Carnival Liberty--San Juan to Galveston in March

[Giantfan13]

We are on the Carnival Liberty, San Juan to Galveston March 6-18. It says we arrive in Galveston at 8:00AM. anyone else do this cruise or know when is the earliest we can disembark?. We have an 11:30AM flight from Hobby in Houston and we have been told it is 50/50 if we will be able to make it.

Is 8:00 when the ship arrives or when we can start to disembark?

 

Cheers

 

Len

[nybumpkin]

Hi Len - I'm happy to be able to return the favor of all the great advice I've received from you in the past.:)

 

One problem with February/March cruises in Galveston is fog. If the fog is bad they close the Houston Ship Channel and your ship will wait offshore until the fog dissipates. When we did a Galveston cruise in 2010, we were unable to dock until about 1:00 in the afternoon. Even though we had booked the latest available flight out of Hobby that would get us back to Albany that day (3:20 p.m.), we didn't make the flight. Southwest was very good about re-booking us on a flight the following morning, but it did mean missing a day of work if that's an issue.

 

Hobby is about an hour trip from Galveston. If the ship docks on time (without fog, I've generally seen the Galveston cruises dock on time - I'm a webcam fan:p), and if you do self-assist debarkation, you should be able to be at Hobby by 10:00 or 10:30. It's close, though.

 

Hope this helps a bit!

[jst]

Docking time for Triumph in Galveston is 8:00 AM and as Liberty will be taking it's place you

can assume that will be the same. The previous poster was also correct unfortunately

Galveston is subject to fog at that time of year.

[Giantfan13]

Hi Len - I'm happy to be able to return the favor of all the great advice I've received from you in the past.:)

 

One problem with February/March cruises in Galveston is fog. If the fog is bad they close the Houston Ship Channel and your ship will wait offshore until the fog dissipates. When we did a Galveston cruise in 2010, we were unable to dock until about 1:00 in the afternoon. Even though we had booked the latest available flight out of Hobby that would get us back to Albany that day (3:20 p.m.), we didn't make the flight. Southwest was very good about re-booking us on a flight the following morning, but it did mean missing a day of work if that's an issue.

 

Hobby is about an hour trip from Galveston. If the ship docks on time (without fog, I've generally seen the Galveston cruises dock on time - I'm a webcam fan:p), and if you do self-assist debarkation, you should be able to be at Hobby by 10:00 or 10:30. It's close, though.

 

Hope this helps a bit!

 

Glad I was able to help you and appreciate the help on this one.

 

Sort of leaves me not knowing though. :eek::eek::eek::eek:

 

Cheers

 

Len

[boaterette]

At that time of the year I personally book a room for the night and fly out the next day just because of the fog issue.

[watermelonqueen99]

No idea if this will help you or not, but throwing it out there just in case. For our April 2014 flight, we had FTTF prioity debark off the ship, and we were at Hobby by 9:00. We ended up spending HOURS at the airport, when we had previously worried about making the flight. There are so many variables, but the Carnival ships are somewhat reliable!

[megbowlstrike]

We are on the Carnival Liberty, San Juan to Galveston March 6-18. It says we arrive in Galveston at 8:00AM. anyone else do this cruise or know when is the earliest we can disembark?. We have an 11:30AM flight from Hobby in Houston and we have been told it is 50/50 if we will be able to make it.

Is 8:00 when the ship arrives or when we can start to disembark?

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

I'm on this cruise as well. I was on Freedom two weeks ago and we had FTTF. We didn't get off the ship til around 8:30 (our arrival time was 8am) and by the time I got through customs, it was 9:30. Add on an hour ride from the port to Hobby, and you'd be at the airport at 10:30 at the earliest. Like I said, we had FTTF and it seemed like debarkation was taking forever. If you're flying Southwest, then they'll likely be able to accommodate you if you arrive too late for your flight. Otherwise, you might want to change it to a flight time around 1pm if you don't have FTTF or aren't doing self-assist.

[Giantfan13]

I'm on this cruise as well. I was on Freedom two weeks ago and we had FTTF. We didn't get off the ship til around 8:30 (our arrival time was 8am) and by the time I got through customs, it was 9:30. Add on an hour ride from the port to Hobby, and you'd be at the airport at 10:30 at the earliest. Like I said, we had FTTF and it seemed like debarkation was taking forever. If you're flying Southwest, then they'll likely be able to accommodate you if you arrive too late for your flight. Otherwise, you might want to change it to a flight time around 1pm if you don't have FTTF or aren't doing self-assist.

 

Glad to meet another fellow passenger. have you been over to the roll call to say hi?

