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cannot get out of port


jackietex
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Please contact the port director. This is not to be tolerated and the executives must be informed.

 

Michael Mierzwa - email: mmierzwa@portofgalveston.com

 

Thanks for the address. I send an email that mentioned the poor reputation that many cruiser have given to the Port of Galveston and outlined many of the debarkation problem that are being reported by cruisers. Sometimes the people who have the ability to make positive change are insulated from the problems. Perhaps if he hears from enough people improvements will be made.

Edited by Don Pedro
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I always book a 4:00PM flight on debark day from Hobby, we get off ship and my friend who lives in Houston takes me places and we have a nice late lunch before taking me to airport. There have a couple of times we did not get off of ship until 1:00PM due to fog [we sail in Jan or Feb] so I would never feel comfortable booking an earlier flight. Who wants to have a relaxing week and then get stressed worrying about making earlier flights, not me.

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Thanks for the address. I send an email that mentioned the poor reputation that many cruiser have given to the Port of Galveston and outlined many of the debarkation problem that are being reported by cruisers. Sometimes the people who have the ability to make positive change are insulated from the problems. Perhaps if he hears from enough people improvements will be made.

 

I wish everyone would contact the port as I don't rely on them reading these posts.

DH and I have discussed going before the board at their monthly meeting to bring up the issues we see that area a disgrace to the City and those sailing on the cruise ships.

 

Keep contacting them until you receive an answer. I know DH has sent letters, receiving no response. This is why I want to speak before the board. Then it is recorded and part of the minutes.

 

You are correct in the assumption those at the top aren't aware of the problems. We happen to speak to a friend last night that works at the pier and echoed our concerns.

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We were stuck in the terminal bldg for hours as well. The staff workers who were there to help created confusion with the pax with conflicting directions and often argued publicly between themselves over who was right. One of the staff members actuall grabbed my handicapped mother by her arm who was in a walker at that time and attempted to drag her as if she were a piece of luggage. I asked her politely the first time to let go of her arm as she has a degenerative bone disease and is very frail. There was no response and then I raised my voice and repeated the request. She looked at me and gave me a dirty look without releasing her hold. At that point I removed her arm for her and after doing so I was threatened with an assault charge by the worker. My mother has a large bruise on her arm this morning from the staff worker.

Something needs to be done about this port starting with calling to RCI I believe. No other port that I have been to compares to the chaos experienced yesterday.

Which staff? Security or Royal Caribbean. Royal Caribbean staff usually wear those blue scarfs and have name tags. I hope you got her name.

 

You can't treat an elderly person like that! My mother-in-law fell and got a nasty abrasion on her shin that took multiple visits to wound care and months to heal. They can bruise with the lightest touch.

 

Get photos of that bruise!

Edited by knittinggirl
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Interesting to hear. We have been out of Galveston many times (always Carnival or Princess) and have never had any problems. Just returned from cruise out of Port of Houston and it was amazingly quick. Our disembark number was called, we collected our luggage, went thru customs, walked to our vehicle and loaded our luggage and were on the road in 17 minutes.

 

 

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I wish everyone would contact the port as I don't rely on them reading these posts.

DH and I have discussed going before the board at their monthly meeting to bring up the issues we see that area a disgrace to the City and those sailing on the cruise ships.

 

Keep contacting them until you receive an answer. I know DH has sent letters, receiving no response. This is why I want to speak before the board. Then it is recorded and part of the minutes.

 

You are correct in the assumption those at the top aren't aware of the problems. We happen to speak to a friend last night that works at the pier and echoed our concerns.

 

I agree. Galveston could become one of the better departure ports. On the rare times I get to Galveston I always look forward to a great meal at Shearn's restaurant which is atop the Moody Gardens Hotel.

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Interesting to hear. We have been out of Galveston many times (always Carnival or Princess) and have never had any problems. Just returned from cruise out of Port of Houston and it was amazingly quick. Our disembark number was called, we collected our luggage, went thru customs, walked to our vehicle and loaded our luggage and were on the road in 17 minutes.

 

 

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Evidently the more experienced Carnival terminal is running good. Perhaps the port needs to exert a little effort to get the RCCL terminal up to the same standards.

