There are certain things that one should do in one’s lifetime: drive a twisting road along the Pacific coast in a convertible; gasp at the Taj Mahal at sunrise; have coffee in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and cruise the Caribbean on a big ship.

The latter has been on my life’s back burner simply because my husband Jim has a problem with sea sickness. In March we were in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s canal city, and between visits to Butterfly World and bountiful beaches we started talking abut the huge cruise ships that we could see in the port.

After some Internet research that showed that mal de mer diminishes with age, Jim pronounced, “I’m good to go. It’s now or never.”

Holland America Line appeals to more mature, more sedate passengers so it was an easy first choice for our cruise line. I wanted a smaller, more personal ship and Jim wanted a mega-ship on the theory that it wouldn’t rock on rough waters and he would be kept busy exploring something the size of a small planet. We also debated the length of our trip. He wanted three days to the Bahamas as a starter trip. I said it wasn’t worthwhile to come to the cruise centre of the universe, pack up, get settled in a cabin and then, a few days later, be back on shore unpacking again. I argued for a month, knowing that we would compromise with what I really wanted: two weeks. For less than the per day price of a luxury hotel room we had a 14-day cruise to 10 different exotic islands with all our meals and non-stop entertainment included.

Our ship was the Maasdam, not a mega monster, but not exactly a row boat either. On schedule we steamed out to the Atlantic and we had two sea days at sea to find our way around the ship and get to know our fellow passengers. Winds were brisk, the ship deployed its stabilizers and of the dozen diners at our table three were under the weather. But not my boy Jim. Without Gravol, ginger, wrist pressurizers or other anti-nausea paraphernalia he didn’t once even think about hanging over the rail.

It’s hard to imagine getting lost on a boat, but when you consider that most decks have a port and starboard side plus a middle aisle, and there are 10 decks, and each is 700 feet long, it adds up to seven kilometres of ship that you want to get to know. Envision it as a small city with a shopping mall, several hotels holding a total of 1,200 people, a cinema, four restaurants, a cafe, a library, a theatre, a convention centre, a computer school, two swimming pools, a gymnasium, a tennis court, a basketball court, a casino, a photography studio, a spa, another big hotel for 600 crew people, plus assorted other domains and walkways. Yes, one could get disoriented in a city of that size. And we did. Constantly. As we marched up and down the stairs (we refused the elevators) we might even have been heard to mutter, “You can’t get there from here.”

In addition to as many top-notch meals as we could handle the daily events included a recent movie, a computer class, a cooking class, a sports tournament (ping pong, tennis etc.), a games competition (Scrabble, bridge), a lecture on what to see at the next island and an evening stage show with a variety of entertainment. On the occasional afternoon we even spent some time in our room, which was much bigger than expected. With a double bed at one end and a couch, chair, coffee table and TV at the other it was in no way cramped. We even had a deep bath tub and a big window – a great $10 a day investment. If cost is not a consideration then go all the way and get a private balcony. Or even a suite with balcony.

It’s difficult to say if the highlight of our nautical vacation was the ship or the islands. It was certainly a contrast to our usual land-locked motorhome travel. The Maasdam was generally in port from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. so there was lots of time to find the beaches of Antigua, the shops of Barbados, the rain forests of Dominica and the culture of Puerto Rico. Sometimes we took a Holland America approved shore excursion such as a scuba diving trip, sometimes we hopped on a local minibus to go sightseeing and sometimes we just walked until we dropped.

Now we are checking the schedule for cruises to Alaska, which our cruise-savvy fellow passengers said are among the best.