Background - There were 6 of us cruising; myself, 45 with two previous Carnival cruises, my SO, 51, his first cruise, my son, 24, his first cruise, his girlfriend, 23, her first cruise, and her parents in their 50's with two previous Carnival cruises.

December 15, 2006

We flew non-stop into Houston Intercontinental Airport arriving Friday at 7:42 p.m. from Seattle. It was a non eventful flight (just like I like them) and we arrived on time or just a few minutes early. Getting our bags was very efficient and quick. We loaded our many suitcases onto a cart, went outside to the curb, and caught a shuttle to the rental car terminal. Once there, we had a wait of about 30 minutes before we got to the counter. They had only one agent working the counter at Enterprise. We rented a mini van for just under $120.00 which included the $40.00 drop charge to Galveston. Once we were loaded up and in the van, we headed out to find 45 South. We missed the turn to get onto the freeway; however we went a mile or so on the access road and then were able to get on. All seemed to be fine and then we missed a turn to stay on 45 and ended up on the beltway. We came to a toll booth, asked for directions, got off the beltway, turned around, and found our way back to 45 without too much trouble. Read more