We were booked on Carnival Triumph out of Galveston Dec 13-17. We live in North Texas. Our cruising party includes Me, husband (34), son (10), and my mom (54).

We had planned to drive to Galveston the day before our cruise and stay at the Hilton Island Resort on the sea wall. About 30 min into our road trip I got the email about the delay in the ship coming back to port. Everyone was initially frustrated, but we decided we were of vacation and would just make the day of it in Galveston. About 11pm that even our son started vomiting and did not stop! I was panicked as I knew if he was contagious we could not get of the boat. 8am the next morning I called a cab and took him to Galveston Isle Emergency Clinic. We received excellent, fast service. It was determined he had just eaten something bad and the doctor cleared us for cruising. The staff there was very accommodating with us being out of town. We went back to the hotel and instead of sight seeing as we had planned he took a 4 hour nap. When he woke up, he was starving and good as new!

The hotel had a free shuttle to the port and allowed parking at an inclosed lot for free! Great deal!! We were all very anxious to get on the boat, but it did not start taking us until 6:30-6:45. I had purchased the Faster to the Fun for both our cabins which turned out to be a wonderful decision. Once the shuttle unloaded us we realized the line to get into the terminal was all the way down the sidewalk outside! It was insane. A few minutes later a staff member came through asking for any Diamond, Platinum, or FTTF cruisers. We raised our hand and she led us past everyone, right up to the lady checking the passports. From there they led us right up to the scanners. No wait! After that we were led right up to the check in counter. Checked in, got our cards and were not even given a zone. We were led right on the ship. Our room steward was at our door, welcoming us and letting us know our rooms were ready for us. We were not in the room 5 minutes when our luggage was delivered. Unfortunately, someone had packed a bottle of red wine that spilled and leaked all over my husbands suitcase... So I got to start laundry :) Read more