 

We were looking at the 'Galveston Express' Car/van service. They have a van that is suppose to leave Galveston at 9:00 and arrive at Hobby at 10AM> That would give us about 1 1/2 hours to check in etc. I had asked on another site if this company maintains a reliable schedule, or will they just hang around waiting for other passengers?

 

We might be willing to share a ride with a private company if anyone else needs to be at Hobby for an early flight.

 

Anyway, thanks for the info.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[cruiser fanatic]

On a perfect day, you should be able to make it. However, Galveston has fog problems December - Early April. Also, since your cruise is beginning and ending in a different port, sometimes U.S. Customs will do extra screening. I would highly recommend that you switch your flight to a later time. I would make it no earlier then 2:00PM. Hobby Airport is a 45 minute to 1 hour drive and sometimes there is heavy traffic.

Edited October 21, 2015 by cruiser fanatic

[mpdog42]

Hi,

Got a question about debarking in Galveston,

(1)does Carnival offer any excersions in Galveston after you disnbark such as a NASA Tour My Flight doesn't leave Houston International till 3:45.................Sorry for the Bad Spelling!!!

 

Thanks

Mike

 

Blue Lives Matter

[Giantfan13]

Let me explain a bit further, we are of the Jewish faith and observe the Sabbath (Friday nite and all day Saturday) We will NOT travel on those times. (being on a cruise is OK if the ship is sailing on Saturday--don't ask me to explain it, but it is). The flight I was trying to make, leaves Hobby at 11:30 and gets us back to NY at about 3:30PM which is perfect for us. We are using Southwest with points. If we don't make that flight we would have to stay until Sunday morning, as SW doesn't have evening flights on Saturday. So, you can see how it will benefit us to be able to make that flight. That's why I was asking.

 

I think we will try for it, but make alternate plans also.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[ddbaab53]

We were on a cruise this past March and was told on the last sea day that due to fog we may not be able to dock on time. Well the ship did make it in then the port was closed to late that day. It a big risk that time of year to plan a early flight.

[cateyes2u]

Len, I'm booked on the 9:00 shuttle too. My Southwest flight is a little later than yours, but I want to get to the airport ASAP. The long wait at the airport does not bother me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed there are no fog delays.:eek:

 

It has been years that I did a self assist with my luggage. This will force me to pack light :D

[Giantfan13]

Len, I'm booked on the 9:00 shuttle too. My Southwest flight is a little later than yours, but I want to get to the airport ASAP. The long wait at the airport does not bother me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed there are no fog delays.:eek:

 

It has been years that I did a self assist with my luggage. This will force me to pack light :D

 

Do you have any knowledge if this Galveston Express keeps their schedules precise? I know we took a shuttle last year from Fort Lauderdale to POM and they arrived 15 minutes late and then waited for another party for another 20 minutes. Schedules meant nothing to them, getting more customers in the van did.

 

I know Galveston Express is fairly new, but can anyone vouch for their on time process?

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

[cateyes2u]

Do you have any knowledge if this Galveston Express keeps their schedules precise? I know we took a shuttle last year from Fort Lauderdale to POM and they arrived 15 minutes late and then waited for another party for another 20 minutes. Schedules meant nothing to them, getting more customers in the van did.

 

I know Galveston Express is fairly new, but can anyone vouch for their on time process?

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

 

 

This is my first time in Galveston so I can't comment on how on time they are. Before I booked, I went to Trip Adviser, and for the most part, they had good reviews. My biggest concern based on recent posts, is the possible fog and traffic.

 

Most shuttle companies generally wait for a full load. Maybe as we get closer to sail date, there will be more taking the early shuttle so we can leave on time.

[JMS113]

Hi Len,

Sorry while we haven't used Galveston Express, we have used 2 private shuttles similar to Galveston Express. Based on experience I would like to offer that shuttle pick up delays are not uncommon in Galveston, even with the most reliable shuttle service :( . The traffic line to the terminal pick up location sometimes backlogs quite a bit, so if possible please consider accommodating for about a 1/2 hour pick up delay in case your ride is caught in the terminal traffic. You may need more if a fog delay occurs as the volume of people exiting the ship at once seems to be significantly greater. Unfortunately due to traffic volume the private shuttle drivers are not permitted to wait at the curb side for you to exit customs, they are asked to drive around the block (per se) until you are curbside. While we have never done it, you might find it helpful to discuss with the shuttle company if there is an alternate location you could walk to and meet them (if walking a distance with luggage is feasible for your group).

[Giantfan13]

All, thanks for the replies.

 

Cheers

 

Len