This simple booking shift can transform your entire travel experience

I wish more cruises had multiple overnight stays. It's not enough to have only one evening ashore, or none at all. So many places come alive after dark, when ships disappear.

Think about the possibilities. A cruise is the ultimate way to do an international bar crawl. On a Danube river cruise, you could go to pubs in Amsterdam, Vienna, Bamberg, Budapest and Belgrade. On Virgin Voyages, you can party in Ibiza 'til dawn and spend an evening in Cannes, but it would be better with another night in Barcelona.

Foodies could have dinner at five restaurants in five countries. Imagine the varied cuisines in the Mediterranean or sailing from Hong Kong to Tokyo.

Azamara and Silversea offer the most overnight calls and evening departures on European and Asian itineraries. Windstar, Regent and NCL also linger in ports past 9pm. Celestyal has cruises with consecutive nights in Greek islands.

Croatia does it best. Yacht-style ships sail during the daylight hours and then dock every night. When I did a Croatian cruise, the nightlife was a highlight. Portside towns had night markets, festivals or concerts, often held at tourist attractions that were crowded all day. At Diocletian's Palace, a band performed in the ancient Roman square, transforming it into a 1700-year-old dance floor under the stars.

Memorable bars can be found on clifftops. In Korcula, we had sunset drinks in a castle tower, took a twilight dip at a beach, and attended a candlelit rosary service at St Mark's Cathedral.