Friday, December 16, 2011
INDISPENSABLE 'LISTS' FEATURED IN BERLITZ'S 2012 COMPLETE GUIDE TO CRUISING & CRUISE SHIPS by Douglas Ward
1:23 PM | 
Posted by
LEADERHUNTRESS |
SIX CRUISE-LINE RIP-OFFS TO AVOID
1. Currency conversion: A game where cruise lines win from total control over your onboard account. Using a foreign credit card to pay this account means you could incur currency-conversion charges.
2. Extra gratuities: Major cruise lines typically imprint an additional line on receipts, despite a 15% gratuity having already been added to the actual cost. Thus you’re invited to pay a double gratuity. What a rip-off!
3. Transfer buses: The costs of airport transfer buses in some ports, such as Athens and Barcelona.
4. Mineral water: The cost of bottled mineral water for shore excursions. Example: Celebrity Cruises charges $4.50, but then adds another 15% gratuity “for your convenience.”
5. Navigation bridge tours: Princess Cruises charges $150 per person to be entered into a “raffle” to compete for just six available tickets to see the ship’s bridge. Still want to see it?
6. Bingo cards. The cost of cards is rising dramatically. One extreme example: NCL charges $40 for a block of four cards.
"Cruising is still the best value out there," says Ward," but there are pitfalls to avoid. This guide provides a wealth of information about 285 of the world's major cruise ships, life and services aboard them and how to get the most from the cruising experience." As for those colorful stand-alone lists, Ward calls them "quick, at-a-glance reference features and critiques on several cruise-related subjects that are all invaluable to the savvy and cost-conscious cruiser". Are there more topics he might have covered in these mini-features? "Certainly," Ward says, "but 688 pages aren't enough to, well, list them all."
To obtain the 2012 Berlitz Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships: Find at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Powells.com, independent bookstores and wherever fine books are sold. Berlitz Cruise Ships 2012 app ($9.99), which works with iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, can be purchased and downloaded at iTunes.
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PRESS CONTACT: Melissa Lande, Lande Communications, 212-706-9003, Mlande@landepr.com.
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cruise ripoffs