Am I just being a baby or what?

[LuAnnFuller]

:eek: My DH and I along with our best friends are wanting to cruise again around Dec. Im looking at Carnival Conquest, RCCL, and MAYBE Grand Princess. Last Nov we went on a 5 day Grand Princess out of Galveston. There were some things this ship didn't do like shaping my towels into an animal or having no midnight chocolate buffet that I was looking forward to but can do without. But the main problems and my biggest hesitation is the disembarkment. They called all passengers at the same time to the customs. There were people literally walking in circles. This alone took 2 hours. Then we sat in the casino with my 5 year old, BTW, for another 1-1 1/2 hours. Unfortunaly Houston had a cold front hit and we then stood out in front waiting on my husband with our car for 3- hours!!!! No one helped with our luggage by the way. My DD got sick when we returned home. I feel like Princess should do something for us to get our business back!! Does anyone agree or is this just something you chance when cruising? I'm in charge of booking and the friends that are going with us, her husband is in Afganistan and will be home on RR. I want this to be as smooth as possible for them. Lord knows they deserve it. any info would be great. Anyone out there that was on that ship on that date (Nov 8)?

[SaylorGirl]

Hi Lu Ann, I along with my parents and sisters were on that Nov. 8th cruise. We had such a wonderful time. I have never had a "towel animal" on Princess I really don't think they do them. I only had one once on a RCI ship not all ships make them. When I have been to the chocolate buffet we waited in line for one hour it was ridiculous and then when we got up to the table there was really nothing great to eat anyway, just empty calories at midnight!! You really aren't missing anything on that one.

 

The disembarkation was truly a nightmare, but you have to remember it was their first cruise out of Galveston and there were logisticis to solve. I do believe it has gotten better as the cruises went along. I do hope Galveston works on its traffic pattern, once that is solved it should be easy sailing. I would definatly take this cruise again anytime. Try it again, I'm sure I will!!

[Toto2Kansas]

"Does anyone agree or is this just something you chance when cruising?"

 

This can happen on any cruise line. I have read where Galveston can be the pitts for disembarkation and that might have been part of the problem. Princess or any line that we have ever sailed with does not help with your luggage after the cruise, it is up to you to get a porter and tip him well for his services.

There is nothing Princess will or can do to make up for your displeasure, it is just something that can happen.

 

The cruise line you choose is totally up to you. If you want towel animals, then Princess isn't in the running. If a chocolate buffet is on your list, then strike Princess again.

 

Princess offers small things that I don't feel RCI or Carnival does such as fabulous food and 24 hour dining along with some great ships.

 

Good luck on your search.

To answer your question? Well, compared to other things that can happen to passengers, I think that part of this problem was your own fault for not staying inside where it was warm or finding a porter to assist with your luggage after you disembarked the ship.

Disembarkation at times is quite hectic but you just learn to get over it and go with the flow. There are sometimes several hours on every ship while you wait to disembark and sitting around doing nothing is part of the unpleasent experience. There are sometimes thousands that need to disembark and they do their best to keep it organized and waiting is part of it. You will not find anything different on any other line, it is just part of the end of the cruise experience.

 

Lots of lines to choose from and if you go into this with the attitude that you feel Princess needs to make up for things you weren't dissatisfied with, you may have a problem sailing with them again until you cruise with another line for comparison.

 

Best of Luck, I hope you find the perfect cruise for you and your friends.

[spongerob]

Princess has tried a few things to smooth out the disembarkation problems at Galveston, with varying degrees of success based on the post-cruise reports. We loved our cruise on Grand Princess over New Year's, but the chaos outside the terminal building was enough to make me seriously reconsider using Galveston as a port again, no matter the cruise line. I really couldn't find it in my heart to blame Princess for the problems; from what I observed the local authorities need to take steps to control access to the terminal area. Too many private vehicles were clogging up the queues, to the detriment of those using other transportation.

