Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Mariner: Deluxe suites
When you realize that some seafaring suites can run more than $4,000 per night for a couple, an all-suite ship, such as the Seven Seas Voyager or Seven Seas Mariner, can start looking pretty good. A $556-per-person Deluxe Suite is 301 square feet with many of the same amenities as bigger, pricier suites, including a king-size bed with good linens, a separate sitting area, and free soft drinks and beer in the fridge. And while cruise-ship bathrooms are often dinky and dark, these are akin to a nice hotel room's facilities, with a surfeit of marble, full-size tubs, and separate showers. Of course, you could push up to a Penthouse-class suite, which is roughly the same size but includes a balcony and butler service. But we suggest you consider using those extra bucks on blow-out port excursions.
Best detail: Interactive TV systems allow you to order room service or book a shore excursion without picking up a phone. And room service is worth ordering—butlers bring silver-domed plates piled high with treats.
Set sail: Voyager: summer, Europe; winter, Caribbean and around-the-world voyages. Mariner: summer, Alaska; winter, around-the-world voyages

Cunard Line

Leave it to the Brits to do hierarchy well: These two duplex suites may be the best staterooms at sea. The names themselves—Balmoral and Sandringham—sound awfully regal, and the sea views through two-story glass walls overlooking the stern don't disappoint. Each duplex measures 2,249 square feet and can be combined with four other suites to total more than 9,000. (In which case you probably have a very big family or are claustrophobic.) The 1930s-era Art Deco feel hearkens back to the grand old days of cruising (or what we imagine them to be, anyway), with a premium on good lighting and gleaming dark wood. And if the three polished marble bathrooms don't make you feel giddy, then take several star turns on the sweeping staircase leading to the second floor (and massive bedroom). The in-suite dining room seats eight, so you can invite your new hoity-toity friends to join you for elegant predinner canapés, served each evening by your butler.
Best detail: On Cunard, cabin category determines where you're allowed to eat. Guests in the Grand Duplex Apartments feast in the Queens Grill, where caviar, truffles, foie gras, and Champagne are a few of the menu's delights.
Set sail: Summer, transatlantic crossings; winter, around-the-world voyages

Slickest Suites at Sea

If you're like us, you get slightly seasick at the idea of spending a week inside a tiny cruise-ship cabin, with those tacky round portholes and bunk beds with lumpy mattresses. OK, maybe they're not like that anymore, but we'd rather not take chances. When we set sail, we'd much prefer, say, a private butler at our disposal. Or a private terrace large enough to ballroom-dance upon. Many of the better cruise lines now have at least one truly impressive suite onboard, the kind of room that would wow you even if you found it in a swank hotel. Some suites are a good bang for the buck, others cost a whole lot of bucks—but you won't feel cramped in any of them. And if you want to see what you're missing by not booking a crowded little cabin, you can always lock yourself in the walk-in closet.

Krabi, Thailand

Bring the heat: Get a load of all that drama: those lances of limestone that tower hundreds of feet out of the sea; the sea caves; the intense color of the water. Love at first sight.
Select sand: The embarrassment of sandy riches is the main reason people travel so far to Krabi and its neighboring Andaman Sea islands—and the reason they return time and time again. But once you arrive, you'll find that the best beach, Phra Nang (pictured), can only be reached by boat.
Hookup rating: Forget about having to set the mood with embellishments like candles and wine. This place is the mood.
Privacy: 5. Krabi is no longer off the map, so you'll have to share. Once you get back to your private balcony, though…
Pillow talk: Rayavadee is mad fancy, with 98 two-story rooms spread over 26 verdant acres; there's a spa, four restaurants, and yada, yada, yada. What you'll most care about is the to-die-for location, at the very edge of Krabi Marine National Park.

Peter Island, British Virgin Islands

Bring the heat: Eight miles long and a half mile wide, this private island's sole apparent purpose is to provide you with a postcard-perfect backdrop for making out with the one you love (or at least the one you brought).
Select sand: Deadman's Bay (pictured) is the beach to beat, and it's right out your door. A classic U-shaped stretch of golden sand with views to Tortola, it's the kind of place you'd wash up on after walking the plank of a pirate ship—if you also happened to be starring in a Hollywood movie.
Hookup potential: Strictly couples only. Unless you don't mind being a third wheel among googly-eyed honeymooners.
Privacy rating: 5. Deadman's Bay is bustling, but make your way to White Bay Beach on the windward side for pounding surf and private nooks. Resort staff will set up a fancy picnic lunch on the sand and then leave.
Pillow talk: Peter Island Resort is the only option. Happily, it's a good one, with fewer than 150 guests and lots of space to play in. The simple A-frame villas have bright splashes of Caribbean color inside—more fun than chic. And nobody will mind if you spread the sand around.

Fire Island, New York

Bring the heat: If the Hamptons can feel stuffy or elitist, 31-mile-long Fire Island, along Long Island's south coast, is the friendlier, easygoing alternative. Each stretch of beach attracts its own demographic—Fire Island Pines, the gay crowd; Ocean Beach, the young professionals—but instead of long lines at nightclubs, it's all about house parties. Drinks in the hot tub, anyone?
Select sand: Which demographic are you looking for? Both Ocean Beach and the Pines see some very outré goings-on along the surf—and it's easy to take the action back to the rental house. For a wide, classic East Coast beach that attracts all kinds, the five-mile stretch in Robert Moses State Park is a good bet.
Hookup rating: You're single? Why, so is Jake. And Sally. And seven other people in the house. See you in the hot tub?
Privacy: 0. The other people in the house will know everything by morning.
Pillow talk: This is a house-rental world. You can book a week at a time, or for the entire summer. A good place to start is to take a look at FireIsland.com or a directory such as vacationrentals.com, which allows you to contact the owners directly.

Lake Nyasa, Mozambique

Bring the heat: This is the interior of Africa, but looking over a sealike expanse of clear liquid blue, you wouldn't believe it. The ninth-largest freshwater lake in the world touches Mozambique, Tanzania, and Malawi (where it's called Lake Malawi). Gaudy beach tourism? Not a whisper of it—remote, pristine, sublime.
Select sand: A clean white beach that squeaks as you walk along it, this is unlike any lakefront you'd recognize. And with waters so clear they cry out for snorkeling expeditions to see bright fish, it's unlike any lake you'll find in North America, either.
Hookup rating: Unless you count the leopards and elephants in the neighboring Manda Wilderness Preserve (your lodge will set up a safari), the only game you'll be stalking is the lovely creature sharing your chalet.
Privacy: 6.9. The lake is quiet, with just the occasional fisherman gliding by, and the Manda Nkwichi Lodge accommodates only 14 at a time. With the leopards about, however, it might be best not to wander into the woods alone.
Pillow talk: An eco-lodge that can only be reached by boat over the lake, Manda Nkwichi has seven modest cottages amid the trees. They have outside showers and hammocks, and the staff will set up private dinners on the shore.