For many cruisers, the ship is the destination! A few of the most daring cruise lines have really pushed some boundaries of entertainment - there's a lot of fun to be found on board.
And who doesn't love finding their stateroom on the first afternoon? Jumping on the bed *ahem* testing the bed out, maybe having a quiet coffee on the balcony... or maybe doing a few laps of the top deck or promenade to do some people watching... then diving deep into the food & drink to be found throughout the ship and trying to figure out who your favorite bartender is!
We sailed in December of 2017, just a few days before Christmas. Maybe there was that little extra bit of magic in the air or because we attended the inaugural sailing everyone was super excited to be on the ship, but I think the atmosphere was fantastic and simple good fun.
European-style dining and a lot of places to sip a cocktail, there's also always a talking point or photo op piece of architecture on the newest vessels. For MSC, it's often the Swarovski Crystal staircases, OMG they're sparkly. Maybe the Bridge of Sighs is also a good candidate for days at sea.