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We were stuck in the terminal bldg for hours as well. The staff workers who were there to help created confusion with the pax with conflicting directions and often argued publicly between themselves over who was right. One of the staff members actuall grabbed my handicapped mother by her arm who was in a walker at that time and attempted to drag her as if she were a piece of luggage. I asked her politely the first time to let go of her arm as she has a degenerative bone disease and is very frail. There was no response and then I raised my voice and repeated the request. She looked at me and gave me a dirty look without releasing her hold. At that point I removed her arm for her and after doing so I was threatened with an assault charge by the worker. My mother has a large bruise on her arm this morning from the staff worker.

Something needs to be done about this port starting with calling to RCI I believe. No other port that I have been to compares to the chaos experienced yesterday.

 

I am so sorry this happened to your mother. I am sure it was awful for her. No one should treat anyone like that especially when they don't have any idea what might be wrong with them. I know they can bruise very easily because my mom is like that.

 

We have had several cruises out of Galveston and have had no problems. One reason may be because we use self assist.

 

I hope your mother is doing alright and that your next cruise ends much better than this one did.

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Evidently the more experienced Carnival terminal is running good. Perhaps the port needs to exert a little effort to get the RCCL terminal up to the same standards.

 

As part of RCCL agreement for the full time Navigator ship here.

a 10 million improvement project for Galveston Terminal # 2 has been planned.

However construction has not begun yet.

 

And this may be part of same or not part of above agreement mentioned,

but now word on street is Port will double size of Terminal # 2

and deepen and widen channel to bring in yet a larger RCCL ship in Freedom Class in maybe 2015, and for a Quantum or Oasis Class in the future.

 

Also word on the street is Carnival is considering a third ship in Galveston!

 

The channel and terminal improvements dove tale into RCCL

and then also Carnival considerations!

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As part of RCCL agreement for the full time Navigator ship here.

a 10 million improvement project for Galveston Terminal # 2 has been planned.

However construction has not begun yet.

 

And this may be part of same or not part of above agreement mentioned,

but now word on street is Port will double size of Terminal # 2

and deepen and widen channel to bring in yet a larger RCCL ship in Freedom Class in maybe 2015, and for a Quantum or Oasis Class in the future.

 

Also word on the street is Carnival is considering a third ship in Galveston!

 

The channel and terminal improvements dove tale into RCCL

and then also Carnival considerations!

 

Thanks for this encouraging information! Perhaps they can make a few interim steps to alleviate the alleged current problems.

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The fact the Navigator heads into dry-dock tonight may have played a part in any delays with immigration today as there was probably a larger than normal amount of crew also exiting the ship.

 

Unless this happened to be the end of their current contract, the crew does not leave the ship during dry dock. Everyone stays on the ship and works. We recently saw a documentary on one of the RCI ships in dry dock. Even the Captain stays on the ship.

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Unless this happened to be the end of their current contract, the crew does not leave the ship during dry dock. Everyone stays on the ship and works. We recently saw a documentary on one of the RCI ships in dry dock. Even the Captain stays on the ship.

 

In this case, many of the crew did not stay on the ship for dry dock. A frequent Galveston cruiser who is friendly with some of the crew reported that yesterday on a different thread.

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Original poster here, it ended up taking about two and a half hours for the entire departure process. This was our sixth cruise out of Galveston, so we're used to the chaos, this was just worse than we had ever experienced. Eventually we were told it was due to the new alcohol tax law and two of the passport booths being closed for a while. We survived and I would happily do it again next year! :)

 

ETA The first group departure time was 9:15 and the last was 10:00, that's a lot of people trying to disembark practically at the same time.

Edited by jackietex
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From Bush Airport IAH it is 70 miles to Galveston cruise terminal. That could take you anywhere from 1 1/4 hours to 3 hours, just depends on traffic and road construction.

 

Hobby Airport HOU is just over 40 miles from the Galveston cruise terminal. That could take you 45 minutes or 1 1/2 hours. Again dependant on traffic and construction.

 

If I was doing this I would not schedule a flight from HOU before noon or IAH before 2PM. I would also fly in the day before and stay on Galveston island the night before the cruise.

