This was our first cruise & our honeymoon.
We booked Royal Caribbean b/c we heard from others that it was the better ship to travel on since the rates were slightly higher there would be less children & people. We were also told that Royal Caribbean has better food than Carnival.
Embarkation & Disembarkation both went smoothly. We didn't have long lines at embarkation (we got there within less than an hour of embarkation). Disembarkation could have moved a little bit quicker with more customs lines and/or better structured disembarkation. It seems they try to get everyone off the ship at the same time, with few customs lines to get through.
Since we were celebrating our honeymoon we splurged and got the balcony room.
While we enjoyed having the ability to go out on the balcony at morning, we did not use it much and probably won't book it again, unless it's a special occasion.
The room was clean & our room attendant was very nice & made sure he checked our room multiple times a day.
Other than the loud hen in the room next door, our room was typically very quiet.
I am from Texas, which is why I didn't take an excursion.
Downtown Galveston is fun to shop & eat, and the boardwalk has fun family entertainment, but the Texas beaches aren't very nice to vacation since they are a little dirtier.