I just went on my first cruise here are 15 things that surprised me the most about this type of travel

Until recently, I never considered going on a cruise.

Throughout my life, my travels have been mostly about visiting family in far-away places, as well as budget road trips across the US where I've stayed in campsites, parking lots, and cheap Airbnbs all to photograph the country's most epic landscapes.

I've traveled by car, bus, train, and plane, but boats of any kind were completely new to me.

In April 2022, I went on my first cruise to the Caribbean for a reporting trip. During my seven-night voyage, the ship sailed to Roatán, Honduras; Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico; as well as Royal Caribbean's own private island in the Bahamas.

While I've seen cruise ships on TV and in movies, I couldn't get a feel for how big these vessels were until I saw one for myself. Onboard, I felt as if I were in a small town in the middle of the ocean.

Since this was a totally new form of transportation to me, I experienced a lot of surprises. I learned that cruising is a lifestyle in itself, and while it's not necessarily for me, I can see what draws people to this epic type of vacation time and again.

Read more: Step aboard the world's largest cruise ship, which is so big it has 8 'neighborhoods' spread across 18 stories

The ship has 2,867 staterooms, according to Royal Caribbean.

I booked a midtier room — a step above interior staterooms, which have no window, a step below staterooms with a balcony, and two steps below a suite.

My 179-square-foot cabin came with a private bathroom, a king-size bed, and an ocean view.

I was surprised by how big the sale was with such a big discount. To me, $1,000 feels like a huge difference in price for the same vacation.

Insider paid for the room, per the company's reporting standards.

I thought the stateroom made great use of a small space with plenty of storage for my clothes and other belongings. There were two closets for hanging space and more drawers than I ended up using.

Read more: I spent 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on the world's largest cruise ship. Take a look inside my cabin.

After leaving to start my day each morning, a stateroom attendant cleaned my room. And after I left for dinner each night, they came back to clean up again. Every evening, they brought me fresh towels — sometimes creatively folded — and a flyer featuring the next day's schedule on the ship with the weather, dress code, and any other important information, such as a time change.

This surprised me because I am used to having my room serviced once a day, if at all, during my stays in hotels, and never in Airbnbs.

An electronic shade over the window could be brought down during the day to reveal some grand views. I loved waking up after a night at sea to a front-row view of the place I'd be visiting that day.

While windowless rooms are cheaper, I couldn't imagine staying in a room without one. My oceanview stateroom cost about $300 more than an entry-level room.

I booked a stateroom at the very front of deck eight and I felt constant motion in my room.

Some nights were rockier than others. On the roughest nights, I heard and felt a similar sensation to thunder beneath me every few minutes. Loud thumps and heavy vibrations in my room sounded like large pieces of furniture falling down. The first night this happened, I feared the worst, but over time, I realized that this was a normal aspect of cruising — but one I would likely never get used to.

After talking to seasoned cruisers on the ship, several told me that the front of the ship is one of the worst places to be for feeling motion. Higher decks in the middle of the ship feel calmer and more stable, they said.

Next time, I'd choose a room in the middle of the ship.

All I had to do for safety training was watch a couple of videos — either on my room TV or on the Royal Caribbean app — and then check into my assembly station: the area that I was assigned to go to in case of an emergency. At the assembly station, an attendant checked via the Royal Caribbean app that I had gone through the mandatory training.

I was expecting to attend a large safety training session once I got on the ship, so this alternative was a breeze.

Since there were so many elevators on the ship, I expected them to be a pretty efficient way to get around. But they were often so crowded and slow that I ended up taking the stairs instead. By the middle of my trip, unless I was going all the way up to the pool decks, I always opted for the stairs to save time.

The ship has 16 guest decks, and each deck is divided into three sections — forward, middle, and aft.

It took me a few days to get used to the sections and I often found myself heading to the right deck, but the wrong section of the ship. Luckily, there were maps on every floor, which I used up until the morning I left.

If I woke up on deck five of Wonder of the Seas with no memory of my cruise, I'd think I was in a shopping mall.

Aside from the slight movement of the ship, the indoor decks were so big that as a cruise newbie, it was hard to believe that I was on a gigantic boat in the middle of the ocean. Everywhere I looked, I saw shops, stands, restaurants, and large sculptures, as well as a unique ceiling structure that reminded me of malls I've visited.

Aside from music festivals, I've never heard more live music on a trip than I did on this cruise. On the communal decks, musicians played for hours while people relaxed and played around them. I was also surprised by the eclectic mix of genres I heard, from rock to jazz to classical.

Aside from the music hall where concerts were regularly held, live bands performed on indoor and outdoor communal decks while some people watched and others listened while swimming, relaxing, or walking around.

I like to be comfy, so I was dreading formal nights going into this cruise.

I brought one fancy dress with me to wear anytime I needed, but I learned after the first formal night, that the dress code wasn't strictly enforced. People wore a range of outfits from evening gowns to t-shirts.

For the rest of the trip, I relaxed my interpretation of the dress code, too.

One of the most unique things about cruising is that most meals, snacks, and drinks are all-inclusive as part of the cruise rate.

However, on large ships like Wonder of the Seas, more than a dozen restaurants with specialty offerings like sushi are not included, and incur additional charges, either as a one-time fee or by the dish.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the most delicious and satisfying meals I had were in the restaurants that were included for guests. There were a handful of buffets with all different types of food, and the main dining room served a three-course meal with varying menu items each night. Every single one of my cravings was satisfied by these complimentary options. One of the best meals I had was in the main dining room, where I was seated alone.

The cruise ship was full of activities and restaurants that I could go to any time, but some restaurants, like the specialty ones, and all the shows onboard, required reservations that I made through the Royal Caribbean app.

However, I found that it was often hard to get reservations for the show and meal times I wanted on the day of. So I started making reservations days before each event depending on how popular it was.

For example, the circus-like acrobatic water show in the Aquatheater seemed to be the most popular and hardest reservation to get. I tried to get one on the day of the event but wasn't able to find any availability until a show that was two nights later.

The excursion I was most thrilled about — a hot air balloon ride over the Bahamas — ended up being canceled the day of because winds were too high.

It was on the last day of my trip, and with only one day in port, could not be rescheduled. It was the experience I was looking forward to most, so I was disappointed and didn't realize going into the trip that this was a possibility. On a cruise ship, I learned that all plans are subject to change based on things outside of the crew's control, like the weather.

Since we were traveling such a long way to each port, I wrongfully assumed we'd spend more time in them. The ship usually docked in the morning around 8 a.m. and left in the early afternoon.

I thought I'd have time to explore the port for a while after each excursion, but some of my excursions took the entire day, getting me back to the boat just in time for departure. I was also hoping to see what these places looked like at night, but we never departed after sundown.

Although I got a taste of the Caribbean, I ended up feeling like I didn't have enough time to really get a sense of each individual place. This made me realize that I would probably prefer to vacation in just one place and have time to truly explore it.

Overall, my trip left me in awe. I learned that there's nothing like looking out from the top deck and seeing only the ocean surrounding you.

But next time I want to visit the Caribbean, I'll take a plane to one place and explore it deeply.