We booked this Carnival Cruise for a few reasons. 1) We are from DFW and Galveston was close 2) We wanted to bring our kids along.

EMBARKATION DAY: We drove to Galveston from DFW, leaving at 5:45 a.m. and arriving at Galveston around 10:30. We were in 2 vehicles and used Galveston Park 'N Cruise. http://www.galvestonparkncruise.com/ We pre-paid online and opted for the indoor parking. We were very close so this wasn't a problem. After figuring out the terminal for a few minutes (Drop off luggage is on the far south side, and check-in is on the far north), we proceded to our check-in. We went through the scanners and security. They weren't checking every single backpack, BTW. Got the Sail and Sign cards and went to the waiting room. After about 15-20 minutes, our zone was called and we were heading to the boat. (Tip: If you want a 'get on board' picture, keep going, there were 2 more photographers around the corner that we didn't see. We waited 10 more minutes to have a picture). On the ship by 11:30! There were several crew members directing everyone to the Lido deck for lunch. Most everyone goes to the buffet. Thanks to another post, we proceeded to the Cucina del Capitano for lunch. NO WAIT!! Another good tip for everyone. Great lunch to start of the vacation. Our rooms weren't ready, so we went on deck to check out the 'lay of the land'. We also took a ship tour, which was very helpful to before we sailed. Decks 5 & 10 are where most everything is at. Sail Away party was fun. Many drinks and dancing! Before dinner we went to the Camp Carnival orientation. Our kids enjoyed the time in there, although they weren't there every day. Just too much to do!

DINNERS IN MDR: The wait staff makes or breaks your evenings without a doubt. We were VERY lucky on the first night to be assigned the BEST WAIT STAFF ON THE BOAT! Elpedio and his assistants Randy and Sebastian absolutely made our evenings. They were great with the kids, making animals the the napkins, folding origami with paper, and doing little magic tricks. Always smiling, and great to be around. Also props to Toshi and her team, as well as Damir and his group. We ended up requesting and sometimes waiting a bit for Elpedio on 5 of the 7 nights. FOOD: We enjoyed everything in the MDR. We encouraged our kids to stay off the kids menu and try new things which they did. We even got two starters or two main dishes when we asked. Some of the same items could be found in the Lido buffet as well when we walked past. For lunch, we all tried to go to different spots every day. Mongolian Wok lines were LONG everyday. I skipped here by one person in our group waited 40 minutes for lunch. Tandoori Grill was good, Burrito Bar was excellent. Lido items were good too. Oceanside BBQ was excellent as well. We frequented the Red Frog Pub often, but never got around to trying the appetizers ($3.33). We never had a problems finding seats for breakfast (kids had waffles, and pancakes everyday found at the burger bar area), and we almost always at the pool area for lunch. (Didn't see much chair hogging until the final day at sea). Read more