Transportation  We flew into Houston (from Denver) the night before the cruise departure to avoid rushing around at airports and the port terminal. I found a transfer shuttle from IAH to our hotel in Galveston, through Texas Cruise Ship shuttle (http://www.cruiseshipshuttle.com/). LJ was prompt in picking us up; extremely helpful in informing us on how to find him once we landed and gave us a nice driving/talk tour of Houston. LJ's service was easy, relaxing and a personalized service of transportation. We had the shuttle/bus to ourselves and LJ gave us some tips on where to eat in Galveston.

We used the transportation, provided by Carnival to take us from the ship back to the airport. We got on the bus around 10:15am and then did not actually leave until 12:45. The bus had to wait until it was completely full before it would leave. Our flight was not until 3pm but we also had to stop at Hobby Airport first. This did not leave us with much time, seeing as that day was meant to be the busiest day of the year. I would not use their provided transportation again, not worth the time wasted and money.

Embarkation - We (27/f and 28m) were traveling with my Mother(65)/Father(72) In Law and brother-in-law (15). We arrived at the terminal about 10:45am and began waiting. As soon as the staff began letting people through, we were taken to the head of the line, due to my mother and father in-laws, being disabled (knee replacement and difficulty standing for long periods of time). We rushed through the Non-citizen check-in easily and then began boarding. Overall, it still took us 2hrs to board, much quicker than our last 3 cruises. Read more