Background. My wife, 11 year old son, 4 year old daughter and I are from the Northern Virginia/DC area, and chose this trip primarily for the low price (I'll discuss some of the "hidden" costs that offset this price later). We had a wonderful time aboard the Elation, and hope that this accounting of our cruise experience will allow others to have an equally fantastic time.

Pre-trip. We arrived Wednesday for our Sunday sail date, and rented a car from Enterprise one-way from Houston to Galveston. We visited San Antonio before the cruise, and while it was certainly hot there in mid-August, it was a great side trip that I would highly recommend. It is about 200 miles from Houston to San Antonio, but with the 70 MPH speed limit, we were there in less just a little over three hours.

On Saturday, we drove to Galveston, where we stayed overnight at the Quality Inn and Suites and were pleasantly surprised with a clean, comfortable hotel with an outstanding view of the gulf. I know that there are some that will disagree, but I found the beaches on Galveston Island to be very pleasant, and my family and I spent a terrific afternoon there. The dynamics of the beach are very different in the western Gulf of Mexico than on a typical Caribbean beach. Here you may find seaweed, cloudy, greenish water, and sometimes jelly fish, but this typical Gulf beach water is not "dirty" as some have said. The bottom line is that if anything short of blue water repulses you, avoid this beach. Otherwise, go for it! We ate dinner in the historic Strand District. The port of Galveston is in a largely industrial area, but is immediately surrounded by this lovely historic district that contains many shops and restaurants. I would recommend visiting this area if you arrive a day early, both to enjoy the restaurants and to familiarize yourself with the embarkation area. Read more