Conquest Still In Port???

[TigerStar]

Just a question about this situation and insurance...

 

Would insurance help cover the extra expenses incurred (hotel, flight changes, etc)? My guess is not since the cruise is now over, but thought I would ask.

[Littlegoo75]

I don't think there is ever enough customs agents working to get around 3000 passengers screened in any kind of timely manor. We have stood in the customs line for a couple of hours more than once. It's much better now that we are platinum and do the self assist. Now we can get to customs before there are long lines. I really think there is much room for improvement with customs. However this is no fault of Carnival or any other cruise line.

 

Doug

 

People always seem to want to blame the Gov't when anything goes wrong. Did you know that the majority of the CBP Officers (they haven't been called Customs since 2003 when Customs, INS, and USDA merged under DHS) were there since 6am (the time they normally have to be there to clear the ships on Sundays) and didn't get to leave until past midnight after everyone has been cleared? Not only that, but they missed the entire Easter Sunday because of this whole incident, and many had to go back to work the next morning after all of that. Now, the #1 culprit was the weather, which nobody could do anything about, add to that, the high number of Mexican Nationals that were cruising that week, which adds to the time processing through CBP, and the fact that Carnival pretty much let everyone off at the same time- don't blame the CBP Officers on this one buddy. I know for a fact these men and women work their tails off and process people as quickly as they can while still doing what they need to do to protect this county. If you only knew how hard these people worked....add to that, they also had to clear the other ship, and many of them were there late the night before, processing the Ecstasy, which was also delayed due to the fog.

If you're not happy, write to your Congressman or woman and tell them to hire more Officers so you don't have to wait so long in line after your cruise.

[dlbaqua]

Carnival DID NOT let everyone off at the same time!

We did not get called to leave the ship until around 8:30 (might have been later, the whole damn thing is a blur now)

The self assist people were called hours before...Decks 1-2 first, then at least an hour, maybe longer before the rest of the self assist folks...then another very long delay and they called 1-4 for luggage folks...then another very long delay and they called 5-8 or something like that, another long wait, etc

it wasn't until they reached luggage #22 (my number) that they said everyone else could get off

This was my 10th cruise...and 8th out of Galveston, I am well aware it takes a LONG time to process everyone but we got to port at around 4 pm and I wasn't through customs until 10:30ish..that's too damn long!

[douglinc@msn.com]

Littlegoo, I'm sorry that the customs guys didn't get to go home until late, but there was a lot of passengers that not only didn't get to go home when planned, but cost them a lot of money staying in hotels, changing airline reservations, extended car rentals, etc. However, I'm sure the customs guys were VERY well paid for working Easter Sunday.

 

We have cruised out of Galveston several times, & the lines getting thru customs is absolutely horrible, bad weather or not! There is just not anywhere near enough customs agents. (or whatever you want to call them this week) I find no fault with the agents that are working, I'm just saying there is NOT enough of them. Any way you look at it there are too many passengers and NOT enough agents. That's the way I see it......buddy

 

Doug

[Cindy]

People always seem to want to blame the Gov't when anything goes wrong. Did you know that the majority of the CBP Officers (they haven't been called Customs since 2003 when Customs, INS, and USDA merged under DHS) were there since 6am (the time they normally have to be there to clear the ships on Sundays) and didn't get to leave until past midnight after everyone has been cleared? Not only that, but they missed the entire Easter Sunday because of this whole incident, and many had to go back to work the next morning after all of that. Now, the #1 culprit was the weather, which nobody could do anything about, add to that, the high number of Mexican Nationals that were cruising that week, which adds to the time processing through CBP, and the fact that Carnival pretty much let everyone off at the same time- don't blame the CBP Officers on this one buddy. I know for a fact these men and women work their tails off and process people as quickly as they can while still doing what they need to do to protect this county. If you only knew how hard these people worked....add to that, they also had to clear the other ship, and many of them were there late the night before, processing the Ecstasy, which was also delayed due to the fog.

