I am Emerald with C&A and are by no means new to cruising. Unfortunately this will be a long review. I am sorry in advance to those reading this, and I am sorry if I beat a dead horse.
The ship is big, which means lots of people, and even more room for kids. Kids everywhere. It was just my partner and I on this trip. We wanted to relax.
The security staff run some of the most stressful times getting people on and off the ship. While they were not directly rude, they were not friendly either. Didn't appear that they enjoyed their job at all. Definitely didn't seem organized. They should be the ones welcoming you back onto the ship, helping you through the security process and profiling you, not pointing and pushing you through like cattle. I may look young and my partner looks older than I do. The constant pause to question our age or where our parents were, was getting annoying, though at least this cruise they did not directly ask us, and just used the tools with the information they have. I can guarantee neither one of us looks under 18, maybe under 21.
For a suite that would probably go for around $4k for two people, it was sad. Besides moving through check in a little bit quicker, and a little bit of extra room, we were not sure what the value of the junior suite was. Sheets were obviously clean, but still had marks and stains and worn edges, Same for towels, and robes. The hooks for the shower curtain needed replaced. While these were all minor things, its hard not to notice. Frequently we would have only hot water in the sink and shower.
The new terminal has helped things move along. We don't park with the port of Galveston any more, we use a 3rd party parking company
Definitely for tourists. I feel this is the best port for finding beaches or a wide variety of excursions.