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Galveston......never again!!

Desertbelle

By Desertbelle,
in Gulf Coast Departures

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Desertbelle

Desertbelle

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We spent Thanksgiving on the Liberty of the Seas and the cruise was great! Pretty much no complaints. We met a lot of wonderful people, had great weather, once we got out into the Gulf, and we got to spend some quality time with our daughter and her family.

 

The problem was Galveston. Never mind the time it takes to get from the airports to Galveston, that is doable with little problem. The check in was amazingly fast, so that was good. The problem, and it's a huge problem, was the disembarkation.

 

Disembarkation was a Royal Mess! Walking off the boat was easy, but the mass confusion and wait following was enough to make even me mad. We found our luggage fast but then there were 3 or 4 confused lines funneling into one, massive, slow line!! From getting into line to reaching the customs agent was 70 minutes!! 70 minutes of snaking around the building lugging all your baggage. Our cruise had 1350 kids onboard, so you can imagine the issues those parents had keeping their kids occupied (they actually did a stellar job and I commend all those parents). I have no idea why the long lines, all the customs booths were open....I guess they need to make the port larger and get more agents because that is too long to wait! Getting outside was also horrible. We got through the line around 11 am, which is when people were arriving for the next cruise...what a mess! In 24 or so cruises I can't remember another experience like it.

 

We were attracted to leaving on a cruise out of Galveston because the flight is 2.5 hours compared to 4.5 to Florida.....but when you figure in the 60 minute ride from Houston and the hour waiting in line for customs, it's making the difference next to none. Sorry Galveston it's Florida for us from now on.

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A&L_Ont "Live from...." Rare

A&L_Ont

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I can't fault you at all. We sailed out of there once, and only once for a reason.

 

Edit: any fun and relaxed feeling you had was deflated by disembarking fiasco. What an unfortunate way to end a great holiday.

Edited by A&L_Ont
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Beachammo

Beachammo

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And you have sailed from Galveston how many times?

 

Never.....lol

 

It doesn't matter as the porters always know how to get you out quickly....no matter what cruise terminal, airport, or train station you're in. Time is money to them.

 

Even when I have one tiny bag....

Edited by Beachammo
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Desertbelle

Desertbelle

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Lol - 70 minutes. That's at cake walk. You should have been on the Navigator November 10th. In Ft Lauderdale. Try 3.5-4 hours embarkation AND debarkation. Ship 2.5 hours leaving late, terminal with no power. That will test you patience. ;)

I have nearly infinite patience with things that are out of people's hands, bad weather, power outages, etc. We once circled O'Hara airport with 4 small children for 2 hours after a 4 hour flight, then we flew to Muskegon, Michigan to get fuel because we had circled so long we were out of fuel, there we waited another few hours on the tarmac in Muskegon before permission to go back to Chicago. We were never allowed to exit the plane even for a quick break. We then landed in Chicago to lines with several THOUSAND people trying to make connections that they missed by several hours!! All because of storms....was I mad, not at all, frustrated and exhausted, but never mad...they were doing what they could do given something they couldn't control, the weather. We talk about that experience as a Great Family Adventure! :)

 

But, what we saw in Galveston was just a mess for no apparent reason. That makes me mad. And when I get mad I walk away and never go back.

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Goodtime Cruizin

Goodtime Cruizin

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My only dislike about departing from Galveston is that only offers two itineraries. We live an hour away, so it's the home port for us. We've never really had issues with disembarking. It could be that the Liberty is larger than the Navigator/Mariner and therefore has more people leaving etc.

 

I was under the impression that the cruise port is being operated out of a temporary situation. Is this correct? We're sailing the Liberty from Galveston in Feb. Hope things are good to go by then!

Edited by Goodtime Cruizin
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knittinggirl

knittinggirl

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Galveston is horrible for customs. Especially on the Belize/Roatan itinerary.

 

Porters usually help a lot!

 

On our last cruise, the porter actually caused us to lose our luggage! I was sick and DH put me in a wheelchair, and the wheelchair driver insisted we add my little wheelie to the stack of luggage. We got to the taxi and that's when the wheelchair driver said we were missing one piece of luggage. DH ran after the porter, and the taxi driver tried to dump me and the remaining luggage on the curb. Probably so he could get another fare. Don't know why, because he charged for waiting anyway.

 

DH decided to forget the last piece of luggage and get me to a hotel and to bed. I had our Royal Caribbean debarkation tags, and my own tags. And they found it, and insisted I pay for shipping since DH hadn't filled out the claim form.

 

But between customs and fog, Galveston makes Murphy his home port.

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AustinCruise

AustinCruise

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Work has started on the new terminal from what I could tell on the last trip. No telling when it's done.

 

Lots of kids with birth certificates? Who knows. Belize route? That one appears to always take the longest.

 

We were out in 10 minutes last trip :). 65 minutes the trip before. :(

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widallas

widallas

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Unfortunately the new terminal in Galveston was supposed to be done BEFORE Liberty arrived for those reasons mentioned...too many people funneling into one place and overcrowding. I think they are hoping to have the new terminal up and running by early Spring.

 

We did self-disembarking on our last trip....carried our own luggage down and walked out, across the street and out of Park N Cruise in no time. That's unfortunately not an option for everyone, so I hope there are no other delays....but I'm not holding my breath.... [emoji16]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by widallas
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cruiselvr04 Great Review Rare

cruiselvr04

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We have had good and not so good departures from Galveston. Most recent August on Navigator we did our own luggage and were out of the terminal at 9:45 even though my bag was misplaced in another number. Off Liberty this month and the porter line took an hour but then moved quickly thru customs. It can be awful. I advise no flights out of Houston before 2 pm just so you don't stress out.

 

Believe it or not embarkation is better then when we started sailing from there a couple of years ago. Pack your patience coming and going. They are working on the new terminal and we're hoping it's done next time we sail this spring.

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spookwife

spookwife

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Work has started on the new terminal from what I could tell on the last trip. No telling when it's done.

 

Lots of kids with birth certificates? Who knows. Belize route? That one appears to always take the longest.

 

We were out in 10 minutes last trip :). 65 minutes the trip before. :(

 

oh goodie. we sail this weekend on a Belize itinerary. we are in a suite so hopefully that helps. but maybe we will spend the $5 on porter to for extra insurance.

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Desertbelle

Desertbelle

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The new terminal is under construction, they appear to be working on the foundation, so I am not sure if it will be ready for Spring. There is a temporary tent set up, but the only reason I saw for the tent was for waiting to get on the ship. We sat there for about 15 minutes waiting on the ship to be ready for boarding.

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cruisinpips

cruisinpips

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We have cruised out of Galveston 4 times.(1 RCI, 3 Carnival Magic) Maybe we were lucky, but no issues. Always do self assist, first off the ship and through customs quickly. I can say that in the past at other ports, getting a porter greatly decreases your wait time. Well worth the $10-15 tip. Cruising LOS next December, so hopefully the new terminal will be complete and all will be smooth again as in the past. :D:D

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