After a leisurely drive through East Texas and the Bolivar Peninsula, we met our friends for a drink at the hotel. Excited, we were comparing notes and I realized I messed up - I left our passports at home - in Fort Worth! Panicked, I called our daughter who delayed her New Years Eve plans to drive home, find our birth certificates and fax them to me at the hotel. Yay to my awesome daughter for saving my neck! I called Carnival and verified that the Birth Certificates would work with our driver's licenses and held my breath till morning.

We have sailed on Carnival 6 times, having traveled 4 out of Galveston. This time we were part of a large group, which made this trip extra special. We spent the night before in Galveston and after breakfast, the rumors began...the ship was late due to fog. Our hotel shuttle was running WAY behind, so we were a little late, too.

When we arrived at the terminal, all of the guests were getting off of the ship, and all of the new cruisers were rushing to get on the ship. Nobody likes the embarkation process, but it was handled well. The lines seemed to move fast and even though we were assigned a group number and had to wait a bit, everyone had a chair and seemed to keep their cool. The agent checked us in with the documentation we had and we were on our way! Read more