RCCL Galveston Embarkation / Debarkation

[IlliniCruiser88]

Hi all,

 

Just returned from 7 days on the Voyager. One thing I was really disappointed in was the embarkation / debarkation in Galveston. I have never experienced anything as poorly run as the embarkation / debarkation at this port, and I will never travel out of this port again.

 

I would warn cruisers that you must allow a lot of time for debarkation; we waited in line for customs for nearly 2 hours after debarking the ship.

 

I should have known something was awry when we arrived for embarkation at noon and still saw people leaving the ship from the previous cruise. I've never experienced large numbers of people leaving a ship that late in the day.

 

The problem compounds itself because many people hear of the issues and then sign up for "express departure" to get off the ship as soon as possible in order to make their flights. We were warned on the ride down and by some of the crew of the debarkation problems, so we signed up for express departure. The express departure requires you to take your own luggage. My experience was that there was nothing "express" about this at all. Even though "express" passengers were off the ship earlier, we waited in incredibly long lines with only 2 customs agents designated to deal with "express" passengers. Our express group was called to debark at 9 a.m., but we were not through customs until 11:00 a.m.!

 

It appeared to me that there were plenty of customs agents, and they seemed to be doing an efficient job. I'm not sure who's at fault for the chaos. We've debarked at a number of different piers, and nothing was ever like the experience we had in Galveston. I must add that the Carnival Conquest did not appear to have the same issues based on the traffic and flow I observed coming from their terminal. I wonder if anyone out there who has traveled on the Conquest could comment on Carnival's debarkation in Galveston?

 

Unless you really like the itinerary or get an incredible deal, I would avoid this departure port until they solve their debarkation problems.

 

Hope this helps!

[bobstack]

Dear Fellow Illini Cruiser:

 

We've sailed from Galveston 8 times since 2004, and have had a better experience than you had yesterday. In fact, we were in Galveston yesterday, and watched for VOTS and Conquest to arrive Sunday morning. The fog was keeping visibility down to less than 1 mile, and that I believe delayed your arrival a little bit. VOTS comes in after Conquest, so your ship arrives with the port area filled up with Conquest's people. So weather yesterday might have played some role (because we've seen many Sunday morning ships arrive closer to 6 or 6:30 am).

 

Secondly, we always take the Express checkout, so we pack accordingly. On our last 2 Galveston cruises (12-07 and 11-07), we were off the ship and crossing the I-45 Causeway bridge at 8 am. Therefore, please keep the option open to cruise Galveston, because it has never taken us up to 11 am to clear customs.

 

We had fog a few times at Galveston, and that did delay the ship's arrival, but that was only 2 times out of 8 Galveston cruises.

 

As for customs, we also have stood in line, maybe for up to 30 minutes. Perhaps there was not enough staffing for your larger ship yesterday. We did watch from Starbucks at 22nd and Harborside yesterday morning, and watched the traffic enter the Cruiseport area, until we left at 1 pm. The key to negotiating Cruiseport traffic is to get off of Harborside at 28th, turn right, go 1 block to Santa Fe, turn left, go to the end of the street to 25th, turn left and then an immediate right onto The Strand. Then go 3 blocks up to 22nd (KEMPNER), turn left, and you'll have done an end run around the crowds at the stop light entrance to the cruise ship terminals.

 

As a fellow Illini, I hope you'll reconsider Galveston. Our multiple cruises here have been great!

 

Bob from Dallas / Ft. Worth, U of I '76 (OSKIWAWA!)

[SheriNtexas]

Unless you really like the itinerary or get an incredible deal, I would avoid this departure port until they solve their debarkation problems.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

 

Sorry your disembarkation didn't go well, but please don't judge the whole port based on this one experience! I have sailed from Galveston 5 times on both Carnival AND Royal Caribbean, and sometimes it went smoothly and other times it didn't. I've read posts where people had disembarking nightmares from all different ports! I sailed on Conquest last summer and there were only 2 customs agents then too. That may be the norm, but i don't know about Voyager of the Seas and their disembarking procedures.

[firefly333]

I was on the same ship OP and my time was 7:45 and I was off the ship 15 mniutes early. I did turn in my form right away, so I was an A on the express disembarkation and was in line early, but I was out of Galveston by 8 a.m.

 

Did you not turn in your form until the last minute and get a later time? Maybe you got in line late? Im wondering how you could have stood in line over 2 hours when I was off earlier than my time on my express card said I could get off. They made the announcement either at 7:20 or 7:25 that we had been cleared by customs and let folks get off early.

 

I hit the Galveston Bridge about 8:03 am. I also turned in the form as soon as I got it.

