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That's what the Alberts were doing too. Cassie Albert, 11, and her brother and sister, both teens, were the youngest passengers. That there were no organized activities for them, but, according to her mom Jeannette Albert, that hadn't been a consideration when she planned this trip, their first to Europe. The California family had wanted the convenience of a cruise -- packing and unpacking once -- but the intimacy of a smaller ship.

What pleased Cassie the most? The four-horned ram she saw one day on a shore excursion and all of the food choices onboard, served by a staff that couldn't do enough to please her. What pleased her mom? Seeing her kids getting along, even playing a board game together. "I had to take a picture so I'd remember," she laughed.

An advantage of a small ship, whatever your age, is that it's pretty easy to get to know other passengers, joining them for a walk in a port town like Tobermory, the only burgh on the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, which offers both a portside distillery and a fish and chips food truck, or for a meal onboard. Another night, we were treated to a bagpipe and drum performance by the City of Inverness Youth Pipe Band at the historic Fort George, a special event just for our ship's passengers, something Windstar has begun doing on every cruise.

While some grumbled that the hour-journey was too far, 18-year-old Charlie Anderson declared, "I would have gone a lot farther to see them."

Charlie, whose grandparents, Karen Clarkson and Doug Anderson, had taken him on this trip for his high school graduation, was the kid you'd love to travel with. He was enthusiastic about everything -- the antithesis of a lot of teens I've met traveling. He explained that because he came from a small town in South Dakota, everything was new and exciting and he was making the most of every experience -- the cruising itself, sampling (some) new foods, exploring his Scots heritage with his grandfather and then buying matching ties from their clan. The best part, he said the last night of the cruise, "was the time with my grandparents."

Karen Clarkson and Doug Anderson, who live in Colorado and don't see Charlie that often, smiled at that remark. The best part, they said, was seeing the world through Charlie's eyes.

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(For more about Eileen's Windstar Cruise experience and her time in England, Ireland and Scotland, read her trip diaries at www.takingthekids.com and follow @takingthekids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.)

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