My friend and I, both in our 20s went on the Victory out of New York the first week of October. I was a first time cruiser, she had one cruise under her belt, but it was more than 10 years ago.

Embarkation from the NYPST was much better than I expected. People made it sound like it was the worst experience ever, but we got through very quickly. We were on board by 12:30, had a few (okay, too many) drinks and then headed to our cabin around 2:00. In my opinion, the lifeboat drill was hilarious and I suggest anyone who is thinking of skipping it to go just to see everyone wearing their vests and running into each other. The actual drill is worthless - they really don't tell you anything that they didn't mention over the PA before the drill, but we got a very good laugh out of it. Four blue whatever-they-were drinks + lifeboat drill = fun for all!

Our room was more spacious than I expected, but still a little cramped for two people with lots of luggage and hair appliances. I was surprised to see that there were no outlets in the bathroom. They are all in the main area of the cabin, making it very difficult for more than one person to use an appliance that requires the vanity mirror at the same time. I have heard a lot of people bringing those over the door shoe hangers, and I thought about it, but was glad that I didn't bother as there was a medicine cabinet with quite a lot of space for all our toiletries. Read more