Cruising as a vacation choice has become wildly popular. But still, some people have the perception that cruises are “long” vacations only, when there is actually a wide selection of timeframes to choose from. For the person who has only a week, and can't spend all seven days afloat, there are short four or five day cruises close to “home”, that are as exciting and fun as the longer ones that spend more time touring small islands that may not interest you.

From the U.S., some of the more popular cruises are the short ones to Mexico, of four and five days. Longer cruises of eight days can give you the full impact of visiting the Mexican Riviera, or Gold Coast.

Also from the West shores of America, you can cruise to that delightful holiday state, Hawaii, and enjoy their hospitality as your single port of call, or purchase tickets on a 15 day tour that will “circle” Hawaii by taking you to the South Pacific and exotic locations such as Tahiti in the South Pacific.

Mid-range cruises abound as well, with plenty of choices in the ten day range, that give you prep and down time for a two week vacation. The Panama Canal is one of the favorite choices in this group, with perhaps four days at sea, and six days of visiting Cancun, Costa Rica, and other exciting ports.

From the eastern seaboard, you can ship out to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, or even South America. The only thing that determines the cruise length and destination is the length of time you have to enjoy yourself, and what locations attract you more than others.

And of course, there is still the “get away from it all” option of flying to a distant starting point like Barcelona and embarking on a 12 day cruise of the Mediterranean, or South Africa. The choice is yours! The hard part is in doing the choosing.