My wife and I are fairly seasoned cruisers (we’re both Platinum on Norwegian) and this was our thirteenth cruise. Still, as it was our first non-Norwegian cruise, it felt at times like we were starting over.
This was a cruise of necessity - I had to get out of town, and I had to get on a ship. Rather than flying to Miami (ugh), we found a cruise from Galveston so we could just drive to the port.
We had a balcony handicap stateroom on deck six - the first balcony from the bow. There actually is a walkway that goes around the very front of the ship, so anyone can go out and see where we are going. It’s almost the same view as from the bridge, just above. I love this. I do not love the fact that the wind on the bow pretty much guarantees the door will slam - loudly - whenever anyone goes in or out. Keep this in mind if booking forward rooms.
This was a handicap accessible room, so it was larger than some other balconies. I thought the room was laid out well.
Embarkation seemed smooth. The terminal is a little cramped, and the lines aren't always obvious, but the set times for check-in helped.