My wife and I have now each cruised twice so we are in no way experts and our expectations might not be as high as some.

We drove down to Galveston from Dallas the day before the cruise which I believe is the most stress free way of doing it if you van afford the $80 for a hotel room. The embarkation process was pretty simple and took about 45 minutes. Neither my wife or I had passports. As long as it's a close looped cruise, you don't need one although it is recommended. You will need you driver's license and birth certificate. It is also recommended the ladies bring their marriage license if they are married. If you are going to sneak on booze, do your research on Youtube because they WILL confiscate sloppy attempts at smuggling.

Cabin : we had cabin 7422 and I can not recommend this cabin any higher. It is a little larger than regular cabins but the crown jewel is the balcony. It is aft wrap balcony and it lends for simply amazing views of the ocean. Words can not do it just so I am including video link to our room. Read more