I just got back from my first cruise and one of my friends asked what I did and didn't like. So here we go in no particular order.

Like: Looking at the water everyday. I love looking at all kinds of water from fountains to pools, lakes to oceans, but I absolutely loved looking out and seeing the most beautiful shade of deep blue and seeing it from practically every location on the ship. We have lots of windows in our house and a lovely backyard, but I miss seeing that endless beautiful water.

Dislike: How long it took to get a Coke. Generally to get a soda you are getting it from the bar and are standing in line with everyone else who is working on their drink package. I like my sodas in a glass on ice so the bar was my preferred method but I gave up multiple times. Sometimes I would just get a can from the coffee shop or skip it altogether.

Like: How easy it was for me to try some cocktails. I am generally not someone who drinks alcohol. I have maybe one or two a year, but because my husband wanted the drink package I had it too because we were in the same cabin and I did have at least one a night and now I know that I love anything with pineapple juice and rum. Having a drink package is a much easier way to find out what you do and do not like all in one concentrated time.

Dislike: Seasickness. But here's the thing: I didn't know I was experiencing seasickness because I always associated it with people feeling nauseated and throwing up and I was not experiencing that. I just felt the rocking motion very intensely and everyone was telling me that I would get used to it. In the cruise Facebook group people were saying that the water was very choppy so I thought it was just the ship. But after 24 hours I gave up and took a Bonine pill and after an hour I was much better. I don't know if the boat calmed down or the pill did it, but next time I'm not going to wait that long.

Liked: That there was always something to do, but I didn't have to do any of it. My travel companions (my husband, my niece and her husband) were great about not pressuring me to go do things with them. If our activities matched up great, but I didn't have to go out with them especially in the evening when they went to party. As an introvert on a very extroverted form of travel I did pretty well. My favorite place to go was the pub where there were constant games of trivia or my room to sit on the balcony and look at the water.

Liked: We were on Carnival and the Hub app that activated on the ship was fantastic in terms of having all the information you needed in your hand. It was easy to see all the activities and favorite where you wanted to go, to see what restaurants or bars were open right then, to access ships maps to help us orient ourself, and to use the chat feature to text message the family. I love when technology is well thought out and useful.

Neutral: The food. The buffet food was fine, the main dining food was good, the coffee shop was so-so, and the high end steakhouse was fantastic. I am sure other people really took advantage of the buffet at all hours, but I did not. Now if they had a 24 hours dessert area I would have been in trouble but the hours that they had easily accessible sweets out didn't match up with my sweet cravings so that was lucky for me.

Liked (rapid fire):
- Every single crew member we interacted with was very friendly and sweet.
- Since we were in a balcony room our room space and bathroom space was very useable for the two of us.
- Getting on and off the ship was a breeze.
- The wi-fi package was 100% worth it for someone like me who is always connected, although I mainly used it to keep track of the end of the Artemis II mission that splashed down while we were at sea.
- The Facebook groups were entertaining to read during the trip although I didn't really interact with them. But they were also how I found out about people leaving ducks around the ship and that there was going to be a Mrs. Roper crawl.

Liked: That I finally took my first cruise. I don't see myself becoming one of those people that takes multiple cruises a year, but I will definitely not be opposed to future cruises. I could stare at the water forever.