I'm a thirty-something cruise newbie who went on her first ever cruise with a good friend. All in all it was a lovely time, although I do believe you have to be prepared for those little differences between a cruise and a land vacation (and I'm not sure I was, when all was said and done.)

The cabins are a little worse for the wear - my photos (up at http://community.webshots.com/user/bballinger ) show the stains on the carpet and a few shots of the general disrepair. While not a deal-breaker, it was certainly noticeable. However I loved our balcony cabin and think it was worth every penny for the view and the ability to hang over our own rail when we sailed out of port. The public areas were much more polished and in better nick, although for all the size of the ship it starts to feel small after a while.

The food was wonderful - full stop. While I was concerned about eating with a crowd of strangers, we were very lucky and had some wonderful couples at our table that I couldn't have survived without. While the median age was a good 20+ years older, everyone was just so much fun and really made dinners something to look forward to. I think the food was of very high standard and loved ordering 'outside my box' knowing I could always order something else if I'd been too daring. Read more