Best Embarkation Port

[MadCnty]

Ok, let's hear from everyone on embarkation. We have sailed 3 times with RCCL and have found each port to be different, but the port in Vancouver was in one word "chaotic". So where is the best emabarkation port that RCCL uses??? In our experience it has been Port Canaveral.

[pcur]

Barcelona. BIG and organized.

[D4]

San Diego. Out of the taxi and into our cabins in less than 20 minutes. WOW!

[MrsPete]

We will only sail from Port Canaveral. Why? Because we can easily make the drive, which saves $$$ and assures us that our luggage will arrive along with us.

 

Though I don't have any experience with other ports, I think Canavaeral is great. You can find plenty of hotels and restaurants in the area for a night-before stay. The roads are clearly marked. What else matters?

[reggierail]

On October 17th it will be Galveston, Tx. and on December 10th it will be San Pedro, Ca.:p

 

Reggie:D

[sgttami]

I have never had a problem with any and I've sailed from:

Miami

Ft. Lauderdale

San Juan

New York

 

From my experience, San juan was the easiest...although i've heard others disagree in the past

[CAT GIRL]

I have to tell you that once you hit the platinum level or are in a suite

check in goes really fast. Do your paperwork online before hand and it

really spends things up. Last week we sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale and

we were on the ship in 20 minutes. Platinum members(and Diamond)

and suite passengers had their own security line, then where separated

from the other passengers with their own elscalator and private check

in area. I have no idea how long it took other passengers because we

we totally taken in a different area. Nice and quiet and peaceful.

 

Cat Girl

[MadCnty]

I have to tell you that once you hit the platinum level or are in a suite

check in goes really fast. Do your paperwork online before hand and it

really spends things up. Last week we sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale and

we were on the ship in 20 minutes. Platinum members(and Diamond)

and suite passengers had their own security line, then where separated

from the other passengers with their own elscalator and private check

in area. I have no idea how long it took other passengers because we

we totally taken in a different area. Nice and quiet and peaceful.

 

Cat Girl

 

We were basically asking about organization. When we departed in Vancouver it was like everyone had a different answer :confused: for our questions. Where to check luggage... Five different answers. Then after twenty minutes of being where we were "supposed to be" told to go elsewhere. Never had that problem elsewhere. Right in bags checked etc. That is what we were wondering about... Although Platinum is not that far away... :p

[FnyFACEnAL]

Is Port Canaveral okay? Is the Mariner sailing from there?

I know they got hit hard by the last hurricane.

Thanks.

[yuyi64]

I know I'm probbly biased because it's my hometown but I find RCCL's embarkation in New Orleans to be a breeze. For our last cruise on the Grandeur we got dropped off at the terminal at 1030am and were aboard the ship by 10:45am. Compared to the 2-3 hour waits I've had to endure with Carnival, I'd have to say RCCL has this process nearly perfected, at least at this port of embarkation.

[Tillie]

We've always sailed out of Miami and never really had a problem. Tillie

Explorer of the Seas 10-24-04

[FunCruiser56]

Our fav port to sail from is Miami, just love that long trip down the canal, then getting to the ocean. it is like a huge buildup.

 

The port we got processed fastest was Galveston, about 5 minutes! Very organized. But it is also the uglest port we have ever left from. I know they are building new terminal buildings but it was horrible and smelly.

Bev

[nikki303]

We were basically asking about organization. When we departed in Vancouver it was like everyone had a different answer :confused: for our questions. Where to check luggage... Five different answers. Then after twenty minutes of being where we were "supposed to be" told to go elsewhere. Never had that problem elsewhere. Right in bags checked etc. That is what we were wondering about... Although Platinum is not that far away... :p

 

 

I agree with you about Vancouver. I just returned from the Serenade sailing from Ballentyne and it was HORRIBLE! Everyone told you something different, it was like it was the first time that they ever had a ship there.

[cruisetmc]

My favorite departure port is Ft. Lauderdale. It doesn't seem to have the traffic congestion problems that Miami does. Also sailed from Tampa and there wasn't as much traffic. Guess I like Ft. Lauderdale the most because of the close location to the airport.

[cujosmom]

We just returned from an Alaskan Cruise on the Serenade (Sept 5-12) and while the airport was a zoo, the check-in process at Ballantyne Pier was a breeze. We are platinum members, were there early, and had filled out our embarkation information online so maybe that made a difference but I don't think it took more than 20 minutes total after we left the taxi.

[cruizinEllen]

San Diego was the most organized and quickest checkin we've ever had.

 

Miami

Ft. Lauderdale

San Juan

[camreesmom]

Our fav port to sail from is Miami, just love that long trip down the canal, then getting to the ocean. it is like a huge buildup.

 

The port we got processed fastest was Galveston, about 5 minutes! Very organized. But it is also the uglest port we have ever left from. I know they are building new terminal buildings but it was horrible and smelly.

Bev

kbogli, I don't know when you embarked in Galveston but for our cruise 9/19, it was mass confusion. There were folks (Diamond members) that arrived at the dock at 10 am and we joined them at 12:15 and they were still waiting in line. Unfortunately, Galveston doesn't have a lounge for the Diamond members. These folks said that when they sail out of Florida, they are treated like royalty. Not in Galveston. We didn't get on the ship until 12:45 or 1. And that was after we were told to move to another line! The people that we were travelling with were actually the very first people in line that morning so moving to the end of a new line at 12:30 was not going to make them very happy, to say the least. Disembarkation was just as bad. We figured that since we only had about a 3 hour drive home, we wouldn't try to get off early. We didn't have even close to the last color called and we still weren't off the ship until about 11:30. Traffic is horrible in Galveston and like you said, it is not a very pretty port. Let's just hope that they get the new terminals built quickly because they are a very convenient port for us!!!!

 

Julie

[B J]

We just sailed out of Vancouver 9/3/04 and had no confusion and no long wait. We might have stood in the immigration line for 15 minutes and I am not a person that likes to be in a line for very long, we thought everything went very well. There was no long check in line when we were there at about 11:30 AM. We have sailed out of Galveston three times and never had a long wait or confusion either.

[Bribrittmom]

I find Ft. Lauderdale(Port Evergalades) to be the best because of the proximity of the airport as well as the nice hotels which provide a free shuttle to the port. You can also get some great hotel deals on Priceline!

[jrm9999]

I have never really had many problems at the pier itself in Miami, but the one thing I don't like is if you drive, the interstate roads going though Miami to get to the pier can be very congested and get backed up at times. Port Everglades is much easier when driving because you avoid most of that.