 

What I couldn't understand is why people had to remain on board after clearing immigration on board. The whole process could be expedited if those who have been through immigration could be allowed off the ship immediately. I doubt that is anything Princess can control, either.

 

Princess does a fantastic job in Ft. Lauderdale, if you are able to cruise out of that port.

[LuAnnFuller]

Thank you all for putting it perspective for me. This was our first cruise and I don't know what to compare it to. I guess I will leave it up to the pricing, since the only difference is Jamica vs Costa Maya. Loved Costa Maya.

 

TOTO, we WERE the last ones off the ship. My in laws booked it for us. Boy, what they have started. :) And as for the porters, there was none available. They were helping the next cruisers get on board. Trust me when I say I know how they work. lol

[cherylandtk]

LuAnn, I do agree with all that both Toto and Spongerob have said (you will find they are both reliable experts on these boards), but I do want to mention that it is unlikely you will have quite the same terrible experience on any subsequent cruise you go on. Yes, some ports are worse than others, and yes, debarcation is a lot of "hurry up and wait", but now that you have gotten over the initial shock, you will find little ways to make the adventure more tolerable in the future. Enjoy your time at breakfast, take a book or toys for yourself and the kids for the lounge area (1-2 hours is not atypical), and don't send your husband for the car until you are comfortably settled with your pile of luggage. (That was the most unusual part of your experience-should have taken more like 20 minutes instead of 3 hours)

 

FYI, driving passengers are always the last ones off (no airline connections and no transfers), so you do have time to enjoy breakfast, although you probably still have to clear your room by 7:30 or 8. Take smallish carryons, and know that you will have to lug the kids and the stuff around for a couple of hours.

 

Not sure if the parking situation at Galveston has improved, but many reported using EZcruise with very little hassle or delay in picking up the car, so that whole 3 hour thing won't happen in most places, and perhaps not in Galveston again.

 

Last but not least, enjoy your next cruise, regardless of the line. They are all different in some ways and all the same in others. I am sure you will find one that you just love, and I would be willing to bet Princess will be in your top one or two list.

[Travelgrrl]

Not to be advocating another line, but Royal Caribbean has lovely midnight buffets (usually one chocolate one and one grand buffet on a 7 night) and I would say you get towel animals about 4-5 nights out of 7. I really don't care but my friends always seems to like 'em!

 

Each line has its own strong points; choose the things that matter to you and then you will know which cruise line, and ship, to pick.

[argosy]

Wow. Maybe things have improved drastically with Princess and Galveston, or maybe it was just the luck of the draw, but on our Feb 5 cruise out of Galveston, we had no issues at all with the disembarkation procedures. We were off the ship in less than 2 hours, and that includes waiting in the lounge for them to call our luggage color.

[spongerob]

LuAnn, I do agree with all that both Toto and Spongerob have said (you will find they are both reliable experts on these boards), but I do want to mention that it is unlikely you will have quite the same terrible experience on any subsequent cruise you go on.

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence! You are probably right - if we had to stuck to our original plan of using EZPark instead of taking advantage of free parking at our hotel, that required the use of a shuttle after the cruise, we probably would have been much better off. I must add that there were many rude people pushing their way past others to get to transportation, and that compounded a bad situation. I don't want to give Galveston a bad rap; it's a really fun little city with lots of charm and interesting sites.

[nanlaur]

We were on the Grand in March and found disembarkation MUCH better in Galveston than Ft. Lauderdale last year. Last year they got us off the ship too quickly and it was like a cattle car when we picked up luggage. There was nowhere to move, it took forever to find our luggage because it wasn't sorted by tag color and the lines to go through customs checkout were horrible. It took a while to get off the Grand this year, but there wasn't a mob scene when we collected our luggage. We stayed at a motel for a couple days pre-cruise and parked there for the duration of the cruise. Walked off the ship, got a cab, collected the car, and were heading out of town less than 1/2 hour later.