My friend with whom I have traveled many times told me she had booked a trip on the Ocean Princess and would I like to accompany her. I checked the website and told my husband in complete dismay that the trip was TWENTY-EIGHT days. He said, "Go. Go. Have a good time." And to show what a great guy he is, I was gone for our 25th wedding anniversary, and he gave me the trip as a gift.

I can't begin to describe what a wonderful time it was. The Ocean Princess is a smaller ship and seeing so many people so often made it seem like one big family. The ports of call were wondrous. I did very little homework in preparation for this trip, so seeing the Lost City of Petra in Jordan and Luxor, Egypt with no expectations made it more amazing for me. Almost all of our ports were Princess Excursions and they were all well done.

The staff of the ship could not have been better. I even got a haircut in the salon and swear it was one of the best haircuts of my life. Read more