This was our first Carnival cruise, I had been on a Mediterranean cruise on a much smaller cruise line and my mom had been on an Alaskan cruise on Norwegian. I was a little worried about the 'party ship' reputation that Carnival has but we didn't find this to be the case really at all!! Maybe because it was way off-season or some people say it's because it was a 7 night cruise vs. 4 or 5 night that could have been the reason but whatever it was we were very glad, because we aren't really 'party' people!

We departed out of Galveston because my mom and sister live in Texas and were able to drive down and pick me up from the airport in Houston. I flew in the day before and we had a nice drive down. We stayed at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Galveston. They offered free parking for the duration of the cruise. This was a great deal for us because I got the room for free with my Marriott points so we didn't have to pay for the room or the parking. We got a cab to the cruise terminal, it was like $30 each way, but make sure you call them the night before, we called in the morning and they told us it would be 1-3 hours before they could come and get us!! :( But being picked up and dropped off at the terminal was the best, no waiting in long lines for parking or whatever!

The ship came in late that day due to fog so we couldn't even board until like 4pm or 5pm! But we spent a lovely afternoon on the Strand (cool place within walking distance from the terminal with lots of shops and restaurants), we were able to check in our luggage at the cruise terminal at noon and the enjoy our afternoon unencumbered. Read more