I am a first-time cruiser who wants to shoot you straight about what to expect if you have never been on a cruise before. As I read through review after review, I felt like I really didn't get a good picture of what to expect. Everything was either really negative or cruises are the best thing ever invented. I believe that most cruise ships probably fall somewhere in the middle. And most experiences will probably be somewhere in the middle.

So here I go, hopefully I can give some other first-timer some helpful hints of advice.

First of all, don't follow the check-in begins at 2 PM advice. We got to the port at around 11:15 am. The place was already hopping with activity. Check-in for us was a breeze--only took about 20 minutes from cab until we were sitting down to eat lunch at the Windjammer. Read more