For years, in fact decades, I have found Douglas Ward's annual "Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships" indispensable in my work as a travel writer specializing in Alaska and Alaska cruising and as Editor/Publisher of the website [...]. There are lots of good cruising guides out there, but I rate this one best of all. It contains literally everything the reader wants and needs to know about cruising, whether he/she is a "newbie" or an "old salt."
In all, Douglas Ward's 692-page opus for 2010 provides 493 pages of vital information about 271 ocean-going cruise vessels. It covers size, passenger capacity, crew count, lifestyle, length, beam, age, ship builder, entertainment, foods and lots of other data. He literally covers the waterfront from small and intimate vessels to the newly commissioned "largest ever" cruiseship Oasis of the Seas (Royal Caribbean International) which can carry 5,400 passengers in lower berths or a total of 6,296 passengers in the unlikely event that all the upper berths are utilized.
One feature is particularly telling:
In a full-page critique of present-day cruising's weak points - called "What could be improved?" - the author candidly notes, "It's not all perfect. Here are some aspects of cruising in 2010 that the brochures won't mention." Then follows his list of 11 present-day negative aspects. He notes, for example, "In the standard seven-day cruise market, particularly from U.S. ports, disembarkation is mostly an untidy and hostile process..." (Right on, Brother!) The list goes on.
In the parlance of Ward's ship rating standard (1 star through 5) I would have to give this book a solid 5 - count 'em - 5 stars-plus.