I have been reading the board and still undecided on which world cruise. I am surprised that no one mentioned which ports the cruise goes to as a priority. I have short listed cruises and in doing so have added up how many port days to sea days. Some of the cheaper ( Princess, Cunard) have really bad ratios. Next criteria is how many are new ports. Having flown half way round the world to most cruises (which has been one of the biggest expenses of each holiday) to book a holiday that just repeats what we have already done would be crazy.
So food is not that important, most lines have something I can choose to eat and I can buy specialty restaurant access on cheaper lines that dont provide a good menu. Entertainment is ok but not the be all and end all of my considerations. Comfort and service with a smile is important I get that on most cruises. We prefer serene, quiet environments to loud party scenes. We are easy going and dont complain about very much at all so most lines suit us. We have tried 7 different lines and can find good and bad in all.
So given the above considerations and the fact that this may be a one of experience the more ports the better and the more new ports going to places that are still on our list to see is the primary consideration.