flowerchild Posted September 1, 2006 #1 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Just wondering... will any books out there cover any more information than can be found here on CC? If so, any recommendations? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stired Posted September 1, 2006 #2 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Just wondering... will any books out there cover any more information than can be found here on CC? If so, any recommendations? Thanks! When I was first looking into cruising to Alaska, I bought a very good book: Frommer's: Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call. I thought it was very worthwhile in addition to the CC boards. Gives you a great overview of each of the cruise lines, ports of call, things to see & do. It was a good start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyIL Posted September 1, 2006 #3 Share Posted September 1, 2006 I like Frommer's Alaska by Charles Wohlforth. I looked at the Frommer's ports of call book, but felt it was too skimpy on Alaska info, and took up a lot of space talking about how to choose a cruise and which cruiselines go to Alaska. The former has a chapter on cruising in particular (written by the authors of the other Frommer's book), but mostly excellent info about all of Alaska. For a great book on Alaska cruises that has more port info than choosing a cruise info, I like Alaska By Cruise Ship by Anne Vipond. That book has lots of maps and photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Peach2 Posted September 1, 2006 #4 Share Posted September 1, 2006 How about checking your library. Even my little small-town library here in Georgia had 2 books on cruising Alaska. One was the 2005 edition, but the info doesn't change THAT much. And best of all it's FREE!:D Peach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea_u_onboard Posted September 1, 2006 #5 Share Posted September 1, 2006 I agree about the library - but if you want to keep it try half.com. Lots of books and much cheaper than the bookstores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyIL Posted September 1, 2006 #6 Share Posted September 1, 2006 As much as I love the internet, there's nothing like a good guidebook that you can go back to again and again and highlight! There have been many times, when people asked really basic questions about Alaska, that I wanted to say, "Read a book, and then what you read at Cruise Critic will make sense"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetireeWannabee Posted September 3, 2006 #7 Share Posted September 3, 2006 From the library I checked out Frommer's and Fodor's, Alaska for Dummies and Alaska by Cruise Ship. I would be embarrassed to admit how long I've had them out but we can keep renewing until someone else requests them. Each of these has been good, but together, they've helped reinforce some things and I've liked having the port city maps to study (and now copy for the trip!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irisheileen Posted September 3, 2006 #8 Share Posted September 3, 2006 From the library I checked out Frommer's and Fodor's, Alaska for Dummies and Alaska by Cruise Ship. I would be embarrassed to admit how long I've had them out but we can keep renewing until someone else requests them. Each of these has been good, but together, they've helped reinforce some things and I've liked having the port city maps to study (and now copy for the trip!) Yes, I used the library alot. Vipond was great! DEFINITELY purchase Princess's "Alaska Cruise Companion". You will use it every day on the curise, even if you use a different cruise line. Eileen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernVAPirate Posted September 3, 2006 #9 Share Posted September 3, 2006 Its always fun to read and see photos of where you are going, but you will find all the info you need on these boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom3mb Posted September 4, 2006 #10 Share Posted September 4, 2006 We were on the Seranade of the Seas on the 8/6/06 sailing and before we went I bought every book I could find on crusing the inner passage. The best was the one I got on the ship. Joe Upton's " The Alaska Cruise Companion a Mile by Mile Guide". This one has a pull out map as well of a description with mile markers of what to look for. You can find copies listed on Amazon and Ebay. I wish I had found it before the cruise. Its the only Alaska Cruise book I have kept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyIL Posted September 4, 2006 #11 Share Posted September 4, 2006 We were on the Seranade of the Seas on the 8/6/06 sailing and before we went I bought every book I could find on crusing the inner passage. The best was the one I got on the ship. Joe Upton's " The Alaska Cruise Companion a Mile by Mile Guide". This one has a pull out map as well of a description with mile markers of what to look for. You can find copies listed on Amazon and Ebay. I wish I had found it before the cruise. Its the only Alaska Cruise book I have kept. How is that different from The Coastal Companion: A Guide for the Alaska-Bound Traveler by Joe Upton? That is available from Amazon at a discounted price, whereas The Alaska Cruise Companion: A Mile By Mile Guide is available only from individual sellers on Amazon. Is one specific to Princess cruises and the other to Alaska cruises in general? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernVAPirate Posted September 4, 2006 #12 Share Posted September 4, 2006 How is that different from The Coastal Companion: A Guide for the Alaska-Bound Traveler by Joe Upton? That is available from Amazon at a discounted price, whereas The Alaska Cruise Companion: A Mile By Mile Guide is available only from individual sellers on Amazon. Is one specific to Princess cruises and the other to Alaska cruises in general? Hmmmm...I bought what seems to be the exact book onboard the Radiance, but mine is called "The Alaska Cruise Handbook" by Joe Upton. It is a mile by mile guide with the pull out map. I enjoyed having it as we cruised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genessa Posted September 4, 2006 #13 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Just wondering... will any books out there cover any more information than can be found here on CC? If so, any recommendations? Thanks! Flowerchild, do you NEED??? NO! You can/will get tons of great info here. And links for more info. WANT - that's a different question and it seems like something all those who responded, including me, wanted books. I am a book-a-holic and bought several books on Alaska - cruising, ports, novels. In fact, I bought all of the ones mentioned here. I only brought one of them with me on my cruise - that was the Cruise Companion by Joe Upton that was metnioned by several - with the map. But, while I really used that book and the map, I had a balcony cabin on the port side going southbound so I was able to match up the miles to where we were and really enjoyed knowing where to look for sea otters, etc. What I did bring were pages and pages of suggestions and recommendations from this board - highlighted and in order of itinerary for myself and a 6 page guide I made up for my friends with just the highlighted parts. I see you live in Brooklyn. If you don't want to hit one of the libraries, go to the Barnes & Noble on Court Street, or the one on 7th Avenue (if it's closer) they have many travel books, and browse through them. Or if you want to go to Staten Island, there is a tremendous B & N on Richmond Avenue near the mall. You'll see that most of the info replicates what you've already read on here, usually in less detail. I'm not trying to discourage you from buying a book - but if you were a book junkie like me, you wouldn't be asking if you NEED to get one, you already would have ;). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerchild Posted September 5, 2006 Author #14 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts. While planning for Hawaii last year, I used a great book (the Blue Bible) PLUS everything I could find on the Net. I felt ULTIMATELY informed, plus I have a wonderful reminder of my dream trip in the form of a book, which happened to be my companion for months, as well...Thanks to all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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