We drove to Galveston from Tulsa Saturday and Sunday staying the night at the Days Inn in Huntsville, Texas. The motel was inexpensive but afforded us a decent night's sleep and left us about a two and a half hour drive to the port on Sunday.

We arrived at the port around 11:30. I dropped off the luggage, parked the car in Lot B and returned via shuttle bus to begin check-in at 12:00. We pretty much walked in, thru the scanners and to the counters with little wait. We were in the Platinum section, but the general boarding was wide open as well. We exited to the left facing the counters and were able to bypass the welcome aboard picture station. We went to the Windjammer for lunch, to the spa to make reservations for the following day and then to our cabin. We were in cabin 8526 D2 balcony which turned out to be a good location. With cabins above and below we had no annoying noises to deal with. We had plenty of storage space with room to spare. I went down to see the Dining Room management to get our seating changed from 8:00 to 5:30. This took maybe fifteen minutes. Very efficient process.

The mandatory muster drills sure have changed. No more standing out on deck in the elements with a lifejacket around you. We proceeded to a comfortable lounge without our vests and listened to brief instructions for about ten minutes. Read more