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AJC.COM CRUISE GUIDE

Cruise resources on the Web

By Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
For The Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/10/05

• CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program site: www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/default.htm. The germaphobe in me loves this site. Although cruise line officials tell us we shouldn't worry about contracting Noroviruses, you can search the CDC's database for reports on your ship's sanitation. It also offers a list of ships that didn't pass recently. Our ship scored 96 out of 100 on its most recent inspection – I'm feeling good!

• www.fodors.com: www.fodors.com/cruise. Some of the wisest travel folks out there — I always enjoy the Fodors sites. The site is broken down into choosing, booking, before you go, arriving and departing, on board and more Web links. It's a name you can trust for information.

• Linda Coffman's CruiseDiva.com: www.cruisediva.com. The Cruise Diva's site has good information, lots of practical tips and lots of attitude. She offers how-to articles, news about the cruising industry, packing lists for men, women and babies. She even offers photos of how to set up your closet on the ship.

• Cruise critic: www.cruisecritic.com. A perennial favorite and a solid site to get extremely detailed reviews of each ship. One review I read recently offered tips on how to close a wraparound shower curtain used on a new Carnival ship. I also like the dress code tips on what formal really means on any particular ship.

• Cruise411: www.cruise411.com. Along with the normal ship reviews and details, the site offers some info I didn't find other places. If you click on the travel info section, you'll find driving directions to more than 30 piers, ground transportation and facility guides for more than 400 airports and important pre-registration information that will ensure that you get to board your ship.

• Cruise Lines International Association: www.cruising.org. My favorite features of this site are the cruise finder and the travel agent finder. They have a nice search engine with easy-to-read results to help you narrow down your cruise options. The travel agent finder identifies those agents certified by the CLIA to be cruise experts.

Good book

• "The Unofficial Guide to Cruises – 8th Edition," (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., $22.99): Updated in 2004 and weighing in at more than 650 pages, this book is a fantastic resource to help you choose the perfect cruise. My favorite part is the breakdown of each cruise line, from ones you've heard of to ones that cruise the Yangtze. It tells you the line's strengths, the line's shortcomings, what your fellow passengers will be like, who it's recommended for and who it is not recommended for. Then it tells you about each ship and every aspect of the experience. Plus, it has maps, graphics of the decks on ships and depictions of each crew member's rank.

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