embarkation at galveston

[sunsetme]

How chaotic/organized is it?

[dplusd]

Getting to the port by car is congested as you have to pass the Carnival terminal to get to Royal's terminal. The port traffic could delay you 15-20 minutes. Once in the port, the new terminal is pretty efficient. It seems a bit hectic...but, no more so than a TSA line at the airport.

[Clarea]

Car traffic is a mess, worst of any port we've seen, except possibly New Orleans when there is a convention running.

[LRnascarfan]

We sailed on Carnival out of Galveston and like other posters say, car traffic is awful!! We parked and walked to the terminal as it wasn't that long of a walk and we got a good deal on our parking by walking and not using a shuttle.

[Stevepse]

Agree with what was said above. Terminal itself is not bad, but congestion near parking lots can be a hassle.

 

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[nanwel]

Or - arrive early - yes cruise is deboarding - but park spots available - most traffic going away from ship- drop luggage - walk to town for a bit - or go the restaraunt next door for a quick light breakfast (no booze before noon on Sunday)

[reallyhooked]

How chaotic/organized is it?

We use EZ CRUISE PARKING & take shuttle & porters take our luggage to terminal,. We tip them. Getting thru security can be slow, but patience is required.

Enjoy your cruise

[wolfganghowell]

Embarkation is actually very good - as mentioned the traffic is the worst part. Disembarkation - blech. Pretty darn chaotic and we sail in a suite so we are usually the first off after all the self carry's. But in Galveston, it seems half the ship does self carry!

[voyager70]

Embarkation is actually very good - as mentioned the traffic is the worst part. Disembarkation - blech. Pretty darn chaotic and we sail in a suite so we are usually the first off after all the self carry's. But in Galveston, it seems half the ship does self carry!

 

This was my experience in Galveston as well. We did self carry disembarkation & it took over an hour just to get off the ship. Never seen so many people doing self carry.

[bradsnana]

Plus Mardi Gras is going on right now in Galveston

[KsucAts]

Embarkation is actually very good - as mentioned the traffic is the worst part. Disembarkation - blech. Pretty darn chaotic and we sail in a suite so we are usually the first off after all the self carry's. But in Galveston, it seems half the ship does self carry!

 

This was my experience in Galveston as well. We did self carry disembarkation & it took over an hour just to get off the ship. Never seen so many people doing self carry.

 

My theory and this is just a theory based up on my 2 (and soon to be 3) cruises out of Galveston. It seems a lot of us drive to the port and quite a few from long distances. We come from Kansas and there seem to be a lot of folks from Oklahoma and Arkansas that also make the drive. Those drives can take most of the day and when the cruise gets in on Sunday and we have to be back to work or school the following day, we want to get on the road as soon as possible.

[internetwhiz]

Lol. Reading these posts I’d be concerned. But we cruise from there a good bit. If hotels in town are pricey we stay nearby, and park at EZ Cruise Parking. There’s a discount code if you call or sign up for their email. We let them shuttle us, so we are never in the mentioned car traffic. Sometimes we stay at Holiday Inn, Galveston on the Beach. Parking is free (for any room, you don’t have to pay for the park n cruise rate. They have a free shuttle to and from the port, so again, no traffic issue.

 

The new terminal is great and if we show up between 10 and 10:30, we are onboard by 11. Things with well for us in Galveston. We have cruised from there on six cruises in the past year.

[kingkopes]

We have gone out of Galveston twice now. One time parking our vehicle at a close by lot, the other being dropped off up front by family. Both times we got there pretty early, I would guess around 9am.

 

Parking ex. - We parked at Cruise Park. Small little lot with cheap prices. Close enough for about a 5 minute walk over to the ship.

- Everything went smooth. Nothing chaotic really except that they were in the process of re-doing the port. Still didn't seem to cause problems for us.

 

Drop off ex. - Traffic starts backing up right around the ships. Took about 10 minutes probably. Walked right off and right through all security, check in, etc. Much nicer now with no construction.

 

Overall, we have had a great experience going out of Galveston. Maybe getting there early is the trick?

[tugboat]

Car traffic is a mess, worst of any port we've seen, except possibly New Orleans when there is a convention running.

 

 

 

There is a secret I will share with you next time we talk

 

 

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[Clarea]

There is a secret I will share with you next time we talk

Unless I'm totally off base, I think you already shared it the day you dropped us off.

