Giant ship docks at Black Falcon Pier

"I'm not leaving until I get a bread bowl full of chowdah!"

Most of the city's sights and attractions are downtown and back bay, and then the Cambridge schools and the constitution. All very transit accessible.

Being someone who's on the road 75% or the time, there is no such thing as a restaurant made equivalent to homemade. In this sort of situation, I pray to be traveling with a rental car so I can find a market and eat real salad and fresh veg and hummus. (Which isn't how I eat everyday when I'm home for a few days at a time, but I start to crave that stuff when it's restaurants 24/7)

I can see if you're eating from the same menu weeks at a time, Quincy Market looks like an option for variety, but it is still nothing on eating at home.

And not on vacation like the people on this ship.

You could just as easily contract Norovirus at any hotel on the planet. So unless you are advocating never traveling, your chances of catching an illness are just as similar as anyone else.

Ive had Noro. It wasn't pretty. I was at home when it happened. Im glad it happened there and not on a vacation. But will that stop my from going on a cruise or flight? Never.

I've read the first couple of pages and have saved it for later to finish.

But my first reaction is that article is 20 years old.

Each cruise line is different - I'm not certain I'd go on Celebrity Cruises.

He was an author, writing that piece for your amusement and it was directed at a certain reader. Of course things will be made that much more nuts in his descriptions.

Didn't know there was a difference between the two.

There were definitely positives that I didn't go into, such as

• The fact that even though there are times that it feels like an absolute madhouse, such as the first day of departure, which led to my "Sea of Humanity" comment, it is easy to find quiet time and not so crowded areas.
• If you are the type, it's easy to strike up a conversation with absolute strangers. For example, during one of our 'at sea' days I sat next to some women from Long Island and we talked life, craziness, sports and how it was possible that someone from Boston could get along with someone from New York. They'd paid for constant internet access, so on our last night I happened to see them in one of the cocktail lounges and they tweaked me about the Yankees winning (I think Sox ultimately won). So it can be easy to see people and recognize faces at various points. Another example of this is my striking up a conversation with some folks from Montreal. And yes, we talked about the hockey rivalry and the sad fact that no Canadian team was in the playoffs.
• Depending upon the cruise line, there are dress up evenings. We were on Norwegian which was casual all the time, but you dress how you want to dress. I brought nicer clothes so I wasn't always the sloppy tourist.
• The buffet has a place in the cruise world: families - it allows them to feed their kids quickly and usually something the child will eat as opposed to fuss over.
• I saw shows on their stage that were pretty fun. I was worried they'd be overly cheesy but I was pleasantly surprised.
• I liked that we hit multiple ports - I can certainly see going to one of the spots for a longer vacation as a result.

It's no trip on the Queen Mary or QEII - from what I can gather. But it is what you make of it. With so many options to choose from, everyone is likely to find something to do (or not).

I like them enough to go back.

My recommendation would be to avoid larger ships like this one. Stick with some of the smaller ships that have been renovated over the years. My preference is for Holland America, Celebrity or Princess. I did not like Royal Caribbean. i felt like I was on a floating mall. Other cruise lines felt more like a traditional cruise ship.

The buffets are available on any cruise ship but I avoid them. Its so much easier to have your breakfast delivered to your state room every morning (No extra charge) and sit on your balcony if you have one. Plus you don't pig out like you tend to do at a buffet.

There are so many better options for food on a cruise that I don't understand why anyone would use the buffet in the first place. Regular dining options are great and if you want something extra, most of these cruise lines have regular style restaurants for a slight uncharge ($10-$20). My last cruise I spent two nights in a steakhouse similar in quality to any high end steak house in Boston and a Northern Italian. The food was excellent.

Although these ships can be huge, they feel empty most of the time. The only time you will feel a crowd is during traditional dining times or at the pool first thing each day.

I like to treat a cruise as a sampler vacation. You get to see a lot of different places and then pick one for your next years vacation. Not everyone likes them, but I enjoyed mine.

It was my second cruise. I was with a group and we were relatively low key compared to the family reunion,same shirt wearing, groups. Our Cruise Agent who helped set up the trip sent each cabin in the group a bottle of wine and a plate of chocolate dipped fruits. She did that for the other cruise I'd gone on as well. Combine this with the fact that I was there with a group and we had things set up for us to participate in separate from the regular cruising folk, I think I may have a slightly skewed view of cruises?

On some level it reminded me of the oh so long ago college experience. We all had our dorm rooms, various dining options, activities to choose from, etc.

I am glad I don't get motion sickness easily. If you do, this type of trip is not for you. Our first day at sea the seas were pretty big. I think they had barf bags in the elevator lobbies. On our last day, the seas were 8' give or take (per the Navigation channel we had access to). The barf bags were definitely set out that night. And many were not feeling well. I loved it. And laughed at myself and everyone else walking drunk without being drunk (well, I can only speak for myself on that, actually).

So to conclude - going on another will depend upon destination(s), cruise line, and length of trip. And I will want a balcony.