This was a first-time cruise for myself, second for my husband (though they were nearly 30 years apart so that doesn't really count). This was something we had talked about for 17 years but had never had the opportunity to do, so we were very, very excited to receive a down payment on the cruise as a gift the year before. Since it was a gift, we did not have any choice in ship, destination, or embarkment...however, other than stopping in FL, we were very happy with the length and destinations. This was supposed to be AWESOME! Key words were "supposed to be"...I will NEVER go on a cruise again...

EMBARKMENT: Due to inclement weather the ship arrived and departed very late, which wasn't an issue for us, until is was nearly 11pm or so and we were standing on a freezing deck for a half hour listening to other passengers talk and joke while the safety meeting was taking place. We had been up since 6am to travel to Baltimore and all we wanted to do was sleep in a warm cabin. For safety reasons I was happy to attend (not that you have a choice, they check each room to make sure everyone is out), but the safety officer had no microphone and they line you up three people deep so not only could I not hear over the wind and chatter around me, but I couldn't see either.

SEAS: I grew up on a fisherman's boat. This is my first cruise but not my first time to sea or on a boat...The seas were rough. The boat rocked literally from the time the boat pulled out until our return 7 days later. And not a little - A LOT - all the time - day and night. It did not get better - EVER. There were times I had to leave the comedy club or restaurant because they were in the worst spots for rocking. And at first I thought it was just me, but by the middle of the cruise there were a lot of others complaining about it. The worst part is is took almost three weeks - 3 WEEKS - for the rocking sensation to go away after we got off the boat...If I am ever forced to take another cruise again I will leave out of a quieter port and make sure that I am not out to sea more than 1 day at a time. Read more