Bad disembarkation on Navigator in Galveston today

[Crazycombine64]

The only later flights were on other airlines (Southwest). No US airline is going to rebook you to another airline for an advanced schedule change and even if they did, Southwest doesn't play nice with other airlines so it wouldn't have helped.

Sorry, I didn't realize you had 2 segments with different airlines. I hope everything turns out well for you.

[north29]

We had a similar experience and we just took it in stride.

But if you expect all travel to be rocket science precision you will be disappointed.

[BonTexasNY]

Hi Wrona! We sailed out of Galveston 5 times and waited over 2 hours to get out of customs with the Roatan/Belize itinerary. Grand Cayman itinerary had us out in 15 mins. Practically no wait. Line just flowed smoothly and we didn't self assist nor were we in suites.

 

I just can imagine what the pandemonium will be like on our Liberty cruise out of Galveston with the BELIZE itinerary :eek:

 

[SusieC]

Our family was on the same cruise and I agree wholeheartedly that yesterday's disembarkation was a nightmare! It was the worst we've experienced in 16 cruises.

 

We were in self-assist group B and spent 1 hour and 45 minutes getting off the ship and through customs. At one point, we were told by an RC rep to split into 2 lines - 1 for people with passports and another for people with birth certificates. When we got near the front of that section of the line, a different RC rep saw that we were Canadian and told us that the lines were supposed to be for resident/non-residents. She insisted that our family and 2 other nearby couples to go to the back of the non-resident line (which was actually a line of US citizens with birth certificates). She expected us to move backwards through the shoulder to shoulder crowds with our luggage to spend more time in a line we've already spent a great deal of time waiting in? That wasn't going to happen. Some shuffling around occurred and our area of the line got straightened around without losing ground but the miscommunication (and her attitude) was frustrating.

 

We finally arrived at the point where we could see the final line leading up to the customs agent. There were only 2 lines available to non-residents. Normally, I would consider that more than adequate for a cruise leaving from a US port. However, the lines were both completely full of crew members. And these crew members entered the lines from a different line than the one we were standing in and were given priority by the RC reps. Their line kept moving (albeit very slowly) while we were told to wait (and wait, and wait.....) Adding to the wait was the extra scrutiny and time the customs agents appeared to use for those of us in these lines (understandable but none the less frustrating!)

 

I am certainly not suggesting that the crew should have to wait for all guests to clear customs before disembarking. I understand that their time off is precious and limited. However, non-resident passengers should not have to wait for all crew to clear customs either! Perhaps a dedicated non-resident line for crew and another for passengers?

 

Everything else about the cruise was wonderful but this disembarkation was an unfortunate and frustrating way to end our trip. We will not likely sail from Galveston again.

[knittinggirl]

 

We finally arrived at the point where we could see the final line leading up to the customs agent. There were only 2 lines available to non-residents. Normally, I would consider that more than adequate for a cruise leaving from a US port. However, the lines were both completely full of crew members. And these crew members entered the lines from a different line than the one we were standing in and were given priority by the RC reps. Their line kept moving (albeit very slowly) while we were told to wait (and wait, and wait.....)

The RC crew may have been working. On one of our Alaska cruises, we saw our waiter pushing someone in a wheelchair up the gangplank ramp.

 

I'll agree, that Murphy is Galveston's home port. Of our six cruises, out of Galveston, most had either a bad embarkation or a bad disembarkation.

 

Probably the best diesmbarkation was on Grandeur. We stayed in a GS, and our Concierge took us in small groups down the elevator all the way down to the gang plank on Deck 1 (Bypassing the long lines).

Edited September 7, 2015 by knittinggirl

[jewopaho]

If you can't get repeat customers to come to Galveston it will hurt business.

Just as with the fog issue, this incident will have a net effect of zero. Ships will continue to sail full, and the vast majority of passengers will have had an enjoyable experience.

