My husband and I had never been on a cruise, so we opted for a short one to see how we liked it. My husband did a lot of research, and we have many friends who gave us plenty of advice.
We live in the Houston area, so the drive to Galveston was not a problem. We boarded probably around 11am. Getting on board was so easy. Maybe it was because we went so early, but we never got stuck in any long lines. We seemed to get through the check in process pretty quickly and easily.
I was honestly mostly worried about getting seasick. I had some patches on hand, but didn't want to use them unless I actually got sick. I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't get sick at all! But enough about me. The cruise was more than I expected. I LOVED having so many choices in things to do each day. The itinerary we received for each day of the cruise was awesome. So many games, shows, demonstrations....it was great for people like us who like to do different things, but can never quite decide. We saw a comedy show, game shows, played trivia in one of the bars, went to art auctions, went to karaoke night, played BINGO...etc. I even participated in the Thriller dance the cruise director was teaching. SO FUN!
This cabin has a very nice balcony. It's quite large. We had great sunset and sunrise views. The room was comfortable and had just what we needed. The only noises I heard were from the closet if we left it open. I could also hear the faint sound of music, but not loud enough to keep me awake. So I found it to be very comfortable and slept like a baby every night. It has a large tub that I was very careful getting into and out of since it is raised up. But there was plenty of room in the closet for our clothes and luggage.