Friday, September 6, 2013
2014 BERLITZ CRUISE GUIDE CROWNS A NEW CHAMPION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN A DECADE
6:44 AM | 
Posted by
LEADERHUNTRESS |
Vacationers Get an Indispensable
Guide (and Cruise Operators Cross Their Fingers) as Renowned Expert Douglas
Ward Scores Winners and Losers among Major Cruise Ships
All Hail to the new Queen of the
High Seas!
The
seafaring equivalent of the Oscars, Emmys and Tonys—only considerably more
global—is revealed in Douglas Ward’s authoritative Berlitz Guide to Cruising
& Cruise Ships 2014, and his selection for the new No. 1
is—drum roll, please—Europa 2. It’s interesting, Ward says, that
long-standing champion Europa (which had earned the top score for a
remarkable 13 consecutive years) “has been knocked off its perch by her sister ship. It’s the first
time since 1989 that two ships belonging to the same company [Hapag-Lloyd
Cruises] have achieved a *****+ rating (the ships then were Royal Viking Sea
and Royal Viking Sky).”
Why does Europa
2 score the best? Because, Douglas Ward says, “it’s a beautiful ship with
an incredible amount of space per passenger passageways with high ceilings, the
choice and range of all the dining venues and
types of cuisine and the attentive, friendly unobtrusive personal service.”
That along with other features, he says, “all add up to the very best informal
cruise ship available today—unless you own a private motor yacht.”
In
addition to the bestselling book, the Berlitz Cruise Ships App for the
iPhone and iPad, allows cruise-goers to quickly search and “surf” through all
285 ships via touch screen, clicking on their specific categories, such as
family travel, cuisine, accommodation, size of ship and many other criteria.
Available for all Apple devices, the app is an ideal cruise planning tool with
search and filter capacity for information about 285 ships and tips to help
every cruiser, whether solo, senior, family or first time cruiser, to choose
the right ship.
With more than 45 years of
experience and continuing to log up to 200 days a year on cruises, Ward has
earned a
reputation as the pre-eminent (and totally impartial) authority on cruising,
inspecting and evaluating each ship— the
quality of facilities, as well as the standards of food, service, staff, safety
and hospitality—
like a maritime Sherlock. For
the 29th year, he based his
meticulous ratings on criteria that include virtually every aspect of the
cruise experience, and, he stresses, the "general value" for the
passenger. “But quite honestly, there really is no such thing as best,"
Ward says, "only what’s right for you.” His comprehensive ratings
system, compiled independently and in no way subsidized by advertising or
sponsorship, bases its Berlitz stars on points given in numerous categories.
They all add up to what remains an unbiased and unvarnished appraisal of what’s
best and worst in the world of cruising.
Berlitz’s
Cruising & Cruise Ships 2014, expanded to more than 750 pages from last
year's edition, has an array of new features, including a new chapter dedicated
to the latest news on theme cruising—from Big Band and Country & Western to
culinary and astronomy voyages; a new chapter on first-time cruising,
containing valuable information for beginners planning a successful first
voyage; more Q&A on what the brochures don’t tell you; expanded River
Cruising and North Atlantic crossings chapters; an enlarged cuisine chapter
with more about healthy eating and self-serve buffets; updated information on
new ships coming in 2014; and updated content on the major cruise lines,
including Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, MSC, Norwegian, Princess
and Royal Caribbean.
Ward has
also included the IMO (International Maritime Organization) number for each
ship where known. The industry, he says, is the most regulated business in the world
today and it continues to enact even more stringent measures to keep everyone
safe, passengers and crew alike, but still, in the aftermath of the Costa
Concordia disaster, “I thought it useful to include this information.”
For the full rankings list, contact Melissa Lande:
mlande@landepr.com.
Fully updated and revised
and now in its 29th year, the Berlitz Guide to Cruising & Cruise
Ships 2014 (752 pages, $24.99) as well as an eBook, will be available in the
U.S. on November 1, 2013 through Amazon and many bookstores. The app, which is $9.99, will be available worldwide on September 14,
2013, from Apple through the iTunes App store. For further
information or to purchase, visit http://www.insightguides.com/berlitz/berlitz-cruising.
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