I’ve never been a big fan of cruises. I’ve always felt too confined, controlled and not able to “do my thing” on a big ship. Add to that the mandated community dining and it was just too much for my rebellious self.

But, I recently saw a Viking cruise that went to two countries I wanted to visit: Algeria and Tunisia. It had been twenty years since my last cruise, so I thought, why not give it another go? Heck, thousands of people go on cruises every day. Maybe I had been wrong about my earlier assessments. After a little persuading, my hubby, Ken, agreed to accompany me.

I’ve been on three other cruises and none of them wowed me. My first experience was a spring break cruise to the Caribbean with three college girl friends. We thought we were going to have a wild and crazy time with all kinds of gorgeous guys on the ship. I can remember my Mom laughing her ass off as she dropped us at check-in. All we saw were masses of senior citizens. Suffice to say there were no ship-board romances on that cruise!

Our second cruise was with my in-laws to Mexico. That trip included hoards of loud New Yorkers and their kids running around the ship and lots of mediocre food. The third cruise was with my parents who wanted to be glued to our sides. Loud announcements on the PA every fifteen minutes were beyond obnoxious: ping pong on the Lido Deck; lecture in the auditorium and volleyball on the sports deck. Soup every night changed colors from white to gray to yellow to green. It all tasted the same.

My husband quickly adopted the name “prison ships” and we thought our days of cruise ships were dead and done.

So here we were, booked onto a one-week cruise ship leaving from Rome and returning to Barcelona. My sister reminded me: “keep your expectations low and you’ll have a good time!”

Things started out poorly. We received an email from Viking telling us that the Tunisia stop was being cancelled due to demonstrations! I quickly went online to read what was happening and as usual, things weren’t as bad as folks made them out to be. I called Viking upset about this change and threatened to cancel the trip. Of course, cancellation would mean a 100% cancellation fee. To sooth my savagery, they offered me a $200 credit. So I took the money, vowing to drink myself sick as compensation for missing Tunisia.

Once on board the ship, we had a few pleasant surprises. Our state room was much bigger than any of the previous three we had experienced. The bathroom had a separate shower, so you didn’t have to worry about showering over the toilet. The public areas of the ship were beautifully designed — modern and comfortable, with numerous options for sitting, chatting, and watching the waters go by. There was a three-story atrium area, complete with Steinway piano for afternoon concerts and an indoor pool with plenty of upscale lounge chairs and sitting areas. One of our favorite spots was the forward two-story bar, surrounded with shelves of books, ship models and sailing paraphernalia.

There were no “old school” required dining partners or times. You simply went to one of the two dining rooms whenever you liked or booked a reservation at one of the other two “special” restaurants. Our first night, we dined at the “Chef’s Table,” a special restaurant. Food wasn’t bad — but the chef had clearly not gotten the message that foam was over. Every course had some kind of foam. But it was a pleasant experience and we couldn’t really complain.

Breakfast and lunch were whenever you liked within designated times. Breakfast was from 7:00 to 10:00 and lunch from noon to 2:00. Room service, with a limited menu, was available 24 hours. You could eat as much as you liked and fortunately, the food was decent, there were healthy options and plenty of variety.

I must admit that after a week of eating on the ship, I was ready for a change. All food came from the same kitchen so it was a bit similar. The “special” restaurants did give you something slightly different, although service could be slow. In addition to the Chef’s Table, there was an Italian restaurant that was pretty decent.

Shortly after leaving Rome, the captain announced that the seas were too rough to go to Naples, the substitute port to make up for missing Tunisia. A number of fellow passengers were hoping to visit Pompeii and were thus unhappy about this development. Of course, all was supposed to be for our safety, so you couldn’t complain too much!

After a stop in Sicily, we headed for Northern Africa and our stop in Algeria, only to be told by our captain that, once again, we had rough seas and high winds and could not get into Algeria. ERRRR. I was NOT happy. So off we went to another substitute port, Mallorca.

The rest of the cruise progressed as advertised, but after talking with a number of other passengers, it appeared that many were distressed about missing the two North Africa stops.

So what is my bottom line on cruises? Here are things that are positives. You’ll get:

• A small taste of a country or area
• A controlled environment with food provided, tours offered and “no thinking” required
• A one-price “all-inclusive” vacation. Viking charged $105 per person for a week for gratuities and alcohol was additional. Wine and beer were included.

However, to me the negatives outweigh the positives. I don’t like:

• The total loss of control over where you go
• The possibility of getting seasick (I had two bad nights on the Viking cruise)
• Being on a large ship with a lot of other people you may or may not like. Luckily, two friends were with us on this cruise and they were fun to be with.
• Food that can get boring after a week of the same thing.
• Being subjected to tours that are not individualized or private. We rode busses for most of the port cruises.

If you are a cruise fan, I can highly recommend Viking. The ship was beautiful and all the staff were top-notch, helpful, friendly and kind.

Bon voyager or NOT!