 

We were also to the port shortly after 10:30 am. and knew from experience that its best to be there early. We were there when they started letting the first folks thru. We did run into a problem because for some reason we were not on the manifest. We booked Wednesday morning, so plenty of time to be printed on the manifest, even considering the cut off 72 hours rule, so this cost us some time getting on the ship and was aggravating. I had to check in and leave my sister with the luggage, then go back with my sea pass card to the porter to put a tag on my luggage and take our suitcase we wanted to check, then we had to go back thru the line so my sister could get her sea pass card.

[CanTex]

Sorry your disembarkation didn't go well, but please don't judge the whole port based on this one experience! I have sailed from Galveston 5 times on both Carnival AND Royal Caribbean, and sometimes it went smoothly and other times it didn't. I've read posts where people had disembarking nightmares from all different ports! I sailed on Conquest last summer and there were only 2 customs agents then too. That may be the norm, but i don't know about Voyager of the Seas and their disembarking procedures.

I think there were at least six customs agents working on March 16 when we came back; 4 or 5 for those carrying their own bags through and 2 or 3 for those using porters. It still took an unexpectedly long time -- it seemed they were being very picky with documents that day -- there was one group in front of us who took 10 minutes with the agent!

[billsrobb]

Hi all,

 

Just returned from 7 days on the Voyager. One thing I was really disappointed in was the embarkation / debarkation in Galveston. I have never experienced anything as poorly run as the embarkation / debarkation at this port, and I will never travel out of this port again.

 

I would warn cruisers that you must allow a lot of time for debarkation; we waited in line for customs for nearly 2 hours after debarking the ship.

 

I should have known something was awry when we arrived for embarkation at noon and still saw people leaving the ship from the previous cruise. I've never experienced large numbers of people leaving a ship that late in the day.

 

The problem compounds itself because many people hear of the issues and then sign up for "express departure" to get off the ship as soon as possible in order to make their flights. We were warned on the ride down and by some of the crew of the debarkation problems, so we signed up for express departure. The express departure requires you to take your own luggage. My experience was that there was nothing "express" about this at all. Even though "express" passengers were off the ship earlier, we waited in incredibly long lines with only 2 customs agents designated to deal with "express" passengers. Our express group was called to debark at 9 a.m., but we were not through customs until 11:00 a.m.!

 

It appeared to me that there were plenty of customs agents, and they seemed to be doing an efficient job. I'm not sure who's at fault for the chaos. We've debarked at a number of different piers, and nothing was ever like the experience we had in Galveston. I must add that the Carnival Conquest did not appear to have the same issues based on the traffic and flow I observed coming from their terminal. I wonder if anyone out there who has traveled on the Conquest could comment on Carnival's debarkation in Galveston?

 

Unless you really like the itinerary or get an incredible deal, I would avoid this departure port until they solve their debarkation problems.

 

Hope this helps!

I have sailed twice out of Galveston both times on the Conquest. I have never had a problem getting on the ship or off the ship. I never have had your problem.

Robb

Poster-In-Chief

[SheriNtexas]

I think there were at least six customs agents working on March 16 when we came back; 4 or 5 for those carrying their own bags through and 2 or 3 for those using porters. It still took an unexpectedly long time -- it seemed they were being very picky with documents that day -- there was one group in front of us who took 10 minutes with the agent!

 

 

You made an excellent point and now that I read your post, there were 2 for people using porters, which I did. I forgot about the people who were inline with their own luggage. Yep, if they get picky with documents, that can really slow things down a LOT!

[cmsjab]

We had watched the chaos while we were embarking on 3/23. We knew we had an early flight and had booked an early towncar for 8:30. We requested Express A and were still eating breakfast at 7:20 when the first group was called. We quickly made it back to our cabin, grabbed our stuff and were at the tail end of the Express A line. We were off by 8am - actually fairly smooth. The car arrived at 8:30 as promised and we were at the airport by 10am. However, those individuals who chose to use express when they had far too much luggage to be "express" were having a difficult time and slowing things down.

[IlliniCruiser88]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for the feedback. There was a lot of fog yesterday, hopefully that is part of the explanation! I'm encouraged by the experiences others reported here. I feel bad talking about the problems in embarkation and debarkation - it leaves out everything in between that was absolutely wonderful!

