Cruise-Ships Books

My 5 year old daughter loves this book! We have checked it out multiple times from the library. Now we are buying it. It is very imaginative because the animals and even the boat talk!

This book takes the reader on an exciting cruise to Alaska. Really! It draws the comparison of desert-dwelling to a first-hand look at a completely different environment - Alaska. The main character travels to the far North rather reluctantly, and has the time of his life! The character moves from location to location, discovering unusual wildlife and wonderous sights along the way. The story moves right along, entertaining the reader / listener with new discoveries at each turn. A great book to learn of unusual destinations ...

Very fun book! My son loves it and it makes for excellent bedtime story telling. Imagine taking someone from the desert and putting them on a talking cruise book to Alaska. It's actually very educational because sometimes people have misconceptions about Alaska and it's a story that taught my son about Alaska as well as entertained him.

The Vicki Silver Mysteries are back with "Cruise Control", author Alissa Woods' newest addition to her popular series for young readers ages 12 to 18! Vicki and C.J. are off for a week of fun and sun aboard the cruise ship Crystal Palace. Their plans suddenly change when a soon to be groom disappears just before the wedding. The bride puts Vicki and her friends on the case. Did the groom get cold feet? Did he fall overboard? Or was it something worse. For Vicki and her friends time is short; they only have seven days to figure this out on one of the largest cruise ships on the seas or this groom may be lost out at sea forever. Author Alissa Wood has written another deftly penned and exciting tale of mystery and suspense in her Vicki Silver Mysteries series showcasing young woman and her friends who solve crimes and other mysterious events in their hometown of Sport, Maine. "Cruise Control" is especially recommended for school and community library contemporary fiction collections.

The Vicki Silver series has the energy of a teenager and the sophistication of a new Agatha Christie. This time we join the young sleuths on a seven-day cruise ship rounding Nova Scotia with a destination of Quebec City. A troubled man in a tuxedo ends up missing on his wedding day leaving a gym bag full of money and a handful of angry business associates that top the suspect list of Vicki, CJ, Catlin and Joe. As usual adult authorities are an obstacle, but a trail of clues will keep readers turning pages. And fortunately for all of us it seems very easy to break into staterooms.

The ship, like a manor house or small English village, reins in possibilities and the length of the cruise imposes a deadline. Diagrams of the ship and the route of the cruise help us follow the action; and because there is minimum description the plot moves quickly. (Details of the Titanic rescue attempts at Halifax do provide some lifeboat foreshadowing.) Writing is discovery, not of what comes next, but of how all the elements of the story fit together. In one chapter I particularly liked each of the detectives takes a different suspect and these segments are juxtaposed for the reader in a way that makes us active participants in solving the puzzle. This also builds suspense and cleverly reveals character. The ending, while not surprising, is exciting and satisfying.

For those not familiar with Vicki Silver, she is clever, but also a born leader who knows how to take charge and defend herself physically and verbally if she has to. This book has less bickering between her and her older sister and I think the business (embezzling) is handled with credibility. There are two segments where the author's religious values are presented to readers (some will like the overt Christian perspective, others might not). In the case where the minister on ship, who was to perform the marriage ceremony, talks to Susan (the fiancé) and Joe it seems in character. Later when added to a description of Susan and her future husband's courtship, it is more like editorializing tacked on to the story. I suppose this does help explain a certain lack of male-female dynamics not only between the engaged couple but also in the interests of the three girls and Joe (Joe is Vicki's boyfriend).

But this series of mystery novels is a franchise on the move and this particular book delivers even more on its promise than the first one, The Stolen Gem. Great work, young detective crew. Full speed ahead!

