Puerta Vallarta is still a popular port of call, and the Pacific Princess still plies the oceans (although she now calls at ports in Tahiti and the South Pacific), but in other respects cruising has come a long way, baby. Sure, you’re still welcome to slather on the sunscreen, plunk yourself poolside, and while away the afternoon with a pile of People magazines, but for passengers looking for more diversion, today’s floating resorts offer more than ever before.

Action-Packed Activities
State-of-the-art fitness facilities are de rigueur these days, so exercise isn’t limited to promenading around the Promenade deck. The usual gym suspects--stationary bicycles, stair climbing machines, treadmills, and weight training equipment--keep fitness-inclined passengers at the top of their game. In addition, many ships offer unique fitness innovations, like swim-against-the-current lap pools, rock climbing walls that tower above the ocean, and in-line and ice skating rinks. Basketball courts, jogging tracks, and putting greens are also common on many of today’s ocean liners. And for passengers eager to earn their scuba stripes en route to the next diving destination, two new programs--Princess Cruises' New Waves and Royal Caribbean International's Sea Trek--offer scuba diving certification at sea.

Pampering Pleasures
All of that onboard exercise is bound to produce an ache or pain or two, and luckily most ships have a space devoted exclusively to pampering, soaking, wrapping, and otherwise working out the kinks. SpaCarnival, AquaSpa, Lotus Spa, Ocean Spa, Vista Spa & Salon--call it what you will--what matters most are the extensive menus of soul-soothing body treatments. Indulge is the operative word at these onboard temples to tranquillity, which offer everything from heavenly massages to invigorating facials and detoxifying scrubs. If you find yourself with four or five hours to spare, hand yourself over to the staff at Celebrity Cruises' AquaSpa, which offers a range of intoxicating and exotic “ceremony” spa packages, including a Tahitian Ceremony of Flowers, an Asian Ceremony of Stone, and an Egyptian Ceremony of Milk and Ginger.

Intellectual Pursuits
Working out and recovering from too much of a good thing aren’t the only activities available while sailing the ocean blue. Many cruise lines host an impressive roster of guest lecturers, renowned chefs, and experts in fields as diverse as finance, yoga, and astronomy. The word on Alaska’s flora and fauna comes straight from a naturalist’s mouth aboard many of Princess’ journeys through the famed Inside Passage. Crystal Cruises' Visions Enrichment Lecture program sponsors journalists, writers, Hollywood personalities, and historians for informative talks and meet-and-greet sessions. And if that isn’t enough mind candy for you, try your hand at Web design or Photoshop through Crystal’s Computer University at Sea. Crystal also employs professional dance instructors to help couples work on that waltz, and on select sailings, golfers can take putting lessons from a P.G.A. pro. Many cruise lines help to fill the days with wine tastings, art auctions, duty-free shopping, feature films, and theme parties, or you can curl up with a good book (or book-on-tape) in the onboard library. One thing’s for certain--boredom is a thing of cruising past.

A Family Affair
Grown-ups and grandparents aren’t the only ones taking to the seas today, and cruise lines have stepped up to the plate to make cruising a family affair. Parents will find dedicated areas for children and teenagers, along with supervised, age-specific activities. Disney Cruise Line® takes things one step further with Studio Sea, a nightclub for families, as well as an adult-exclusive area of the ship for parents who need a vacation from their family vacation. If you don’t have children of your own and prefer to cruise in a rugrat-restricted zone, Celebrity offers Celebrity Escape cruises, which cater to passengers of legal drinking age and older.

Dream Destinations
For some people, the journey is the best part, while for others the dream destinations are the reason for booking a cruise in the first place. Today’s cruises whisk passengers to places worthy of their wildest travel fantasies in every imaginable corner of the world, from the cultural capitals of Europe to the fjord-flanked coasts of South America and Scandinavia. Cruises still call in the peachiest, beach-iest vacation places around, like the Caribbean, Mexico, and Hawaii, but you’ll also find itineraries that take you further afield to destinations in Africa, the South Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand. In some cases, a cruise is the best way to experience a travel milestone, such as seeing (and hearing) a calving glacier up-close in Alaska, or ocean-hopping and continent-crossing via the Panama Canal.

Port Pastimes
Spending time in port is as integral to the cruising experience as pampering service, gourmet dining, and the high-kicking choreography of that cruise ship mainstay, the Broadway revue. Just as itineraries have spread their wings and ventured further than Puerta Vallarta, so have shore excursions. Swim, golf, or sightsee to your heart’s content, but save some energy for surfing lessons in Hawaii, coasting through a rainforest cave on an inner tube in Belize, or driving a dogsled in Alaska. And if animal encounters float your boat, try snorkeling with stingrays in Grand Cayman Island, swimming with dolphins in Hawaii, or feeding sharks and sea turtles in Curaçao. Many Caribbean itineraries feature stops at the cruise lines’ private slice of paradise, where island pleasures are reserved exclusively for passengers. •