Just off Magic....avoid Galveston at all costs!

[tximprov]

I agree with the OP every one avoid Galveston.......It would be nice for the prices to drop a little. I boarded the magic on 11 Dec and it was the smoothest embarkation ever. The only other close was seattle. Debarkation was very smooth. I usually sleep in but found them calling us off before I knew it.

I beleive it is more the guests not heeding the instructions. Its sad when we are blaming CCL for grown adults not listening and abiding by the procedures set forth.

I will add that once we got our bags and were at the curb waiting for the shuttle impatiant guests were standing in the lanes obstructing traffic. Other cars taking up space after loading their bags standing around visiting with each other instead of driving away to make room for others. One family got on the same hotel shuttle as I was on, and it was the shuttle to the wrong hotel. That's the only chaos i have witnessed at the port. Youd think that since everyone wants to be first on they would want to be last off.

[H82seaUgo]

any news if any changes are being proposed for this port, or is this something the galveston cruiser can expect and have to put up with?

[gelo7]

Well at least you had a good cruise aboard the Magic.

[1Gr8Diva]

I have sailed out of Galveston twice, going to be three times in 54 days. I never had a problem getting in or out. Weather can be an issue anywhere....Don't worry.

[happy cruzer]

Carrying your own luggage on and off does save worry and time. I hate checking bags when flying, it usually costs me time and money. Many people find that they can get by for one week with carryons.

[Cindy]

But I also agree with other posts which mention people jumping the "line". if Carnival enforced the debarkation, there would not be a problem. Self Assist, wait for your floor to be called. All others, wait for your zone to be called.

 

Seen first hand of people who just "get off the ship". They do not have flights to catch, no place to go, but have to be first.

 

Bet if the staff asked to see their S&S card and turned them away to wait for their number, embarkation would be easier.

 

I beleive it is more the guests not heeding the instructions. Its sad when we are blaming CCL for grown adults not listening and abiding by the procedures set forth.

 

 

In my opinion, that is a huge contributing factor in the disembarkation problems. I've never seen anything as disorganized and poorly managed as a Carnival disembarkation. If CCL would enforce some procedures, keep the stairwells and lobbies clear, and not allow hundreds of passengers to leave the ship before their time slot it would help tremendously.

One of the funniest things I've seen was in the terminal after our Conquest cruise last March. There had to be at least 75 people who were being made to stand aside and look longingly at their luggage. They had jumped the line on the ship, and the port workers were not letting them into their luggage sections until their zones were called. Had they followed directions they could have been sitting by the pool enjoying the beautiful day instead of standing around inside the terminal.

[elmom]

I havent cruised yet, and will be driving. But personally, I wouldn't book a flight the same day I get off the boat. Or at least not for many many hours. Things happen...I would rather not feel stressed. I think feeling stress about missing a flight would stress me out and making anything chaotic just *that* much more stressful. Multiply that by all the people who are rushing to get to their plane, and its got to be near pandemonium.

 

I have gone through customs several times in my life, and sometimes its quick, sometimes its looooooong. Its part of the process. Its like the lines at the airport, I guess.

 

Thanks for the heads up though. I will make sure to allow plenty of time for both and just anticipate a long wait.

[Timmys_mom]

I agree. Sailed out of Galveston many times and will again in a month. I found it a much more organized port than LA or San Pedro.

Even at its worst, Galveston was still better than Long Beach. I experienced delays in Galveston on the Conquest, but as another poster said, much of it was due to Zone jumpers. It was also crew check day and this was before they were set up to handle that. It was a crazy ride to Houston in a cab, but I made my flight.

[Carlyzmom]

Cruise out of Galveston in 3 weeks.

 

I have read good and bad reviews about Galveston port.

 

No sense worrying about what ifs and things that may not happen, based on others experiences.

 

Can't wait for our cruise on the Magic. :D

 

I totally agree! It's just a means to get on the ship, to me. I guess since I have grown up going to Galveston, I don't mind it at all. You just have to know where and where NOT to go! It's really got some charm - to me anyway! :)

[EastTex]

A few more facts about my Galveston experience now that I finally made it home. Again, I post this for those on the fence.

 

1. I had VIP departure. Plat, plus a suite, plus early departure luggage tags. 130 flight from IAH, which is CCLs recommended earliest.

