My wife and I have vacationed virtually every year of our 35 years of marriage, but had never taken a cruise. It appeared to be too confining for the manner in which we like to vacation. We chose the Alaskan cruise because it took us to places that would be impossible or at least difficult to get to any other way. We chose Norwegian because of its good reputation and it was available through Costco.
We enjoyed our trip thoroughly. Everything from the dining to the entertainment was enjoyable. We especially liked the options for every meal and especially at dinner. Eating with a bunch of strangers was not appealing to us either and thus another reason to stay away from cruising. Norwegian fixed that with its freestyle dining and the food was diverse and enjoyable.
To be sure, the port schedule was still confining, but it was a great way to survey the area. In Juneau for example, we had six hours in port which was just enough time to take an excursion to see humpback whales. A trip well worth the cost, but it was all we had time to do. There was much more we wanted to see in Juneau. However, the trade off for that short time in port was the trip down the Endicot arm and seeing the Sawyer Glacier. Pretty spectacular!
The cabin was what we expected. It was small, but well appointed and we had a balcony so that helped immensely. The rooms looked to be what every other cruise line showed so I don't think there was any difference there. For us, having the balcony was important, so if that is within your budget it is worth the additional cost.