Improvements and upgrades in cruise ships over the past ten years, and the addition of many new destinations and itineraries, have made cruise vacations one of the easiest and most affordable ways to see the world. It beats driving across the country, and with the ability to hop from island to island, hot port to hot port, cruise ships open up a whole new realm of travel that is not available via land transportation. But the seemingly endless amounts of information on the Internet and the comp.