Our cruise was arranged by a family member. 23 members of our family attended, each with different cruising experience and a variety of budgets.
Galveston is a very difficult port to get to from the East Coast. One has to fly into Houston and then try to arrange a shuttle or other transportation to Galveston (about 1.5 hour trip from Bush Intercontinental and about 1.0 hour trip from Hobby).
Our cruise was "fogged out" of the Galveston port and we stayed on the ship for an additional ~36 hours. Therefore, a 7 day cruise turned into a 9 day cruise. Carnival did an outstanding job of taking care of all of the passengers "stranded" on the ship. Mixed experiences were reported when dealing with the airlines and attempting to make changes. We found United to be difficult. Other passengers reported that American was very difficult, while Southwest and Delta were the most accommodating airlines.
The cabin was fine. Comfortable and enough room for two. Bring hair conditioner with you, as none is provided. Soap, body soap, shampoo and hair dryer are all provided.