When my sister Cindy and I decided to take our mom on a fall cruise out of Boston for her 85th birthday last September, we knew that, if nothing else, it would be good for a laugh.

Mom, a petite dynamo who goes dancing at least twice a week and runs circles around us when we're doing yard work, couldn't wait to pack her prettiest clothes and head to sea.

''I'm going to eat lobster,'' she declared. ``I'm going to win some money in the casino. And I'm going to have fun!''

My husband, Rick, agreed to chaperone us all. He's a brave (or foolish) man.

The moment we convened at the baggage claim area of Logan Airport -- Mom coming from Minnesota, Cindy from Alaska, Rick and I from Colorado -- we hugged and laughed, so glad to be together. Besides, it's what we do: Laugh. A lot.

The next morning, we boarded the Norwegian Dream, where we grabbed lunch, explored the ship and signed up for shore excursions.

Cindy was exhausted from her two-day trip, so opted to stay on board during the next day's stop in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. So while Rick and I took our excursion to historic St. Martins and the Bay of Fundy, Cindy and Mom went to the spa.

We returned to the sounds of hysterical laughter coming from their adjoining cabin.

''Cindy took me for a massage,'' Mom said. ``It was great!''

''Tell them what else you did,'' Cindy said.

''Well,'' said Mom, 'the lady asked me if I wanted a full-body massage and I said, `Sure. Why not?' Then she asked me, 'Do you want me to use the hot rocks?' and I said, `Sure. Why not?'

'Then, when she finished, she asked me, `Are you interested in purchasing any of the products I used on you?' and she showed me this whole line-up of stuff. She tried to explain what each one was for, but I lost track, so I said, 'Sure. I'll take them all!' ''

Cindy chimed in. 'She walked out of that room with this whole bag of stuff. I said, `What have you got there?' and she said 'I don't know. A bunch of creams and stuff.' I looked in the bag and I thought, 'Oh. No.' ''

The bill was . . . well, let's just say, Mom -- who lives on Social Security -- could have paid for her own cruise for what her spa day cost!

We managed to keep a lid on her spending the rest of the trip -- except when it came to the casino. She had brought along $100 to spend on gambling.

''I just know I'm going to win,'' she said.

Our second day at sea, with no port stops, she hit the casino. She ended up about $200 to the good and finally took a bucket of quarters back to her cabin.

ON DRY LAND

Our third day out, our daylong excursion began in Halifax. With the second-largest natural harbor in the world (after Sydney, Australia), this city was the site of one of the world's greatest man-made disasters -- a munitions ship explosion in 1917 that killed 2,000 people and flattened much of the town.

We're all history buffs and found this fascinating.

Our tour took us to Lunenburg, a World Heritage Site and a lovely port city with striking architecture and artsy shops. We ate lunch overlooking the harbor, watching the marine activity while munching on fried clams and lobster rolls.

From here, we proceeded to the tiny, colorful fishing village of Mahone Bay, where tidy shops offered handmade quilts, needlework, glasswork and other temptations. We explored and laughed until we were exhausted, then plunked down on some benches facing the bay to lick ice cream cones and enjoy each other's company.

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