My husband and I just completed our 7th cruise. We have traveled RCCL (Rhapsody & Navigator) Carnival (Ecstasy x 2, Conquest & Sensation) and Princess (Crown). We love cruising and can find good things to say about all of them we have been on but we both agree that Royal Caribbean is the total package for us!

We live about 500 miles away from Galveston and traveled down on Saturday, March 8. We prefer to stay in the Webster, Seabrook area hotels which are half the cost of Galveston hotels. This trip down we stayed at the Quality Inn (Trip Advisor #1 Rating) right by NASA. I booked the room for $82 per night. Great hotel, wonderful beds and nice breakfast.

Sunday, March 9 - Embarkation Day! We get in no hurry especially since we were weary from traveling the day before (about 10 hours) and the time changed. Only about a 30 minute drive to the ship terminal. Traffic was light. Made a fast trip to WalMart for sunscreen, bottled water, Dr. Pepper and Dramamine (just in case). Dropped off luggage at the ship terminal and then proceeded to EZCruise Parking. Dropping off your lugguage prevents you from having to load it onto the van from the parking lot. Hang on to your carry on and don't forget to have your Passports and Boarding Passes with you as well. Read more