Working on a cruise ship must be one of the best jobs in the world. Or is it? This raunchy yet hilarious book tells the truth behind the glamour of working on a cruise ship – from stewards fighting over food to the seemingly non-stop sex-fest. Parts of the book are too far-fetched to be believed but if you can get past this then some of the exploits really are genuinely funny. The gist of the story is of a guy working for ‘Carnival Cruise Ships’. He wants to work with his girl friend, Bianca and eventually make Maitre’d. His grand plans are sabotaged though; the 16 hour days eventually take their toll and he quits.

Author Brian David Bruns clearly has experience in the catering side of cruising, even if it is only the 13 months he actually worked for Carnival Cruise Ships. His characters lack depth though and by the end of the book I was glad I’d finished. If you don’t mind the graphic description of the sex scenes (i.e. if you’re squeamish, give it a miss) it’s a good, easy holiday read. I’d recommend this novel if you’ve cruised in the past or if you’re planning a cruise holiday in the future; but if you’re thinking of getting a job on the cruise ships, reading this might make you think twice!

It’s beautifully illustrated with full-colour photos that really make you wish you were there. If you’re on a budget then Anderson gives advice on travel and popular resorts in both Europe and North America (did you know you can actually ski in Iran and Morocco?). He focuses fully on the skiing experience as a whole and gives you everything you need to enjoy your holiday.

Anderson knows his stuff. He’s written articles for newspapers and magazines in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia as well as contributing to both the Rough Guide to Skiing and Snowboarding in North America and the Rough Guide to the Rocky Mountains.

If we take his advice, David Anderson believes that “modern equipment and techniques can have you skiing competently in a matter of days”, which is a relief as I need all the help I can get! The chapter on ‘Techniques’ really helped me with the basic skiing skills – if you know how to fall properly and avoid collisions, this can really help with your confidence the first time you go. This book is a great place to start if you’re considering booking a ski holiday for the first time and for me, it’s been well worth the money.

The book has been written by Kay Showker – a highly respected expert on cruises and the islands of the Caribbean – and Bob Sehlinger, who has also written unofficial guides for Disneyworld, Las Vegas as well as Orlando and Central Florida.

However, the majority of the book’s content will not be of benefit to the seasoned cruise-ship traveller. It is more of a guide for newcomers to the world of cruising and the type of advice it gives will normally not be anything new to the experienced cruise traveller – there is no inside knowledge to be gained from reading this book.

That having been said, the easy-to-follow content and clear and comprehensive information has made it widely regarded as a must for novices. The Chicago-Sun Times hailed it as an “A tourist′s best friend!”, while the New York Times described it as “indispensible”.

If you are planning your first cruise holiday, this book is highly recommended.

One of the main reasons why the Lonely Planet travel guides have become so popular is the friendly and easy to follow nature of the content. Although these books are written by professionals with plenty of experience and familiarity with their destination, they still know exactly what the complete newcomer is looking for. The standard of travel writing is held in high regard, and the authors have even collaborated on a “Lonely Planet Guide to Travel Writing”. They also know that their books have to appeal to a wide variety of holidaymakers, and no matter what your reasons may be for visiting your destination, you are sure to find some indispensible advice.

What’s more is that they have also released travel guides that are specific to popular types of holidays, such as the “Thailand’s Islands and Beaches” edition. Everything is categorised in a logical and simple manner, so you will never be scanning through pages and pages of information you don’t need. This is easily one holiday item that you will not want to leave behind.

It would be fair to say that they are definitely not biased in any way. The main purpose of this guide is to help you find the cruise deals that will best meet your needs and it covers an impressive 270 cruise ships. Also included in this 2010 edition is the largest cruise ship in the world, the “Oasis of the Seas”, which recently made its maiden voyage.

Ward’s style of writing has made this book something of a bible for cruise sailors everywhere. He is unashamedly frank in his review of every ship (the Melbourne publication The Age described him as “The most feared man on the seven seas”) and he is never afraid to highlight weaker points. His chapter titled “50 Ways in Which Cruise Lines Exasperate Passengers” is a perfect example, and is full of handy advice for beginners.

Berltiz’s “Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships” has been an indispensible reference for the world of cruising for years, and is really the only real guide book out there that will help you find the right cruise holiday.

The author, R. Mark Elling, is a seasoned professional skier and has developed some truly innovative skiing techniques throughout his career. It is never easy to follow instructions in a sports manual, as many people find it so hard to bring the advice laid out on the page into their technique. However, by using easy-to-follow content and clear illustrations, Elling has made his instruction as simple as possible for the reader to understand.

However, it would be fair to say that this manual is not for the beginner skier, but is more focused towards the intermediate that is looking to move on to an advanced level. When you take the cost of this book against the cost of private lessons into consideration, you can see how much money it could save you. Granted, one-to-one tuition may be needed at certain stages of your development, but this book will be your best teacher and will be an invaluable asset every step of the way.

The “All-Mountain Skier: The Way to Expert Skiing” is published by McGraw-Hill Contemporary and is available in paperback. It is easily a must-have for your ski holidays.

]]> http://www.readingmaze.org.uk/all-mountain-skier-the-way-to-expert-skiing-by-r-mark-elling/feed/ 0 http://www.readingmaze.org.uk/dk-eyewitness-travel-guides/ http://www.readingmaze.org.uk/dk-eyewitness-travel-guides/#comments Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:50:50 +0000 readingmaze http://www.readingmaze.org.uk/dk-eyewitness-travel-guides/ DK Eyewitness Travel Guides are easily among the most popular travel books for holidaymakers and they cover a wealth of destinations right across the world. There is handy and indispensable advice from experienced travellers on everything from cruise holidays and booking flights to the best value accommodation and restaurants. Of course, what has also made them such a sought after name in travel books is the invaluable insider information that can help you discover the more authentic side to the city or country you are visiting.

However, the series’ broad range of destinations is not only limited to towns and countries, as there are also editions that will be the prefect accompaniment for touring different continents. Europe and America are covered, as too are popular regions such as Tuscany in Italy and Provence and the Cote d’Azur in France.

What many people admire most about the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides are the easy to read maps and transport information that is included for every destination. Of course, the content will be accessible and extremely informative for any reader and the wide variety of hotels, restaurants and attractions that they try to include in each edition, ensures that a wide range of needs will be catered for.

Whether you are booking flights to Cairo, are looking for some inside information on the best location for your ski holidays or are searching for cheap cruise deals on your adventure across Europe, DK Eyewitness Guides should be among the first items you pack into your suitcase.

One of the best ski holidays guide books that we recommend is Where to Ski and Snowboard. The book covers over 1,100 skiing holiday destinations, 450 of which are in detail. The book also covers the types of terrain and levels of expertise you need to make it easy for you to pick the perfect ski resort.

Since this book has no affiliation with any ski resorts it takes an unbiased few of each resort giving you positives and negatives at the start of each resort description. The editors are Chris Gill and Dave Watts who have both written for the famous magazine Which, this gives you complete trust in what is said about the resorts that are described in the book.

The book has 130 mountain maps 30 of which are enlarged. The pictures of the resorts are the best that are about and give you a true and reliable image. 

The book can be bought direct from Where to Ski and Snowboard and can also be found on Amazon.co.uk or other leading book shops.

Where to Ski and Snowboard 2009