 

That being said, however, RCI needs to be informed ... and by as many affected passengers as possible. While the folks in Miami do read CC regularly, direct contact with customer relations and supervisory personnel is absolutely essential. I can tell you that the two incidents that prompted me to contact Royal were handled courteously and expeditiously ... one actually led to a major policy change.

 

All this aside, I still fail to understand why people who must fly to cruise opt for Galveston ... nothing against the city and surrounds, but ...

 

Ships are not the newest.

Itineraries are mundane at best.

Flights to Florida are often less expensive.

Most of the time, there's little (if any) difference in the price of the cruise.

Florida offers far more itinerary options, not to mention pre- and post-cruise activities.

It's both costly and time-consuming to get to the terminal and back to the airports, especially IAH.

 

Last I heard, over 90% of passengers sailing out of Galveston drive to the port. We cruise from there at least four times a year ... we're less than an hour away, and parking is both abundant and reasonable.

 

I do have some trepidation about Liberty ... apparently the renovations necessary to accommodate the larger ship will not be complete by January, when it arrives. There's the perennial talk of a third terminal, but it's essentially still on the drawing board. We're booked on the 2/7 (Super Bowl Sunday) sailing, so we'll see. I'm certain that RCI has similar concerns, and that those in charge will address the matter appropriately.

 

Al

Edited September 7, 2015 by jewopaho

[knittinggirl]

Last I heard, over 90% of passengers sailing out of Galveston drive to the port. We cruise from there at least four times a year ... we're less than an hour away, and parking is both abundant and reasonable. To each his own, I guess....

 

Al

We took cruise air the first two cruises out of Galveston. The first time, it was pretty reasonable. The second time, they'd tripled the price. After that, we started driving, spending a night in Austin each way. And even with the two nights, it was still cheaper than Royal's Air.

 

They also routed us through DFW each time, when there were nonstop flights available.

 

With Galveston, I think at least three of our cruises had us leaving Galveston in the afternoon. And if you're flying out of IAH, that means you've probably missed your flight.

 

Another thing that makes Galveston so bad is the parking. If the ship is late arriving, like has happened to us. The parking lots turn you away, because they have wait for the people arriving on the late ship to clear the lot first. That cruise, we got the message of the delay on our home phone, not our cell.

Edited September 7, 2015 by knittinggirl

[beaches&sands]

I was also on this cruise and we had purchased transfers through RCL to IAH. What chaos in the luggage terminal! We were groups 2 and 3. While waiting in line I saw tags for 9, 17... etc! There was no method to this madness! Even the transfers were a mess! Late arrival to the airport, one person to remove luggages from the bus. I ended up getting my own on the other side of the bus because the packed it wrong. Never again! So unorganized! Our saving grace was no line at United and at TSA security.

[auggiemom]

We just booked a Galveston cruise for next year. Guess we will plan accordingly for delays or just plan to stay an extra day.

 

We are doing to the Roatan/Belize route, since these are two places we have never been, but now it concerns me reading that this itinerary seems to cause disembarkation issues. Anyone know why? You would think it would be the same whether this itinerary or the Grand Cayman route.

[scorpluvsdolphins]

Worst port for me. Total chaos in the terminal getting off the ship.

 

 

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[knittinggirl]

We just booked a Galveston cruise for next year. Guess we will plan accordingly for delays or just plan to stay an extra day.

 

We are doing to the Roatan/Belize route, since these are two places we have never been, but now it concerns me reading that this itinerary seems to cause disembarkation issues. Anyone know why? You would think it would be the same whether this itinerary or the Grand Cayman route.

We've done the Belize/Roatan route once, and all I can say was all the buildings had bars on the windows. I haven't seen so many bars on the other routes. I'm guessing drugs.

 

I think the Geology of Belize is supposed to be similar to the Permian Basin a few million years ago. So, oil men love it!

[Tinious]

All this aside, I still fail to understand why people who must fly to cruise opt for Galveston ... nothing against the city and surrounds, but ...

 

Ships are not the newest.

Itineraries are mundane at best.

Flights to Florida are often less expensive.

Most of the time, there's little (if any) difference in the price of the cruise.