 

Here's some details that might help others in the future:

 

We did not turn our express forms in right away, we debated about whether or not to do it. Our flight was at 2:10 out of Hobby, and I thought we would be fine doing regular debarkation. Some of the crew warned us about debarkation and encouraged us to do Express Departure (as did the Limo driver on our way down), so we ended up signing up and getting in Express Group D. They called us right at the appointed time (9:00), and we headed right off the ship. Then the wait started, and I am not exaggerating when I say we waited almost 2 hours before clearing customs. I'm sure those that did not choose Express Departure but whose color was called even an hour after us got out of the port before we did. The line for Express Departure was enormous.

 

I think the problem is that many people hear there are delays with debarkation in Galveston, so they sign up for Express Departure. And if you are not in Express Departure Group A or B, you are in for a looong wait. People around me were absolutely irate. Having done this a number of times (but never at Galveston), I figured it out pretty quick - we were going to wait a long time and there was nothing you could do about it. So one lesson learned is to make sure you are in Express Group A or B.

 

Here is where I fault RCCL or Customs (not sure whose responsibility it is). There were 8 customs agents, with only 2 assigned to express departure. When it became apparent that the line for Express Departure was extremely long, there was no effort to route Express Departure folks to more lines. It looked to me like the folks directing lines were RCCL employees, but I could be mistaken.

 

I really value the opinions of you on these boards (especially my fellow Illini!), so I won't write off Galveston. I learned a few lessons this trip wrt to Galveston. If I could do it over, I probably would have stayed pre-cruise in Galveston instead of Houston, gotten to the port earlier for embarkation, and pushed my flight back by a couple of hours and done normal debarkation.

 

Thanks again for all the advice!

[buckanear]

I don't know what day you got back on, but customs has been extremely thorough due to Spring Break (which means two to three times as many foreign passports and alien residents) so the line is very slow.

 

I always tell people that express isn't always fastest, which was the word onboard the ship during my sailing (3/16-3/23). People with too many bags and unprepared for customs really slow the line down. The amount of customs agent is not controlled by either RCCL or Galveston and they may take a dim view on RCCL interference in the caged area. Another thing, the people guarding the lines are RCCL employees (more like contractors, we don't work directly for them) and I will tell you from very personal experience. Disembarking passengers hate to be told to stand or to move from their hard fought space. They get downright nasty so there is sometimes a "hands off" approach. I have had issues with people who didn't want to move from a hallway because of a fire code and they get downright nasty (happens several times a week). It's not worth the fight because everytime I've asked someone to move, I've been snapped at. Even while trying to go the wrong way up the gangway and fighting the crowds so I can get to work, I've been snapped at. I'm not kidding when I say a majority of passengers give me an attitude during disembarkation, that's why I don't really like it.

Even sadder still, I've had several people snap at me only to realize that I'm american (Texas accent) and apologize with an explanation that they didn't realize I was from the area.

[CGBCruiser]

We have cruised out of Galveston 4 times, but I have to say that going through customs on 3/9/08 was very slow. A big part of the problem were the recent customs regulations, i.e. every foreign national coming through customs has to be photographed and fingerprinted. So, this does slow down the process. However, the RCCL personnel worked hard to get everyone through as best they could. We were able to find our luggage very easily and thought the process went very smoothly. Things are going to be a little slower with 6,000 passengers coming in at one time.

[New2Cruzin2]

Used Express walk-off, was in line on Deck 4 prior to 7:30am, line moved along smoothly. Was in and out of customs by 8:10 am and in a bus on my way to Lighthouse parking by 8:15am. In my car by 8:30 and on the road by 8:33am!!! I thought debarkation was smooth and well run! They have put restrictions on embarking passengers via the taxi and shuttle buses.....not allowed to drop off passengers until after 1 pm. I know everyone is anxious to get onboard and start the vacation but with 3500 people trying to get off the ship and on their way home, there is NO WAY 3500 different people can expect to smoothly get onboard during the same time.

 

Please, be patient and don't even go to the pier until after 1pm......you will be in the Windjammer before 2pm and starting your vacation with no stress whatsoever if you do this! We arrived at the pier at 1:05 pm for embarkation and were seated in Windjammer before 2pm.

 

Just my two cents! My hat is off to all the porters and employees that put up with us anxious, impatient cruizers. You are greatly appreciated!

[txskier]

.....and just remember if you are worried about making your "noon" flight or your "1pm international" flight and you are booking the bus transfers.

 

No matter how early you get off the ship, the bus will NOT leave unless it is FULL!!!!!

 

If you booked you flight as early as above, take a taxi!!!! Save yourself some grief

[cmsjab]

suggestion of trying to make your "noon" flight or international flight on time. I booked last minute due to a price drop. I hadn't done all of my homework and research ahead of time (not like me at all!). I booked what I thought was a great flight out - direct, leaving at 12:25 - without thinking about the 1 1/2 hour time frame to get from Galveston to Houston. Ship transfers won't take a flight before 12:30pm (of course, you can put 12:30 on the paper but you need to wait until the bus is full. I wasn't willing to take that chance - expecially with the possibility of fog. Granted, it all worked out in the end but I was stressing until the towncar arrived.

