This was our first time taking a short cruise (4 days), to our surprise, it felt like a 2 week cruise. Perhaps the short time forces us to enjoy every minute of it, and we really did. The short cruise eliminated the formal nights which was great because it had meant less things to pack, less things to change, less time spent getting ready to eat. I've been to many cruises, but this was the first one that I learned from another passenger that they served smoothies at the breakfast buffet, I had previously thought they were grapefruit juices. After I learned that they were smoothies, I took a sip and was pleasantly surprised that it was watermelon smoothies. The next days, they had banana smoothies, etc., all yummy. Another surprise was that on my previous cruise, which was 2 weeks, almost everyone got sick from the flu. That's why on the first day of this cruise, I noticed one person was coughing badly, and I whispered to my wife that by the end of the cruise, everyone else will be coughing like him. But to my surprise, hardly anyone did. Perhaps the short time did not allow the disease to spread. Also, they enforced mandatory hand washing prior to entering the buffet. Great idea. We often do not think about washing our hands even when we should. The short cruise precluded many things I was used to in the longer cruises, no formal nights, no fish and chips, no ramen noodle, no porridge, no ballroom dance classes. But the things I did have, I could appreciate them more. In fact, it seems less is more. Less things to do meant more time to relax. This has been a great experience, like a weekend getaway, short but sweet. I am so eager looking forward to my next cruise.