium, which addressed the shortcomings of ships, cuisine, accomdations and such.

2. Aim at the Kathy Lee "fun ship" market. I remember one article, including the following:
"As I started in on my second bottle of 'Andre'..I had to decide what to do next."

[and for the benefit of non Americans here, 'Andre' was a really cheap belch-inducing champagne, for me at least]

Letters to the editor bemoaned the absence of double beds as a major theme.

But as a journal to give me some insight on ships and their characteristics it was - then at least -not worth my subscription funds.

[ 07-11-2002: Message edited by: Cambodge ]