This was our first cruise (we are both 34) and it was awesome! It definitely won't be our last. We had always done the all-inclusive resorts but wanted to try something different. We have 2 young kids (1 ½ and 3) that we were leaving behind for the first time so we wanted to keep busy instead of lie on a beach missing them. The cruise was perfect because you could be as busy or as lazy as you wanted.

HOTEL We are from Calgary, Alberta Canada so we flew to Houston the day before and stayed in Galveston's Best Western Beachfront Inn. It was much older than expected and not in very good condition. If you can stay somewhere else, do it. The free continental breakfast was decent but we have had better at a La Quinta Inn. The location was good because we could see the water right across the street and it was beside a Kroger so we could load up on goods to bring aboard. For dinner we walked down the street to the Rainforest Cafe. Our kids would've loved it there! We spent a bundle in souvenirs and hadn't even boarded the ship yet. The weather was miserable with pouring rain on and off.

EMBARKATION We woke up to more rain but knew we'd be in the sunshine soon. We waited in the lobby along with everyone else who wanted taxis. It was only a 5 minute ride before we saw the tail of the Conquest. A porter took our bags as soon as we got out of the taxi and we tipped the recommended $1 per bag. We went through security in about 20 minutes. There was a line for non-US citizens to get your sail and sign card so we breezed through that quickly to get to the photo line. I think they could do without the embarkation photos as it just seems to hold things up. Then we were in the final line to step onto the ship. The whole thing took only about 40 minutes. Read more