Grand Princess - Hulagirl just called with Galveston/Grand info

Hi,

Hulagirl just called from the Grand Princess with some updates.

Earlier this month, ALL passengers on the Grand Princess were informed that cruise checkin for their sailing was at Hotel Galvez and not at the cruise terminal. Hulagirl (and friends) switched their hotel reservations over to Hotel Galvez to make things easier. They were able to check in and get their cruise card at the hotel and take a taxi over to the terminal pretty early and didn't have any problems getting on the ship. They were one of the first ones on the ship.

Apparently others have had lots of problems. The ship was scheduled to leave at 5 pm (or was it 4?) and Hulagirl just called and said that it was almost 7 pm and the ship still had not sailed. Muster drill is scheduled for 7:30. The ship is a buzz with embarkation stories/problems...

Late this afternoon, the Captain made the announcement that 900 passengers still had to embark the ship and that sailing had been delayed. Apparently all the ships in port today had problems due to having the 3 ships in port - with the Grand most likely having the most delays. Hulagirl did indicate that the Carnival ship has left the pier.

The Captain also indicated over the intercom "To new cruisers - be aware that the ship does move to the left and to the right and to expect motion".. Hulagirl had never heard a Captain say this over the intercom before and had to laugh.

Hulagirl also indicated that there are 700 kids onboard this week. She also said that so far, the ship looks good.

Thanks, Coral. Sounds like it was a bit of a nightmare. The Galvez is nearby (not that anything is that far away in Galveston) but still would require taking people across town. With many people driving to the port, I bet it was a total zoo. Fortunately, we already have reservations at the Galvez for the night prior to the cruise if this happens again.

Wow

Thanks for the update--I was wondering what was wrong--I was watching the port web cam and wondering--thanks for letting us know.

Hi,

 

Hulagirl just called from the Grand Princess with some updates.

 

Earlier this month, ALL passengers on the Grand Princess were informed that cruise checkin for their sailing was at Hotel Galvez and not at the cruise terminal. Hulagirl (and friends) switched their hotel reservations over to Hotel Galvez to make things easier. They were able to check in and get their cruise card at the hotel and take a taxi over to the terminal pretty early and didn't have any problems getting on the ship. They were one of the first ones on the ship.

 

Apparently others have had lots of problems. The ship was scheduled to leave at 5 pm (or was it 4?) and Hulagirl just called and said that it was almost 7 pm and the ship still had not sailed. Muster drill is scheduled for 7:30. The ship is a buzz with embarkation stories/problems...

 

Late this afternoon, the Captain made the announcement that 900 passengers still had to embark the ship and that sailing had been delayed. Apparently all the ships in port today had problems due to having the 3 ships in port - with the Grand most likely having the most delays. Hulagirl did indicate that the Carnival ship has left the pier.

 

The Captain also indicated over the intercom "To new cruisers - be aware that the ship does move to the left and to the right and to expect motion".. Hulagirl had never heard a Captain say this over the intercom before and had to laugh.

 

Hulagirl also indicated that there are 700 kids onboard this week. She also said that so far, the ship looks good.

Hi--

Is this check in proceedure at the Hotel Galvez permanant? I am on the Grand sailing on 1/21/06, and was actually planning to spend the night of 1/20 in Houston (our flight gets into IAH after 9PM), and have a car service take us to the Pier on 1/21. If this arrangment is still in place, will we have to check in at the hotel, and then bring our luggage over to the Pier? Also, I can't help but be mildly concerned about all of the problems/issues plaguing the Grand that have been reported here---tendering probelms, late embarkations, etc. I hope it is just a run a lousy luck and better days are ahead. Thanks for any info.

I think it's because of the three ships in at the same time. Here's link to schedule--

http://www.portofgalveston.com/

Hi--

Is this check in proceedure at the Hotel Galvez permanant? .

Not that I am aware of.....Hopefully Hulagirl will find out why they did this. I believe the fax they received from their TA indicated because of the amount of ships in port but I could be wrong. She received the info on 12/2 for this sailing.

The port calendar has the Grand listed as "other" on--

12/17/05, 2/25/06, & 12/30/06

All other dates for the Grand are listed as terminal 1 or 2

So unless your on one of those dates you should be Ok

I will be on the Grand in 7 days and received no information indicating anything about Hotel Galvez or any changes whatsoever.

Since there are only two cruise ship terminals in Galveston, it would follow that when more than two ships trying to depart the same day there will be issues.

Hi--

Is this check in proceedure at the Hotel Galvez permanant? I am on the Grand sailing on 1/21/06

Hi StephenAndrew,

We are going to be on the Jan 21st sailing also. You should join our role call posting. Tell me more about youurself, are you traveling alone, with friends, significant other, family. Check out the role call board, ttyl.

I will be on the Grand in 7 days and received no information indicating anything about Hotel Galvez or any changes whatsoever.

 

Since there are only two cruise ship terminals in Galveston, it would follow that when more than two ships trying to depart the same day there will be issues.

Please be sure to post a cruise review! Have a great trip:) We'll be on the same ship in 6 weeks:)

Hi StephenAndrew,

 

We are going to be on the Jan 21st sailing also. You should join our role call posting. Tell me more about youurself, are you traveling alone, with friends, significant other, family. Check out the role call board, ttyl.

Thanks for the invitation---I will drop you a line on the role card board!

Thanks snoozerman, that port of galveston link is great. We are on the Grand on 2/18, so it looks like we will not have a problem. Hope we don't have a taxi issue in the morning. Maybe we'll switch plans and stay overnight in Houston. Will call galveston Limo to see if they think that's a better idea.

Coral

Thanks for the report from Hulagirl. I am anxiously awaiting updates throughout the next week. I hope she keeps us posted.

