Liberty at updated Galveston Terminal #2 - any reports?

[PCWalton1]

Hi,

Anyone back from Liberty can you give us a report on the updated terminal in Galveston? Curious to hear if it was an improvement.

 

thanks

[MsLMG]

I'm following...we sail Liberty in October [emoji3]

 

 

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[PCWalton1]

Floating this back up in hopes of a response.

thanks :)

[ssb]

Floating this back up in hopes of a response.

thanks :)

 

First embarkation was last Sunday! Only one response I saw was good!

First disembarkation will be this Sunday!

 

Remember :

The new part of terminal #2 is for embarking passengers and is 100%.

The old terminal #2 is for disembarking passengers, and being revamped , and finished up now, and will be finished by end of July. (supposedly)

Edited June 30, 2016 by ssb

[Shrekluv]

We did a b2b 6/12 - 6/26. We arrived later than expected to the terminal (issues with the shuttle) a little after 1. Porter took our luggage and we stood in a short line outside waiting to get into air conditioning. About 5 minutes outside then we were in. Our lowly gold status helped us bypass the snake and walk through to security. This was were we hit a snag. Only a few people in line ahead of us but they shut the detectors down and nobody got through. After about a 15 minute wait they started again, but all those people in the snake had caught up. Took another 15 minutes or so to get through and into our next line to check in. Again our gold status let us use a special line and check in took another 15 minutes. Overall not too bad, but could have been quicker.

Going home... our shuttle wasn't scheduled until noon so we weren't in a hurry, and good thing. We were among the last numbers to be called and got off just before 10. It took an hour plus in line to get to our luggage. We didn't utilize the porter and had to stand in another snake line to get to customs. Another 20 minutes or so in line and finally outside about 11:20. We felt so bad for the crew. They had to wait for all passengers to be out. They were lined up beside us waiting to get to their luggage.

Sorry this was so long but wanted to share our experience. My advice: give yourself time and use a porter. Good luck.

[PCWalton1]

Thanks for the feedback. :)

[cruiser fanatic]

It was a fiasco in May!! Both embark and debark were bad. Hope it is better now.

[cowboycruiser]

We were there in March and it sucked coming and going. An hour getting on bland longer leaving. We're giving Royal a last chance on Liberty again next weekend, and sure everything is better.

[Kingofwylietx]

Hi,

Anyone back from Liberty can you give us a report on the updated terminal in Galveston? Curious to hear if it was an improvement.

 

thanks

 

We got off Liberty this morning. I can't compare the process from earlier, since this was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean.

 

I will note that disembarkation was slow this morning. They told us that a scanner wasn't working. I don't know how many scanners they have, but folks were not too happy about getting off the ship so slowly. A pinnacle guest said they were running pretty far behind....which seems worth mentioning since they must sail on RCCL a lot to be pinnacle.

 

Embarkation was pretty smooth. We arrived at the port around 11:15 and were probably aboard half an hour once we entered the terminal. We were in a suite, so our process was supposed to be expedited.

 

I hope that helps, feel free to ask if there is anything specific you want to know.

 

We did have a Coast Guard helicopter pick someone up on our way in yesterday. I'm not sure what happened.

[MsLMG]

We got off Liberty this morning. I can't compare the process from earlier, since this was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean.

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

Embarkation was pretty smooth. We arrived at the port around 11:15 and were probably aboard half an hour once we entered the terminal. We were in a suite, so our process was supposed to be expedited.

 

 

 

I hope that helps, feel free to ask if there is anything specific you want to know.

 

 

Thanks for the update!

Is there a separate drop off for suite guest luggage?

 

 

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[Kingofwylietx]

We didn't notice a different luggage drop off area for suites. We had the tags on our bags and grabbed a porter to handle the drop off.

 

Returning, there was a separate area where all suite luggage was kept together. Once you collect your bags, the concierge then helps you avoid a bit of the line to get to customs.

[MsLMG]

Thanks Kingofwylietx!

 

 

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[mr. godfredo]

We were on the June 19th sailing of Liberty out of Galveston. We got an email from RCCL to be there early and so we arrived at 10:45t am and were able to drop oiff our luggage, park the car, and get in line to be processed by 11:00. They then ushered us to a waiting room area and let us on the ship based on C and A status. The process was a bit slow but worked out OK.

 

Getting off the ship was a disaster! We got off the ship and waited in a long line that snaked back and forth and seemed to be never ending. We waited in that line for about 90 minutes until we finally got to where they allow you to pick up the luggage. Customs was also a bit slow, but that is not RCCLs fault.

 

Overall, getting on the ship was easy, getting off was a nightmare!

[PCWalton1]

ok, thanks for the updates. :)

[cowboycruiser]

Dreading it already. I wonder if Royal reads these boards. They haven been getting too great reviews lately. Hopefully they will do something to improve. Its really not that hard to make it better.

[ssb]

Is a scanner for scanning the passports in immigration. ?

Who told you the scanner was down?

