Saturday, March 08, 2014

Porthole Cruise Magazine Review

Here is the promised review on Porthole cruise magazine. As I said in my review on Cruise Travel magazine, I think the Porthole magazine has a more professional/higher quality look and feel to it though it also contains more advertising in it. The magazine like Cruise Travel offers useful information on ports and as well as telling about various cruises on offer. For example: the February 2014 issue had an insider's look at Marseille, France as well as what it's like to cruise on the Tere Moana and the Aranui 3. I thought the Aranui 3 was particularly interesting as it goes to places you'd never get to visit other wise like the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. Also, it had an article on tips for socializing at sea. One downside to cruising vice group land tours is you are very much on your own on a cruise unless a spouse/significant other, relation or friend comes along. For those curious what the future holds for cruising, it had an article on what might await future cruisers.

Price wise, the magazine is nearly half the price of Cruise Travel for a 1 year/6 issue subscription ($19.99 vice $38.95) and is less than half the price for a 2 year ($29.99 vice $68.90) with no extra charge for getting the digital version as well. If you want to buy just the digital version (an option not offered with Cruise Travel though it may be offered with the app (I plan to check on this)), it costs $15.99 for a 1 year subscription and $19.99 for a 2 year subscription (a real bargain).

Overall, this is a fine cruise magazine. It differs from Cruise Travel in that it doesn't technical details on some ships as well as offering a listing of what lines sail into what ports but, it does offer excellent (and potentially useful) articles with very good pictures. I'd say it's a more upscale cruise magazine compared to Cruise Travel. If you're into cruising, I think it's worth subscribing to especially with the cheaper subscription prices. Happy travels all!

Disclaimer: All views expressed here are my own. I didn't receive any compensation for writing this review and, I paid out of my own pocket for the February issue of Porthole magazine which I based my opinions of it on.

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