 

2. I left the ship when my number 3 was called. It was a mess in the atrium. Been on dozens of ships....this seemed as it it were the crews first debarkation

 

3. My luggage was not in area 3. Was told by an inept port agent to find a porter to help me search. He had no luck. Found a shore supervisor. She said there is no way I had tag number 3. My cabin was assigned to tag 25. She held a clip board with cabin numbers and showed my my cabin with 25 nextd to it Told I needed to wait until 25 was unloaded. I showed the port agent the tear-off tag that proved i had number 3. She said my cabin stewart must have changed it. Already missed 130 flight at that point but wanted to get on 230. Had no choice so I waited for the 25 luggage. It wasn't there either.

 

4. Got a guest services rep from the ship and ask why the cabin Stewart changed my tags from early departure and VIP 3 to all the way at the end #25. She said he wouldn't do that and someone must have taken my bags.

 

5. Finally, after missing the 130 and 230 flights I found another guest agent who pointed me to a forklift "free for all" of various number bags. Was left to fend through dozens of bags and finally found ours....with tag 3's but mixed in with all misc numbers.

 

6. My luggage was outside my cabin at 10pm. I saw it wheeled away at 1015.

 

7. My 2 hour trip to IAH included 30 mins in the long, unassisted cab line.

 

8. In all fairness, the porter told me he has never seen such a mess there before. I guess it being a holiday didnt help.

 

I know, one person's bad experience is usually followed by another's great experience. But, even with the fog delay I would have made my flight had CCL not messed up the luggage and even with that if the port had been better staffed it might have saved my hundreds of dollars in airline fees. So while others may disagree, my advise stands. Avoid Galveston.

 

OK, you lost me on one key area. My experience as a platinum cruiser has been that we automatically get zone 1 luggage tags, are given a specific area to wait for disembarkation and then are escorted off the ship by a cruise staff member as a group, following the self disembarkation folks.

 

Any other Platinum cruisers on that sailing who can fill that gap as to their assigned zone numbers and how they were disembarked?

[Sportmom55]

I agree whole-heartedly that it was a mess. We were told to stay in our rooms, but the room stewards were making us feel bad since they needed to clean the rooms. We ventured to the atrium at 11:30 and proceeded to watch mass chaos. Plenty of people joining the self assist group with barely anything in their hands. If Carnival would have bright stickers that you had to wear with the zone numbers, then enforce it as people tried to debark, I think it would help the zone jumping.

 

I also do not think they had enough announcements stating what was going on.

[mnh]

I just got off of the 12-11-11 sailing of Magic. I was on the ship at 10:45 at embarkation and in a cab at 9:15 and on my way back to a hotel to pick up my car when we returned. We were in group 11 to disembark. We did not expierence any problems....very smooth.

 

I have cruised out of Vancouver, New York, San Pedro, Miami, Port Caneveral, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston ( at least 12 times) and the only problems I ever encountered was Port Canaveal....but you are traveling and challenges can occur.....did not ruin my trip....problems can exist!

[WeBeCruisin']

I just got off of the 12-11-11 sailing of Magic. I was on the ship at 10:45 at embarkation and in a cab at 9:15 and on my way back to a hotel to pick up my car when we returned. We were in group 11 to disembark. We did not expierence any problems....very smooth.

 

 

I was also on the Dec. 4-11 Magic trip out of Galveston. Getting on the ship and leaving it were both flawless.

 

My personal observation is that when something out of the ordinary occurs, such as the fog situation, people become anxious and irritable and go into a "me, me, me" mentality and are compelled to find someone to blame the situation upon. Sadly, it's usually the cruise line. I was on the Splendor Swine-Flu cruise to nowhere in April of 2009 and saw a mob of 600 or so people screaming and attacking the purser's desk, blaming Carnival for the Swine Flu. It was ugly.

[patty0227]

OP clearly stated he/she was VIP with priority debark.:rolleyes:

 

Yes we saw the VIP loud and clear.....

:rolleyes:

[Crusin Hogs]

Galveston is my favorite to cruise from never had a problem , everyone there is laid back and friendly.

[DebJ14]

We've sailed out of Galveston at least 10 times. The only times there have been problems is when the ship is delayed. Once we were held at sea because a tropical storm closed the port. Everything was great on the ship, but it was very difficult to debark at 6pm when all the people due to get on the ship clogged the terminal area in spite of being told not to come back until 8pm. We encountered embarkation difficulties when the ship did not dock until noon due to fog. We sat in long lines to get in the parking lot and then once checked in had to wait in the terminal until past 4pm to embark. It would not have been so bad had we not been traveling with a person in a wheelchair. We could have gone over to the Strand to kill time, but that area of Galveston is not very wheelchair friendly. Also, it was cold and miserable.

