My girlfriend and I went on this cruise along with my mother, grandmother and my brother and his girlfriend. I think I can speak for everyone and say that we had a great time.
Embarkation/first day: We arrived in Galveston the day before the cruise and stayed at Holiday Inn on the Beach. This worked out well as we were allowed to leave our car at the hotel and they offered a free shuttle service the next day to the cruise terminal, which was just about five minutes from the hotel.
The embarkation process was surprisingly easy. It was only about 30 minutes from the time that we arrived at the terminal to when we got on the ship. They handed out a map to the ship as we boarded which made it a little easier to navigate. We did find it somewhat difficult to get from place to place at times as there are several sets of elevators, and not all go the way from the top deck to the bottom deck. One hint that may make it easier: deck 9 (Promenade I think) runs the length of the ship, so it is usually easier to start there and you can get to wherever you want to go.