My wife and I recently celebrated our 10th anniversary with a cruise on the Ecstasy. This was our first cruise, and the advice we found on Cruise Critic made a huge difference so I wanted to write to acknowledge those things that helped and add our own experience. Obviously I have no basis for comparison so please consider my comments in that light.
I will try as much as possible to go in chronological order.
Let me begin with packing (for those who haven't done this before) We brought a few items that were very worthwhile. A POWERSTRIP was great because there was only one outlet in the cabin. A NIGHTLIGHT was a big help, because the cabin lights are all the way on or all the way off, but the cabin is very dark when they are off. A HIGHLIGHTER made marking up the daily schedule much easier. We also packed in LARGE suitcases. This was very convenient, because porters take the suitcases as you pull up to the port and they go in your room. After we unpacked we stowed them under the bed, and they never got in our way. When we did self assist we managed to get all of our clothes, souvenirs, and even our carry ons in to the big bags, which meant each of us only had one large rolling suitcase to maneuver off the ship (more on this later).