Transportation. We drove to Galveston from Corpus Christi and usually drive up very early the morning of departure. This time we went up Saturday afternoon and stayed at the TownePlace Suites (Marriott) Houston Clear Lake. The location is ideal to Kemah and the cruise terminal and includes free breakfast! We parked at Galveston Park-N-Cruise because it has indoor parking and is directly across from the Carnival cruise terminal for an easy walk. They do not offer transportation to the terminal, FYI. We drop off bags then park. The prices are very good for covered parking.

Embarkation. We arrived about 10:30 am and had a small line (5 people) through security, but none for the main ticketing. For new cruisers, read all the warnings about proper paperwork, name changes, bookings and minors. We have minor children, but with the travel policy (read on website) they are not required to have passports, only birth certificates. This saves us much $$! Once you get your Sail & Sign card, that is all you need to get on and off in the ports. We sat in the holding area for about an hour as boarding did not start until 11:30 am. Rooms were ready about 1:30 pm to drop off your carry-on luggage.

We went to eat at the Italian restaurant for lunch, which is a pasta bar made to order, so we can sit down and not have to stand in a line. It is a nice relaxing lunch. We then headed to the Beach Pool for the music, drinks, and fun! We had connecting balcony rooms on 8 forward (Verandah) and request the steward to open the balcony doors as well so we have multiple access to both rooms and a long balcony. Most of our bags arrived between 5-7 pm. Read more