My Grandmother booked a cruise for six of us. I'm a first time cruiser and found myself rather disdainful of the idea of cruising in general. A little about me so that no one thinks I'm representative of a large demographic: I'm 32 and work in a white collar IT job now, but lead a colorful, punk rock kind of lifestyle up through my late 20's before settling down. I don't like mainstream music, television or have many interests in common with most people and did not think I would enjoy a floating Las Vegas.

I actually did like it quite a bit and very much enjoyed myself. What I really liked about the cruise is that there's no transition time. Once you're on the ship, the world just slips away from you and your existence is so different, that you don't ever bother thinking about work or half done house projects or anything. It's great for de-stressing.

Now, that being said, some events do require you to find your Zen place. Embarkation is barely organized chaos. The ships could stand to take some advice from amusement parks and organize their lines better. You will stand in line to get on the ship unless you've booked a cat 11 or 12 suite. You will stand in line 1, to get your sail and sign card, 2, to pass through security, 3 to field the photographers. You will also stand in line to debark at certain ports if the ship anchors in the bay. If you arrive early (don't), you will stand in line for dinner. You'll probably stand in line at last once at the excursion desk or pursers desk. You'll stand in line waiting for your tour guide. You will stand in line to declare any duty allowance overages. You will wait to disembark--which really doesn't suck as long as you find the Zen place. Read more