I am going on the Southern Caribbean cruise next March - my 6th. These cruises are a blast. Crowds are extremely diverse by age, ranging from 20s to 80s, with the heaviest concentration it seems in the 35-40 range. Tends to be about 90% American, again widespread backgrounds, with large numbers from NY, LA, and Atlanta. Oh...and women are very welcome, but there are generally 30 or fewer on a typical 2,000 passenger cruise.

(One lesbian on the last cruise said that somebody suggested Olivia cruises to her, and she said, "No way! I know what lesbians who go on those things are like, and I would rather play with the boys!")

There is plenty of hooking up going on, and occasionally one of the public hot tubs might turn a bit nasty, but it definitely doesn't come off like one big porno or orgy. There really are a lot of activites, from shows to art auctions to bingo to tea dances and big nighttime dance parties. Whatever your interest, you will find something to do.

I know people who have done the roommate matching, and it has been really hit and miss, but they really do only use smoking status and gender to match roommates. The consequence of the great passenger diversity is that there is a strong chance you get matched with someone incompatible. But the good news is that you really spend very little time in your room.