This cruise was our family's first cruise, although husband and I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise many years ago. We were all very excited about this one, in spite of the fact that we had a 20 hour drive from Phoenix to Galveston.
The Mariner is a beautiful, impressive ship. Our kids, ages 11 and 13, were wowed. We used EZ Cruise parking service, and they were excellent. The embarkation process was fairly slow. It seemed that everyone else had the same idea we did: arrive as early as you can and enjoy your first day on the ship.
We had booked this cruise less than two weeks prior and we didn't have passports, but our official birth certificates were just fine and didn't slow down our check-in process at all. In spite of long lines, nothing dampened our excitement.