Florida offers far more itinerary options, not to mention pre- and post-cruise activities.

It's both costly and time-consuming to get to the terminal and back to the airports, especially IAH.

Al

 

I'm probably exactly the "why people" you're imagining, so I can shed some light on my own situation at least... I'm going out on the Navigator on the 13th because:

* I fly a lot on points, and Houston is incredibly easy compared to Miami/FLL/MCO from here in Canada which are basically booked out a year in advance. So it's WAY cheaper, even after factoring in the extra $100 or so in taxis/transfers versus what they'd cost in FLL/MIA.

* My wife an I found the eastern carribean stops available that week out of FLL/MIA/MCO not to our liking, so we actually found what you called "mundane" to be "new and more interesting" to us. Basically I think we have opposite definitions of "mundane".

* A Voyager class ship is exactly our level of liking. "Newest" is not our thing.

* I don't know if I was just lucky, or if it was timing but the price of our balcony on Navigator was 2/3rds what the ships going out of FLL/MIA that same week were, with lots of bonuses and OBC tacked on too.

* My wife has never been to Texas. We've been to Florida too many times to count. It will be a refreshing change and we're looking forward to spending a day or two in advance catching some highlights.

* I do agree about IAH, I'm a bit nervous about that given these recent threads, but as I say -- when you think of the incremental costs and time versus the FLL/MIA ports compared to the savings and (for us, I get not everyone) different stops than what we've had before -- we're totally OK with that.

[BecciBoo]

We're used to cruising out of Gal. and prepared for anything. But our strategy for our upcoming family reunion Liberty in April follows:

 

We will be arriving late, after 1:00 if possible since there are 14 of us. This will allow late departure of previous cruisers (hopefully). We'll have lunch on the strand and let the crowds thin down. When we see an improvement, we'll get in line. We are more than familiar with the 90 minute check in limit.

 

For disembark, we'll wait onboard until the last call and then maybe the crowds will be thinned by then. I don't see a benefit this time around for early departure with this many people together. We'll just try to remain unhurried and calm. Nobody is flying which will help. All driving to port.

Edited September 7, 2015 by BecciBoo

[knittinggirl]

I'm probably exactly the "why people" you're imagining, so I can shed some light on my own situation at least... I'm going out on the Navigator on the 13th because:

* I fly a lot on points, and Houston is incredibly easy compared to Miami/FLL/MCO from here in Canada which are basically booked out a year in advance. So it's WAY cheaper, even after factoring in the extra $100 or so in taxis/transfers versus what they'd cost in FLL/MIA.

* My wife an I found the eastern carribean stops available that week out of FLL/MIA/MCO not to our liking, so we actually found what you called "mundane" to be "new and more interesting" to us. Basically I think we have opposite definitions of "mundane".

* A Voyager class ship is exactly our level of liking. "Newest" is not our thing.

* I don't know if I was just lucky, or if it was timing but the price of our balcony on Navigator was 2/3rds what the ships going out of FLL/MIA that same week were, with lots of bonuses and OBC tacked on too.

* My wife has never been to Texas. We've been to Florida too many times to count. It will be a refreshing change and we're looking forward to spending a day or two in advance catching some highlights.

* I do agree about IAH, I'm a bit nervous about that given these recent threads, but as I say -- when you think of the incremental costs and time versus the FLL/MIA ports compared to the savings and (for us, I get not everyone) different stops than what we've had before -- we're totally OK with that.

Love those Junior Suites on Voyager Class! The newest ship we've been on was probably the Independence. Smaller ships can go places those newer ones can't. Things on Royal ships get fixed. We just cruised on the Star Princess, and we had one of two elevators to the MDR down for half of our 14-day cruise. We also had our laundr-e-mat next door down the whole cruise.

[BecciBoo]

We've done the Belize/Roatan route once, and all I can say was all the buildings had bars on the windows. I haven't seen so many bars on the other routes. I'm guessing drugs.

 

I think the Geology of Belize is supposed to be similar to the Permian Basin a few million years ago. So, oil men love it!

