I wasn't sure of what to expect on my first cruise. I was more excited about the ports of call than I was about the cruise itself. I don't know many people who DON'T like cruising, so I figured I'd enjoy myself even if I was just relaxing while on the ship.
It rained our first day, so we were unfortunately stuck indoors for most of our departure. Carnival had some great activities to keep us occupied however. We enjoyed the trivia and informative cruise talks.
Our itinerary got switched up so we had a day at sea the second day. Lots of activities as well. Went to the shopping talk - interesting stuff but clearly commission-based. Got a free margarita out of it though. Also went to the gemstone talk, learned a lot about diamonds which was very helpful! Dinner was fun, it was fun to see my mother's surprise when she was deciding between two entrees and the waiter brought out both for her! Everyone ordered double from then on.
We had ocean view cabins. We found our staterooms to be very adequate! People complain about the size of cruise rooms but ours were very comfortable. The beds especially were divine! The bathroom/shower was comfortable too and very clean.
We had connecting rooms with our parents, and strangers on the other side, but no problems with noise. My brother had a room across the hall from us next to a couple that enjoyed their "alone time" - so much so that we could hear them all the way down the hall!
We had two ample closets, plus space under the bed.