ssb Posted January 3, 2016 #126 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Hi Margee this is Lee! Yes we have heard it many times from immigration staff agents about Belize and Carnival! After completion of improvements at Terminal # 1, reviews of experiences for embarkations/disembarkation will tell the tale of of whether or not immigration has it together or not! There should be no excuses like: computers are down, drugs/Belize, not enough staff showing up, staff late arriving from Houston improper staffing RCCL dumping passengers on Immigration Carnival having priority on staff Budget inadequacy or Terminal inadequacy We have all heard these excuses but they need to have it working right with proper staffing when Port of Galveston and RCCL have together! If immigration can't get passengers to curb promptly after improvements, there needs to be some hard Washington pressure from RCCL and Port of Galveston to increase numbers of staff, stations and computers! ! This should have READ: After completion of improvements to TERMINAL # 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seamagic Posted January 5, 2016 #127 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I like cruising out of Galveston , that one and only bridge could be a concern if you cutting it close to get to or off the island. Glad we were in a pre-paid town car and driver had a good sense of humor, he did get a good tip. Can you give advice as to reliable town car transportation from Houston to Galveston? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertbelle Posted January 5, 2016 Author #128 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Can you give advice as to reliable town car transportation from Houston to Galveston? We used Houston VIP Taxi, from HOU to Galveston Hilton was $126.50 (6 passengers). We also used them after the cruise to take us to Johnson Space Center and then from the Space Center back to the airport. They were great...always on time and very pleasant. They picked us up in a very large late model SUV that easily fit 6 of us and a lot of luggage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted January 5, 2016 #129 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Can you give advice as to reliable town car transportation from Houston to Galveston? We used execucar last few years and will use them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seamagic Posted January 5, 2016 #130 Share Posted January 5, 2016 We used execucar last few years and will use them again. Thank you! We have never cruised out of Galveston, so this information helps add one more piece to the planning puzzle. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!!SAM!! Posted January 6, 2016 #131 Share Posted January 6, 2016 This is only my second cruise. The first one we did, Disney, out of San Pedro. When we disembarked there was a separate line for "International" travellers. We were off of the ship, through customs and collected our baggage in about 1/2 hr. We were standing at the curb, before our US friends had even cleared customs. This may be because Disney has a pretty good system (and people follow it) for disembarkation. Terminal #1 - Carnival disembarkation question...is there a separate line for International travellers? ;) Yes there is a separate line for International travelers in Terminal 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusin okie Posted January 11, 2016 #132 Share Posted January 11, 2016 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. No matter where we sail from - we ALWAYS get a porter. They get you thru customs ASAP so they can get back to the baggage area and get another customer. It is much faster and very worth the porter's tip. We have sailed from Galveston many times and disembarkation is no fun, but neither is at any other port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John&LaLa Posted January 11, 2016 #133 Share Posted January 11, 2016 No matter where we sail from - we ALWAYS get a porter. They get you thru customs ASAP so they can get back to the baggage area and get another customer. It is much faster and very worth the porter's tip. We have sailed from Galveston many times and disembarkation is no fun, but neither is at any other port. T1 in Port Canaveral is pretty slick, especially if you do self assist. No problem being off before 7AM in most instances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssb Posted January 11, 2016 #134 Share Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) T1 in Port Canaveral is pretty slick, especially if you do self assist. No problem being off before 7AM in most instances. When we self assist, it can be pretty slick in Galveston ALSO. After RCL cruises in Galveston, from our own experiences, we have been home many times before 8:00 am! Our home is 18 blocks away from terminal. Times depend on when ship arrives! When we don't self assist, we sometimes go to MDR for casual breakfast, then go to staging area depending on our staging number and then to home. On our last cruise in November on Liberty, we did not self assist for disembarkation. After a casual breakfast, we went to staging area, our number called , and we walked off ship to baggage claim and picked up our bags. We went thru immigration and customs, and were at curb waiting on our neighbor to pick us up, in less than 10 minutes. Prior to Liberty there have been a lot of problems with disembarkation in Galveston! I led a charge with communications with RCL, Port and Immigration's for improvements at Galveston port! Disembarkation's are better since Liberty arrived and changes are being made for the better with improvements at terminal #2. Edited January 11, 2016 by ssb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssb Posted January 12, 2016 #135 Share Posted January 12, 2016 See this thread on Royal Carribean Cruise Critic Message Board Forums > Cruise Lines "P - Z" > Royal Caribbean International Just boarded Liberty in Galveston Lots of positive posts :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CU64 Posted February 2, 2016 #136 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I like cruising out of Galveston , that one and only bridge could be a concern if you cutting it close to get to or off the island. Glad we were in a pre-paid town car and driver had a good sense of humor, he did get a good tip. Please advise. Need to go IAH RT Galveston. Thank you. Barbara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted February 2, 2016 #137 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Please advise. Need to go IAH RT Galveston. Thank you.Barbara We used execucar a couple of times and I will get them again this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barsnikel Posted February 2, 2016 #138 Share Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) I