 

We've been to this area more than 10 times. It's a fantastic place. You have to do your homework to know what to do and where to go there.

 

Foreigners do not just hop on a cruise ship there and come to the US. But customs must do their job to see that substances/items bought in these countries are properly taxed and reported, etc. We actually had more constraints from the Canadian customs in Vancouver than Galveston. Nothing against Canada, we LOVE Vancouver cruises! But one must be prepared for delays anywhere in the world one travels. The key is to allow yourself enough time for them.

 

I agree Galveston is way down the totem pole for efficiency, but in 15 cruises out of there, we have only had 3 that had delays, 2 due to fog and one on Mariner that was just clusterfudge of non organization. That was the ships problem. In fact for the majority of our Gal. cruises we've been in the car and on our way home by at least 8:30, with self disembark of course.

 

Keep calm and cruise on.

Edited September 7, 2015 by BecciBoo

[SamFritz]

We are sailing liberty in February. The only concern I have is the port. We've sailed from there twice before and we are not fans.

 

 

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[knittinggirl]

. . . and one on Mariner that was just clusterfudge of non organization . . .

 

 

Wonder if we were on the same Mariner cruise. It happened the same week as the Concordia disaster, and the poor crew was really distracted. Got hair in my salad, and cherries in the cranberry sauce.

[Starry Eyes]

Just as with the fog issue, this incident will have a net effect of zero. Ships will continue to sail full, and the vast majority of passengers will have had an enjoyable experience.

 

That being said, however, RCI needs to be informed ... and by as many affected passengers as possible. While the folks in Miami do read CC regularly, direct contact with customer relations and supervisory personnel is absolutely essential. I can tell you that the two incidents that prompted me to contact Royal were handled courteously and expeditiously ... one actually led to a major policy change.

 

All this aside, I still fail to understand why people who must fly to cruise opt for Galveston ... nothing against the city and surrounds, but ...

 

Ships are not the newest.

Itineraries are mundane at best.

Flights to Florida are often less expensive.

Most of the time, there's little (if any) difference in the price of the cruise.

Florida offers far more itinerary options, not to mention pre- and post-cruise activities.

It's both costly and time-consuming to get to the terminal and back to the airports, especially IAH.

 

Last I heard, over 90% of passengers sailing out of Galveston drive to the port. We cruise from there at least four times a year ... we're less than an hour away, and parking is both abundant and reasonable.

 

I do have some trepidation about Liberty ... apparently the renovations necessary to accommodate the larger ship will not be complete by January, when it arrives. There's the perennial talk of a third terminal, but it's essentially still on the drawing board. We're booked on the 2/7 (Super Bowl Sunday) sailing, so we'll see. I'm certain that RCI has similar concerns, and that those in charge will address the matter appropriately.

 

Al

 

Hi Al,

We fly to cruise ports. Many cruises from many ports. For our NOS B2b out of Galveston and one NCL cruise out of Housto , we got fabulous prices for the cruises....substantially cheaper than FL those particular weeks. Nonstop flights from local airports were available and were quite reasonably priced (cheaper than FL those weeks). Your pricing experiences have been far different from our. Prices may be higher out of Galvestonwhen NCL and Princess leave the Houston market. We have been to FL many times, so going to TX is a nice change for us. We like Texans, we like Houston and we really like Galveston Island....we have even been considering relocating to the area, though FL is also in the running. The distance to airports and ground transport options/pricing are issues, though the later is getting better with more and cheaper options of late. The ships are fine...not he newest, but fine. itineraries: any itinerary is fun for newbie or infrequent cruisers...and all 7 day itineraries are old hat for her experienced cruisers (like us) who cruise to cruise. I am happy to have many choices of embarkation cities, and I am glad Galveston is among those choices.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Starry Eyes

[BecciBoo]

Wonder if we were on the same Mariner cruise. It happened the same week as the Concordia disaster, and the poor crew was really distracted. Got hair in my salad, and cherries in the cranberry sauce.

