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 A lot of people, particularly those who are new to cruising, tend to place a higher value on a cruise that includes more ports of call. For example, they believe a 7-night cruise that visits six destinations is better than one with only four or five ports of call.

In my view, this philosophy sells the cruise experience short and can make for a less pleasant voyage. Why?

First, most cruise ships are loaded with tons of great facilities like hot tubs, health spas, mini-golf, swimming pools, water slides, retail shops, etc. that rival anything on land. In addition, there are organized activities from dawn until midnight that run the gamut from aerobic sessions, enrichment lectures, and dance classes to bingo, paddle tennis competitions and Wii tournaments. Enjoying these activities and facilities, which are part of the cruise vacation experience, often gets short-changed when a voyage offers no days at sea.

Second, a cruise that features too many destinations often has to arrive in port late or leave it early in order to rush to the next port of call. This can result in passengers having too little time in a port to see everything they want to, or to combine some shopping with sightseeing.

And third, getting up early everyday to go on a shore excursion can be very tiring. In fact, after just two or three consecutive days of touring, passengers can get so fatigued that they begin to regret having signed up for so many excursions. Or worse, they’re so tired they have to go to bed right after dinner and miss out on the evening’s fun and entertainment.  

But as experienced cruisers know, a voyage that combines a healthy balance of ports and sea days provides a far better vacation experience. For one, it gives passengers an opportunity to explore and enjoy their ship – which is hopefully one of the reasons they took a cruise instead of a land trip. And two, it gives them time to plan for and enjoy their shore excursion without wondering where they are each day as in the movie “If it’s Tuesday this must be Belgium.”

So what’s the right combination of sea and port days?

It really depends what part of the world you are cruising in and how intense the shore excursions are. For example, Caribbean ports tend to focus on water, fauna and beach tours that last just a few hours. So it’s relatively easy to tour an island, do some shopping, and still have three or four hours of daylight to relax on the ship.

In that case, four or five ports during a 7-day cruise should be just about right.

However, a cruise in the Mediterranean, the Baltic or South America is altogether a different story. Ports can often be located quite a distance away from the nearest major city (e.g. Civitavecchia for Rome, Piraeus for Athens, Livorno for Florence, etc.), which can often mean shore excursions of 7+ hours. Even worse, tours to nearby landmarks like Iguazu Falls in Brazil, the Galapagos Islands near Ecuador, or Moscow from St. Petersburg often involve 10 to 12-hour trips that depart before dawn and don’t return until late at night.

In these cruising regions, it really helps to have at least one sea day in between every two ports of call.  

The bottom line is that you want to have enough time to enjoy all the amenities your cruise ship has to offer, as well as to feel rested enough for each shore excursion on your itinerary. After all, you don’t want to return home from your cruise feeling you still need a vacation.

If you’ve been thinking about taking a cruise, you’re not alone. A recent study conducted by the Cruise Lines International Association says that 51 million people in North America plan to take a cruise in the next three years. For those who have not yet taken the plunge, here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions about cruising:

Is cruising expensive?

Just like land-based resorts, cruises come in a wide variety of prices, ranging from budget to ultra-deluxe. The price you pay will vary depending on the quality of the ship, the length of the voyage, the range of the itinerary, the type of cabin selected, and the time you choose to sail. Prices can range from a low $55 per day for an inside cabin to as much as $1,000 per day for a penthouse suite with hot tub and balcony.  

What does my fare cover?

For one all-inclusive rate, passengers get a cabin, meals, entertainment, on-board activities, the use of most shipboard facilities and transportation to every port of call on the ship’s itinerary. Airfare is available from the cruise line for an additional cost.

Will I get seasick?

Modern cruise ships weigh thousands of tons, have stabilizers to keep swaying to a minimum, and use radar to steer the ship away from bad weather. As a result, most passengers don’t notice much movement after the first few hours at sea.  If you’re sensitive to motion or the ship passes through stormy seas, there are a number of remedies available from the ship’s gift shop, including anti-motion sickness medications, an ear patch, wrist bands.  

Don’t cruises cater to an older demographic?

Not any more. The average age of cruisers has been on the decline for the last 25 years and is now below 45 years of age. The reason for the decline is the growing number of ships aimed at people with active lifestyles and families.  

What can I do when the ship is at sea?

You can literally be run off your feet if you choose to participate in the dozens of activities available every day.  For example, most cruise ships have exercise equipment, fitness classes and jogging tracks. Many have paddle tennis courts, basketball hoops, and golf simulators. Some have wave pools and skating rinks.  And every ship has a wide variety of seminars ranging from dance classes and cooking demonstrations to lectures on history, finance and beauty. 

What can I do when the ship’s in port?

