I was afraid of cruises for years. After boarding my first, these 6 things surprised me the most.

My first cruise on Virgin Voyages' Valiant Lady was way better than I expected.

Justine Lee

Ever since I was a kid, I've had a fear of getting trapped in the middle of the ocean. So, the idea of going on a cruise never crossed my mind.However, my mom has always wanted to take one, and since I love traveling with her, I decided it was time to push past my trepidation and book a seven-night Virgin Voyages itinerary aboard the Valiant Lady ship.This cruise, which traveled from Rome to Barcelona, was the ultimate test of my anxieties. I fully expected to be curled up in a ball, counting down the seconds until I could hop off the ship.Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong about what the experience would entail. Here are six things that surprised me most about my first cruise.

I was shocked that I didn't experience any motion sickness.

I've experienced motion sickness on smaller ferries, so I was surprised I didn't feel sick on this cruise ship.