For the record (to all those who thought I was crazy in my original post) this is exactly what I was referring to. Maybe the secretary at my unit was not mistaken then? The reason for her telling me this was to make sure that I held on to copies of my orders for this reason.
Hey, this internet thing can be used to do stuff other than surf porn! The link below (pages 2 & 3) answers both of your questions regarding whether summer cruises are accountable toward retirement, as well as the importance of keeping good records. I'm too feeble to do the math, but I am pretty sure that the extra 120+ days of retirement "points" this guy lost (essentially 1/3 of a year or .8% extra retirement pay) equates to real beer money.
http://boards.law.af.mil/NAVY/BCNR/CY2002//02248-02.pdf
Bottom line, your secretary is giving you good guidance. They Navy will typically give you fair treatment if you have documentation to support your argument. If not, too bad, so sad.
