By Candyce H. Stapen

updated 1:18 p.m. ET Aug. 10, 2006

There's a little-known secret about cruises -- they make great girlfriends' getaways. While kids bounce between pool parties, face painting and scavenger hunts, and couples stroll arm-in-arm on moonlit decks, girlfriends bunking together get a weeklong case of the giggles. That works for female buddies of any age, whether you're 20-somethings hoping to work in a bit of romance amid your shore tours and sun bathing or "ageless" wonders with laugh lines and light years of perspective on life's foibles.

Here are the top 10 reasons we've found for sailing with a girlfriend:

1. Hooting, hollering and bar-hopping are totally acceptable. Forget having to be a straight-laced "lady." On Carnival Liberty, we stomped and clapped for the contenders in the pool-side Hairy Chest contest, and whistled and cheered for our pick in the best male butt lineup at the ship's nightclub. As two long-married women, Diane and I are decades from our bar-hopping days, but onboard a ship, sampling the lounges is de rigueur -- and especially delightful on Liberty because of the whimsical decor. Sitting at the ivory and black keyboard counter of the Piano Bar, we sipped Cosmos. Perched on faux golf glove stools at Glove's sports bar, we watched football and drank Sam Adams, and amid newspaper blowups of celebrities' faces, we toasted each other with cabernet at Paparazzi's wine bar. No designated driver needed.

2. Inviting handsome men into your cabin is encouraged. That was the case with our cabin aboard Regent Seven Seas' Seven Seas Navigator, which came with the ultimate amenity: our tall, dark and handsome butler, Saurabh Choksi. At first my friend Diane and I felt embarrassed, not knowing what to ask of Saurabh. So we started small. Could he replace our lost shore tour ticket so we won't have to stand in line? Done. May we have more merlot in our cabin bar? Easy. Need your clothes cleaned? Crave special culinary treats? Wondering whether there are knitting needles available on the ship? Too lazy to unpack ... or pack? All in a day's work for Saurabh. And best of all, when we came back from a day of snorkeling too tired to dress for dinner, Saurabh served us a white table cloth, multi-course lobster and Champagne dinner on our balcony, which we enjoyed while swaddled in our bathrobes.

3. Being inept is okay. It's impossible to be embarrassed in front of a close girlfriend; after all, she's seen you at your best and worst. That made it easy to try new things. Diane laughed with me when I hung butt down and swaying on Voyager of the Seas' rock climbing wall and careened around the inline skating track looking like the Michelin man, wrapped in shin, knee and wrist pads.

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4. Girlfriends know priorities: Go to the spa. Girlfriends know that the first thing you do on embarkation day after dropping your carry-ons in your cabin is make spa appointments. Nothing beats a soothing facial and a massage for pure sea day indulgence. That's why girlfriends -- as opposed to husbands and lovers -- never say "Forget the spa; treatments cost too much." Aboard Caribbean Princess, Diane and I relaxed before our aromatherapy by blissing out on the heated tile lounge chairs in the thermal suite.

Princess.com Caribbean Princess

At the Mandara spa on Norwegian Dawn, Diane swam laps at the indoor pool before her hot stone massage, and I soaked in their multi-person bubbling tub before my favorite treatment: the four-handed massage (two therapists worked in tandem orchestrating Eastern moves with the smoothness of a 50's do-wop duo; two pairs of forearms rolled Lomi Lomi style along my back, and four palms applied Balinese pressure to my shoulders).

5. Juggling heaping plates of food at the buffet is fine. At mealtime when the ship morphs into the SS All You Can Eat, girlfriends give you the thumbs up on trying the fresh pasta, tasting the burritos, sampling the grilled mahi mahi, adding a dollop of tuna salad and for dessert, gobbling the chocolate brownie with a sliver of apple pie. No disapproving looks from significant others. Girlfriends know that food tastes that much sweeter when you don't have to shop, cook, serve and clean up.

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