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Has winter seemed to drag on deeper into spring than it should?

While it may not feel that way in California, much of the rest of the country has experienced a long, long winter that keeps dragging on with chilly temperatures.

Fortunately, there's an easy solution.

Julie and I recently booked a cruise on a Friday and boarded Anthem of the Seas two days later to escape to the Bahamas and Florida from Cape Liberty, New Jersey.

After a delicious breakfast on our first morning at sea, we found the weather was already 70 degrees and sunny on our balcony.  The day before required warm coats.  It's amazing how the weather changes when you cruise south at 20 knots for 18 hours.  And how easy that is compared to getting in your car to fight traffic and pay tolls to drive that same distance.

Plus, we only have to unpack once during a cruise, not to mention enjoying great entertainment, fine meals and sleeping soundly while the Captain acts as our designated driver.

During the first half of this century, Julie and I compiled enough cruises to reach Crown & Anchor Society Diamond Level, but we realized it has been 11 years since we last cruised on Royal Caribbean.

There certainly are many impressive features aboard Anthem of the Seas, including sky-diving wind-tunnel, bumper cars and robotic bartenders, but for us, the most noteworthy aspect was quality of our meals.

Perhaps the dining room has always served meals this delicious and we no longer remember, but we feel Royal Caribbean has really upped its game to be more like their sister lines Celebrity and Azamara, which we have enjoyed during our hiatus from RCCL.

Another major upgrade is revealed in production shows, including a full two hour play featuring the music of Queen.

Anthem of the Seas will soon be cruising across the Atlantic Ocean to embark on exciting summer cruises in Europe, but she will be back on the East Coast in October for another full season.

In the meantime, other great ships will fill the void cruising from New Jersey: Adventure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas and Celebrity Summit.  You can choose to cruise not only to the Caribbean but to New England and Bermuda!

And that's not your only eastern seaboard home port.  Enchantment of the Seas cruises the summer season from Baltimore, as does Carnival Legend.

From nearby New York, you can choose to cruise on Norwegian Joy or Carnival Magic.  Upscale Oceania Insignia has limited availability.  Queen Mary II will be adding trans-Atlantic crossings plus a few special cruises, including 26-nights roundtrip to the Norwegian Fjords embarking June 5.

Boston is home port for American Constitution, cruising through New England, and Holland America Zaandam, which does several Canada/New England voyages but also has a 35-night roundtrip voyage that also includes Western Europe on July 9.  Norwegian Pearl will take you to Bermuda from Beantown.

If you don't live on the east coast, remember there are lots of wonderful places to visit in this historic area pre- or post-cruise.

It's time to wake up and plan your next great trip.