Mate, I was the same. Went on my first cruise 3 years ago.
I never had any intention of ever going on a cruise. It just didn't appeal to me whatsoever. Then, one day the missus came home from work and said "I've gone and done something crazy - I've just put a deposit on a cruise for the family." My first thought was "WTF!"
Then, when I thought about it more, I thought - why not?
It was a 13 day cruise through the Pacific (New Caledonia, Fiji then Vanuatu) Unfortunately, we didn't get to Fiji due to an approaching cyclone so we spent more days cruising at sea and visited more of Vanuatu.
Our ship - Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, sailed from Brisbane.
I must say I was extraordinarily surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The ship was certainly boganafied.
Sailing out of Brisbane, this was always going to be a given.
Yet, I did not find it difficult to find peace and tranquility at any stage, nor did I find it difficult to keep myself occupied. From peaceful time reading a book in the ships library, to spending time in the ships adults only under cover pool area, to having a spa and sauna, to walking the ships decks, to mini-golf, bingo, Captains talks, movies on the pool deck at night, going for a cappuccino whenever I wanted, browsing the duty free store for a bargain, or just eating all the amazing food available at any time of day. Drink prices were completely acceptable (generally pub prices).
Or, just lazing on a deck staring at the incredible scenery at times, it truly was a wonderful holiday. More than I ever expected.
The onboard entertainment was cheesy, but we got to see a "Queen" show which was quite good. Also had a comedy night and a magicians night, the latter when my 13 y.o. was dragged up on stage in front of 1000 people and had the piss taken out of him, although he performed quite admirably himself and had the audience in stitches a couple of times.
Staff were amazing. Buffet food was endless in choice, and the evening meals were excellent with an amazing array of different menus over the course of the cruise.
I would do another cruise in a heartbeat.
For value for money, cruises are just about the best.
But then, maybe I'm just a bogan.
