This was my first cruise, we picked this cruise as it left from New York and covered my wife's birthday.
I was very unsure about going on a cruise after 44 years of land based holidays, we were also unsure about Carnival as they looked to be cheap and cheerful.
I was very surprised from the time we got on board, nice ship, decor seemed a bit over the top but as a first time cruiser I have nothing to judge it by.