We took a 4-night trip for our 10th anniversary, 16 years ago. Time flies. As was usual at the time, I lost about a day to headache. Overall, the trip was great, however.

How do you do with changes in schedules? There's a lot of flexibility, and it's very easy to change your sleep and eating patterns. There might be pressure to "do everything." Since you're paying for it, you'd better do as much as you can, right? Can you be sure to take time to rest and to pace yourself? There was also the pressure of putting together a wardrobe, and shopping for summery clothes in December and January.

Cruise ship cabins are tiny. Could you be comfortable in a common area with lots of people? How would you handle food triggers? And smoking. Our cruise was before much of the "smoke free" movement.

A cruise ship is as nice as a very nice hotel. Our cabin boy straightened the room twice a day. The night I couldn't go to dinner, our head waiter turned upside down trying to find something that I could eat.

My thought would be to take the trip. Don't let fear get in the way of having fun. There are fun things on the boat, even if you don't want to do the shore excursions. Good luck!

Gretchen