Great reading for first-timers

[Spicey477]

I was in the bookstore and came across Arthur Frommer's Caribbean Cruises and ports of call 2004. I really follow Budget Travel magazine (and site) and I have used their guidebooks in previous vacations.
It really breaks down the lines for you, as far as food, entertainment, service, decor, and what the passengers are like. It compares all of the big lines together and then all of the small/luxury lines together. It was a good resource to get a non-biased opinion on what that specific line was like.

[Host Caroline]

Another book that is really pretty informative for relative novices is in the "Dummie" series .. i.e. "Cruising for Dummies" I think it is. Also Cruise Travel magazine has some good in depth reviews of ships and ports.

[Crzytch]

The Unofficial Guide to Cruises is INCREDIBLE... we usually use Frommer or the Unofficial Guides for our traveling.