What Gets Better as it Gets Older? Cruising.

Those of us who have been cruising for a while tend to look back wistfully at what’s gone out to sea—midnight buffets, five-course dinners, chocolates and cards on our pillows, little shampoo bottles and Q-tips.
 
But in many ways, cruising is better than ever. Consider this:
 
Bigger ships make a bigger bang. Think of all the bells and whistles that didn’t exist before. Like

Chicago on the high seas, via the Allure

more balcony rooms. 3D movies and bumper cars. Rock climbing and zip-lining. Broadway shows. Glass-blowing and cooking demos.
 
Ships come in all sizes. The cruise lines keep pumping ‘em out, large and small, and that’s only a good thing. Want to go to exotic ports and get to know your fellow travelers? A small ship’s for you. Surfing and skating is your thing and don’t mind sharing space with 5,399 other travelers? There’s one for you too.
 
Backstage is the new front stage. Once a word-of-mouth thing, galley tours, backstage tours and if you’re lucky, even bridge and engine room tours, are standard fare on today’s ships. Think of the useful tidbits you’ll walk away with—pounds of coffee consumed each day and how fast the ship goes at night.
 

Stainless steel galore on a Princess galley tour

The smoke out. We all breathe easier these days with smoking banned on most ships in most places. Even in those palaces of puffing—the casinos.
 
Ways to health. There are more and better ways to be healthy onboard, with well-equipped fitness centers and classes, jogging tracks and health-food style restaurants. Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class ships and many Celebrity ships have no-cost healthy dining choices that, for the most part, are better than what they serve up in their MDR or buffet.
 


Hand wash reminder on
Celebrity's Constellation

Sanitation savvy. Alas, the cruise lines have had their share of experience with norovirus, which has made them pros at avoiding and containing it. Sanitizers are everywhere and Princess won’t let you near the buffet without a spray.
 
Safety takes center stage. There is no better time than now to cruise when it comes to safety. With the Concordia and engine room fires still fresh in everyone’s memory, the cruise lines are going out of their way to reassure the public that cruising is as safe as ever. There’s new attention to muster drills, installation of backup generators and other safety measures.
 
Steady and stable. The big new ships today are more stable than the ones that came before. There have been many improvements in design that have made them more solidly built. We’ve been amazed that we’ve felt very little movement onboard. In fact, after 16 trips, we’ve not used seasickness medication once.
 
More demand equals more fun. Demand for cruising—at least outside the U.S.—has been growing, encouraging the cruise lines to build more ships, each outdoing the next with fun features and other ways to entice and excite us, making cruising more intriguing than ever. And best yet--keeping costs on an even keel.