am confused by this thread. Really, I am. We have sailed out of Galveston many times (probably 10-12 times). I have always found Galveston very easy compared to other ports we've gone through. Customs /Immigration was a snap. There are essentially 2 lines.. one for if you have a US passport, and the other for if you don't have a US passport. The "passport" line moves rather quickly. We've never had to wait more than 10-15 minutes. and most times not even that long. Maybe we have just been lucky :confused: Edited February 2, 2016 by Barsnikel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssb Posted February 2, 2016 #139 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I am confused by this thread. Really, I am. We have sailed out of Galveston many times (probably 10-12 times). I have always found Galveston very easy compared to other ports we've gone through. Customs /Immigration was a snap. There are essentially 2 lines.. one for if you have a US passport, and the other for if you don't have a US passport. The "passport" line moves rather quickly. We've never had to wait more than 10-15 minutes. and most times not even that long. Maybe we have just been lucky :confused: 10-12 times is not luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peymas Posted February 2, 2016 #140 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Maybe we were just unlucky! lol We waited for a very long time both on the ship and in the customs line. We did have a low zone number. We don't do self-assist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssb Posted February 2, 2016 #141 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Since arrival of Liberty, disembarkation processes overall have improved, based on reviews I have seen, experienced personally , and heard . It should even be better with completion of new expanded part of terminal # 2 coupled with renovations of old part of terminal #2 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdcatc12 Posted February 3, 2016 #142 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I am confused by this thread. Really, I am. We have sailed out of Galveston many times (probably 10-12 times). I have always found Galveston very easy compared to other ports we've gone through. Customs /Immigration was a snap. There are essentially 2 lines.. one for if you have a US passport, and the other for if you don't have a US passport. The "passport" line moves rather quickly. We've never had to wait more than 10-15 minutes. and most times not even that long. Maybe we have just been lucky :confused: I'm with you on this. We've been out of there 5 times and never had any issues. I try to stick up for it when people bash it, but everyone has there own opinion, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted February 3, 2016 #143 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Since arrival of Liberty, disembarkation processes overall have improved, based on reviews I have seen, experienced personally , and heard . It should even be better with completion of new expanded part of terminal # 2 coupled with renovations of old part of terminal #2 . I always thought the embark was far worse than disembark even in priority line , which is a joke since it has so many people. But can not wait till I try it again in April on Liberty here is a video of the refurbish of Liberty //player.ooyala.com/iframe.html...2Fliberty-seas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssb Posted February 3, 2016 #144 Share Posted February 3, 2016 (edited) I always thought the embark was far worse than disembark even in priority line , which is a joke since it has so many people. But can not wait till I try it again in April on Liberty here is a video of the refurbish of Liberty //player.ooyala.com/iframe.html...2Fliberty-seas Presently port has large temporary tent for waiting area with seating to stage early arriving passengers and at congested times during embarkation. Part of New expanded terminal #2 when completed will replace tent ! There is a plan. We shall see how it works. Edited February 3, 2016 by ssb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted February 3, 2016 #145 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Presently port has large temporary tent for waiting area with seating to stage early arriving passengers and at congested times during embarkation. Part of New expanded terminal #2 when completed will replace tent !There is a plan. We shall see how it works. When is terminal # 2 scheduled for completion?? I thought at one time it was scheduled for 2015. Hoping it will be done for our cruise at end of April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssb Posted February 3, 2016 #146 Share Posted February 3, 2016 (edited) When is terminal # 2 scheduled for completion?? I thought at one time it was scheduled for 2015. Hoping it will be done for our cruise at end of April. There have been delays for valid reasons. I hope for your sake it's completed. I have cruised Liberty since arrival. Everything was great for us. There are two possible issues ! RCL dumping passengers And/or Immigrations not adequate ! Not the terminal or Galveston! Good luck George. :) We have Liberty and Galveston in our future cruise plans. :D Edited February 3, 2016 by ssb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John&LaLa Posted February 3, 2016 #147 Share Posted February 3, 2016 There have been delays for valid reasons. I hope for your sake it's completed. I have cruised Liberty since arrival. Everything was great for us. There are two possible issues ! RCL dumping passengers And/or Immigrations not adequate ! Not the terminal or Galveston! Good luck George. :) We have Liberty and Galveston in our future cruise plans. :D Guilt by association, unfortunately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssb Posted February 3, 2016 #148 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Guilt by association, unfortunately Please explain yourself. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John&LaLa Posted February 3, 2016 #149 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Please explain yourself. Thanks. Easy, if people have a hard time coming or going it's easiest to blame the terminal. Just the way it goes. Could be weather, could be customs, could be missing passengers. Cruise port is at the top of the blame list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssb Posted February 3, 2016 #150 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Easy, if people have a hard time coming or going it's easiest to blame the terminal. Just the way it goes. Could be weather, could be customs, could be missing passengers. Cruise port is at the top of the blame list Thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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