[scottmandue]

Not a big fan... but...

My parents loved going on cruises and they had a big anniversary and convinced the whole family to go along.

I had never been on a cruse so I figured I could check it off my bucket list.

They liked Princess line so that is what we went with.

Pros - the food was fantastic... to the point were I almost made myself sick by stuffing my face with rich fatty food my system was not accustom to... and it is available almost 24/7 (they closed down for an hour or so to switch between breakfast/lunch/dinner/late night snacks).

Food was included but drinks were not, and drinks are expensive.

Entertainment was meh... I found a jazz trio and followed them around the boat. They do have shows (I never went to one) and a casino (being that I am so close to Las Vegas wasn't much interested in gambling). I think there was maybe a movie theater. Frankly I spent my afternoons reading a good book out on deck and the evenings checking out the bars for decent music.

If you are at all susceptible to motion sickness at all you can have your Dr prescribe the patch. My dad claimed "these boats are so big and have stabilizers so you never feel the movement" but that ain't necessarily so... especially if you get a little bad weather. Fortunately my sister-in-law bought a super sized box of patches so I just kept one behind my ear the whole time.

They picked a Mexico trip (we are in Los Angeles and take about 15 minutes to get to the docks). Mexico is nice, very pretty country and very friendly people but frankly it was kinda culture shock to go from the uber luxury of the ship to the third world conditions on the land (I know that is not relevant to the trip you are planning).

If I ever do it again I would do Alaska and probably stick with Princess... not a party boat and a decent cross section of young family's with kids and middle age couples.