I purchased a 5 days cruise for my wife and me to celebrate her retirement as a school teacher. We left May 27th for Costa Maya and Cozumel and returned on June 1st. So here is the breakdown of our cruise.
1) Embarkation - we had Fastest To The Fun so it was an absolute snap. We were through the Galveston terminal and on to the ship in 5 minutes. If you can afford this service, I highly recommend you purchase it. Our bags were delivered late, however; With FTTF, they should have been delivered immediately. Carnival realized this and comped me with a free strawberry plate, which I do appreciate.
2) Entertainment - the best show on board was in the comedy club. You should go at least once. There are R rated shows and PG shows, so be sure to choose the version that is to your liking and sensibilities. We went to see one show in the Encore lounge - the Flick show, with singers and musicians. I personally didn't care for it, but other folks found it enjoyable. I also went to see the raffles, bingos, and trivia shows - and generally, they were well run. I even won a free Wifi package, which I used liberally. I thought that cruise director Gary did a fine job in running the cruise and representing Carnival to the passengers.
It was both comfortable and functional. It was a balcony cabin, which was great for us, because we both like to look at the ocean. It was generally very quiet and properly cooled. Everything worked from scratch, except for a minor issue with the safe. The technician fixed that issue in no time - and Carnival comped me with a strawberry plate. Nice touch.
We had FTTF, to boarding and offboarding was fast. Finding a parking spot on arrival day was difficult, again, because the place was packed. We used the Galvestor port parking. However, on departure day, we did find our car and leave quickly.