First of all, we were a family reunion party of 13 - most from the Houston area, my family of four from Maryland and two from ABQ. We ranged in age from 87 (my mother-in-law was the oldest person who ever went with a Coral Breeze Limited excursion, or so they said, as well as the oldest who ever snorkeled with them - she's an amazing woman) to 16. Four cousins ranged from 16-20 with the rest of the adults in their 50s. Half were new to cruising, and this was our 3rd cruise, 2nd on Carnival: Paradise, Celebrity's Century, and now Elation. Even so, I want to extend my thanks to all our you. I still poured over all your posts and made copious notes.
Having so many together on the cruise allowed for different experiences, and I will try to relate most of them below.
Getting to the Pier: While six of us flew in, none of us stayed in Galveston, so I cannot offer hotel suggestions, but I can pass along my sister's strong recommendation to visit Moody Gardens and NASA if you arrive early for your cruise. We had reservations at EZ Cruise parking, saving money by booking online. The lot is an easy walk to the terminal; none of our drivers decided to wait for the shuttle. They dropped passengers and luggage at the terminal, drove cars to the lot, and walked back; reversing that procedure when we debarked. Traffic was not too bad; just be prepared to be patient.