Well, speaking for myself, I hated it at the time because I felt like it was being written by someone with the mentality of a college frat boy. Plus, I hated that the NX-01 was a blatant Akira class ripoff (but that wouldn't have stopped me from watching the show had it been good.)
How was it college frat boy stuf? Are you just referring to the shower scene in the pilot? I mean, TNG was full of way more embarrassing shit and I still love it.
I don't think the look of the ship matters to me. It's a minor annoyance at best.