disembarkation question for mariner in galveston

[CENTEX CRUISER]

Last time on the Mariner we did self assist, which was a nightmare as about half the ship did the same thing at the same time..The question is , for anyone who has recently done a regular disembarkation, about what time did you get through customs ? Also, I assume you could still carry your own bags as well ?Thanks for any help.

[ssb]

See thread on cruise critic

Cruise Critic Message Board Forums > North American Homeports > Gulf Coast Departures

Galveston Disembarkation Review

[ssb]

Sorry double post

Edited March 21, 2013 by ssb

[CENTEX CRUISER]

Not much help there, but thanks anyway. Maybe someone else will reply.

See thread on cruise critic

Cruise Critic Message Board Forums > North American Homeports > Gulf Coast Departures

Galveston Disembarkation Review

[edjny]

Last time on the Mariner we did self assist, which was a nightmare as about half the ship did the same thing at the same time..The question is , for anyone who has recently done a regular disembarkation, about what time did you get through customs ? Also, I assume you could still carry your own bags as well ?Thanks for any help.

 

We did the self-disembarkation today from the Liberty. You get off first by doing this. There was a long line of people doing the same, but it went very quickly. You don't have to wait for or find your luggage and the line for customs was not very long. The drawback is that you have to haul ALL your bags. Usually either up or down some stairs. So, if you have a lot of bags, you don't want to do this. On Liberty, we carried them down two flights of stairs.

 

Last month, we were on the Freedom and decided to sleep in, so we used the normal disembarkation. When you do this process, you get number tags for the luggage you want picked up at night. That determines the time you leave the ship. The numbers range from 1 though 30 (or so). The higher the number, the later you leave. They unload the bags from the ship by the sequence of the numbers. You decide what bags you want to have delivered to the terminal and they pick up the luggage bags overnight. You carry off only what you want to carry off. The biggest problem with this is that you have to go through all the bags in the terminal to find your bags and then wait in a longer line for customs and transportation. It gets very crowded in the terminal after about 10 numbers have been called.

Edited March 21, 2013 by edjny

[cruizinmimi]

We just got off the Mariner of the Seas, Sunday-March 17th. Nizar (Diamond Lounge Concierge) met us in the Lotus Lounge around 7:30am and escorted us off around 7:45 with our luggage. It was a very easy process this time. Nov. of 12 was a nightmare.

[CENTEX CRUISER]

I just checked the benefits for platinum , and it says private departure lounge with continental breakfast, so does this mean you can have your luggage with you as well? I hate retrieving it from the stacks in the terminal. Thanks for your reply ..:)

We just got off the Mariner of the Seas, Sunday-March 17th. Nizar (Diamond Lounge Concierge) met us in the Lotus Lounge around 7:30am and escorted us off around 7:45 with our luggage. It was a very easy process this time. Nov. of 12 was a nightmare.

[Galveston Cruiser]

You can either self-disembark, taking your luggage with you or leave it outside your cabin for the crew to take to the terminal upon arrival where you will pick it up. Only two choices.

 

It is only Diamond Plus and above that you are escorted off the ship by the concierge as soon as the ship clears customs.

 

We have done both and still find the self-disembark the quickest.

 

However, Customs and Immigration has been cut back so the time going through the lines is much longer.

 

We have been told by ICE, that due to the ports the ship goes, they check every passport. This is very time consuming but out of RCI and the port's control.

[Beachin2]

That port is a crap shoot at best - even on a good day.

 

Somebody should start a worst port poll for RCI.

[ssb]

That port is a crap shoot at best - even on a good day.

 

Somebody should start a worst port poll for RCI.

 

Every port is a crap shoot today!

When cruisers are complaining about the Allure having two US citizen and two

Non US citizen customs and immigration personnel

for disembarkation it is a problem.

