I avoided watching this for 20 (!) years, because the reviews were ambivalent. But it's really fun. It's not awesome, like the Kirk/Spock series, but it's also (thus far) not excessively moralizing like TNG.
This is the only Star Trek (for me) that captures the wonder of the original series. The writing isn't great, but that was never a thing with Star Trek. They're also a bit kinetic, say, with discovering new Warp-Civilizations.
I also really appreciate that the crew is basically white, except for one black guy that's not blackity-black.
Even the chicks are fine. The writing for the Asian chick is a bit insipid, but it accurately reflects the chick version of the 'hero's journey'.
Unfortunately, they've introduced Time Travel, so I guess a few of the episodes are going to be tedious.
The Ferangi shouldn't pop up until TNG when Picard makes first contact. But I vaguely remember ferangi popping up in Enterprise somehow.
There is an episode with the Ferengi in ENT. It is fansevice twice over (the ladies get naked). There's probably some excuse explaining how nobody meets them until TNG but it's been years since I watched.