Our cruise was the seven day beginning March 4 in Galveston with stops at Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Falmouth, Jamaica.

This was quite obviously the week before spring break mania. There were very few children, teens and young people on the trip. There were always plenty of chairs by the pool no matter the weather conditions. The demographics swayed toward older Texans. The shows were played to appreciative, packed houses. Everyone was polite and well-behaved.

That was all fine with us. We are from Minnesota, traveling with four daughters -- 20, 18, 8 and 3 -- and another 20-year old who is friends with one of my daughters. We chose this cruise for convenience -- we drove from Minnesota in a minivan, so didn't have to pay airfare -- and price, as it was very reasonable. We stayed in adjoining interior rooms on the sixth deck -- my wife and I with the little girls in one room, the older girls in another. And, yes, I did hit my head on the pull-out beds a couple of times in the middle of the night. Read more