When we sail from Galveston we check the webcams to see if the ship is there and check to see if debarkation or embarcation is delayed and proceed to the pier accordingly. I have found that most of the problems are caused by the passengers not following specific instructions - not the cruise line's incompetence. One of our problems was when sailing Carnival and the other with Royal Caribbean, but in both instance the problem was really Mother Nature not cooperating. If there is no weather issue, or if they are not rounding up those with outstanding warrants Galveston is a breeze - definitely better than San Pedro.

The advice to get a porter is right on. It makes all the difference - you get to the front of the lines much quicker.

[DebJ14]

OK, you lost me on one key area. My experience as a platinum cruiser has been that we automatically get zone 1 luggage tags, are given a specific area to wait for disembarkation and then are escorted off the ship by a cruise staff member as a group, following the self disembarkation folks.

 

Any other Platinum cruisers on that sailing who can fill that gap as to their assigned zone numbers and how they were disembarked?

 

We've been Platinum since they began the program. First we got those silver Concierge Club tags and our luggage was in the Platinum area. When they went to zone numbers we never got anything other than a 1 as did all the passengers in the lounge waiting with us. Platinum does not get a 3.

[waiting4acruise]

OK, you lost me on one key area. My experience as a platinum cruiser has been that we automatically get zone 1 luggage tags, are given a specific area to wait for disembarkation and then are escorted off the ship by a cruise staff member as a group, following the self disembarkation folks.

 

Any other Platinum cruisers on that sailing who can fill that gap as to their assigned zone numbers and how they were disembarked?

As a 4 time Platinum cruiser out of Galveston, we always got Zone 1 luggage tags.

[EastTex]

As a 4 time Platinum cruiser out of Galveston, we always got Zone 1 luggage tags.

 

OK, I don't normally jump into the veracity (for my Oklahoma friends, veracity is truthfulness...snicker) of a poster but to quote salcruizer, they are not only VIP but "Plat". Previous posters agree with me that a platinum cruiser would not be given zone 3 tags. Also, it would be highly unlikely that platinum cruisers would be sent to wait in the atrium for their priority disembarkation.

 

If salcruizer is being less than honest in depicting themselves, what portions of their critique are to be believed and portions are contrived? My warning flags are up.

[Chmie]

Booked and cruising the Magic out of Galveston in July.

Can't wait to see whether we get the good or the bad experience.

My money is on good. :D

[cruise_girl2002]

DAMN CARNIVAL FOR MAKING THE FOG!!!! I sailed on the magic out of Galveston on 12/4. It was a bit packed but that was because it was early (10am) people were still waiting for cabs and such and it was pouring like mad. no lines at all though inside the terminal. getting on was a breeze. getting off was quick and painless. and FYI to the OP ....YES it was foggy in galveston that morning. part of the problem also is alot of people dont listen to what they are suppose to do and disembark (even though they are in zone 7, get off with zone 1 or self assist) If people would do as they are told there wouldnt be such a CF mess. It took you 2 hours to get to IAH?? it only took us an hour to get to galveston from IAH and 1 hour 15 minutes to get back to IAH with the carnival transfer and that included a stop at Hobby airport...must have hit traffic too

[CruisefromNY]

I've sailed out of Galveston 11 times and find debarkation to be no more of an issue than at any other port that I've returned to. In fact, since the changes to pier 23 have been completed, both the embarkation and debarkation process has become more organized.

 

The zones are clearly marked to help you find your luggage, if you've bothered to wait until your zone has been called :rolleyes: the shoreside agents are very good at making sure that everyone has the properly filled out documents before they are allowed into the customs lines. (That in the past has been the biggest cause for delay :cool:)

 

The customs lines are well staffed and designated to separate US and non-US citizens as well as those useing a passport or BC....it makes that part of the process much smoother and quicker.

 

And once you get outside there are clearly marked signs that direct you to various shuttles or taxi queue's. I take a taxi to my car and I don't think that I've ever seen less than 12 taxi's standing by....

