Thinking about a cruise? Don't forget that the hours you spend onshore are as important as the ship's amenities. As someone who has sailed six times on small vessels (fewer than 500 passengers) and five times on larger ones (700 to 2,600 passengers), I can assure you that the best itineraries are sailed by small ships: They visit hidden-gem ports that the behemoths can't squeeze into, spend more sunsets in port, and allow you to disembark much faster (which means more sightseeing time). For many reasons, however, a large ship might better suit your needs: They are more affordable, cater to children, have more dining and entertainment options (would you believe rock climbing?), and are less likely to cause seasickness. You won't find me having a family reunion on a small ship; instead, I'd choose a large one with a child-care facility and informal eateries, then use my bag of tricks to maximize the itinerary.

Our first annual cruising guide—"You Don't Know Cruising (Until You've Read This) "—taught you how to select the right vessel, pick the right cabin, get the right price, and customize the cruise to your needs. This year, we add the next step, singling out the very best itinerary in the world's most popular cruising regions on the basis of extensive research and interviews with cruise experts. Most are sailed by small ships. So for the majority of you—who prefer big—we also detail how to transform a more predictable large-ship itinerary into a fabulous small-ship one. Follow the pointers here and you should have smooth sailing whatever the size of your ship. If you don't, I want to hear from you, so please tell me about it on my blog or via e-mail (wperrin@cntraveler.com). Bon voyage!

Having It All—Almost
Cruising, blogging, and diapers aren't exactly the best combo. But by ferry, taxi, speedboat, and underwater scooter, Wendy Perrin takes a big-ship itinerary and makes it a showstopper

Most travel writers covering the cruise beat sail in champagne-and-caviar style, admiring idyllic ports from the balcony of a 400-square-foot suite. Then there's me. I ended up on a 2,449-passenger-capacity megaship, sailing a pedestrian itinerary in the been-there-done-that Caribbean, squeezing my family of four into the ship's least expensive cabin—all 170 square feet of it.

And I did this why? You can bet your buffet line it wasn't for my mental health. But 90 percent of cruisegoers travel on 1,500-passenger-plus ships—because these vessels are more affordable or because their services and comforts better meet the needs of diverse family groups—and it was my job to be your guinea pig and test that experience. My assignment: to figure out how to maximize a relatively humdrum big-ship itinerary.

It all began well enough. I chose Celebrity Cruises' Constellation because it was rated the best large ship by Condé Nast Traveler readers in this year's cruise ship poll. The itinerary I picked consisted of five conventional Caribbean ports. So far, so good. But then I made two mistakes. The first was to expect that I could work online on the ship as easily and quickly as I do at home. My daily Condé Nast Traveler blog was running a "Where's Wendy?" contest, which meant I needed to go on the Web daily to post photos and clues about my location, and I'd failed to factor in the excruciatingly slow at-sea satellite Internet connection. (To read my posts from the cruise, log on to the Perrin Post.)