If you're not happy, write to your Congressman or woman and tell them to hire more Officers so you don't have to wait so long in line after your cruise.

 

I disagree with you on this point. Two years ago I disembarked the Voyager on Easter Sunday. We were on time arriving in port, a number system was used for disembarkation, we left when our number was called, and it still took us three and a half hours from the time we were called to disembark until we finally made it through immigration. That seems to me like a problem on the government side, not the cruise line side.

Nobody said the agents aren't working their tails off, but when those kinds of delays happen repeatedly it becomes apparent there aren't enough agents for the size of the ships.

[parrotthead]

Littlegoo, I see by your profile that (in addition to being a 'fun girl!') you are a "Fedral Officer", so I understand your postion on this.

I dont think anyone faults the officers working, they have (by and large) always been very nice/courtious when we have gone thru the lines.

I do think that for the amount of officers working, there are a Lot of passengers to process. We always expect a wait getting 'back in the country' (ie: getting thru the building and back into the city) So to us, its all part of cruising...my least favorite part, but still a necessary part--> Ok, the last night on the cruise, packing up and putting the bags out in the hall is my actual Least Favorite part, but I am such a pain for that part that my Sweetie has banned me from the cabin while that process is happening and she handles that part while I sit in the piano bar and wait. :) <--

[dlbaqua]

hahaha parrothead

at one point during packing everything up I threatened to throw my dh overboard!

[cardinalfan]

Yes, insurance should help you.

[parrotthead]

hahaha parrothead

at one point during packing everything up I threatened to throw my dh overboard!

I just get so grumpy, because I dont want the cruise to end, so on our 2nd cruise my G/F (FedExGal) was like "hey, why dont you go to the piano bar and have a cocktail and sing-along and I will do this quickly and meet you there. " Low and behold, it wasnt 30 minutes later and she was done. She said everything 'went a lot smoother and faster' with out me ;)

fine with me :)

Now its tradition. :D

[Littlegoo75]

Not trying to ruffle any feathers, it's just how it is. I am sure it's not fun waiting in line, but it's one of those things that goes with cruising (just like the dreaded safety muster-eww) Anyway It's not CBP's (Customs) fault that the cruise ships keep getting bigger and bigger and therefore holding more and more people. Those (outdated) terminals only hold so many booths (cruise lines can spend the money to update these terminals if they wanted to), and I am sure as many were manned as possible. Like I mentioned before, write to your Congress people and ask them to hire more CBP Officers for the cruise terminals, so your wait isn't so long (because the government doesn't really have more important things to spend money on) Again, the whole reason everyone was delayed SO long was the weather, that nobody had any control of. Had the ship come in on time, there would have not been any issues. The delay caused a ripple effect that made everyone miserable...the people coming off of the cruise ship, the people waiting to get on the cruise ship, all of the crew, porters, and Gov't officials.

Even so, as crappy as the delay was, and I really do feel for those of you that missed flights and are now "stuck" in Galveston, but the weather was an act of God that nobody could have done anything about, all of you got a wonderful week of vacation aboard a cruise ship while millions of fellow Americans are having a hard time keeping a roof over their heads and keeping their children from going hungry in this crappy economy.

Hey, last year, I was on the Conquest the week after Easter and we were several hours delayed because of fog, and it was a pain, but things like that happen. It's up to the cruise lines to have plans on how to handle these things- keep both the incoming and outgoing passengers as comfortable as possible, provide food, etc.

It just upsets me when people jump on the Officers and put the blame on them, because it's not their fault, and when passengers are grumpy and give them attidude, it makes the job a lot more difficult.

[philphi]

We were on the conquest and we were off the ship and through customs by 5:15 and our ship got in after the voyager. there is no doubt the back up was with customs and the lines there. They couldnt call anymore numbers becase there was no where else to go when you got off the ship. The crew did an incredible job! they served lunch and dinner the grill was open, ice cram etc. camp carnival was open for the kids, moves were shown in the theatre and the big screen by the pool. Just people couldnt understand why the line wasnt moving (customs) so they didnt wait for their numbrs any to be called so this made it worse. If you did self assist and didnt check your bags which we did we were in the car by 5:30.