 

I hope that everyone gets to experience sailing out of Galveston. It's a great island destination for a little pre-cruise vacation. I always go at least a day in advance, just to have time to revisit all of my favorite spots along the seawall and downtown on the Strand.......

 

I'll be back down there in about 60 days and can't wait for my 1st plate of shrimp kisses.........

 

 

Unfortunately, whenever there is a delay, the "me first" mentality takes over. Those of us that follow the rules, get trampled by those who do not.

 

I am sorry this happened to the OP, ruins a wonderful vacation.

 

I have seen this behavior even when we are super early to dock.

Last time it was really bad for me was in NYC. We were waiting with other VIPs to disembark. The nasty comments and free for all that ensued afterwards was disgraceful. These were folks we had just spent a fantastic week with, too.

[Steppy08]

It stands to reason that if docking was delayed by fog, flights could also be delayed as well. Stuff happens when you travel. Deal with it the best you can and dont let it ruin an otherwise great vacation.

[salcruizer]

Tags 1 2 and3 were all together in the VIP area. Maybe because there were many vips or early flights, etc Not sure why we weren't escorted off but it was a zoo.

[misguidedangel]

I have to admit, Galveston is NOT my favourite port to sail out of; however, I choose the ship I want to go on and the port it sails out of is what I have to work with. The fact that some ports are no problem at all, others are ok, and some are not good at all is something that each port has to fix.

 

Port Everglades--FLL--love it, no problem getting on or off the ship. I can get checked in, on the ship no worries. Debarkation weas as smooth as silk and as fast as a ride down the twister slide!

 

Port of Miami--Regular embark/VIP embark--amazingly smooth and quick. Longest wait to check in was perhaps 30 minutes (Jan 2007 cruise), quickest was Triumph 2007-through security, checked in, and on the ship in 10 minutes!!!! VIP/Platinum is fast too, but since I get to the port early there is the wee wait to deal with--no worries at all.....Debarkation at Miami is best I have ever had. Once my number is called I am down and off the ship in minutes and only one cruise did I wait longer than 10 minutes in line to clear customs. The one time I did have to wait a while was when I had a 2pm flight and I didn't want to wait at the airport for 4 hours, so I got off when the CD annouced that all bags were off the ship and everyone can make their way to gangway to get off. I was in the lounge waiting and was off at 1030 and there was fairly long time at customs, but it was moving fast. I got into one of the lines and the customs agent computers were not working and they checked by hand and each group too no longer than five minutes to get them on and gone. I waited a maximum of 45 minutes and I had more than a dozen/under two dozen groups in front of me...the customs agents whipped us through fast....

 

Long Beach--embarkation was quick and easy, I was VIP and once checked in went back to the Queen Mary to wander around some more. They did a crew immigration check and embarkation was delayed by one hour. They opened the doors for VIP boarding shortly after 12 and since there were handicapped/mobility issue people in the line it took a little longer to get through security, but once that cleared it was a matter of minutes before I was on the ship! Debarkation I used Tag #1 and I was in the lounge waiting for a few minutes before we were called and off the ship and through customs in probably 10 minutes tops. I had a 2pm flight and when they called our tag number it was perhaps 930 and I was thinking I should have waited and went when they called the teen numbers instead.......I was on a bus to the airport and thankfully we waited til the bus was full, so a good 30-45 minute. I was at the airport before noon.....

 

Galveston--Embarkation was quick and smooth. No issues there at all, except the first time we went through the one wedding party was so big they took up the whole VIP lounge and anyone who was in the VIP boarding had to wait near the boarding area. They had to rope off the regular boarding area and VIP area because it was all one big area. The next time there was only a dozen or so of us in the VIP lounge waiting and the wedding party was already waiting at the boarding area. Debarkation--it didn't take long to get off but CPB people need to get their act together and do what Miami, FLL, Long Beach, and other ports do--doesn't matter if your a citizen or not, just go the shortest line!!!! First time we went through customs we had a porter and that was when they had tables and they separated US and Non US. It took perhaps 10-15 minutes to get through and there was a fair number of people in line too....This last time...OY VEY!!!!!!

 

I like to think the worst parts of the cruise is A)Flying to port city/or the freaking AIRPORTS, B) A couple of the hotels I have stayed in, and C) Customs and Immigration--at the airport, port, and at my home destination airport--quite a story on that one.........

 

I'll go on the Magic again, but this time, I WILL USE TAG #1 to get off the ship!!!!!!! Even if I have a super late flight!