I boarded the ship, with my wife, after a 3 night stay in New York, as a cruise virgin, not quite knowing what to expect. As it turned out most of the cruising experience exceeded my expectations.
First good point was that there were hardly any children aboard. probably due to the time of year.
The ship was kept absolutely spotless throughout our trip and the level of service from the friendly staff certainly exceeded anything I'd had before even in some 5 star hotels. The ratio of crew to passengers is such that there is is always someone on hand to serve you or answer your questions. The cabin staff were wonderful and replaced towels etc almost instantly after they had been used.