Galveston Port Questions

[cantonrlc]

I am cruising out with my family on Liberty on 5/29 and had a few questions:

 

I upgraded to a GS to try and alleviate the hassle, but have been hearing horror stories about the long lines at customs. I have a flight out of IAH that got moved to 12:30. Assuming I need to get there no later than 11:30, that means I need to be in the car leaving port by 10. Questions for those of you recently back from a LOS cruise in Galveston:

 

1. Was a Carnival ship docking at the same time you arrived?

2. Did the separate line for Suite passengers expedite the customs line?

3. How early did you get off the ship? I am concerned and may want to carry my own off early.

4. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!

[Clarea]

I would plan to carry off bags to maximize the time you have to get to the airport. Even though you may not need to get off as early as the self-assist people do, we have found that if there are delays, it gets worse as it gets later, so the rule of thumb is to get through customs as early as possible. I would also engage a porter as soon as possible because they had a shorter customs line.

[ctrinco]

I have to say I was worried to, but our experience was supper smooth.

1. No carnival ship.

 

2. We did not have a suite. We were in the general line.

 

3. We opted for the early walk off time. This requires extra effort on your behalf. You are responsible for bringing all your luggage with you. I suggest packing only what you need. And a good set of rolling luggage. On the morning of disembarkation, get to the waiting area as early as possible. This will get you a better spot in the line. Confirm the night before where the waiting area is. It was a slight pain for us due to it being in the main dinning room. Required us to zig zag around chairs and tables. But worth it. We walked off and through customs in less the 20 min! We were so early that we had to wait longer for our shuttle then it took to get off the sip.

 

4. If your worried about the rental car, you might want to consider a hurtle. Roughly the same price. Plus you don't need to drop off/return anything. We utilized Cool Ours LLC An enjoyable driver both ways! Pleasant, professional. He took us to a liquor store for our water and 2 win bottle limit. We had the entire 10 passenger van to ourselves both ways!

 

I'd be more concerned with the length of the TSA lines. That's going to be your hang up. There's nothing you can do unless you have a young child with you. That's the ticket to get through the shorter line. :-)

 

Relax and enjoy the trip! I advise getting to Galveston a day early. It's a nice port town to explore.

 

Cheers!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[spookwife]

I am cruising out with my family on Liberty on 5/29 and had a few questions:

 

I upgraded to a GS to try and alleviate the hassle, but have been hearing horror stories about the long lines at customs. I have a flight out of IAH that got moved to 12:30. Assuming I need to get there no later than 11:30, that means I need to be in the car leaving port by 10. Questions for those of you recently back from a LOS cruise in Galveston:

 

1. Was a Carnival ship docking at the same time you arrived? i never pay attention to that

2. Did the separate line for Suite passengers expedite the customs line? not really. he brings you down via a different elevator but all you miss is the line to get off, you still end up in the same crush in the terminal.. head to the right and grab a porter, THOSE are the expedited through Customs people. tip them well.

3. How early did you get off the ship? I am concerned and may want to carry my own off early. last time the winds and rain were so bad that they could not connect the gangway until nearly 2 hours past scheduled departure.. so the Self disembark people instead of getting off at 7 ish were not moving until nearly 830. we, in suites, who were supposed to be called by 815 were off by 845/9 and even without using a porter were through Customs in about an hour. when the weather does not suck, you can be on the road before 815 just using Suite priority

4. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

getting out of Galveston can be problematic although once you are over the bridge it should not be too much of a hassle. as long as you do not have the weather we had last time.

[cantonrlc]

Thanks. I do have a car service, so that should help some. I just checked and there will be a Carnival ship in port the same day, so that may back things up.

[ARCruisinNana]

I just got off of Liberty 3/27. Those with Gold Seapass cards doing self express were the first ones off. We "dinged" out at 7:15 and were the first ones through customs. We were in the car and pulling out of the port at 7:34. (We were parked at Galveston Park N Cruise.)

[MichaelCMTX]

I am cruising out with my family on Liberty on 5/29 and had a few questions:

 

I upgraded to a GS to try and alleviate the hassle, but have been hearing horror stories about the long lines at customs. I have a flight out of IAH that got moved to 12:30. Assuming I need to get there no later than 11:30, that means I need to be in the car leaving port by 10. Questions for those of you recently back from a LOS cruise in Galveston:

 

1. Was a Carnival ship docking at the same time you arrived?

2. Did the separate line for Suite passengers expedite the customs line?

3. How early did you get off the ship? I am concerned and may want to carry my own off early.

4. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

Not sure we count, we were on the last NOS trip in November, but we were also booked in a GS and the Concierge walked us all the way to get our luggage and get in the customs line - it was out best-ever Customs experience in Galveston. My other advice is ALWAYS get a porter, the couple bucks extra helps them magically get you into the shortest Customs line.

 

I know it's been shared here the Cozumel/GC/Falmouth run tends to be faster in Customer than Coz/Roatan/Belieze. Ours was the former. This might be a factor for you.

 

Enjoy your trip, not looking like we're on the Liberty until January :( ... 2018 :mad: .... but in the Royal Suite :D

[CGBCruiser]

getting out of Galveston can be problematic although once you are over the bridge it should not be too much of a hassle. as long as you do not have the weather we had last time.

 

I live down here in SE Texas and cruise out of Galveston often. You shouldn't have any problems getting North on 45 on a Sunday morning. Customs & Immigration is usually what holds the line up. They take their job very seriously. They even asked me one time which road we took to get home!! Really?!?!

[atnolan94]

We just finished up our LOS cruise in galveston on the 20th.

 

I am cruising out with my family on Liberty on 5/29 and had a few questions:

 

I upgraded to a GS to try and alleviate the hassle, but have been hearing horror stories about the long lines at customs. I have a flight out of IAH that got moved to 12:30. Assuming I need to get there no later than 11:30, that means I need to be in the car leaving port by 10. Questions for those of you recently back from a LOS cruise in Galveston:

 

1. Was a Carnival ship docking at the same time you arrived?

 

No it had not arrived when we carried our bags off at 7:30am or so.

 

2. Did the separate line for Suite passengers expedite the customs line?

 

Yes, but it was a non-issue we walked straight to a customs official.

 

3. How early did you get off the ship? I am concerned and may want to carry my own off early.

 

We did the "8am self carry" and we were off the ship around 7:25 so line up in the dining room at 6:30 am or so to avoid any time concerns.

 

4. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

HAVE FUN!!!! Don't worry, round everyone up and be at the dining room at 6:30 your feet will be on solid ground by 7:30. I was in my car at the REMOTE cruise parking by 8:05. Don't stress Galveston is a quiet town, especially that early in the AM. The LOS is a great ship. And both its routes are great! Also, if they are still there, Raj and Melvin at the R Bar are awesome. They will take great care of you if you visit the bar. It is on the "aft end" of the promenade.

 

EDIT, we were on the Roatan, Belize, Cozumel route, no issues.

Edited April 3, 2016 by atnolan94

[Beachiekeen]

We did self assist and were in line by 7:10, the line started moving at 7:30 and we were at our car at the Park N Cruise by 8:10. We were just in he regular line.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Beachiekeen