This had to be one of the best (if not the best) vacations I've ever taken. I spent a lot of time reading CC reviews and they were very helpful and I want to thank CC members for their posts. It made the decisions and plans a whole lot easier. Hope this helps other first time cruisers.
Embarkation:
We drove in to Galveston the night before and stayed at the HOJO express a couple of miles from the pier. My wife and I, along with our daughter and son-in-law came in from Lafayette, La. The hojo was nothing fancy, but they offered cruise parking with the room and we didn't want to worry about driving 4 hours the same day of the cruise. We got to the pier around 11:00 and were onboard having lunch by 12:15. One suggestion: If you're traveling in a group, do a run through of showing passports/ ID before you leave home. My wife opted to use her driver's license and birth certificate instead of a passport and when we got to the first check in point, she couldn't find her license. We all took turns searching the purse and bags but couldn't find it. It was eventually found inside a money envelope from the bank. She had cashed a check for the trip and showed her ID, and the teller placed it with the money in the envelope. Anyway, long story short, we went through several minutes of quiet panic. Make sure of your id's before you leave home.