[bevomom]

Just off Mariner on Sunday. We were in group 2, scheduled to disembark at 8:00. We got called from the lounge around 9:45, stood in line and actually walked off the ship and onto the gangway at 10:15. Then more lines through the gangway, waiting for the escalator, and before entering the terminal. Claiming bags wasn't a big deal, but there was another long line afterwards. We made it through immigration just slightly after 12:00. HTH

[StingrayBob]

I was on the Mariner Feb 24th sailing. I did normal disembarkation. Scheduled time was to be 10:30 from the Savoy Theater. It keep getting pushed back and our # was finally called about 11:30. We were able to make it off ship , pickup our luggage and go through customs by 12:30pm. There were lines but they seemed to move fairly quick. Not sure if that was because we were near the end of the disembarkation process or what. There was not a lot of luggage left when we got to the terminal so it was easy to locate ours and get in line for customs. That also moved faster than I expected. We were outside and catching a bus over to the parking lot between 12:30 and 1pm.

Hope some of this helps.

[crisndeefromde]

not sure how to plan for flights anymore. Just really hard to believe that customs has continued to be a problem all these years and paying out all of this overtime instead of hiring. Yet nothing is being done still to this day.

[Galveston Cruiser]

not sure how to plan for flights anymore. Just really hard to believe that customs has continued to be a problem all these years and paying out all of this overtime instead of hiring. Yet nothing is being done still to this day.

 

Complain to the State Department. It is only going to get worse.

The ICE officers don't like it any better than the travelers. Have met some very nice ones that definitely feel the pain. They get blamed when it really comes from Washington:mad:

They are stretched very thin.

This area has approximately 130 officers that must cover the port (not just cruise ships in Galveston!) but every ship in/out of Galveston, Houston and southeast Texas as well as all airports that have any international flights.

They don't work 8 -5, but 24/7.

 

It is not the cruise lines fault as they would like to see it move faster also. But delays are going to occur at every port of entry in the U.S.

Better get used to it until things change in D.C.

[cruisinlife]

Just off Mariner this past Sunday the 17th of March and it was terrible. We have cruised out of several ports and this was by far the worst experience. 2 & 1/2 hours from the time we started till we got thru customs is ridiculous. We barely made our flight out of Hobby. There had to be people that missed their flights.

 

I suggest if your flying schedule a 3 pm or later flight.

 

It's going to take a tremendous deal on a cruise for us to ever consider cruising out of Galveston again.

[TEXASMUNK]

so be prepared.

Using the lounge with all your luggage...this will mean that by the time you get to the terminal, you will be in a long line...If you are going to self-disembark, go the whole way, get up early and head out.

Someone else also commented that about half the ship do self embark..This has only moved the delay from the normal disembark to the self disembark...just moving the crowd from one line to another.

We sail this weekend and anticipate a long wait to get on and then a long wait to get off....so just planning accordingly.

Edited March 22, 2013 by TEXASMUNK

[lady_cruiser]

We always do self-disembark and even though we have to lug all of our luggage off, and we have a LOT, we use the elevators, Especially from the second to first floor in the cruise terminal. They are located right before the escalators.

[cruizinmimi]

I just checked the benefits for platinum , and it says private departure lounge with continental breakfast, so does this mean you can have your luggage with you as well? I hate retrieving it from the stacks in the terminal. Thanks for your reply ..:)

 

You will have to proceed to the Dining Room, on Deck 4 and wait until you are called. I don't know who or how you're called. Yes, you take your luggage with you to the Dining Room. I would definitely be there by 7:15 at the latest so that you can get a good spot to exit. The paper they sent to our cabin said you would depart at around 8:15. As we were being escorted off by the Concierge (we're D+), I did notice they had released some of the dining room that had their luggage. Again, that was around 7:45am. What I'm telling you is "Be Ready":D

[blonde1981]

Complain to the State Department. It is only going to get worse.

The ICE officers don't like it any better than the travelers. Have met some very nice ones that definitely feel the pain. They get blamed when it really comes from Washington:mad:

They are stretched very thin.

This area has approximately 130 officers that must cover the port (not just cruise ships in Galveston!) but every ship in/out of Galveston, Houston and southeast Texas as well as all airports that have any international flights.

They don't work 8 -5, but 24/7.

 

It is not the cruise lines fault as they would like to see it move faster also. But delays are going to occur at every port of entry in the U.S.