There’s a wide range of excursions in every port of call. For example, you can take a bus tour, ride a boat, take a hiking trip, go snorkeling or scuba diving, attend a beach party or just go shopping. In some locations, you can even cycle down a mountain, float over wineries in a hot air balloon, explore the ocean bottom in a submarine and fly above glaciers in a helicopter. 

What’s the food like?

On most ships, the food is comparable with what you’d expect from a first-class restaurant. At dinner, you’ll get a five-course meal with soup, salad, appetizer, main course and dessert, all of which you can choose from a variety of selections. Most cruise ships also have alternative restaurants that specialize in a certain type of cuisine such as steak, Italian, or Asian. 

Are kids allowed to cruise?

More and more parents are taking their kids on cruises – around 20 percent according to the Cruise Line International Association.  The key is to select a cruise ship that has an organized program with activities geared to the ages of your children.   When kids stay in the same cabin with two adults, they also get a reduced third or fourth-person fare. And from time to time some cruise lines may offer “kids sail free” promotions. 

Randy and Noreen are cruise newbies. The couple from Saskatoon, Canada had never cruised before, but finally took the plunge in March after many years of debating whether they’d enjoy a vacation at sea.

They had been resisting a cruise for the same reasons that keep many vacationers landlocked. They were worried about getting seasick; they were afraid the cabin would be too small; they thought there might not be enough to do; they thought the ship would look old and boring.

But the moment they walked up the gangplank of the 138,000-ton Navigator of the Seas to begin their four-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Royal Caribbean had them.

“It was mind-blowing to see how beautiful the ship looked as we walked off the gangplank into the atrium,” say Noreen and Randy. “We were expecting an old-fashioned ship, but we were overwhelmed by how new and modern it looked. It was awesome.”

And their nascent love affair with cruising just kept getting better.

Noreen has mild claustrophobia, so after being escorted to their balcony cabin, she was pleasantly surprised at how large and beautifully decorated it was. “The cabin was beyond my expectations,” she says. “I thought we would be stuck in a cabin the size of a closet. But instead we had a bedroom, a sitting area and a large patio door that led to a balcony and provided a beautiful view of the water.”

After checking out the ship, they went top decks for the sail away party where they toasted their departure and met fellow cruisers. “It was an exciting beginning to our cruise,” says Noreen, “although it was so windy up there that my hair was standing straight up!”

The food was another winning feature aboard the 3,114-passenger Navigator of the Seas. Our newbies ate breakfast and lunch at the Lido deck café, and dinner in the main dining room which they describe as “fabulous.” However, while they were assigned to a dinner table of 12 people, they ended up dining alone every night.

“We wanted to meet new people, so we requested the largest table available,” says Randy. “But our tablemates never showed up because they ate in alternative restaurants. So every night we sat alone at the head of this long table, getting funny stares from people who must have thought we were the worst tablemates in the world!”

The entertainment was also a hit, particularly the casino. However, Randy made an important discovery about shipboard gambling: “The casino pays very well on the first night!”

They also loved the service aboard ship, which they described as 5-star. “We were amazed that our room steward always knew when we were out and he could make up our room,” says Randy. “We’re sure they have a hidden camera in every room!”

As for ports of call, their ship called at Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Georgetown, Grand Cayman on its way to and from Fort Lauderdale. Their first stop was a big disappointment.

“The moment we got off the ship in Ocho Rios, we were harassed by street vendors who were in our face all the time trying to sell us stuff,” say the couple. “We didn’t feel safe the whole time we were there.”

Fortunately, their experience in Grand Cayman was completely different – they were able to walk around on their own and enjoy the local surroundings. And they had a fantastic time on their shore excursion aboard the Trolley Roger, an open-air trolley ride conducted by a pirate that took them through Georgetown and along the coast to Hog Sty Bay.

And what about sea sickness? “We could hardly tell the ship was moving most of the time,” says Noreen, who is prone to motion sickness. “Even on our last day when the seas were a bit rough, we felt fine.”

Randy and Noreen do have some suggestions for other first-time cruisers. First, try everything there is to do on the ship at least once. Second, don’t request a table for more than 6 or 8 people. Third, if you don’t have kids with you, try the adults-only pool if your ship has one. And fourth, if you are worried about getting seasick, book a cabin mid-ships about half-way up like they did.

So what advice do Randy and Noreen have for people who have never cruised before?

Try a good quality cruise line on a reasonably new ship (the Navigator was launched in 2002). And take a mini-cruise of about 4 or 5 days just to see if you like it.

And what does the future hold for our newbie cruisers?

“Oh yes, for sure we will be taking another cruise,” they promise. “We’re currently thinking about Alaska.”

And that’s how thousands of cruise newbies have become millions of cruise aficionados the world over – one wonderful cruise experience after another!