I just got off the ship yesterday morning and can honestly say it was one of the nicer cruises I've ever taken (This was #9 for me, I believe.). The staff was very friendly and I never once encountered anyone who was less than friendly on the trip. Our cabin attendant and waiter and assistant waiter were all excellent.
During the boarding process I was worried that this cruise would start off on a very sour note. We had to wait 2 hours to check in, and by the time we were allowed to board all of the special activities were over, all of the food locations closed up, and we immediately had to do the emergency lifeboat drill. On previous cruises, I think the longest we've ever waited was maybe 30-45 minutes. We were never given a clear reason why we had to wait so long, but I hope to never have that experience again.
Once we got on board, though, our cabin (8240) was clean, well appointed with lots of storage, decorated nicely, and the balcony was surprisingly large. We loved our attendant, Anita. She couldn't have been any sweeter.
Beautiful clean cabin with large balcony.
We paid a van driver to take 9 of us to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. One way was $30. Lots of nice beach facilities and a huge pool.
What exactly is there to do in Galveston? The weather that day was horrible and I didn't see anything that was non-industrial. We weren't at all impressed and couldn't wait to get on the ship and get outta there.
My husband scuba dived and I walked around the "downtown" area for a while and then paid a cab $5 to take me to Sea Grape Beach. Chair rentals there were $5 each and umbrellas also cost $5. Calico Jack's restaurant/bar is right there, though was closed when i was there because of election day.