I took my first cruise with my family when I was in high school. We were aboard the now-defunct Big Red Boat. We chose the particularly delightful El Niño season to sail the ocean blue, so suffice to say we never saw the sun. And while larger — much larger — cruise ships continued on their merry way out to sea, the Big Red Boat proved how very small it actually was by staying in port for nearly the whole trip.

So when I was given the opportunity to take another cruise this year — more than ten years later — I was a little hesitant. But I’m happy to report that I recently returned from the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association 2010 conference at sea, which was held on Holland America’s ms Eurodam cruise ship, and I actually had a lot of fun. I picked up some tidbits about the travel writing industry, tasted more than my share of wine and met some fascinating people aboard the ship. I also got to spend some time with my sister, who I don’t see nearly often enough, and we had the chance to tour Old San Juan in Puerto Rico, check out the hurricane damage from 2008 on Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands, kayak in the lagoon on Little San Salvador in the Bahamas and hike in the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park on St. John.

I also learned a lot about what it means to vacation aboard a boat that is actually big enough to move away from shore. So from a *ahem* first-time cruiser, here are seven tips if you, too, are planning on taking a cruise.

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