[parrotthead]

Littlegoo.

Only the news report blamed the officers and the passenger they quoted said they did not have enough. The posters here agreed that they had the same amount of officers working.

No one blamed them.

many of us stated that we are used to waiting in the line. (what ever keeps us safe as far as coming back into the country is what must be done.)

Galveston is getting famous for fog delays...its just getting more common it seems. (its happened to us 3 times, Ive been on both sides of the boarding process waiting.---I prefer the Ship side);)

[Littlegoo75]

I disagree with you on this point. Two years ago I disembarked the Voyager on Easter Sunday. We were on time arriving in port, a number system was used for disembarkation, we left when our number was called, and it still took us three and a half hours from the time we were called to disembark until we finally made it through immigration. That seems to me like a problem on the government side, not the cruise line side.

Nobody said the agents aren't working their tails off, but when those kinds of delays happen repeatedly it becomes apparent there aren't enough agents for the size of the ships.

 

That does stink that it took so long, but from what I understand, during Easter Week, Mexico has it's Spring Break, and being so close to Mexico, the well-to-do Mexican Nationals often come to Galveston to go on their cruises, so it is likely that there were a lot of them on that cruise, which would have caused a delay processing Customs/Immigration because there is so much more to processing a non- U.S. citizen than a returning USC.

Usually, the majority of cruisers are US Citizens who don't take long to process as long as they have their passports and Customs declarations in order when they are at the booth. A lot of people get off the ship totally unorganized, which causes them to take longer at the booth.

[parrotthead]

We were on the conquest and we were off the ship and through customs by 5:15 and our ship got in after the voyager. there is no doubt the back up was with customs and the lines there. They couldnt call anymore numbers becase there was no where else to go when you got off the ship. The crew did an incredible job! they served lunch and dinner the grill was open, ice cram etc. camp carnival was open for the kids, moves were shown in the theatre and the big screen by the pool. Just people couldnt understand why the line wasnt moving (customs) so they didnt wait for their numbrs any to be called so this made it worse. If you did self assist and didnt check your bags which we did we were in the car by 5:30.

Those of you who were on the ship should send an email to the paper/news station that wrote the article and said Carnival did not do anything to keep people comfortable. they quoted One mad passenger and little else.

[Littlegoo75]

Littlegoo.

Only the news report blamed the officers and the passenger they quoted said they did not have enough. The posters here agreed that they had the same amount of officers working.

No one blamed them.

many of us stated that we are used to waiting in the line. (what ever keeps us safe as far as coming back into the country is what must be done.)

Galveston is getting famous for fog delays...its just getting more common it seems. (its happened to us 3 times, Ive been on both sides of the boarding process waiting.---I prefer the Ship side);)

 

You're right, but one person really seemed to be blaming them, and I wanted to point out that they (the officers) really didn't have anything to do with it, and it was also a really long day for them too, and being in that tiny booth all day is not a fun thing!

Yes, it does seem that Galveston has a lot of fog issues- I went through it last year when the Conquest was a few hours behind schedule. Lucky for us, we only had to drive back to Houston, but I could imagine how bad it is for those that need to catch a flight. I wonder if it would be any better if Carnival used the Bayport terminal instead. Have you seen that place? It's great! It's big, very modern, and can handle a large capacity of people, and it's just sitting out there unused. Granted, it's not as "fancy" as Galveston and there isn't anything around it, but if it would make getting on and off the ship easier, it might not be a bad idea. From what I understand, Galveston is mostly a commuter type of port anyway. Before I lived in Houston, if I had to fly to get on a cruise ship, I went to Miami.

[parrotthead]

That does stink that it took so long, but from what I understand, during Easter Week, Mexico has it's Spring Break, and being so close to Mexico, the well-to-do Mexican Nationals often come to Galveston to go on their cruises, so it is likely that there were a lot of them on that cruise, which would have caused a delay processing Customs/Immigration because there is so much more to processing a non- U.S. citizen than a returning USC.

