After spending years at sea in the Navy, I wasn't all that interested in taking a cruise. My memories of cramped quarters, noise at all hours, so-so food, damp bedding, and living up close with sometimes-unpleasant people surely bent my psyche.

But once aboard a cruise ship I surely must confess that my attitude took a 180-degree change.

Impeccable service, comfortable quarters, complete freedom, great food, interesting sights (I spent most of my Navy time far below decks), and all the comforts you can name were ours.

By all means, take a cruise. You will learn what all the above raves are about. And if you find that cruises are not for you, well, you've learned something.

We love cruising on small ships. Our favorite vacations have included 2 weeks cruising from Athens to Barcelona on Windstar, a barge trip in Burgundy, Tulip Time cruise in Holland/Belgium, and a small ship cruise in the Gulf of Alaska.

It's great to see a different port every day. The Mediterranean would have been practically impossible without cruising. Ditto some parts of Alaska.

It's nice not to have to research a place to stay at every stop. With the cruise, I can save my mental energy for enjoyment of the sights, and not spend it wrestling with logistics.

We select cruise lines where open dining is offered, so we can have a table for 2 if we like. The cruise lines we've used have all had acceptable to excellent food, and with one exception, amiable table companions when we choose to join a group. I've made some good friends this way.

We sometimes use the cruise excursions, othertimes not. I research what others think as to the value by looking at online travel sites. Unless you are travelling with a group, booking a private tour or an excursion for a couple is cost prohibitive in many places.

The only cruise we did not like was on a big ship (2,000) to Alaska's Inside Passage. This was not a good way to see Alaska (we'd been there before.) The big ship did not allow you to get close to nature, and the ships overwhelmed the small port towns visited.

Our conclusion is that we still love the convenience of the cruise ship, as long as it's only a couple hundred guests at most, is port intensive, and takes us to places that we'd want to see or it would be difficult to visit except via water.

1. Relaxing
2. The breeze through my hair
3. No packing, toting bags, etc.
4. No cooking, cleaning (we often rent apartments when we travel to get that in-depth experience, you know)
5. Being waited on hand and foot
6. Entertainment
7. The opportunity to do things on the excursions I probably wouldn't do otherwise
8. Dancing
9. Different shops every day.
10. Wine on the deck after dinner
11. Drinking, no driving :)
The list goes on.........

It's one of many travel choices we make. Try it or not. No skin off my back if you miss out.