Well, I'm guessing that, since you live in Texas, this won't be a smashing idea, but I hear some of the Alaskan cruises are really nice ^_^

As for appliances...

1) Make sure you feel like you'd have enough space for stuff in the fridge section of a side-by-side (that's always been my problem with them).

2) As far as I'm concerned, the more options on a washer/dryer set, the better. But, maybe I've just been feeling deprived recently.