Regal Princess Galveston Sailings Concerns

[Crookshanks]

I've cruised out of Galveston twice now. Getting onboard was very quick and easy, even the second cruise when I took my children as they were Blue Lane.  Super quick to get through the lines.  Waited maybe 10-15 minutes in lounge before being ushered onto the ship.

 

Disembarking also wasn't as issue for us. Facial Recognition was up and running. Did the walk off at 8:30 and had collected bags and were waiting for my brother to pick us up by 9.

 

First cruise out of Galveston was January 2023 and Second was March 2023.  These were both on the Ruby, so I'm not sure if it'll be different on the Regal.  I'll see in January how that goes.  

 

On my January cruise, I had a flight out of IAH in Houston around 2PM, which is probably the earliest I'd consider flying out.  My Mom always flies out the next day.

 

Though we are lucky as my brother lives in Houston and has been kind enough to both host us before/after the cruise and do the pick up/drop off as well.

[dallasdan]

We didn't have any issues a couple of weeks ago getting off of the Carnival Vista.  They had 2 lines, passport and birth certificate.  You collected your luggage after customs.  Facial recognition was working.  I am surprised that Princess has different procedures than Carnival.

[Shippy]

 We were on the Regal last week....There was NO green line in the beginning or facial recognition at the end.

Waited OUTSIDE the port for over an hour before they let us inside.....got there after 10 & had green line status which didn't matter.

Over an hour to get from the ship to outside the port....carrying off our own luggage.

 

[cruisinsince75]

23 hours ago, BabsinTX said:

On disembarkation day, it often is quicker to take an elevator up, then stay on for the ride down.

Good to know.  Thanks for the tip.  

[eclue]

We got off the Regal on Nov 5th - Facial recognition was running at that time. We were off the ship in 15 minutes.. I suppose it changes from week to week 

[cruisinsince75]

23 hours ago, skynight said:

I see you are on the Regal Princess.

Have you booked an HCP cabin?  Then no cabin issues.

If not then recognize that cabin doors for all other cabins are 22 inches wide. You have to be able to fit your scooters through the door. Scooters can not be left out in the hall overnight. There is no parking area outside the cabin. Inside & balcony cat. cabins have limited space to park scooters. Mini suites and full suites have more open space. If you have not done so you may wish to consider a full suite or a reserve class mini suite. There are some HCP reserve class mini suites on the Regal. Full suites and Reserve Class provide you with access to the Reserve Class dining area. No wait. Show up anytime the DRs are open. 

 

. 

 

We are in an accessible mini suite on the caribe deck, so we will have plenty of room.  Our scooters are pretty compact also and are less than 22" wide.  Our traveling companions are in a suite on the riviera deck.  I will check into reserve class.  Thanks!

[cruisinsince75]

4 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

I've cruised out of Galveston twice now. Getting onboard was very quick and easy, even the second cruise when I took my children as they were Blue Lane.  Super quick to get through the lines.  Waited maybe 10-15 minutes in lounge before being ushered onto the ship.

 

Disembarking also wasn't as issue for us. Facial Recognition was up and running. Did the walk off at 8:30 and had collected bags and were waiting for my brother to pick us up by 9.

 

First cruise out of Galveston was January 2023 and Second was March 2023.  These were both on the Ruby, so I'm not sure if it'll be different on the Regal.  I'll see in January how that goes.  

 

On my January cruise, I had a flight out of IAH in Houston around 2PM, which is probably the earliest I'd consider flying out.  My Mom always flies out the next day.

 

Though we are lucky as my brother lives in Houston and has been kind enough to both host us before/after the cruise and do the pick up/drop off as well.

We love the Ruby.  We had a fantastic TA cruise Venice to FLL.  Fun CC group as well,  We had well over 100.  Wish the Ruby was still sailing from Galveston.  Much smaller than the Regal.

 

Our last Princess cruise from Texas was on the Caribbean Princess 10 years ago.  It sailed from the Bayport Terminal and was really easy,  Parked right at the pier and Embarkation and Disembarkation only took minutes.  

[satxdiver]

We have gone out of Galveston every year except the pandemic on PCL and CCL usually both and not had a problem.  We are leaving on CCL in Jan and PCL in March.  It will be interesting to see the difference in boarding and deboarding those two cruises.  We will be watching cc for updates on the delays at Galveston and plan accordingly.  Disappointing to hear all this. 

[2and2]

What has been everyone's experience with Express parking lot. It seems too good to be true. Do they over book there. It seems that it a very small parking area.

[Funroe208]

I've got a reservation at Express Parking for Sunday. Will let you know after that.

[2and2]

3 hours ago, Funroe208 said:

I've got a reservation at Express Parking for Sunday. Will let you know after that.

That would be nice if you.

[Cajuntraveler]

We have used the express lot for our last two cruises out of Galveston and we find it is well worth the extra $.  We returned on the Regal last Sunday and walked approximately 200 ft from the terminal to our car.  You may have to park a little further than we did, but none of the parking is very far from the terminal.  