[txskier]

suggestion of trying to make your "noon" flight or international flight on time. I booked last minute due to a price drop. I hadn't done all of my homework and research ahead of time (not like me at all!). I booked what I thought was a great flight out - direct, leaving at 12:25 - without thinking about the 1 1/2 hour time frame to get from Galveston to Houston. Ship transfers won't take a flight before 12:30pm (of course, you can put 12:30 on the paper but you need to wait until the bus is full. I wasn't willing to take that chance - expecially with the possibility of fog. Granted, it all worked out in the end but I was stressing until the towncar arrived.

 

 

Great!!....someone who "understands the show".....LOL

[buckanear]

Just my two cents! My hat is off to all the porters and employees that put up with us anxious, impatient cruizers. You are greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you :)

 

A big thanks to TXSkier who deals with Intercontinental airport buses. I did that job two weeks ago. It's not for the faint at heart (or lungs). I'll stick to my color sorting, thank you very much.

 

I honestly don't think people would give us a hard time about the bus leaving if they had to stand 3 hours on the concrete, choking on bus smog and keeping track of multiple bus' at a time. It always catches embarking passengers by surprise when they learn that we've been there since 7:30, standing on concrete, and then checking passengers in at 3:30. By the time disembark is done, there is a line for check-in, so we get a bite to eat and half a potty break and it's back to work.

It's a great job though. The day flies by and the incoming pax are so much fun.

[txskier]

ANYONE who is in a hurry (to get to the airport) AND impatient should always take a taxi;)

[bobstack]

Hi Fellow Cruisers:

 

My wife and I just got off the Carnival Ecstasy yesterday. We did the self assist debarkation. There were 6 customs officers at their stations, who were moving people through fairly quickly.

 

Here's some observations:

 

1. They started "express" debarkation at 8 am with groups 1 - 5. Our group number (14) was called at 8:45 am.

 

2. We made it to the customs officers at 9:45 am. So we were in line for 1 hour, waiting to go through customs.

 

3. I had our luggage in our car (parked at EZ Cruise Parking) by 10 am.

 

4. We were crossing the Causeway bridge at 10:15 am.

 

5. There were 4 lines for regular cruisers, and 2 lines for people using the porters.

 

6. If you sprang the few extra dollars for the porter, you could have knocked off probably 20-30 minutes off the 1 hour wait to get to the customs officer.

 

7. There were plenty of Port people around to answer questions, tell you where the restrooms are, etc.

 

8. New Info: No using your cell phone while in the 1 hour line to see the customs officer.

 

9. Old Info: It sure takes less time to debark 2000 Ecstasy people, than 3000 Conquest people! Yesterday proved that again.

 

We find Galveston the Port of Choice for those who want to drive to it. And EZ Cruise the parking lot of choice, because we park, and walk the 2 blocks to the Cruise Ship Terminal.

 

What do you other cruisers think of Galveston? Has your experience been the same? We have cruised from Galveston now 9X, and 3 more times to come.

 

Best wishes in all of your plans,

 

Bob and Donna

[Taxguy7]

Cruiseloverandagent

What a bummer of a job!!! I had no idea cruise passengers (Not counting BW & I or several friends we have made cruising) were so ugly when disembarking.

 

When we disembarked there after a TA on Celeb., we were delayed until after noon! There was grumbling on board, but nobody took it out on ship personnel, we knew it was Home land security(?). We had told our daughter to meet us at 9-10 no-rush, and talked to her several times on the cell phone ( which we loaned to a couple who were driving a ways to visit relatives waiting lunch for them). She finally drove off to get a sandwich and when we finally[/

got off, she had gotten some for us too.

 

Customs may have been snail slow all morning, but when we went through it was "keep moving".

[Taxguy7]

Great!!....someone who "understands the show".....LOL

Where do you ski in Texas? Mount Aggie? or waterski. :rolleyes:

I prefer waterski, but haven't since I broke a hip trying snow.:eek:

[txskier]

Where do you ski in Texas? Mount Aggie? or waterski. :rolleyes:

I prefer waterski, but haven't since I broke a hip trying snow.:eek:

 

Actually....it has been 6 years since snow skiing (usually CO or UT)

Cruising has taken most of the vacation funds now. Much easier vacation when departing from Galveston on a cruise:D