 

Don't think so, this one was just 3 or 4 years ago, I think. I think it was the first time in Galveston for Mariner who replaced Voyager (and again was replaced by Navigator). Been a while...but the outside promenade deck was wall to wall passengers even on self disembark and we waited at least an hour on our feet with luggage. Nothing moved, but we got to watch the Galveston Stevedores run over many pieces of luggage as they loaded and unloaded. Cringe factor of 10~!

[rudeney]

I still fail to understand why people who must fly to cruise opt for Galveston ... nothing against the city and surrounds, but ...

 

Ships are not the newest.

Itineraries are mundane at best.

Flights to Florida are often less expensive.

Most of the time, there's little (if any) difference in the price of the cruise.

Florida offers far more itinerary options, not to mention pre- and post-cruise activities.

It's both costly and time-consuming to get to the terminal and back to the airports, especially IAH.

 

So here's why we chose to fly for a cruise out of Galveston:

 

1. The dates worked well for us.

2. We actually like the itinerary., especially Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

3. Prices were good, both for the cruise and flights (Florida flights were almost double the price).

4. Flights are easy and convenient - 1.5 hour direct on SWA from BHM. We arrive early on Saturday for a full day of time to spend in Houston, and leave late Sunday for another mostly full day.

5. Having sailed previously on Freedom, we are looking forward to nearly the same amenities on the recently refurbished Navigator.

6. We are looking forward to spending a day before and after the cruise in Houston.

7. We have a condo in Destin, FL so "Florida" is nothing special for us, especially the port cities (PC, FLL, MIA).

8. Ground transportation (rental car + parking) for the entire 9-day vacation will cost us $300. It's not much more expensive than shuttles, and we have the flexibility of the car for the day before and after the cruise.

[grvdggr71]

Overall, we had a fantastic trip on Navigator and thought the ship was in great condition. With that said, I too was immensely disappointed with the disembarkation process. It became clear rather quickly that after the glitch with Customs/Immigration, Royal was only concerned about getting to zero count as quickly as possible to start embarking the new passengers. The resulting lines were horrendous - it took us nearly 2 hours to make it outside the terminal building. We have embarked and disembarked in many ports both foreign and domestic, but this seemed to have no organization to it at all. Kudos to our fellow passengers for remaining relatively calm throughout the process, as I was sure a fight might break out at any moment.

 

Totally agree with OP, as the "priority departure" for Diamond and above was rendered useless. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend Galveston as a departure port until improvements are made...

[knittinggirl]

They need to design the ships to hold all the passengers in the event of a late arrival. In San Franscisco, we used the new terminal, and we had a late embarkation due to norovirus. If we had listened to the message and arrived later, we wouldn't have had a place to sit. Even so, they announced we leave the terminal for lunch, but there were no restaurants near!

 

Same thing happened in Galveston. And the last time we cruised, another late arrival. The security guard was not letting people into the terminal. Yelling at people to back away from the doors. He let me in to use the bathroom, and good thing too. I learned that Diamonds and up were allowed into the terminal. Even so, our Diamond seating filled up while we waited.

[Big_G]

 

All this aside, I still fail to understand why people who must fly to cruise opt for Galveston ... nothing against the city and surrounds, but ...

 

Al

 

So here's why we chose to fly for a cruise out of Galveston:

 

 

We love to explore different ports of embarkation and we've looked at Galveston several times but for most of Al's reasoning, we've never pulled the trigger.

[AustinCruise]

I make sure to have enough fun during the week and get prepared for lumps during disembarkation. Either it goes great or it just stinks. Not much in between. And customs checks seam to take longer in the Belize loop. We were practically waved through on the other loop. Belize they stared at our passports, the computer, and us for a few

 

Groundwork has started on the new terminal. Hopefully fine by next Aug. :)

 

 

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[Eng23]

Galveston has always been notoriously bad for disembarking passengers. It's worse now with Texas and their new grab for money (taxes) on liquor and tobacco. so much for duty free shopping! Thanks to all my fellow cruiser's and their experiences in Galveston, I will never sail from there!