My previous cruise experience was on Carnival in 1999. It was a short 3 night cruise, and I found the food to be excellent, and activities enough to keep me busy. However, I was single at the time, and did not find that cruises were suitable for single people.

Now that I'm married, I figured a cruise would be good vacation for my wife and I. She would like the relaxation of the cruise, and I would enjoy the activities at each port in Alaska. We enjoyed it for the most part, but left with a sour taste in our mouths regarding certain things.

Embarkation: It was a bit tedious, but probably no worse than flying. I don't remember this process too much from my Carnival cruise, but it didn't seem as bad back then. Although long, at least the lines moved, so we didn't spend too much time standing. Once inside, we didn't see our bags until about 8pm, although we didn't depend on anything in them, so it was OK. Read more