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Food varies by cruise line. We have been on several Royal Carribean cruises and 1 Celebrity Cruise ( both mid priced companies) and were very pleased. The sit down meals were pretty lavish, or you could do the buffets which were okay. Some now have specialty restaurants where you can get a real fine dining experience ( for a little extra cost). Best place is upper cabins, outboard near mid ships ( my opinion), least motion for the squeamish, although the stabilizers really limit the “ motion of the ocean”.
There’s always a doctor on board and available 24/7.
Haven’t been on a political cruise but plan to take a National Review cruise some day soon.

It’s not for everyone, but we like being able to unpack once, go sightseeing, and return to our room to unwind cocktails dinner, maybe the show and a little gambling....

I think the food depends on where you eat. Most ships have a casual dining room with a buffet-type service. The food is good buffet-type servings; not at all bad but nothing to write home about. The food in the more formal dining room tends to be better in my opinion. And all ships have specialty restaurants where for a nominal fee - $25 per person or so - you get a much higher quality dining experience. Regardless of which line you go on you're not going to starve. And I've found that to be true on both cruise line's I've been on.

We've had cabins towards the front of the ship and right around the middle. I've talked to people who cruise a lot and they say that with all the stabilizing thingies on ships these days there really isn't a lot of difference between cabins on different parts of the ship. I like the cabins with the veranda because I like to sit and watch the water go by.

I like Royal Caribbean and Holland America, but I've also heard good things about Princess and Norwegian. You couldn't get me on a Carnival cruise. On Royal Caribbean I would pick cruises that are on the smaller ships - the ones around 90,000 tons. I just can't imagine what it's like on one of those 250,000 ton monsters with 6000 passengers. I think the service on Holland America is just a little bit fancier than Royal Caribbean, but service on both is great.

There are always one or two doctors and a couple of nurses on board. I never had to use one so I don't know what it's like from an insurance standpoint.

We just got off holland American zandaam, buenos aires to val parasol. My second cruise. First. One carnival lots of kids running up and down even over night.

Holland was great. Professional operations. Captain took us into straights of Magellan and back out to Atlantic so we could go around the cape.

Plenty to do on board and some good ports and shore excursions. Service provided by Indonesians and Filipinos mostly. Great job and friendly people. My wife is Filipino and she must have know half the crew by voyage end.

Many ways to spend money on board or you can eat and do free activities to minimize costs.

I’m not a big cruise guy, but if I go again I’ll pick holland America.

Bon voyage.

If you are in a special diet, the cruise line will try to accommodate you. You may have to let the line or your travel agent know your dietary needs before you cruise. However, most cruise lines offer healthy choices anyway for people watching their weight or whatever.

Cruise ships have elevators for the disabled and newer ones are being made more handicapped accessible.

As stated, there is a doctor on board. But if you are on prescription medication, you should bring an ample amount with you as it may be difficult or impossible to procure, particularly if you are cruising foreign countries.

Is the food good? Yes. Carnival lines sell best for young partiers, and the food is merely very good. Royal Caribbean and others that cater to more mature markets have excellent fool. Best place for a room? That depends; you really do not spend much time in the room other than to sleep. So, I would say take 2 cruises with a small inside room rather than one cruise with a balcony. There is always a medical facility on board, but you will be paying cash for services in most cases.