Better get used to it until things change in D.C.

 

I think the problem is that people underestimate how large Houston is and how many ships come in and out of the area.

 

Also when you go to Hondurus, Belize, and Mexico you are going to be scrutinized harder as that is where the drugs flow in from. Border Wars & Drugs Inc are a pretty enlightening shows. One show even featured a RCCL ship and how they had to go top to bottom (took 3 hours) in their drug search and yes they found drugs in the crew area being smuggled. That ship was in Miami.

Edited March 22, 2013 by blonde1981

[BonTexasNY]

Good luck with Galveston debarkation! We were on the Mariner 1/13-1/20. I forgot what time our number was called but I think it was approx. 9:30-10. It took a full 2 hours from the time our number was called until we cleared customs. Lots of passengers were still on line with their luggage from early morning self assist. More than one agent told us they go thru a full inspection if you stop at Roatan, Honduras. Every passport must be put thru the system, not just quickly looked at.

 

I'd love to know if other passsengers had this long wait if they stop at Roatan. Of 5 cruises out of Galveston, 2 stopped at Roatan and those were the ones that took 2 hours to debark.

 

I could be wrong but I think this happens more in Galveston than other ports.

[CENTEX CRUISER]

When we went last March on the Roatan/ Belize trip, it went very fast at customs. The guy just looked at our passports and said welcome home. The bad part was early self assist, and we were not platinum then.

Good luck with Galveston debarkation! We were on the Mariner 1/13-1/20. I forgot what time our number was called but I think it was approx. 9:30-10. It took a full 2 hours from the time our number was called until we cleared customs. Lots of passengers were still on line with their luggage from early morning self assist. More than one agent told us they go thru a full inspection if you stop at Roatan, Honduras. Every passport must be put thru the system, not just quickly looked at.

 

I'd love to know if other passsengers had this long wait if they stop at Roatan. Of 5 cruises out of Galveston, 2 stopped at Roatan and those were the ones that took 2 hours to debark.

 

I could be wrong but I think this happens more in Galveston than other ports.

Edited March 22, 2013 by CENTEX CRUISER

[BonTexasNY]

When we went last March on the Roatan/ Belize trip, it went very fast at customs. The guy just looked at our passports and said welcome home. The bad part was early self assist, and we were not platinum then.

 

Thanks, Centex, others have told me the same when they stopped at Roatan yet the port agents, at different times, were very insistent that it would be a much longer inspection. Glad to hear that it's not always the case.

 

We're Platinum and I don't recall any special lines for disembarkation. Is there one for self assist?

[CENTEX CRUISER]

They were supposed to go by decks when called, but all went at once anyway..When we used to do this, it was not bad at all. It apparently has gotten very popular..

Thanks, Centex, others have told me the same when they stopped at Roatan yet the port agents, at different times, were very insistent that it would be a much longer inspection. Glad to hear that it's not always the case.

 

We're Platinum and I don't recall any special lines for disembarkation. Is there one for self assist?

[CruzinSuz]

We got off on 1/27 no problems, 2/10 almost two hours, that was an unnecessary wait made by the ground crew, not RCCL, 3/10 a breeze, first off, however, friends just got off on 3/17, and it took almost 3 hours, and they were priority. RCCL had an announcement about disembarking being slow because of the cut back in personnel at customs/Immigration. As I've said in an earlier post, why can't the Government make more sensible cuts, it's 2% for goodness sakes.

Keep the front line people available for us tax paying citizens! Same thing is happening at the airports.

[CENTEX CRUISER]

Looks like it will be a crap shoot whether it is slow or fast..

We got off on 1/27 no problems, 2/10 almost two hours, that was an unnecessary wait made by the ground crew, not RCCL, 3/10 a breeze, first off, however, friends just got off on 3/17, and it took almost 3 hours, and they were priority. RCCL had an announcement about disembarking being slow because of the cut back in personnel at customs/Immigration. As I've said in an earlier post, why can't the Government make more sensible cuts, it's 2% for goodness sakes.

Keep the front line people available for us tax paying citizens! Same thing is happening at the airports.