Question: I am booked for an upcoming wedding cruise aboard the Grand Princess on a date when three ships are scheduled to be in Galveston. Do you think the check-in plans will remain the same? i.e., we'll need to do check-in at Hotel Galvez?

If so, I would like to make prior arrangements for this. We have 20 people in our group and I'd like check-in to go as smoothly as possible.

Question: I am booked for an upcoming wedding cruise aboard the Grand Princess on a date when three ships are scheduled to be in Galveston. Do you think the check-in plans will remain the same? i.e., we'll need to do check-in at Hotel Galvez?

I am not sure - this hotel check-in surprised everyone on their cruise (and it sounds like it didn't go so well for most). Hulagirl has free internet - so we will probably see her posting this week.

BTW - congrats on your upcoming wedding :)

Thanks, Coral!! We are sooo excited a/b getting married "at sea."

I am such a cruis-a-holic that my fiance and I thought a cruise wedding would be just perfect for us. And both of our families

agreed that a wedding, plus a family vacation, on a cruise ship was a GRAND idea. :) Everybody's very happy -- and can hardly

wait until April 8th. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About my original question regarding check-in:

I may have gotten worried too soon about having to check-in at the Hotel Galvez.

I went back and double-checked the port of galveston website. Upon a more thorough review of their chart, it looks like the Grand

will disembark out of Terminal 2 on April 8th. It is showing Ecstacy as the "other" on that date.

So, do you think I am safe to assume that the Ecstacy pax will do the hotel check-in?

(i sure hope so.) But regardless of who gets stuck with it, What a mess!!!! :eek:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope Hulagirl misses us over here on CC. :D I love the "live" updates.

Well, Coral, the ship is definitely moving! This brings back memories of the last time we were on the Grand. The seas are only about 7.5 feet, but there's a lot of wind and this ship just doesn't do well in wind.

It's still been fun and the movement has been entertaining. There are a lot of newbies and they are shocked that the ship actually MOVES. Today, a group of women in the elevator told their friend that the front of the BOAT is called the AFT area! :D Had to laugh at that.

It's gotten much warmer and although it's cloudy, I'm hoping we'll be sailing out of the clouds, as we're seeing some breaks in the clouds.

We did leave late last night, so the capt. seemed to be putting the pedal to the metal. It's been fun so far though! :)

Thanks for checking in, Lady Jag

Hi from the Grand!

This ship is rocking and rolling! I ate breakfast this morning and really wished I hadn't. At this point it was a mistake. Just too much movement for me at this time.

yes, embarkation was a nightmare yesterday. We did stay at the Galvez which was a blessing. We talked to the Princess rep the day before, Friday, and he thought it would be so easy. Well for us it was fine, but for others it had to be horrible. They had two areas in the hotel for check in. The desk in the front for those that stayed there and then a back room for those that hadn't. We were checked in with our sign and sail card by 9:30 which was good.

For everyone else though they had to fight traffic just to get to the hotel. I heard them tell this one poor woman that she had to go back to the port to drop off her suitcase and then come back to the hotel to check in. She told them she had no way to get to the port or back. I have no idea what happened to her or many others, but I did hear that people stood in line at the hotel for over 3 hours in line to check in.

Right now I'm not feeling the best, so I don't think I can write much more. Just too much movement for me.

There are over 700 kids on the ship and we have one teen with us, so we have contributed to the amount of kids. So far they seem fine.

A lot of first time cruisers also. Will be interesting to see how the rest of the week unfolds.

By the way, there were 3 ships in port but we had the first spot, so I do think they could have done the embarkation there.

Sorry to not be of much more help right now. Will write again when it is smoother,.

Hulagirl

Hulagirl just walked by and she doesn't look too well - a little green! Poor thing! The ship is REALLY moving, so I can totally understand why she's feeling that way.

So glad embarkation went SO smoothly for us. It couldn't have gone better. I think we're in the minority though.

You're welcome, Princess Bride. It's rough here, but it makes the lines a lot smaller at the buffet for those of us not affected by the movement! :D

Off to walk a mile, have a massage, play trivia (and be creamed by the older people who know everything under the sun), shower and get ready for formal night.

Bye all. Hope Hulagirl feels better!

Yikes Hulagirl! Hope you get smoother seas!

Hi from the Grand!

 

This ship is rocking and rolling! I ate breakfast this morning and really wished I hadn't. At this point it was a mistake. Just too much movement for me at this time.

 

Hulagirl

Hope the weather clears up and you have a nice cruise. Disembarkation yesterday was a little slow and lines for rental car shuttles and taxi's were long. Anyway---good sailing and have fun.:)

:D We are enjoying these live posts. We will be on the Grand 2/4/05 and we may have some questions for you.

Thanks,

Debbie

BigTimeCruiser

Did you happen to get a set of the menus while onboard the Grand?

If so, I'd love to see a copy of them.

If not, maybe Lady Jag or Hulagirl can help me out (hint, hint) :D

Sorry to hear about the boarding issues, that sure must have been a big surprise.

Only time I have sailed out of Galveston was in Jan 2003 on the Splendour of the Seas. Weather was very cold, below freezing the night before boarding. The captain mentioned that it was the first time he could recall having snow on the deck of his ship!

Have a great cruise, don't forget my ship model Lady Jag.

Doug

Thank you, LadyJag and Hulagirl both, for your "live" reports! Those of us with upcoming sailings on the Grand are hanging on every word. :)

I hope you're feeling better by now, Hulagirl! And while I absolutely do not want to upset you by saying this, I am really glad to hear the ship is rocking and rolling... I know I'm weird, but I *hate* it when the ship doesn't move. The more it moves, the happier I am, especially when I sleep. And it makes trying to play ping pong very entertaining. :)

But I know what it feels like to be that miserable, too, and I sure hope you're past it now!

-gina-