I have to admit that the first time I considered taking a cruise, I was apprehensive. I am not a person that is a big fan of being in a crowd. I imagined a cruise ship as a place where several thousand people are crowded together for seven days, with no potential for escape. I am glad to say that I tried it anyway and found that a lot of my preconceived notions were wrong. The idea for this post came from discussions I had with friends, describing my experience with cruising.