What is important to you when looking for a cruise

What do you look for when booking your next cruise is a question I have been asked on many occasions and my answer has changed since our first cruise in 2008.
In 2007 I had been medically retired from the Civil Service and unable to fly I was looking for an alternative holiday and to take a cruise was the obvious choice.  We always took our main holiday in the autumn or winter and nearly always to the Canary Islands and so that was our starting point.

Overlooking Funchal, Madeira. 1st December 2008

At this time I had only really heard of P&O, Cunard, RCI and NCL.  I started with the cruise line I knew the most about and that was P&O and looked through their brochure and found a cruise that ticked the boxes, "Canaries Carousel" a 13 night cruise stopping at 7 ports.  For this cruise we had booked an oceanview cabin.
Cruising isn't for everybody and it is often described as being "marmite"; you either love it or hate it and I think that is true.  I always say that on our first cruise we struck gold because at dinner we were seated with a lovely lady called Jean and she was a seasoned cruiser of over 200+ cruises and during our time on board we learnt so much from her and we will be forever grateful.  As she said everyone has to take their first cruise and now we are the ones being asked questions by first time cruisers.
For us the destination isn't always as important as the ship.  We do have our favourite ships and for us that is P&O's Azura (2010 & 2016) and RCI's Independance of the Seas (2013 & 2014).  Every ship is different for instance P&O's Aurora was a lovely ship and not

Floral display in Aurora's Atrium

too big either and although it is a familiy ship we felt it suited the older traveller.  Azura and Ventura (2011) are sister ships and are much bigger with a livelier atmosphere and are much more suited to the younger cruiser and family market.  Britannia is an even bigger ship and for me she just did not have that "wow" factor and is 4 star at best.  Whoever said she is 5 star has never stayed in 5 star hotels; I have.  It felt as if we were in a shopping mall and not a very good one.  Especially when the Micheal Kors sales representative said they liked my fake Micheal Kors watch, my watch is 100% genuine and I told him so.
One other ship that stole my heart was RCI's independance of the Sea. Her crew were the friendliest I have come across and nothing was too much trouble.
Some passengers like or are supersticious and like to stay in the same cabin whenever possible.  For us this will be the third time we have stayed in cabin E225, which is graded as an obstructed outside but you actually can see a lot as the life boat only comes a quarter up the window.  We have had balcony cabins in the past and like most people we are hardly in there just for sleeping and changing for dinner.  We learnt early on that regular or seasoned cruisers tend to go for the cheaper or inside cabins so that they can do more cruises and only on special occasions do they splash out.  For us the type of ship plays a part, some people prefer adult only while others like us like family ships.

The Retreat on Azura

However, we do like adult only spaces such as The Retreat on Azura and Ventura but I still like to hear the laughter of kiddies having fun.  I have to say that the childrens clubs do a fantastic job as the children are never a nuisence.  We have not done an adult only ship yet because I think they would be too stuffy for my liking.  I maybe in my early 50's but I am very much young at heart.
The ships facilities can play a big part when choosing your next cruise. For us it is having an adult only space with a swimming pool.  Having a spa with treatments.  Having a wide choice of live music and entertainment is a must.  We like fine cuisine and look for a good selection of speciality restaurants.  On Ventura we have eaten in The White Room and on Britannia we dined in the Epicurean (amazing!).  We like to go to the casino after a show and play Roulette or go for a walk around the promenade.

Promenade Deck

Britannia was the first ship that we have sailed on that does not have what I call a proper promenade deck.  Her deck was on the top of the ship on deck 18 (sports deck) and it does not work at all.  It doesn't matter if it is a beautiful sunny day it is always breezy and there is no shelter from the elements.  I think we only went up a couple of times just for a stroll but it wasn't very pleasant.  Promenade decks are meant to be places where you can take a pew and simply just sit back and watch the world go by or read a book, have a glass of wine or just have a good old fashioned cup of tea!  When we were on Britannia I think other passengers missed this feature as I heard a lot of chatter about it.

Dining options have changed since our first cruise on Aurora where we had two options club dining and select dining to choose from.  Club dining has two sittings 6:30pm or 8:30pm and you dine with the same passengers every night while select dining is where you book speciality restaurants and pay a small surcharge for doing so.  Ships also offer a buffet style restaurant which is open all day and late into the early hours.  In 2010 we saw the introduction of freedom dining which gives you more flexibility when you wish to eat and is included in the price of your cruise.  Over the last six years we have seen this option become more and more popular and we actually chose to try freedom dining for the first time last year on Britannia and thoroughly enjoyed it so much that we have chosen to do it on our next cruise in June.
One thing that we really enjoy is the formal nights and love dressing up, but not everyone feels the same.  When we first started cruising there were three dress codes, formal, semi-formal and smart casual but in recent years most ships just have two, formal and evening casual.  There are cruise lines that don't adhere to any dress codes and thats ok it you like that kind of cruise but I don't.

Our cabin on Britannia

people who have never cruised often have a preconceived idea of the type of person who goes cruising.  They often assume that we are wealthy or upper class and that is very far from the real truth.  That was the case many years ago when ships had classes but that is not the case with modern cruising.  I often tell people that the accommodation side is very much like a modern hotel where you can have anything from a standard room (inside cabin) upto a suite with many grades in between and at dinner (freedom and club) your table companions can be anyone on the cruise.  It can make for interesting conversations. 
There is so much I could say about what I look for in a cruise but everyone of us is different and we all want different things.  For me it is to have a fabulous holiday going somewhere warm or of interest without having to fly.  Cruises are all inclusive (apart from drinks), the food is usually a extremely high standard, it is safe for children and everyone can do as much as they want or as little.  All cruise lines have extremely good sites and can answer most questions you may have, but like everything you won't know if you like it unless you give it a go.