Booked Celebrity's Zenith for my first cruise in February 1995, mostly because of what I had heard about the food and Roux, and because it was so incredibly inexpensive. I practically was signing up for another trip on the second day.
To give credence to the message that there's never a bad day at sea ... my wife and I took a second honeymoon out of New Orleans - departing August 25, 2005. So we sailed through Hurricane Katrina and frankly it was the best trip ever - on Carnival, of all cruise lines.
This spring we'll return to HAL(Eurodam) for a second cruise for me. I think I might be more excited about this cruise than I've been for any other.