 

I live 53 miles from IAH, which is the airport I always fly out of. I have gotten to the airport in 45 minutes and I have gotten to the airport in 2 1/2 hours. You just never know, so I always allow at least 3 hours before my flight.

 

Hope this helps. :)

 

It does help! Thank you so much for a direct answer to my question. I really appreciate your response!

 

What do you think about staying near the Hobby Airport and then taking a shuttle (or something) down to Galveston the morning of the cruise? It looks like the Galveston properties are at least twice as expensive as what I've been seeing around the Hobby airport. We spend pretty freely once on the ship but try to get a good price on airfare and lodging (at a 3 or 4 star property.....we don't go for the real budget places....something like a 4 Points by Sheraton or so).

 

Thanks again!

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It does help! Thank you so much for a direct answer to my question. I really appreciate your response!

 

What do you think about staying near the Hobby Airport and then taking a shuttle (or something) down to Galveston the morning of the cruise? It looks like the Galveston properties are at least twice as expensive as what I've been seeing around the Hobby airport. We spend pretty freely once on the ship but try to get a good price on airfare and lodging (at a 3 or 4 star property.....we don't go for the real budget places....something like a 4 Points by Sheraton or so).

 

Thanks again!

That's exactly what we have done. Didn't want to deal with the high prices (and 2 day weekend stay requirement) of staying on the island, so we stay near the airport and shuttle down to the ship in the morning. There are a few hotels near the airport with free shuttle between the airport and hotel.

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Some of the 2 day weekend requirements are based which weekend you want to stay. We have stayed a number of times in Galveston and have only booked a room for 1 night (2 times @ Hilton, 1 time @ San Louis Resort & 2 times at Hawthorn Suites). We are even booked on 2/22/14 (Mardi Gras weekend) and booked for 1 night, again at the Hilton Resort.

 

If you stay close to Hobby, there is not much in the way of a 4* type property, you really need to get farther west of the downtown area but you can get a good 3* property close to Hobby. My preference would be going a little farther down I45 to Texas City or NASA where there are some Hilton Garden & Marriott Suite properties at low $100 rates. Then you are only about 20 minutes from the port.

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Some of the 2 day weekend requirements are based which weekend you want to stay. We have stayed a number of times in Galveston and have only booked a room for 1 night (2 times @ Hilton, 1 time @ San Louis Resort & 2 times at Hawthorn Suites). We are even booked on 2/22/14 (Mardi Gras weekend) and booked for 1 night, again at the Hilton Resort.

 

If you stay close to Hobby, there is not much in the way of a 4* type property, you really need to get farther west of the downtown area but you can get a good 3* property close to Hobby. My preference would be going a little farther down I45 to Texas City or NASA where there are some Hilton Garden & Marriott Suite properties at low $100 rates. Then you are only about 20 minutes from the port.

I agree that the selection of hotels near Hobby is not the best. However, when I looked for properties farther south, I ran out of hotels with airport shuttles. So that meant I had to arrange more transportation. Sure would be a lot easier if there were rental car agencies on the island open on Sunday.

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I recommend looking at Texas City for your pre-cruise overnight. We got a great rate at the Hampton Inn. It's closer to the port, and you won't have to drive from Houston Hobby on the morning of the cruise. The closer I can get to the port, the better.

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I'll have to run the numbers for renting a car from Hobby the entire week. This will incur both parking charges and rental car charges, but might not be that much more expensive than the transfers. Last time I did a private car service, it was $300 round trip. Plus we would have the convenience of being able to go to dinner when/where we want, and to a store if we needed something before the cruise.

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I'll have to run the numbers for renting a car from Hobby the entire week. This will incur both parking charges and rental car charges, but might not be that much more expensive than the transfers. Last time I did a private car service, it was $300 round trip. Plus we would have the convenience of being able to go to dinner when/where we want, and to a store if we needed something before the cruise.

 

Bob, please keep us updated if you find any deals or coupons for car rentals :)

Right now the lowest I could find was around $500.00 for 8 days! :eek:

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Bob, please keep us updated if you find any deals or coupons for car rentals :)

Right now the lowest I could find was around $500.00 for 8 days! :eek:

Wow, $500 certainly would not work. I just rented a car for a week here, and the cost was $224 plus tax. Maybe a whole different ballgame at Hobby.

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