Brian and his wife sailed with another couple on an 11 day Canada/New England cruise. They are in the 45-55 age group.

Our trip North on Celebrity's Constellation was eleven days to remember. We dined at sunset on our way out of New York Harbor and were on our way to the most relaxing vacation either of us had ever enjoyed.

Our first stop was in Newport, RI where we spent the day touring the "Cottages" of the 19th century rich and famous. We avoided what we thought were over priced organized tours from the ship and just set out on our own. We enjoyed a leisurely walk down the coast on which the "cottages" beckon and toured two of the more ostentatious Vanderbilt homes. They were beautiful to look at and of course the opulence is enough to make Bill Gates drool but we couldn't picture ourselves living in what seemed to be oversized gilded dollhouses.

We were off to sea that evening and again were pampered 24/7 by a crew that numbers approximately one crew person for every two passengers. We swore our cabin attendant had a peep hole into our room because if we returned to our cabin, even just to wash our hands, left, and returned a half hour later, our used towel would have already been replaced along with a fresh pitcher of water and full ice bucket. The service both in the cabin, in the dining rooms, and at all the lounges and entertainment venues was impeccable but not overwhelming or oppressive.

The crew represented over 60 different nations of the globe and the diversity truly added just one more fascinating and pleasant aspect to an overall enjoyable time.

The stop in Sydney, Nova Scotia could be skipped in our opinion since about the most exciting venue we found in the village was a Church Craft Fair. However, I happened to be walking around the 3 laps to a kilometer track on the eleventh deck at daybreak, when we pulled into Sydney, and watching the Captain turn the ship a full 180° in the middle of a fairly narrow harbor and then back into a concrete dock without the aid of a tug as easily as one might parallel park the family Honda was a spectacle to behold.

That evening we were off to sea again and enjoyed another glorious day of constant but underwhelming pampering. From the Optional Spa Treatments to the outdoor pools and Jacuzzis; from the formal dining rooms to the informal buffets, from the Trivial Pursuit games and other organized group activities to just lounging in the Piano Bar, Casino or listening to the four piece Chamber Orchestra (of Russian lineage I think) with which my wife and I absolutely fell in love; the days and evenings were totally blissful.

Each evening had a full stage show ranging from the ships' own performing song and dance troupe to a stand-up comic, to a concert pianist to a magician, movies and an outstanding Irish Tenor which were both entertaining and surprisingly upscale due to the magnificence of the on board multi-tiered theater. One could close one's eyes and imagine sitting in one of New York's finest theatres.

One enormous "beware," the on board shopping mall and art auctions are irresistible and habit forming. The duty free purchases of jewelry, gold chains, liquor and assorted other items is mouth-watering. If you enjoy gambling, which I don't, I must assume the Casino is equally alluring since it was always busy whenever the ship was in international waters.

Without boring you with more details let me just sum up the rest of the trip by saying that by the time we reached Quebec we expected to be pleased with everything we saw and did and we were certainly not disappointed. The skyline of that gorgeous old city at night must be seen to be believed. Even though we had our trip up the tributary off the St Lawrence and a stop at Halifax to look forward to, it was with a degree of sadness that we left Quebec because we realized that we were, in fact, headed back home and to the daily grind.

Over all I cannot think of enough superlatives to describe the great time my wife and I had on the entire trip. I suppose there are some who could find fault with some aspect of the voyage, but, in my opinion, those people would find some fault with perfection itself.