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Now in its 31st year, the Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships guide is an industry bible. Chloe Cann talks to creator Douglas Ward about his career in cruise.
In cruise circles Douglas Ward is something of a celebrity.
The Englishman has been at the helm of the Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships guide since its conception in 1984. He’s given lectures and presentations about the industry, both on land and at sea; he’s appeared on radio stations and TV programmes such as The Today Show, NBC Nightly News and Good Morning America.
With 50 years spent sailing the seas Ward’s knowledge of cruise ships is second to none. At last count he had been on 1,085 cruises and 158 transatlantic crossings, and on average he spends 200 days a year at sea.
He started out in the industry, however, in a very different fashion. In 1965 Ward joined the Queen Elizabeth as a band leader. “[It was then that] I fell in love with ships,” he explains. “I worked for many years at sea in the hotel department and as cruise director. When I first worked on the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary I was privileged; I met lots of film stars, such as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Tippi Hedren.”
While involved with a cruise passenger association in the US in the early 1980s he started publishing a newsletter named Porthole. “From that I produced a ratings report in 1982,” he says. “And after, Berlitz asked if I would expand the ratings into a full book.” Ward declined, but Berlitz persisted, and in 1984 he conceded and started work on the first Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships guide, which was published in 1985.
Having spent the past 31 years researching and gathering information first-hand, he naturally feels rather protective over the tome, which this year stretches to 704 pages. “I’ve been the sole author ever since [the first edition]. Nobody else touches it. It’s a complicated book.”
Before it’s compiled each year Ward must assess 400 separate criteria. But the cruise veteran’s years of experience and keen eye mean it doesn’t take long to place the ships. “Within 10 minutes [of boarding] I can tell what the operation is like and exactly the kind of hospitality level. I’m never really surprised today. I know what to expect.”
Over the years Ward has amassed a variety of experiences all over the world, having traversed the Panama Canal nine times, the Corinth Canal eight and the Drake Passage six.
But one of his most memorable cruise moments occurred on the island of South Georgia, a British overseas territory in the depths of the southern Atlantic Ocean: On Christmas Day at Grytviken whaling station he poured Aquavit (a flavoured spirit produced in Scandinavia) on Shackleton’s grave.
In a digital world saturated with reviews, Ward says guide books written by experts remain as imperative as ever. “Reviews online have nothing to do with objectivity at all. There’s no criteria whatsoever.” And given the rate at which the industry is mushrooming and the choice of ships ever-expanding it’s becoming increasingly hard for consumers to make informed decisions. “Over the years the ships have changed so drastically. Now cruising is available to anyone. The industry has changed for the better.”
Despite a lifetime spent cruising, Ward is still just as passionate about the industry, and last year he put together the first edition of the Berlitz River Cruising in Europe guide. But there’s one aspect of cruising he’s not quite so fond of.
“I absolutely love the ships but I hate the airports.”
