My partner and I love to travel and have been on many memorable treks throughout the world.  We knew that the first part of 2009 would be hectic for both of us, so it was important to have a major trip on our calendar to keep us going through the winter.   More importantly, we needed to go somewhere spectacular to celebrate my partner's 50th birthday.

            Some people like cruising; others hate it.  We love it.  Those who know us well (especially me, as I have no patience for the public in general) are surprised to learn that cruising is one of our favorite ways to spend a vacation.   We love to be on the water; there is something very soothing and magical about being in the middle of the ocean with a flat, blue landscape stretching out for miles in all directions.  Jokingly, I refer to cruises as vacations for the dumb and lazy (of which we are neither.) We love traveling from country to country and port to port (as long as the countries and ports are interesting) without having to move our luggage or do any serious thinking for ourselves.  As all of you cruise connoisseurs know, on most cruise lines you receive a daily newsletter that tells you all about the ship's activities.  We always keep it handy so we can decide where to go and what to do at any given time.  Some people like to participate in as many shipboard activities as possible.  Others relish doing nothing except staring out at the deep blue sea or relaxing on a deck chair with a good book something we do very well.

            We only have two main requirements for a cruise vacation.  First, the itinerary must be fabulous.  Cruises in the Caribbean and to the Mexican Riviera are not for us, although we have done both.  We prefer grand voyages to more exotic destinations or transatlantic crossings on one of Cunard's ocean liners.  Second, the ship we travel on, its accommodations and it clientele must be first class.  This does not mean that we need to be in the largest cabin, or travel exclusively on the "high-end" (i.e. expensive) ships; rather, we prefer cruises that attract a more discerning traveler someone who is more interested in the ports-of-call than in getting drunk during the nightly limbo contest.  For that reason, we shy away from Carnival and Royal Caribbean, and generally stick with our favorites Cunard, Celebrity and Sea Dream.  Read more