My very first cruise

Very first cruise, but not exactly what I expected.  I was very impressed with the size and cleanliness of the ship.  The staff were very friendly, courteous and helpful.  The downsides for us were: (1) we expected more family-oriented activities.  It seemed the activities were geared towards kids in the clubs and activities for grown-ups separately; (2) we were charged $12.00 per day per person in the stateroom for gratuities (three of us).  We weren't sure if this could be changed in any way, but it seemed a hidden cost.  We would have liked to tip our service providers ourselves based on how we ranked their service; (3) there was no iron or laundry facilities onboard as we were told there would be.  As such we paid the cruise line for every item that needed to be pressed and had to send my husband's suits back to be re-done as they came back worst than when we sent them and my formal dress was simply not pressed!; (4) the drinks package was a joke!  the cheapest package was $19.00 per day per person (non-alcoholic).  I'm not sure if other people can consume that much in sodas, lattes and fruit punch daily, but it would take the three of us to consume that much.  If you wanted a soda or fruit punch, you had no choice because all the ship offered was water, flavored water, lemonade, and at breakfast, an apple juice that was too sweet to consume; (5) the excursions were very expensive and everyone seemed to beg for tips upon tips:  tip the driver, tip the tour guide, tip the guide on the river climb, tip the videographer and purchase his videos. Then on the transfer to the airport, the driver asked a bus load of people to not forget about him.  He stood at the bottom of the stairs with his hand out and actually, grabbed my husband's arm and stated "nothing for the driver".  I thought paying for the excursion included payment for all these people!  it was simply over-whelming.