Never cruised before? No problem. There are plenty of great itineraries that are so well-suited for first-time cruisers that we won’t be surprised if you decide to sign up for your next ocean adventure right now!

So, where can you go on your first-time cruise? There’s a lot more out there than just the Caribbean (though that’s a great pick, too!). Here are five of our favorite itineraries that are guaranteed to make that first-time cruise experience a memorable one:

The Greek Islands

Why spend all that time island-hopping on ferries with complicated schedules when you can take a cruise that hits half a dozen islands in a single week? The Greek Islands are some of the most iconic places in the world, and locales like Mykonos and Santorini inspire a more idyllic, laid-back way of life, doing as the Greeks do. But this area is littered with other amazing ports of call, including Patmos, Rhodes, Crete, and Kusadasi – a Turkish town that serves as the gateway to the fabulous ruins of Ephesus.

Hawaii

Keeping with the island theme is Hawaii – and a cruise there is the perfect choice for folks who don’t like to fly. Lines like Carnival, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Royal Caribbean routinely offer two-week voyages to the islands from mainland ports including San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and sometimes even from Vancouver, Canada. If you don’t mind the flight, Norwegian Cruise Line is the only big-ship line to have special dispensation to operate weeklong cruises aboard Pride of America that leaves right from Honolulu.

The Mediterranean

Sure, you can go to Rome and stay for a week – and you should. But don’t discount how amazing a Mediterranean cruise can be, especially when you consider how frequently trains in Europe can be delayed by labor unrest (that’s a “strike” to you). So why struggle with arranging your own transportation when, in a single week, a cruise can take you from Rome to Barcelona with stops in places like Naples, Sorrento, Livorno (the gateway to Pisa and Florence), or let you hop off for lunch in Nice and a candlelit dinner in Cannes?

The Caribbean

Yes, the Caribbean is still the quintessential destination for first-time cruisers, and there’s good reason for that. Like the rest of these itineraries, a cruise makes it possible to visit multiple islands at once, all without the hassle of ferries, airport security, or the need to constantly pack and unpack. Our favorite choice here: pick a cruise that includes a few ports in the Eastern and Western Caribbean to get a better flavor of how different they are. The Eastern Caribbean is lush and tropical, while the West offers culturally significant journeys to places like Tulum and Chichen Itza on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

Alaska

Alaska has made lifelong cruisers out of first-timers for decades now. Few places capture the magic of a cruise like Alaska, where long days translate into spectacular dinners filled with scenic cruising that seems to never end. Forests, mountains, fog, wildlife, and other ships constantly fill the panoramic views from Alaska’s bays, inlets, and waterways, and even rainy days bring shocking moments of natural beauty, as your ship eases into Tracy Arm Fjord, or sidles up to Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park. These are experiences you cannot have without a cruise in Alaska, and they remain so powerful that they keep drawing people back season after season. The local seafood’s not bad, either!

We believe these five cruises are the best places to start your cruising experience. If you’d like to know more, contact your local travel experts to help pick the perfect first cruise for you.