The Nova Star is more than a ferry that links Maine and Nova Scotia. It’s a luxury, an experience, part of the thrill of travel. The difference is that cruise ships are essentially floating resorts, an end in themselves. The Nova Star is that rare combination of necessary travel made experiential.

Mediocre food is often an irritation at all-inclusive properties but we found Secrets to take its food choices and preparation very seriously.

The key issue in traveling successfully, then, is to embrace the right attitude and to act in accordance with that attitude. In this series, I’ll describe that attitude. I’ll talk about the specific issues I face on a daily basis and how I deal with them.

Although adults can and do have a fabulous time aboard a Carnival ship, the emphasis for us on this cruise was on the grandchildren. They were never bored.

As expected on a ship of this quality, all our meals were excellent. In Europa 2’s Japanese restaurant, Sakura, we enjoyed Sushi and giant tempura shrimp (who knew a German ship could produce such excellent sushi?).