I cruised with a friend. We are both female 48 and 55 yr old. We work together so the time we could get off work together was short. Other wise I would have taken a longer cruise. Never again will I take anything less the 5 days. 7-9 is preferable.
I'll start from the beginning. I have not cruised out of Jacksonville before. We took the shuttle from the airport which was good because once you give them your luggage you don't worry about it again until it is delivered to your room. We used to pay a cab and then tip all these people. With the shuttle you didn't have the extra expense.
It took a little while to get through boarding but not too bad. On board by 1230 I believe.
Our room was small but we were not cramped. We had a porthole. I do not upgrade to better rooms unless it is extremely cheap or free. I would prefer to spend my money on more important things. The bathroom did not have a counter like I am used to. The bedroom only had one plug and in the days of cell phones, laptops, kindles, etc. more than one plug is needed. I suggest you take an adapter or extension for more plugs. We were on E10 near the front. Only time we heard engine noise was when we were docking. I guess it was the ropes.