[QUOTE=kurahee]
My wife and I went on one. It wasn’t a great experience.
First, the food. It’s not that it was terribly bad. It was just so much. Always. And most of the people on the cruise figure that since they paid for it, they might as well eat. It’s a lot of fat people at an all you can eat buffet. And the waste is horrific.
I think cruise ships used to be a big deal, but the crowds they attract now seem to be, well, Wal-marty. My cruise in particular looked like it was filled with a bunch of trailer park people who were skipping their week of bowling. (no offense meant. Hell, I like to bowl every once in a while. And I shop at Wal-mart). People smoke and drank like there was no tomorrow. And the two biggest problems: old people who complain and drunk people with children who are unsupervised.
Finally, I’ll echo the tip pressure. Now, I had no problem tipping the woman who cleaned our room (she was great) and our dinner waiter. I would have tipped them on my own. I didn’t like the envelopes that were delivered to my room with suggested amounts. I thought it was insulting.
There are some pros, of course. It can be relaxing as hell, if you have a nice room with a balcony, or you enjoy reading by the pool. My wife and I aren’t partiers, so I think we missed a big part of the cruise ship experience. But we figured out a way to have a good time on our own. 
I don’t plan on going again any time soon.
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The “class” of people on a ship will vary widely based on the cruise line - I’m assuming you were on a Carnival, Royal Caribbean, or Disney cruise. Those three are the “discount” cruise lines, and that’s certainly where you’ll see the Wal-Mart/ bowling crowd. Holland, Princess, and NCL tend to have an older, slightly more affluent crowd (from what I’ve heard - my mother-in-law is the cruise addict).
The food certainly isn’t five-star, but it’s good and plentiful. And while the waste is mind-boggling, it’s actually gotten better. Many ships used to offer a nightly midnight buffet, and so many cruisers expressed concern about the wasted food that they’ve been scaled back. IIRC, we only had two on our Mariner cruise - a dessert buffet and the Grand Gala Buffet, where they showed off the ice carvings and fancy desserts and such.
As far as tipping goes, we always tip the recommended amount for the waiter, assistant waiter, and room steward(s). We didn’t tip the head waiter or maitre d’ on our first cruise because they didn’t do anything for us. On our recent cruise, the cruise line had our group (of 22) spread out over all three dining rooms as opposed to seated together. The head waiter and maitre d’ were able to get us re-assigned in time for dinner the first night, so they got tipped. The folks who work on cruise ships bust their butts day in and day out, and $2/person/day doesn’t seem like a lot to me. Besides, we budget that amount into the cost of the cruise because we know it’s customary (just like tipping a server in a restaurant).
We had an aft balcony room on our last cruise, so we spent lots of time out there, relaxing, reading, and napping. If you don’t have a balcony, there are plenty of spots inside and out where you can do the same. One of the nicest things about the Mariner was the adults-only area (the Solarium). Kids could pass through, but the pool, hot tubs, and chairs are reserved for the 18-and-older crowd. Some parents tried to play the “but she’s not bothering anyone” card, but our fellow passengers were not going to take that crap, even when the deck steward walked away!
Again, the highlights here were the side trips. The third was a traditional Alaskan cruise, with an additional week of inland touring.