I had a good time for the most part on my cruise all in all. Two things I found irritating was the first night we were relentlessly pressured into buying a drink card which we did not. Someone here in response to another first time cruisers complaint of the high pressure sales tactics said, "A simple 'no thank you' is all it takes." Well I'd say that it took more than that, frankly I get tired of constantly having to say, "no thank you." It's also hard for some people to say no and who wants to do something that's hard on vacation? Or worse yet who wants to be reminded they can't afford these extras that they may be interested in but don't have the money for? I was taken by surprise by this part of the cruising experience and like the post I read where someone else complained about the same thing, maybe I'm just not experienced enough at travelling or tourism, but I feel that most people know what they want and will seek it out if they can afford it. The constant reminding and asking if we we wanted to buy alcholic beverages was annoying. If I wanted to drink, I'd buy a drink. I know how and where to get one.
Another thing, was the constant picture taking. Someone seemed to always be taking photos when you didn't want a photo taken. Those are my biggest complaints. On the positive side, the ship was beautiful and clean and the crew members were all very attentive to our needs, Alaska was also gorgeous. Embarking and disembarking was organized, the entertainment was good and the food was delicious. It would have been better if they could have taken the level of promotion and sales down a notch though, that's my opinion.