TexasAggie, I am so sorry to hear that you had to cancel your cruise on the Conquest. I hope everything works out for you so you can soon book that maiden voyage. We travel thru Mount Vernon every time we go back to Texas to visit friends. We moved here to Denver from the Dallas area, which is where the friends we visit used to live also. They have since moved to Lake Whitney, up close to Crawford.
As for the economy and our cruise plans - right now I don't foresee any changes coming. When I booked the cruise last month, I wanted to pay for it all at once but our travel planner suggested I not so we could take advantage of any specials or price drops, so I paid all of it but $200 upfront. We will drive to Galveston, so don't have to worry about airline costs. Unless something really drastic happens, I do not believe it will have a lot of effect on our travel plans for the near future.