ARRIVAL: My friend and I, both professionals in our 30s, consider ourselves experienced cruisers, having taken four cruises with Carnival and one with Royal Caribbean. We drove to Galveston Sunday morning from Dallas and arrived at 10am. We parked the car at the EZ Cruise parking lot, $50 for the entire week, and walked the three blocks to the cruise terminal.

EMBARKATION: Easy and smooth. Carnival employees were friendly and courteous, directing people and processing passport and credit card information quickly and efficiently. We entered the terminal around 10.30, long before the 'plane crowd' arrived, and began boarding around 11.30. By noon, we were having lunch at the Lido Deck, enjoying the sunny Galveston Sunday morning.

CABIN: For the first time, we had booked a balcony cabin in the back of the ship (aft) with an extended balcony, category 8M. It was worth every penny! The balcony was much bigger than the regular balconies on both sides of the ship and had plenty of room for two chairs plus a lounge chair. The balcony also offered a great view, especially at push-off, that allowed us to watch the ports slowly disappear from the privacy of our balcony. The cabin was slightly smaller than a regular balcony room but the extended balcony made up for it. However, one could feel the engines vibrate all the time and, while it didn't bother either of us, it should be taken into consideration, especially by first-time cruisers and people prone to motion sickness. Read more