Usually, the majority of cruisers are US Citizens who don't take long to process as long as they have their passports and Customs declarations in order when they are at the booth. A lot of people get off the ship totally unorganized, which causes them to take longer at the booth.

Littlegoo, were you the customs officer that I dealt with on our last cruise (March on the Ecstasy) ;)

[parrotthead]

I wonder if it would be any better if Carnival used the Bayport terminal instead. .

Yes, and they did use it for a while after Ike.

I read that it takes over 2 hours to get 'out to sea' from there and only 45 minutes from Galveston...

Wonder if that has anything to do with it?

They (or any cruiseline) could put additional ships in there, that would be fine with me, I would LOVE more ship and itinatary choices, wouldnt you?! :)

[dlbaqua]

ok, so the poster above who did self assist was out of the terminal by 5:15

I, who did not do self assist was out of the terminal at 10:38

over 5 hours later and there were still a LOT of people in line when we left

I understand the fog delayed things, but it still took 6 1/2 hours from the time we docked until I got through customs

[nybumpkin]

From what I understand, Galveston is mostly a commuter type of port anyway. Before I lived in Houston, if I had to fly to get on a cruise ship, I went to Miami.

I think you're right. We were on the 2/14 sailing that was delayed returning due to fog on 2/21 and missed our flight home (we booked the latest flight we could from Houston [3:20] and still make it home on Sunday). There were a few of us flying, but from what I could gather the majority of cruisers drove to the port. As much as I'd love to see more of Galveston (we had no time to spend given our flight schedule), it is much easier for us to fly to Florida.

[bkw67]

My family was on the Voyager and I knew we where in trouble when I got up on Sunday morning just before 6:00am and went on the balcony. The Conquest was sitting in front and to the port of us with all it's lights on about a 1/4 mile away and all I could see was the lights. Once the sun came out... It might as well have been 50 miles away. I could hear the fog horn from her, and even their announcements.... but from our balcony on the 7th deck, sometimes you could barely see the water directly below you. :eek:

 

we put in about 45 minutes before the Conquest. The Voyager staff was wonderful in the fact that they let us stay in our rooms, they had movies playing, and opened the windjammer up for lunch for us.

 

I think we docked around 2:00 - 2:30 and we stepped off the ship at 4:30 and had to retrieve our luggage and then got hrough customs by 5:00.

Our customs experience was great considering what I expected and what I have been reading hear.

 

Our SuperShuttle was waiting (and had been calling me for updates all afternoon) and picked us up 5 minutes after getting through customs.

 

 

 

The air-nightmare had just began as all flights to Chicago had already left (our flight was around 3:00). We hoped the last flight to Dallas hoping being in a hub away from the 5,000+ stranded cruisers might give us and advantage... no such luck. Was standby for 7 straight American Airline flights on Monday and didn't make any of them :mad:. Many where overbooked and they where paying people to give up seats. We finally gave up and booked (paid for) airfare with United for there 2:00 flight and got home last night.

 

I purchased the cruise insurance (first time ever) and they are going to reimburse for the United airfare, our hotel in Dallas and food expenses. For the four of us... that was over $1,600! I am so happy I purchased it!

 

We considered renting a van to drive home, but the trip insurance company said they would not cover that (even though less expensive)

 

My guess is that many are still getting home from both ships today. With it being Easter weekend on top of spring break.. there where a huge number of travelers!

 

 

One last thing... on Voyager at around 8:00am they opened up the cell phones and internet service (no cost). A few hours later I jumped on my laptop to check a few things and got service from the carnival ship... so I connected. They where still charging for service as far as I could tell.

