We book two years in advance (hoping still to be fit then!), and pay about £80 per night full board. Having great food without having to search out local good-value restaurants is one benefit, as well as having a variety of different places to visit, without having to pack and unpack each night. The entertainment (comedians, magicians, middle-of-the-road bands, films, and lectures, but not the "West End musicals," is also great. And, for that price, we get a coach form our home town. I initially didn't want to go on a cruise, as I hate ships and the sea, but my first cruise, to the Northern Lights, was superb. However, we avoid "sunny" destinations (we go to Norway, the Baltic, and the Mediterranean off-season). The documentaries on television about sun-seeking hedonists is enough to put anyone off cruises!