We had a lovely cruise vacation experience. The crew and staff on board did a great job, working very hard to make sure all your wishes and desires are accommodated.
We did only shore excursions through RCI some of which were better than others, times in some of the ports felt very short and lead to feeling rushed on some of the excursions. Really heavy traffic in some of the ports of call also lead to some discomfort and resulted in delays. Cruising is becoming increasingly popular and it seems that the smaller ports of call cannot accommodate and handle the amount of ships and guests flooding their shores.
These were minor issues and I believe ultimately it's what you make of every situation. If you go with an open mind and a bit of patience your vacation experience could be just as great.
We did our own thing in Southampton. There is a mall within walking distance so if you forgot anything for your cruise you can always pop on over (like we did) and also lots of resturants if you just want to take it easy before embarking your ship.
Another of my favorites. The tour guide we had was fantastic he had so much knowledge and was do informative and relaxed with his guiding. We did not feel rushed at all and got to see so much of Skagen. We even had about 3 hours of free time to explore on our own which is always nice to do. Great experience!