[StrikeEagle]

The cruise terminal is located at the Galveston Downtown area called the Strand that part of area the weekend the traffic is bad on embarkation/disembarkation days. It is worst during special events Mardi Gras, Dickens on the Strand (during Christmas) or any other festivals or activities. Check Galveston web site to see if anything going that weekend you are sailing.

https://www.galveston.com/

Traffic on embarkation day also depends on how many ships is dock on that day. On Sunday there are 2 ships traffic is usually bad. Another time I sailed on Monday on Vision of the Seas (smaller ship) and it is the only ship there and the traffic is not that bad.

Edited February 8, 2018 by StrikeEagle

[wolfganghowell]

KSucAts - I support your theory. A lot of people drive to this port - I think more so than Florida cruises. Between folks wanting to hit the road and the flyers needing to make flights that are a good distance away, it's created a lot of self carry's - more than I've seen out of other ports. I wish Royal would recognize this and perhaps limit the amount of people who do self carry because having so many makes it utter chaos leaving.

But having cruised from Galveston 16 times now, it's just an expected part of the trip for us.

 

And the traffic getting into port can be slow but we always take our hotel shuttle and we arrive early - around 10. The new seating area is pretty nice and I can stare at my ipad there just as easily as the hotel. LOVE being among the first on the ship.

[Merion_Mom]

KSucAts - I support your theory. A lot of people drive to this port - I think more so than Florida cruises. Between folks wanting to hit the road and the flyers needing to make flights that are a good distance away, it's created a lot of self carry's - more than I've seen out of other ports. I wish Royal would recognize this and perhaps limit the amount of people who do self carry because having so many makes it utter chaos leaving.

But having cruised from Galveston 16 times now, it's just an expected part of the trip for us.

 

And the traffic getting into port can be slow but we always take our hotel shuttle and we arrive early - around 10. The new seating area is pretty nice and I can stare at my ipad there just as easily as the hotel. LOVE being among the first on the ship.

It's about the same in New Jersey, and the Cape Liberty port. Huge percentage of people who want to carry off their own luggage and just hit the road ASAP.

[euphscott]

I'll be a contrarian...I almost always drive to this port (I flew once - so I used a rental car), but if you arrive early (about 10-10:30) you can drop off luggage, go park and then walk (my choice) or shuttle from the private lots (not that much further than the official ones, and much cheaper).

 

The police move traffic along efficiently so long as stupid drivers don't try to skirt the system. Once back at the pier, I usually zip through lines and onto the ship in under 30 minutes. For me, Galveston is a great port.

 

Disembarkation can be a little bit of a bear with long lines in customs, but again, once past that, I have a system that scoots me out rather quickly.

 

I find Galveston very friendly and efficient. You just can't think like Florida.

[BethV114]

We are sailing Liberty out of Galveston on 4/1, staying at Homewood Suites Saturday night. What would be a good time to plan on arriving at the terminal? We would rather wait a bit there and get on the ship than hang out at the hotel. Thanks!

[Clarea]

We are sailing Liberty out of Galveston on 4/1, staying at Homewood Suites Saturday night. What would be a good time to plan on arriving at the terminal? We would rather wait a bit there and get on the ship than hang out at the hotel. Thanks!

I'd try to get there around 10:30am.

[euphscott]

Shoot for about 10:30 and you will breeze through fairly easily.

 

We are sailing Liberty out of Galveston on 4/1, staying at Homewood Suites Saturday night. What would be a good time to plan on arriving at the terminal? We would rather wait a bit there and get on the ship than hang out at the hotel. Thanks!

[dplusd]

We are sailing Liberty out of Galveston on 4/1, staying at Homewood Suites Saturday night. What would be a good time to plan on arriving at the terminal? We would rather wait a bit there and get on the ship than hang out at the hotel. Thanks!

Boarding will begin about 11am. No need to arrive at the port before 10am, unless you just prefer waiting in the cruise terminal for the ship to clear and boarding to begin.

[CarolynFH]

We’re driving down the Sunday morning of our departure and were hoping to arrive in town around 11 but have lunch on the seawall before going to the port. How bad is traffic, check-in and boarding if we arrive at the port at 1 or 2 instead of 11? We’ve reserved parking already so looking for a place isn’t an issue.

 

 

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[gailforce2000]

Embarkment isn’t bad in Galveston but disembarking is a nightmare so be ready for loooooonnnnnggggg lines if you don’t get off the ship early or carry your own luggage off. Have a safe fun trip

 

 

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