Not interested in another Caribbean cruise, we jumped at the opportunity to sail out of Miami going northeast instead. All the ports except Nassau were new to us, and two were overnights, so it offered a chance to really explore these destinations. We were offered an exceptional price for a concierge-level cabin mid-ship on deck 9. We've decided that these 700-passenger ships are our favorites--big enough to find your favorite places to relax but small enough to run back to the room from time to time without it seeming like a hike (or using the elevators).

We're walkers, so out we went into the streets of Miami, Nassau, Hamilton, St. George, Norfolk, and Charleston, finding interesting pubs, local beers, vernacular and notable architecture, and impromptu cemetery and garden tours. I think being on foot gives you a look at the city unobtainable in any other way. Some on our ship saw a certain church in Charleston as they went by on their tour bus, while we wandered in for noon prayers and sat in the same pew that George Washington and Robert E. Lee did.

Signing on late meant we were shut out of the more popular shore excursions. The few we took were our least favorite part of the cruise. Only the space center was memorable. Had we gone on the all day trips to Williamsburg or Jamestown, or seen the plantations in South Carolina, we may have had more to say on those, but we chose to do our own thing. Bermuda and Charleston both rated highly in interesting things to do, and I wish we had had another day in each. Read more