This is the second book I've read in the Vicki Silver series and I'm very impressed to say the least. I had no problems handing the first book over to my thirteen year old daughter and I won't have any with this one either. Vicki Silver works with her friends to solve crimes all the while demonstrating Christian values. In the book, Cruise Control, what is supposed to be a fun family (and friend) vacation turns topsy turvy when Vicki and her friends find themselves in the middle of a very unexpected case. And now what is supposed to be the cruise of a life time for a couple about to be married has turned into a nightmare when the groom goes missing. To make matters worse, he seems to have disappeared from the Crystal Palace altogether and could be anywhere including somewhere in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Once again Vicki and her gang of friends band together to help the groom's frightened fiancé before it's too late. I have recommended this series to many of my friends who have young readers because of the good clean reading. Mystery, suspense and narrow escapes flourish in this sea bound tale. In addition to trying to figure out who done it, young readers also receive a little nautical knowledge and history facts along the way! Cruise Control will leave the reader excited to turn the next page! Hats off to Alissa Wood who has the ability to give readers what they want while maintaining wonderful values and a Christian influence. Vicki Silver: The Stolen Gem

THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ALL KIDS! Good for all ages. If you don't get it you really missed out.

I really liked this book. I have all the other ones of this series and this was just as good as them all. Mary-Kate and Ashley are on a cruise with their family and take part in the scavenger hunt, they have to find three clues. With each clue is an object to prove they have got the clue, but then the objects start disappearing, can Mary-Kate and Ashley solve this mystery? Of course they can. I higly recommend it!

June 13, 2000 - Rocky Ford Daily Gazette, Rocky Ford Colorado, Page 3

On The Book Shelf By Anne Thompson

Are our oceans the ultimate toxic dumping grounds? Can terrorists build a nuclear bomb? Those are the questions posed in a new book, The Case of The Toxic Cruiseline, an environmental crimes thriller, written by a husband and wife team of chemical and environmental engineers, Charles and Lidia LoPinto.

Book introduces sleuths, Juliana Dl Rio, a Puerto Rican environmental engineer and career bureaucrat, and Sean Ryan, Irish-born aging FBI a gent. Ryan, a recovering alcoholic, who no longer leads narcotics raids in the secret drug war, finds himself assigned to a newly formed environmental division of the FBI, led by Anna Gutierrez, a tough woman determined to bring polluters to justice.

Del Rio, before joining the new division, spent most of her time in the lab and the courtroom. Each of the three has a unique background that affects why they are on this team.

Mrs. Gutierrez's small daughter died of leukemia, because unknown to the family, their home was built over a dangerously deteriorating toxic dump, much like the widely publicized Love Canal.

Juliana Del Rio grew up on the small, beautiful Puerto Rican island of Viequez, which the American army took over as a bombing base, ousting its residents and ruining its natural beauty. Sean Ryan began as an Irish soldier, and then moved to the United States, where she became a naturalized citizen and joined the FBI. Ryan and Del Rio are assigned as a team posing as a vacationing husband and wife, in an undercover sting operation to gather evidence of illegal dumping from Alaskan cruise ships. Juliana and Sean are a poor match. She is young, arrogant and inexperienced, and he is chauvinistic and tough. On board the cruiseline they gather samples of materials including low-grade toxic chemicals being illegally dumped in the ocean for profit. However, they never expected to find a clandestine nuclear manufacturing facility in a remote area, operated by mobsters with criminal assistance of local government employees.

The action is fast and exciting although each agent disobeys origin orders. Thus, despite success in their efforts, they return to Washington D.C., uncertain if each still has a job.

The answers to the two questions at the beginning of this column and in The Case of The Toxic Cruiseline are "Yes." Indications that accompany information about the book suggest that this the first of a series of "Enviro-Crimes."

I hope there will be more, cause I truly enjoyed the fast pace of this exciting story, which the authors say is in the realm of possibility and catastrophe.

Spring Issue of The Book Reader America's most independentreview of new books Scotts Valley, CA - Audience: about 100,000.

