Books about cruising

[jsmeeker]

Can anyone recommend some books about crusing? I'm not looking for guide books that tell me how to pick a line or an itinerary or what ships or out there or how to save money on a ship. I don't need a book on that. I have Cruise Critic for that! Rather, I am mostly looking for "insider" information about the way cruise ships work, their crews, stories about them, etc. etc. I've read a few already. And I'm looking for more similar types of books.

 

I've read

 

The Truth About Cruise Ships - A Cruise Ship Officer Survives the Work, Adventure, Alcohol, and Sex of Ship Life by Jay Herring. This guy did computer support for Carnival Cruise Lines. Worked on several different ships. Has lots of stories. A lot of them are about drinking and sex and relationships. But there is some other stuff, like about sailing through a hurricane.

 

Also read The Purser (Cruises and Cruise Ships) by Walter Aschiero . He was a purser on a smaller ship. Can't recall the line of the top of my head, but it wasn't one of the major ones that primarily markets to the USA. It was an OK read. Got it for free from Kindle Lending Library.

 

and Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member; Answers to All the Questions Every Passenger Wants to Ask by Joshua Kinser This guy was a musician. Can't recall which line, but I enjoyed this more than the book by the purser.

 

 

what others are out there? I can see some similar ones just by looking in Amazon, but was hoping to get some suggestions from fellow CC members.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Perhaps you want to read Cruise Confidential A Hit Below the Waterline by Brian David Bruns. I bought this book after seeing someone on CC recommending it. I just haven't had the time to read it yet. ;)

 

Can anyone recommend some books about crusing? I'm not looking for guide books that tell me how to pick a line or an itinerary or what ships or out there or how to save money on a ship. I don't need a book on that. I have Cruise Critic for that! Rather, I am mostly looking for "insider" information about the way cruise ships work, their crews, stories about them, etc. etc. I've read a few already. And I'm looking for more similar types of books.

 

I've read

 

The Truth About Cruise Ships - A Cruise Ship Officer Survives the Work, Adventure, Alcohol, and Sex of Ship Life by Jay Herring. This guy did computer support for Carnival Cruise Lines. Worked on several different ships. Has lots of stories. A lot of them are about drinking and sex and relationships. But there is some other stuff, like about sailing through a hurricane.

 

Also read The Purser (Cruises and Cruise Ships) by Walter Aschiero . He was a purser on a smaller ship. Can't recall the line of the top of my head, but it wasn't one of the major ones that primarily markets to the USA. It was an OK read. Got it for free from Kindle Lending Library.

 

and Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member; Answers to All the Questions Every Passenger Wants to Ask by Joshua Kinser This guy was a musician. Can't recall which line, but I enjoyed this more than the book by the purser.

 

 

what others are out there? I can see some similar ones just by looking in Amazon, but was hoping to get some suggestions from fellow CC members.

[jsmeeker]

I'll have to check that out. It gets recommended to me by Amazon when I look at the books I've already read.

 

Thanks!

[paul929207]

John Maxtone-Graham has written a number of books about the history of cruising and the ocean liners of the past. He is a frequent speaker on Princess ships (and maybe others).

[Keith1010]

To pick a cruise line the best of the best books is Ocean Cruising, (it is updated annually and sometimes the name changes) by author Douglas Ward, and published by Berlitz. It is fantastic.

 

Keith

[cruising cockroach]

This one has to be good: Burning Cold

[sail7seas]

Devils on the Deep Blue Sea: The Dreams, Schemes and Showdowns That Built America's Cruise-Ship Empires

 

by Kristoffer A. Garin

 

[Essiesmom]

Some months ago, someone on the Carnival board found a book free for Kindle, by Albert Bigelow Paine, The Ship Dwellers, A Story of a Happy Cruise. The poster hadn't actually researched it - but it is a very amusing story. But it was published in 1908, written in 1907. The man was an unashamed fan of Mark Twain, and somewhat trying to emulate Twain's Innocents Abroad. It sent me to Mark Twain, whose books are all free for Kindle...Anyway, the book gives an interesting view of ocean travel 100 years ago, and the view of the exotic Orient (Eastern Med.). EM

[IslandGirl87]

I read Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member. I really enjoyed the honest look into crew lives. I enjoy talking to the crew and Kinser tells very funny stories about life on a cruise ship. Great for your next cruise. Bargain at $2.99 on Amazon.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Answers-Questions-Passenger-ebook/dp/B007Q3LSYQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1333330193&sr=8-2

[jdvmd]

Joyce Gleeson-Adamidis, who pens Cruise Critic's original "Under the Captain's Table" series of stories, knows the ins and outs of onboard life -- both as a cruise ship staff member and as the wife of Celebrity Cruises' venerable Captain Adamidis. In "Under the Captain's Table," Joyce will tackle, in her own candid way, a variety of topics -- offering an absolutely behind the scenes perspective on issues ranging from advice for first timers to the burgeoning debate about challenges ships face in handling family travelers.

 

Joyce -- who's also written a book about cruise ship life, If I Were Not Upon The Sea -- has spent much of her last 25 years onboard. She's worn numerous name tags, ranging from social hostess and onboard lecturer to assistant cruise director and cruise director, before adding captain's wife to her list of titles.

[BassettMom]

Here are two that I strongly recommend:

 

Cruise Operations Management, by Philip Gibson. Excellent book that explains the various departments on a cruise ship, what they are responsible for, and how they are operated.

 

Selling the Sea: An Inside Look at the Cruise Industry, by Bob Dickinson. Good book about the business side of the cruise industry, including marketing plans, etc.

 

This one is very expensive and more technical and focuses on ship's security:

Cruising for Trouble: Cruise Ships as Soft Targets for Pirates, Terrorists, and Common Criminals, by Mark Gaouette.

 

And along the lines of Cruise Confidential and The Purser:

 

Permanent Passenger: My Life on a Cruise Ship, by Micha Berman

 

Cruise Quarters--A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships, by Cara Bertoria

 

Ship for Brains: Cruise Confidential Book 2, by Brian Bruns

 

Cruise Ship SOS: The Life-Saving Adventures of a Doctor at Sea, by Ben MacFarlane

 

The Captain's Log, by Hans Mateboer

 

Happy reading!

[movingimages]

Everyone in our cabin read Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member on our last cruise in January. The author was a cruise ship musician on Carnival. The writing is atrocious (mistakes, meandering), but the stories make it an enjoyable read. I found myself laughing out loud several times.

 

We are planning on reading Cruise Confidential on our upcoming cruise.

[wwcruisers]

Devils on the Deep Blue Sea: The Dreams, Schemes and Showdowns That Built America's Cruise-Ship Empires

 

by Kristoffer A. Garin

 

 

That's one of my all-time favorites, too. A must-read for anyone interested in the history of the modern cruise industry! :cool:

[wwcruisers]

Perhaps you want to read Cruise Confidential A Hit Below the Waterline by Brian David Bruns. I bought this book after seeing someone on CC recommending it. I just haven't had the time to read it yet. ;)

 

There are actually three books out in this series, with the promise of a fourth to be released next year:

 

Cruise Confidential -- a Hit Below the Waterline;

Ship For Brains -- this Ain't No Galley Tour, and

The Unsinkable Mr. Brown

[Keith1010]

Ocean Cruising by Douglas Ward.

 

Keith

[Scrapnana]

Not what the OP was asking for but those who like mysteries (set on ships) should read Conrad Allen's series.