Unofficial Guide: need it if cruised before?

[GBBTomorrow]

To be honest, I'll probably buy it anyway because I enjoy obsessively reading about Disney, but I'm curious: do I "need" an Unofficial Guide book if I have cruised before? My last cruise was three years ago, and I've been on the Magic, the Wonder, and the Fantasy. My next cruise will be on the Fantasy. What do people who have read the book think?

 

[MUN]

No, you don't need it.

 

[mandylovesdisney]

My friend has it and she is a seasoned DCL cruiser.... She said there is a lot she already knew, but found out some new things too. I say, if you like to read....get it.

 

[apathetic]

These types of books are informative, but most of the stuff is just pulled from the internet. They add some personal experience, but the books aren't original beyond that. However, it is a nice central location for the information and a book travels with you have some downtime to read. We've bought these in the past and they were generally worth money.

 

[bobbiwoz]

No, you don't need it.

I agree.

 

[Kontos]

I find paying for the disboards platinum account gives me access to all that info too. Much cheaper as well!

 

[Krissy22222]

Maybe you could check it out from the library first if your library had a copy?

 

[Cackyschmackers]

I'm only familiar with Unofficial Guide for WDW and that was before the Internet , really. I did use Passporter as my bible before our first cruise in 2012, but didn't feel like I needed to buy a new one for our next Fantasy cruise two years later . I think you can rely on the Internet since you kind of know what to expect, and esp these boards if you have a specific question.

 

[Pens Fan]

No. I was disappointed. I love the WDW ones, but the DCL one, not so much.

 

[squirk]

I agree that you don't need it. To his credit, Len admits in the book's foreword that travel guidebooks don't change much year over year.

It's pretty cheap, though, so we pick up a fresh copy every 2-3 years just to have around the house (seems like we always have a cruise in the works).

 

[kiford]

I buy the WDW Unofficial guides every time we go but I find that their coverage of DCL is short, spotty and frequently incorrect. I'd skip it.

 

[condorthb]

I bought it from Amazon. Its a neat read, but you can find info on the internet for free.

 

[PurplePencil]

NEED= You almost never NEED a book
Want/Good Read= Yeah it's good. I leave for my 9 cruise tomorrow and bought it. A few years ago Unofficial Guide DCL was really not worth it, but since Scott Sanders began contributing to it it's gotten a lot better. I learned some good information, and it has a nice article about the river cruises as well.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

Thank you all for the feedback. I appreciate it! I am so excited to be going on another cruise, I'm almost dizzy!

 

[Markonefive]

For my first cruise last year, I found pretty well all the info I needed here or on other DCL focused websites. Don't feel like I missed anything I needed to know. Swear by the Unofficial Guides and touringplans website for WDW advice and planning, though (if you buy the book, you can get discounted access to the full content of the website for one year). Or, you can just buy full content for the website at a slightly higher price.
I suggest stopping by your nearest bookstore and leafing through it. If it seems useful, buy it. Can be fun just reading it for the anticipation of the trip. Can also see if your local library has it if you want to read it in depth. Is it necessary ? No. Is it probably nice to read. Yes.