THECASE OF THE TOXIC CRUISELINE

Frighteningly current and pertinent. By Lidia Llama LoPinto and Charles LoPinto. EnviroCrime Publishers. All the good stuff is here for a thrilling read. The locale is coastal Alaska and its pristine waters plied regularly by cruise ships. The bad guys? They work overtime managing a toxic dumping operation, and on the side they peddle juiced-up nuclear waste just right for making dirty bombs. Some of those boom booms have the 49th state in mind as a target. Enter the exciting characters in this eco-thriller. One, a middle aged FBI agent named Sean Ryan, former narco, who is reassigned to the Environmental Crimes Unit. Ryan considers it a backward career move. His pride gets injured when he must pose as husband to Juliana Del Rio, a conceited, aggressive and equally stubborn investigator for the EPA. She's got only a science degree but, when the couple stumbles onto the mob of dumpers and terrorists, Juliana takes it personally and becomes heroine material. "Juliana took out the syringe and placed it into a container. She passed (the Geiger counter) over the material.The frequency of clicks increased." An informant comes up dead, but the team perseveres. They uncover techno-savvy criminals who use the vast ocean to dump anything--toxics, bodies, radioactive waste. These guys don't just tip over a barrel when the moon is hiding. "We believe the operation may be underground. They are a smart and dangerous group." The authors are engineers and this saga isn't far from the truth.

This is the definitive book about Chandris.chock full of information and pictures about all the chandris liners.can not wait to order his book about the sitmar liners.

Well written, carefully and completely researched. "The Chandris Liners" concisely covers the entire history of the Chandris Line in an entertaining way, while supplying ALL the details. This will be required reading for any Ocean Liner Buff, for many years to come.
Mr. Plowman skillfully guides us, and "fills in the blanks" about a polyglot grouping of second hand liners which, through brilliant and flexible management, has somehow blossomed into one the great shipping companies of today. Bravo!

Hard to compete with such a terrific review, but I must add my own HUZZAHs.

I love the artwork. I love the interspersed black and white comic strips that add to the exposition.

I love the spanish slang scattered throughout: after but a few readings, my 3 year old now says, "FUU-CHI!" (yucky, stinky) as he wipes kisses off (with a smile, of course -- he's a sweet boy).

I bought Chato Goes Cruisin' in a bookstore and ordered the other 2 sight unseen, fully confident that they'll be as wonderful.

Some picture book series get progressively less inspired as time goes on. Ian Falconer's, "Olivia" books do this. Ditto "Babar". It's just a common occurrence that people kind of come to expect. You would think that an author like Gary Soto would have used up all his creativity and ideas in the "Chato" series with "Chato's Kitchen" and "Chato and the Party Animals". In much the same way, Susan Guevara's illustrations should, logic dictates, become less entrancing and pleasant to the eye as she brings Chato's world to brilliant life. Yet here I am staring at "Chato Goes Cruisin'" and I can't for the life of me figure out how Soto and Guevara managed to come up with yet another remarkably fresh escapade in the lives of my favorite barrio boys, Chato and Novio Boy. I can't figure it out, but somehow it happened. We should be this lucky with every series.

There are distinct advantages that come with eating your cereal every morning. In Chato's case, the advantage is that he now has a chance to enter and win a free cruise for himself and a friend. He enters, wins, and before you know it he and his best friend Novio Boy are off for a vacation of pure relaxation. In theory. The truth of the matter is, when they get to the docks they find a cruise ship occupied entirely by dogs. Well behaved party dogs but dogs just the same. There are dog snacks, dog games, dog videos in the library, and a heckuva lot of howling at the moon. Soon enough, however, the dogs become ill and it's up to our intrepid duo to save the day. But when their rescue boat meets up with the REAL cat cruise, will they keep their promise to the canines or join a far more alluring ride?

Once again, Soto gives this book just the right mix of Spanish terms sprinkled alongside English ones. At the same time, Chato and Novio Boy use phrases that sound natural and completely appropriate for the situations they find themselves in. When Chato goes to the library to watch some movies and find only flicks with titles like, "Great Dog Rescues", Chato's reaction is a heartfelt, "Man, this is sorry". The plot makes sense, comes out all right, and the last image of the two slowly cruising in their beautiful car (with the license plate "Vato Gato") brings the whole thing home.