Edited July 4, 2016 by ssb

[ssb]

Dreading it already. I wonder if Royal reads these boards. They haven been getting too great reviews lately. Hopefully they will do something to improve. Its really not that hard to make it better.

 

To determine issue :

Was the scanner the RCL scanner for cards to get off ship or an immigration passport scanner to get into US ? :confused:

[Pinkcruzr]

We got off Liberty this morning. I can't compare the process from earlier, since this was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean.

 

I will note that disembarkation was slow this morning. They told us that a scanner wasn't working. I don't know how many scanners they have, but folks were not too happy about getting off the ship so slowly. A pinnacle guest said they were running pretty far behind....which seems worth mentioning since they must sail on RCCL a lot to be pinnacle.

 

Embarkation was pretty smooth. We arrived at the port around 11:15 and were probably aboard half an hour once we entered the terminal. We were in a suite, so our process was supposed to be expedited.

 

I hope that helps, feel free to ask if there is anything specific you want to know.

 

We did have a Coast Guard helicopter pick someone up on our way in yesterday. I'm not sure what happened.

 

Hoping you can give me some insite on what perks suite guest get from boarding to anything else. Did you feel it was worth the extra money? Our first RC cruise. Thank you!

[blackshirt]

We were on the June 19th sailing of Liberty out of Galveston. We got an email from RCCL to be there early and so we arrived at 10:45t am and were able to drop oiff our luggage, park the car, and get in line to be processed by 11:00. They then ushered us to a waiting room area and let us on the ship based on C and A status. The process was a bit slow but worked out OK.

 

Getting off the ship was a disaster! We got off the ship and waited in a long line that snaked back and forth and seemed to be never ending. We waited in that line for about 90 minutes until we finally got to where they allow you to pick up the luggage. Customs was also a bit slow, but that is not RCCLs fault.

 

Overall, getting on the ship was easy, getting off was a nightmare!

 

We were on the same sailing and having previously heard about disembarking issues, we opted for the self serve walk off which actually went very smoothly. They started walking the self servers off at 7:30. We were off and through customs by 8:00.

[MichaelCMTX]

Getting off the ship was a disaster! We got off the ship and waited in a long line that snaked back and forth and seemed to be never ending. We waited in that line for about 90 minutes until we finally got to where they allow you to pick up the luggage. Customs was also a bit slow, but that is not RCCLs fault.

 

Overall, getting on the ship was easy, getting off was a nightmare!

 

Was your sailing a GC/Falmouth or Roatan/Belize? It's been discussed that for some time the former wasn't too bad but the latter can be a customs ordeal.

[dna1990]

Just got off Liberty yesterday. From our seat in the dining room until we hit the Lighthouse pickup point - was 45 mins. The majority of that time was waiting for a porter.

 

The only difference i saw from the new terminal on DEbark was the use of a long winding ramp into the luggage room instead of that escalator.

 

We got off when they were calling ticket #15 or so. Were in no rush.

 

All customs stations seemed to be open and moving well.

 

Non porter line was long and snaked thru a million zig zags, but was seemed to be constantly moving.

 

 

Now this trip, Lighthouse was really backed up. We waited another 40 mins in the sun for a shuttle. They seemed down a driver or something. Plus huge traffic for July4 weekend.

 

The new Terminal2 is nice on checkin. But NOTHING will help the overall thruput until they change the traffic patterns and having to wade cars and shuttles thru Terminal1 congestion.

 

 

 

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[PCWalton1]

Excellent. Thanks [emoji2]

 

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[nealstuber]

Hoping you can give me some insite on what perks suite guest get from boarding to anything else. Did you feel it was worth the extra money? Our first RC cruise. Thank you!

 

 

We just did our first Junior Suite on LOTs. It was a $280 up charge for a guarantee Vs the aft balcony we had booked.

 

We thought it was very worth it mainly because of the smooth embark and the room itself. Double C&A points were also nice. Current Suite Guarantee pricing is much more - not sure we'd go for that under those circumstances.

[Kingofwylietx]

To determine issue :

Was the scanner the RCL scanner for cards to get off ship or an immigration passport scanner to get into US ? :confused:

 

They didn't specify which scanner was down. I would only be speculating.

 

Hoping you can give me some insite on what perks suite guest get from boarding to anything else. Did you feel it was worth the extra money? Our first RC cruise. Thank you!

 

The full perk list is on the RCCL website. I'll note the suite lounge was open from 4:30 - 8pm each day. Also, there is a perk list in your cabin when you arrive.

 

It was nice having priority service, more space, and free drinks in the lounge. Overall, I'm not overly impressed by the suite benefits. They are not bad, please don't get the wrong impression. However, Norwegian definitely provides a better suite experience...in my opinion. This was my first time on a Royal Caribbean cruise and we will sail with them again.

[blackshirt]

Was your sailing a GC/Falmouth or Roatan/Belize? It's been discussed that for some time the former wasn't too bad but the latter can be a customs ordeal.

 

It was neither. The port stops were Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel. No Belize.