Galveston boarding time???

[05mak05]

We're booked on the Ecstasy out of Galveston. Our boarding pass says boarding is 12:30 to 2:30 pm. Does boarding actually start earlier?

[dbenlee]

Boarding has been known to begin as early as 11:30am. A lot depends on how fast they are able to get the previous guest off and started on turnaround.

[*Mach*]

I've been on the Ecstasy at 11:15.

Get there at about 10:30, no later, if you want to board early.

[Gtownmom]

We had a delayed boarding because the ship couldn't come in due to fog. It wasn't fun... There is NOT enough space in the terminal for all passengers. We stood in the terminal for about 4 hours. Some folks were still outside for that same period. So, be flexible if you go very early!

[JRock59]

Originally Posted by Gtownmom

We had a delayed boarding because the ship couldn't come in due to fog. It wasn't fun... There is NOT enough space in the terminal for all passengers. We stood in the terminal for about 4 hours. Some folks were still outside for that same period. So, be flexible if you go very early!

My understanding is with the changes being made for the Magic changes about boarding will also happen. If the ship is delayed in arriving you will be able to leave head out (maybe over to the strand area) and return at a given time even after you have checked in. It would be like a normal day port stop going through security and everything to "reboard" the ship. If they can make this happen this year it will be much nicer for those who do happen to hit a fog delay!

[maxbroadway]

If you have computer access the morning of your departure, check the webcam at the port between 7:00 and 8:00 AM so you can see if the ship arrived in port on time. To find the webcam link, I just Google "Galveston cruise cam."

The webcam is down occasionally, but it generally works fine and updates every few seconds.

[*Mach*]

Originally Posted by JRock59

My understanding is with the changes being made for the Magic changes about boarding will also happen. If the ship is delayed in arriving you will be able to leave head out (maybe over to the strand area) and return at a given time even after you have checked in. It would be like a normal day port stop going through security and everything to "reboard" the ship. If they can make this happen this year it will be much nicer for those who do happen to hit a fog delay!

If I recall correctly there's also a plan in place to send a text message to those who have elected to leave the terminal during a delay to inform them that boarding will or has commenced.

Pretty neat!

[05mak05]

Originally Posted by Gtownmom

We had a delayed boarding because the ship couldn't come in due to fog. It wasn't fun... There is NOT enough space in the terminal for all passengers. We stood in the terminal for about 4 hours. Some folks were still outside for that same period. So, be flexible if you go very early!

We'be been on the Voyager out of Galveston twice when the channel was fogged in. The first time happened to also be Madri Gras weekend. The city hadn't removed all the closures from the night before. Nightmare. We couldn't get into the EZ Cruise Parking lot because the it was still full and once we got on the shuttle, we couldn't get to the ship because of the traffic jam and detours.
We were the lucky ones who did get into the cruise terminal before the closed it due to code restrictions of live bodies. We finally got on the ship around 5. We were smarter the next time having this vast experience of "no ship anywhere in sight." We got to EZ Cruise early and they found a spot for us. So we walked to the cruise terminal and checked in. Oh, that was SO smart. We then wandered over to the Strand, ate, shopped which made those long hours go a little faster. I can't remember if we pulled our luggage or if we got on the shuttle. Since we were already checked in, all we had to do was hand over our luggage to the porters. We got to skip those long, impossible lines and were the first ones on the ship. Let's hope there is no fog and no Hurricane Richard playing tricks on us October 31st!

[firefly333]

Iv managed to board even before 11 am .. its variable.