[choctawmom]

I was on the Conquest when we got stuck out in the fog. We could not see the Royal Carribean or the freighter docked next to us unless the fog let up and then it immediately disappeared again into the fog. I believe the staff did the best job that they could to help out. We were updated every 30 minutes on the status. Carnival opened up clubs for the kids to be entertained. We were able to leave our bags in our room until we departed. I realize that many people had to change their plans for the day, but if the Port of Galveston does not allow you to dock there isn't much you can do about it. Once we got docked then they have to be inspected again and no one can get off until that is completed. It is totally out of Carnivals hands. The staff put up with a lot of abuse from irate passengers who had no control over mother nature. Once the ok to disembark was okayed there were passengers with disabilities that hopefully were able to get ahead of the mob that pushed they way out of the main entertainment lounge. I hope the young girl who was pushed off the stage stairs during a show (by 2 unattended girls) is okay. She had a concussion and was throughing up. Where were the parents of these girls? they ran over the theater area everytime I was in there for shows. Out of 1200 kids on the boat I remember these 2 girls and one boy that was a nuisance. That speaks well of the other kids. Many thanks to our entertainment director John.

[cruisinmeme]

I was on the Conquest when we got stuck out in the fog. We could not see the Royal Carribean or the freighter docked next to us unless the fog let up and then it immediately disappeared again into the fog. I believe the staff did the best job that they could to help out. We were updated every 30 minutes on the status. Carnival opened up clubs for the kids to be entertained. We were able to leave our bags in our room until we departed. I realize that many people had to change their plans for the day, but if the Port of Galveston does not allow you to dock there isn't much you can do about it. Once we got docked then they have to be inspected again and no one can get off until that is completed. It is totally out of Carnivals hands. The staff put up with a lot of abuse from irate passengers who had no control over mother nature. Once the ok to disembark was okayed there were passengers with disabilities that hopefully were able to get ahead of the mob that pushed they way out of the main entertainment lounge. I hope the young girl who was pushed off the stage stairs during a show (by 2 unattended girls) is okay. She had a concussion and was throughing up. Where were the parents of these girls? they ran over the theater area everytime I was in there for shows. Out of 1200 kids on the boat I remember these 2 girls and one boy that was a nuisance. That speaks well of the other kids. Many thanks to our entertainment director John.

 

the parents was probably in the bar getting loaded so they could go home and boast at the liquor bill.

did anyone ever make an attempt to find the parents of those little thugs once the girl got hurt by them. i am afraid i would of had to be a one man posey and go find them.

[cruisinmeme]

I was on the Conquest when we got stuck out in the fog. We could not see the Royal Carribean or the freighter docked next to us unless the fog let up and then it immediately disappeared again into the fog. I believe the staff did the best job that they could to help out. We were updated every 30 minutes on the status. Carnival opened up clubs for the kids to be entertained. We were able to leave our bags in our room until we departed. I realize that many people had to change their plans for the day, but if the Port of Galveston does not allow you to dock there isn't much you can do about it. Once we got docked then they have to be inspected again and no one can get off until that is completed. It is totally out of Carnivals hands. The staff put up with a lot of abuse from irate passengers who had no control over mother nature. Once the ok to disembark was okayed there were passengers with disabilities that hopefully were able to get ahead of the mob that pushed they way out of the main entertainment lounge. I hope the young girl who was pushed off the stage stairs during a show (by 2 unattended girls) is okay. She had a concussion and was throughing up. Where were the parents of these girls? they ran over the theater area everytime I was in there for shows. Out of 1200 kids on the boat I remember these 2 girls and one boy that was a nuisance. That speaks well of the other kids. Many thanks to our entertainment director John.

 

the parents was probably in the bar getting loaded so they could go home and boast at the liquor bill.

did anyone ever make an attempt to find the parents of those little thugs once the girl got hurt by them. i am afraid i would of had to be a one man possey and go find them.

[TxMommy929]

They (or any cruiseline) could put additional ships in there, that would be fine with me, I would LOVE more ship and itinatary choices, wouldnt you?! :)

 

From your lips to the decision-makers ears!!!

[douglinc@msn.com]

I would love to see more ships in the Galveston/Houston area.

 

Doug