Pre and post-cruise
We used priceline to rent a car to take us from Austin to Galveston (we flew to Austin from Boston, to take advantage of a low cost flight). After the cruise, our car was waiting for us at the E-Z parking lot, and we drove from Galveston to San Antonio. We spent a day after the cruise in San Antonio before returning home via Austin. Even though this entailed hours of driving, it was wonderful to visit San Antonio and nice to see some of Texas. Being from New England, we wanted to visit the Alamo and the River Walk. Priceline is definitely worth considering if you are going on a cruise from Galveston and want to rent a car for 8 or 9 days. After hearing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" in the main dining room on Friday night of our cruise, it felt right to get a little feeling for Texas by extending our vacation in the Lone Star state.
The ship
Great balcony, and the location is perfect since it was easy to get to the stairs/elevators going to dining areas. Also, it was quiet.