[Funroe208]

Just left the Express lot this morning. We were one of the first to leave and there were empty parking spots. The lot is not large, but it's right beside Terminal 28. We were driving away from the lot within 5 minutes after leaving the terminal. I have already made a new reservation there for my cruise in March. 

[Coolcruise02]

24 minutes ago, Funroe208 said:

Just left the Express lot this morning. We were one of the first to leave and there were empty parking spots. The lot is not large, but it's right beside Terminal 28. We were driving away from the lot within 5 minutes after leaving the terminal. I have already made a new reservation there for my cruise in March. 

Driving to the port is the signage good to find the Express Lot? How early did you arrive?

[Funroe208]

There are Police/Guides when you go into the 23rd Street entrance. They will direct you to the correct lane when you tell them you want Express Parking. There is also an attendant at the lot if you forget the QR code they sent you. Some signage but not a lot. I used Google maps satellite views to get an idea before we arrived.

 

We stayed at a hotel on the gulf side of the island. Left the hotel at 10:30am and were at the lot around 11:30am. Traffic was very heavy. Checked in and on the boat at 12:15pm.

 

Hope this helps.

[2and2]

8 hours ago, Funroe208 said:

There are Police/Guides when you go into the 23rd Street entrance. They will direct you to the correct lane when you tell them you want Express Parking. There is also an attendant at the lot if you forget the QR code they sent you. Some signage but not a lot. I used Google maps satellite views to get an idea before we arrived.

 

We stayed at a hotel on the gulf side of the island. Left the hotel at 10:30am and were at the lot around 11:30am. Traffic was very heavy. Checked in and on the boat at 12:15pm.

 

Hope this helps.

Thank you.  I know the Express lot looks no bigger than a grocery store parking lot and I was worried that they over-booked it. I just did not want any surprises. I was surprised that lot was even available.

[cruisinsince75]

On 11/21/2023 at 8:49 PM, satxdiver said:

 

There will be porters in the baggage claim area available for a tip.  We use them due to walking problems.  There also will be porters if you are parking in one of the offsite lots and they will meet you at the shuttles.

That is good to know.  Thanks!

[2and2]

On 12/4/2023 at 8:06 AM, Funroe208 said:

There are Police/Guides when you go into the 23rd Street entrance. They will direct you to the correct lane when you tell them you want Express Parking. There is also an attendant at the lot if you forget the QR code they sent you. Some signage but not a lot. I used Google maps satellite views to get an idea before we arrived.

 

We stayed at a hotel on the gulf side of the island. Left the hotel at 10:30am and were at the lot around 11:30am. Traffic was very heavy. Checked in and on the boat at 12:15pm.

 

Hope this helps.

    Is there anything you would have done differently. We also have seawall motel. Did you like your timing coming and going. Any other tips?  

[Funroe208]

If you have a seawall hotel, you may want to consider taking 23rd street through downtown to get to the port. The last stoplight is manually controlled by the personnel at the entrance but it will probably still be quicker than Harborside Drive.

 

The only thing I will do different next time is to not let the traffic annoy me.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[cr01s13r3]

On 12/4/2023 at 6:06 AM, Funroe208 said:

There are Police/Guides when you go into the 23rd Street entrance. They will direct you to the correct lane when you tell them you want Express Parking. There is also an attendant at the lot if you forget the QR code they sent you. Some signage but not a lot. I used Google maps satellite views to get an idea before we arrived.

 

We stayed at a hotel on the gulf side of the island. Left the hotel at 10:30am and were at the lot around 11:30am. Traffic was very heavy. Checked in and on the boat at 12:15pm.

 

Hope this helps.

Wow, one hour to make it across Galveston island from seawall side to port side? Seems like very bad traffic indeed. I'm wondering now if staying on the I-45 side/entrance to the island would be any better traffic-wise.

[Coolcruise02]

Should we use 25th Street for the Express lot? (coming from Seawall Blvd)

[atakkat]

On 12/5/2023 at 6:08 PM, Coolcruise02 said:

Should we use 25th Street for the Express lot? (coming from Seawall Blvd)

I too am interested. We have tried various approaches and it is hit i

or miss.  We are lucky enough to live in driving distance.

[Adlig]

We drove to the express lot from the west side. We stayed at the Hilton on the Seawall at 54th street. We went over to Broadway then down 37th Street to Old Port Industrial Blvd. to the Express Lot. We went early, about 9:40. No traffic but fair number of people in line when we arrived. Doors opened a little early and we were in our room by 11:20.

[satxdiver]

We just debarked from the Carnival Dream using the terminal that the Regal will probably use.  They were using the old fashion method of immigration checking, scanning and taking photos of those returning.  No separate line for those with only a bc and state issued id.  The lines were slow but there were several INS officers there.  I have heard that INS is going back to the old method because too many errors are made with the newer picture kiosks. 

[Honolulu Blue]

5 hours ago, satxdiver said:

We just debarked from the Carnival Dream using the terminal that the Regal will probably use.  They were using the old fashion method of immigration checking, scanning and taking photos of those returning.  No separate line for those with only a bc and state issued id.  The lines were slow but there were several INS officers there.  I have heard that INS is going back to the old method because too many errors are made with the newer picture kiosks. 

I was on the same cruise and can confirm the above.