Cruise tips from the ‘Makeover Girl’

More than 12 million people took a cruise vacation in 2006. And, according to the folks at the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), cruising is the fastest growing segment of the travel industry. So it’s a good chance that if you haven’t taken a cruise yet, you know someone who has — or who is thinking about it.

I, for one, was a determined non-cruiser until I spent a season on the cruise review team of a major travel Web site. My assignment: blend in and report back.

I failed the “be incognito” part of the job when I won a free makeover on day one of my first cruise. By entering the spa raffle, I’d unwittingly agreed to have my hairdo and make-up session, and the corny “reveal” event, filmed and broadcast repeatedly on the in-cabin TV network.....