Hi - I have been on several quilt cruises, with several companies. There are so many choices, but they are not ALL the same. My husband goes with me and has a great time, he meets other husbands who come along. We have met some close friends on quilting cruises. I believe I have tried 4 companies, the one I have been on the last 3 times has been the best so far, I do not know that I will try another, this one is a lot of fun and has great teachers, projects and itineraries (they are even going to Australia and New Zealand on a cruise in January - I am hoping to go on that one, will depend on whether my husband can get time off, he is a teacher. I won't go without him.
I tried one other company 2 times, but found it was almost the exact same thing activity wise, room set up wise, but the project and the ports differed. Had the ports not been different, I would have thought I was on the same cruise as the first one. Onboard, the activities were almost identical to what we did on the cruise before.
I like adventure and think I have found nice variety with the group I use now. Each time all the activities have been different, fun, outgoing and giving teachers, games, prizes, surprises, outside of class events to get to know the other quilters if we want, laid back (not organized for us) shore time where we could do our own thing and go to the quilt shop if we want as well as they provided a map and addresses for us. I do not like to have my shore time planned for me, I like to choose from the many tour offerings that the cruise ship has. They provide lots of optional sewing time, keeping the rooms open until midnight for those who would like to sew on their own.
If you haven't been on a quilt cruise - it's worth a try , at least one time. I hope you have luck like I have in finding a company you like (after 5 crusises, we finally found the great one for number 6, 7 and 8).
Good luck to you and bon voyage!