And Susan Guevera just gets more and more creative with every Chato book she illustrates. I liked "Chato's Kitchen" okay when it first came out, but her style at that time struck me as too loose and insubstantial. It began to tighten with "Chato and the Party Animals" and finally here with "Chato Goes Cruisin'" she's hit her peak. She's grown so comfortable with her art that she's willing to shake it up a bit for the sake of amusement. So you have the usual Chato kookiness, but also some very cool black and white comic strips on the bottom of some of the pages to give you a little insight into Chato and Novio Boy's heads. There are also countless amusing details all over this book just waiting for you to find them. When the dogs greet them at the dock, for example, the comic strip on the page shows a flag pointing to their dock with a dog head, and another flag with a cat head pointed in the opposite direction. When our heroes can't sleep for all the howling, they might have been cheered had they known that a cut-away of the boat shows a pack of very busy mice toiling relentlessly in the kitchen. Yum. Then there are the details that I think make it work the best. Novio Boy retains his title as the sexiest cat in children's literature (check out the shot of him lifting weights). And both he and Chato sport some mighty fine facial hair, making them the only felines I can think of to sport goatees and `staches in picture book fare.

Hard to object to anything in this book, really. If you enjoyed the first two installments in Chato's adventures then the best thing I can say about, "Chato Goes Cruisin'" is that it does its predecessors proud. Funny, filled with great slang in English and Spanish alike, and just a rousing adventure, it's the best of the "Chato" lot and a fine fine purchase.

This is the best guide for Carribean Cruises! I checked out others before ordering this one and this one was the most comprehensive. I have never been on a cruise before but, after reading this book, I feel very prepared!

I'm in the travel industry and am oftentimes disappointed by the out-of-date information found in other cruise guides. I consider The Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises, however, to be one of the absolute best resources to use when planning a cruise vacation. The guide has a great layout, is highly accurate, and provides the kind of information useful to both novice and "expert" cruisers.

In my opinion, The Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises is a must read for anyone considering a cruise!

Buying this book prior to my Alaska cruise proved to be well worth the investment. Per Ludmer's suggestion, we rented a car in Skagway and drove to Carcross, Yukon, Canada. What a wonderful outing away from the ship and for less then 25% the cost of us all taking the train. Get more tips from Ludmer by reading this book.

Concise, easy-to-read information fills every page of this bestseller. Unlike most cruise guidebooks, Cruising Alaska puts the emphasis on hard facts - not pretty pictures. Every detail is here, including stateroom size, passenger-crew ratio, dining options, current cruising routes, ship decor, onboard facilities and more. A candid analysis of the routes is given for every ship in Alaska this season, with details on the highlights, as well as what is missed. Maps, index.

This is another great work by William H. Miller. Excellent choice of photographs throughout. Lots of unique ships - both exterior and interior shots. It's very interesting to compare the various ship designs and how the vessels were renamed, rebuilt, lengthened, etc. Get a copy if you can.

This boom is a must for any cruise ship lover. See the beginnings of the cruise ship era with ships like the Canberra and QE2, before seeing the modern RCCLs. Miller does another great job with this one with not only the pictures, and stats, but also the facts.

Neither Sand Nor Sea by Kathleen Kubik is an inspirational novel depicting the life of the young interior designer Carla Montgomery and her assignment to the house of Julian Swann. As the twenty-seven-year-old Carla pursuits the design of the wealthy and picky Julian Swann, she must also deal with her mother's death, her unexpected love for a rugged Norwegian sea captain, and a year of situational difficulties which must decide for Carla what the rest of her life will be. A productive, inspirational, superbly crafted and totally engaging novel of the life and pursuit common to so many young women today, Neither Sand Nor Sea is very highly recommended reading.

This book is absolutely incredible! The story pulls the reader in right from the first page as we begin to look into the lives of the characters. The diverse backgrounds of the characters as well as the different locales can appeal to every reader. I couldn't put the book down and it took me all of 8 hours to finish it. A must-have for your romance novel collection! I can't wait for the sequel!