I love cruises, but my wife of 33 years doesn’t. I’ve gone on 30 without her — and the arrangement works for us both.

My wife doesn’t enjoy cruises as much as I do so I go alone.

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I love cruises, but my wife of 33 years doesn’t. Eventually, I began to go on them alone.While I’m away, we each have the opportunity to do what makes us happy while staying connected.I learned how to travel solo, and the occasional separation has strengthened our relationship.

I love going on cruises, but I go alone because my wife of 33 years does not. Fortunately, she encourages my travels.

I discovered my passion for cruises when we went on a few as a family years ago. I loved relaxing on the ocean, eating whatever I wanted, and enjoying entertainment away from my stressful job.

At the same time, my wife realized they were not for her. She wasn’t interested in booking any more cruises.

I was disappointed because I really wanted to keep going on them, and up to this point, we’d always vacationed together. But I decided that I’d rather go on a cruise by myself than not at all.

I’m now in my 60s, still working full time, and in relatively good health, I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to take bucket-list trips I’ve dreamed of my whole life just because my wife doesn’t want to join me.

Fortunately, she was fine with me cruising alone and didn’t want to stifle my enjoyment just because she didn’t want to come with me.

I’ve learned how to enjoy traveling alone, and our relationship is stronger than ever

I’ve been able to cruise to places on my bucket list, including Antarctica.

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I’ve now gone on over 30 solo cruises, ranging in length from four nights to 16.

It was hard at first, but I’ve learned to be at peace as a solo traveler on a cruise. I no longer feel lonely or bored, as I know I’m in complete control of making each experience my own.

While we’re apart, my wife uses her alone time to concentrate on hobbies and interests she enjoys that I might not care for. We stay in touch with text messages and FaceTime calls where we talk of my time at sea and her days on land.

Despite the thousands of miles of separation, I’m still able to share my experience with my wife as if she were standing on the deck of the ship with me.

This all ties back to one reason our marriage has lasted so long: We love and respect each other enough to give one another the freedom to pursue things that make us happy.