How has the disembarkation been on Liberty our of Galveston?

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Looking for some feedback on disembarkation of the Liberty. Specifically the WC itinerary with Cozumel, Belize and Honduras.

 

Have read in the past it could be delayed.....looking to book our return flight and afraid the 12:25 pm would be too tight. :eek:

 

TIA

 

***

[foxgoodrich]

We were on Liberty on May 8-15, same itinerary. On May 15 we were in group #7 for leaving the ship. We walked off the ship at 8:45am, and the terminal was pretty much a total zoo, packed with people, and hard to get to your luggage area. We finally got our luggage and got in a long long line to make our way to customs. The line moved fairly well, though, and we exited the terminal at about 10:00.

 

We did not do self-assist, but on our disembark I think Liberty was later than usual getting immigration clearance (lots of foreign nationals on our ship) as I think the self assist folks were not called until 7:45 or so.

 

I've experienced a bog-down in customs on previous Galveston cruises with the Belize/Honduras itinerary, but customs was not a problem this time. They had a separate customs line for non US citizens, so it was pretty smooth. The customs lines were moving pretty well - it was that initial clearance before they started letting pax off the ship that took longer on our cruise. AND there were, for some reason, way too many people milling around trying to find their luggage, so that mess delayed everybody.

 

I definitely would not book anything earlier than 12:25! We were on the road driving north by 10:15 that morning, so if you're out by 10:00, and you have a dependable shuttle that you don't have to wait on, you could definitely make a 12:25 flight out of Hobby...not sure about IAH. It would also speed things up if you can do self-assist and walk off the ship with all your luggage with the earliest group.

Judy

Edited June 1, 2016 by foxgoodrich

[BLCLAB]

We returned on 5/22 and it was a breeze

[Clarea]

I would opt for self-assist disembarkation, get in that line early, and find a porter as soon as possible to help you through customs. Basically, get away from the terminal as soon as you can.

[Spurschick]

We returned on 5/22 and it was a breeze

 

Which itinerary was that?

[foxgoodrich]

Which itinerary was that?

 

That was the cruise after ours (ours was May 8-15) so I believe it would have been the Cozumel/Cayman/Falmouth itinerary as I think they alternate.

 

Judy

[Spurschick]

That was the cruise after ours (ours was May 8-15) so I believe it would have been the Cozumel/Cayman/Falmouth itinerary as I think they alternate.

 

Judy

 

That's what I thought, which would explain why it was a lot easier. We have a weird (well unusual) itinerary booked for next year on her going to Costa Maya.

Edited June 1, 2016 by Spurschick

[dschultz56]

I was on the 5/22 sailing in Group 6. We got off a little later than the estimated time of 9 am (they had an alpha alpha alpha call during those that got off with no assistance that may have delayed us slightly). But despite that, once we were called until we got to our car at Lighthouse Parking was right about an hour 15 minutes - and that included a 20 minute wait for the bus to fill enough to depart. Crowded, but the lines moved pretty well. We live about 1 hour and 45 minutes from Galveston and were home by 11:45am.

[LeeW]

If you saw how the luggage was handled getting off the ship you would do self-disembark. While waiting on the gangway bridge we saw luggage falling off the narrow carts into puddles, being hit by forklifts and being left there. Not sure if the transfer carts are narrower in Galveston or just that they have one open side and are very tall. We also had much longer lines for the southern route than eastern, so plenty of opportunity to watch this.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

TY everyone.....there were only 2 non stops, 12:25 pm and 6:15 pm. ...so we played it safe and booked the later non stop flight, now we can take our time getting off and relax knowing we have time.

 

***

[csnarpy]

Did any one notice a Global Entry line?

[KansasK]

We had that itinerary last November and we had a 12:05 departure flight. We had arranged for the cruise line's bus to take us to Houston Hobby. As others have said, the terminal area to get your luggage and go to Customs can be very backed up. Literally - several hundred people in line before you for Customs.

 

We learned if you have a porter, they go to a fast line. The porter took our luggage and took us to a line with 2 people ahead of us. It is worth the tip to use a porter in Galveston. We said we had alcohol on the customs form and were pulled over after Custom's to pay an additional tax. This took time, too.

 

The bus did not leave because a couple with one person in a wheelchair had called before booking the bus asking if the bus was wheelchair accessible and were told it was. It was not and they argued a long time. They did not load the bus until this was somehow resolved. We were the first on the second bus. It got underway fairly quickly. It took forever to unload the luggage at the airport.

 

Luckily Southwest's counter was not backed up and this went quickly. We lucked out and were TSA approved, so we had a fast security experience. We go to our gate 20 minutes before got in line to board the plane.

 

We had a lot go wrong. It was slow getting into the terminal to get our luggage. It took us a while to figure out the advantage of having a porter once we had our luggage. The bus should have left 45 minutes before it did. The bus driver should have been able to unload the bus at the airport. The stupid alcohol tax took too long, also.

 

I know other people on a different date would have been at the airport 90 minutes or more before we got there. I don't know how often my experience, or variations on it, happen at Galveston, or if this was the exception, rather than the rule.

[atnolan94]

We were on the March 13-20 sailing on the route you are on we carried our bags off the ship at 6:45AM in the shuttle by 7:00.

[BLAMBKY]

That's what I thought, which would explain why it was a lot easier. We have a weird (well unusual) itinerary booked for next year on her going to Costa Maya.

 

I am curious as why it explains it being easier? Could you elaborate? Is the Western route typically easier disembarking for some reason? (Selfishly hoping so, would appreciate my daughter having PLENTY of time to catch her 1:00 flight!)

[mil76]

I am curious as why it explains it being easier? Could you elaborate? Is the Western route typically easier disembarking for some reason? (Selfishly hoping so, would appreciate my daughter having PLENTY of time to catch her 1:00 flight!)

 

1:00pm shouldn't be a problem, as long as they self-disembark or get an early number. We were on the Belize itinerary disembarking the first Sunday in April.

 

We self-disembarked at 7:30am, hopped in a cab at 7:45am, pulled up to Hobby at 8:20am, arrived at the gate at 8:40am for a 10:40am flight, and pulled into our driveway in Denver by 1:00pm.

 

It sure beat lingering around on a ship then sitting in an airport for hours on end waiting for our flight.

[Cuizer2]

Looking for some feedback on disembarkation of the Liberty. Specifically the WC itinerary with Cozumel, Belize and Honduras.

 

Have read in the past it could be delayed.....looking to book our return flight and afraid the 12:25 pm would be too tight. :eek:

 

TIA

 

***

 

I disembarked the Liberty of the Seas on April 17, 2016. The following is from my review ...

 

I have to be in Studio B for an 8:30 debarkation. So at 7:30am I head to the Windjammer for breakfast which I take back to the cabin and enjoy on the balcony. By 8:15am I am in Studio B with many others. Our time keeps getting pushed back until finally at 9:30am they start to call the groups. However, there is no one verifying that the people getting in line are in the groups that have been called. This creates a backup getting into the terminal.

 

Going through customs is no better or worse than other ports. The bus to Bush is full and leaves at 10:30am. This hour delay might be a problem for some, but by the time I get to the airport I still have a four hour wait, so I work on this for a while.

 

You can read my full review by clicking on the link below ...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2364155

 

The review is long and includes many photographs.