To relax and unwind, we hopped aboard a cruise ship for two weeks. We are home now but wouldn’t hesitate to go back again at the drop of an anchor.

We’ve been cruising before. In fact, our first transatlantic voyage was on our honeymoon, sailing from New York to Southampton. We spent a month in the United Kingdom with rail passes and then flew home. You never forget your first cruise.

Now, cruising is the perfect way to travel: wake up every day in a new place, no cooking or cleaning for the entire duration. That’s enough to say “vacation” in any language. In addition, there are dozens of things to see and do at any hour of the day or night.

Our only problem on this trip were that we had to get to Tampa, Fla., for embarkation, and I had fallen in early March and was using a rollator to get around.

The trip to Tampa would have been smooth flying if our first flight had not been canceled an hour after we sat on the plane in Hartford. So, one rebooking and three flights later we arrived in Tampa at 9 p.m. on Saturday. The rollator did not arrive, and we subsequently learned it had been left in Philadelphia. We were boarding the ship the next afternoon, and were in a bit of a panic as to what to do. Thanks to the cooperation of American Airlines and their mobility device vendor, we had a new rollator at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

There were no further problems for the next 12 days. We cruised around the Caribbean, then traveled to Bermuda on the way to our final port, Boston. We enjoy these repositioning trips because we plan to arrive at a port on the East Coast when we are tired and ready to be home. Our older son does yeoman’s duty as our chauffeur, for which we are eternally grateful.

I expected to be hampered by my inability to do much walking, but I was able to accomplish almost all of my goals. I learned how to carve fruits and vegetables into fun animals, fold napkins and make towel animals. We watched all kinds of TV sports, from rugby to tennis to NBA basketball. I read two complete mystery thrillers and wrote in my journal. Every single day, I sat in the sun on our balcony and reveled in the smell of the salt air and bright sunshine. Because we had upgraded our stateroom — thanks to my husband’s skill at bargain-shopping — I was pampered by the service of a personal butler who provided anything my heart desired.

Exceptional service is a hallmark of most cruises. With a passenger-to-crew ratio of three to one, it is easy to understand why. With the butler, who served only 14 staterooms, we lacked for nothing. I just can’t imagine how these crew members — many of whom are married with children — can bear to be away from their families for nine months at a time. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with economics. Our cabin steward was from the Philippines and the butler from India.

Being among a large group of crew members from all over the world — and all of them decades younger than us — gave a different perspective on the state of the world. There is a lot of hope and wonder out there. We are also grateful for what we have — despite our problems — and what our children have.

I can’t wait for another trip.