Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Galveston Expansion

Junkhouse
 Share

Recommended Posts

matj2000

matj2000

Posted
Posted

As a Houston resident, I have cruised out of Galveston 8 times in the last 16 years and have never had any sort of problems or issues.

It has been just as good as any other port, and I have done all the FL ports and NO.

For me I really only like to do each ship just once, maybe twice then there is really not much interest.

Until RC changes out it's ship, I will have to keep sailing out of Fl.

I believe Galveston will be home to an Oasis class ship within the next 5 years. Mainly because there will be too many of them sailing out of FL.

But Galveston will need a new Terminal to handle the crowds....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Galveston Cruiser

Galveston Cruiser

Posted
Posted (edited)
I agree entirely! I live in DFW & fly to N.O. or one of the Florida ports to avoid Galveston with its fog & and all the other problems.

 

Galveston total of fog days:

 

2016 - 15

2017 - 17

 

No port is perfect; life isn't perfect.

 

Tired of Galveston bashing. It is a great small City with a tremendous amount of history.

The Port is a working port - busy! At least one doesn't have to dodge or wait for 18 wheelers picking up and discharging cargo as in Civitavecchia.

 

As far as rentals car agencies, the City nor cruise lines, can dictate what private business chooses.

Enterprise is open on Sunday; but charges a drop off fee; as do most rental agencies.

 

A new terminal would be wonderful, but that costs - a huge amount of money. This small City does not have the financial means to build the Taj Mahal on a soft drink income!

 

If one travels, one has to expect that there will be delays, issues, unhappy moments. But if so uncomfortable out of ones controlled environment - stay home. The world does not revolve around whining.

 

We have been stuck, delayed, missed flights and paid a small fortune to reach ports that weren't "conveniently" located. Will we stop travelling - No. Do we complain about other ports - No.

 

There isn't one place we wouldn't return; no matter how inconvenient.

 

 

And for those who believe Galveston couldn't handle the crowds - many years ago with 3 different cruise lines more than 18,000 passengers would arrive and depart the same day - in old terminals.

 

The Port of Galveston needs many improvements, but thankfully, does not look at only cruise business. Cruise lines are fickle and can leave. A Port services on long term, heavy cargo business. Our new Port Director and wharves board is diligently reviewing and working on port improvements. Costs are what will dictate what will/will not be improved.

Happy Sailing!

Edited by Galveston Cruiser
Link to comment
Share on other sites
trippintex

trippintex

Posted
Posted
I can't read the whole Galveston Daily News article. Is it just the new terminal that RCI is asking for, or will they also have to dredge to make the port deeper?

yes it a new place east of where they are now it is where the banana boat dock is now around 16th 17th 18 th street the building and warehouse and everything would have to be redone + the banana company would have to move to make room rcc is in talks with the city and the port about the plans to expand

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SG65CB

SG65CB

Posted
Posted
We just got off the Liberty yesterday. Compared to cruise port facilities in Seattle, Boston, Port Canaveral (before the new RC terminal opened) and the old RC facility in Miami, Galveston is terrible,

 

We managed to get off the ship without a lot of trouble yesterday, because we had the RC airport transfer. But friends we were traveling with needed three hours from the time they walked down the gangway until they cleared Customs and Immigration. That is insane.

 

Mind you, their bags were in the terminal, when they got off. In fact, they saw their bags coming off the ship, while eating breakfast in the MDR.

 

It seems to me that the first bus from Port Canaveral for Orlando International leaves 30 to 40 minutes earlier than the first bus leaving Galveston for Intercontinental. If RC could get the first airport transfer between 8:45 and 9:00, rather than between 9:30 and 9:45, then disembarking passengers could make earlier flights, and embarking passengers could arrive earlier at the pier.

 

Is there a separate customs line for people who were in a suite? In other ports if you have a gold card you can skip past the long line for customs. Is that the case here?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
George C

George C

Posted
Posted
Is there a separate customs line for people who were in a suite? In other ports if you have a gold card you can skip past the long line for customs. Is that the case here?

 

No but since concierge walks you off after the people that carry there own luggage that is not really a issue , what other ports have separate customs for suites ? Do not recall seeing that

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RFerrington

RFerrington

Posted
Posted
concierge walks you off after the people that carry there own luggage

 

Yeah, that's what they told us would happen in Miami, too, but the Concierge was not allowed to leave the ship so the whole process was a Charlie Foxtrot. I'm very happy if it works like it's supposed to in Galveston. It did NOT work well at all in Miami.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
39august

39august

Posted
Posted

In Galveston it depends on which concierge walks off the suites and Pinnacles. Some of them arrange for a dedicated customs line. Others do not, but usually direct you to a shorter way to approach customs than the other pax who have to walk all the way around the terminal after getting luggage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Perki

Perki

Posted
Posted

I live in Las Vegas, so sailing out of Galveston is closer than sailing out of ports in Florida. I have been on 2 Mexican Riviera cruises out of California, and that is plenty - they are nothing compared to when you can sail the Caribbean!!!! :o:)

 

We love the City of Galveston, it has charm and we love walking around The Strand, as we stay at The Tremont House Hotel which makes everything close by, including the port. People are friendly and the architecture is amazing, so the city, we find, is a destination to explore in and of itself, at least a day before we board the ship.

 

That being said, my only wish, if any city officials are reading this (LOL) would be more traffic lanes into/out of the City, from the mainland, as it does get congested and slow on the freeway coming in/out. But does that stop me from sailing out of Galveston, no, not at all. I am actually going to be there in a few weeks to depart on Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas, for our 20th cruise, 3rd or 4th one specifically out of Galveston. We fly into Houston (Bush Int'l) and we hire a private car from a limo service, it's not much more than an Uber/Lyft and at least we know the type of car we are going to get, and service, upfront, and off we go.

 

No port nor city is perfect, they all have flaws and all have some things they are better at...Galveston is just an option and for us, we enjoy it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wolfganghowell

wolfganghowell

Posted
Posted
Is there a separate customs line for people who were in a suite?

 

We always sail in a suite and get off relatively fast. We've always been walked off by the concierge - they leave a note in your cabin telling you time and place - for us it has always been Schooner Bar. I believe there are 2 options - really early if you are carrying off your luggage and around 8-8:30 if you have them do it. Get a porter - it's worth the few bucks since you have more checkout lanes. The suites usually are mixed in with those that do carry off and are ahead of everyone else. It's a perk that has worked very well for us in Galveston. There have been a few bad instances mainly due to weather or if customs was short staffed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ToddnMichelle

ToddnMichelle

Posted
Posted

i live in DFW as well and Galveston is an easy drive in for us. While we have no other port for a basis of comparison yet, we've been fortunate enough to never run into any issues during Embarkation /Debarkation for RCI or CCL . The streets are a mess, no question about it. Seems like they are constantly working on them but given the recent hurricanes, it's expected. I should add that so far, all of our cruises have either been in mid-April or early October. fingers crossed, no fog issues yet but if it happens, it happens. why let the delay put a damper on the cruise. As for the Texas liquor laws, lol they still sell booze just limited to what can be sold. again, shouldn't be an issue for anyone but i can understand the reason behind it. We do things a bit differently down here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Beachiekeen

Beachiekeen

Posted
Posted

Oh gosh, this is music to my ears. We had so much fun on the Liberty of the Seas, I would LOVE to get to experience a big RC ship without flying to Florida. Galveston works for us because we live in Texas and it is so easy for us to cruise from there that we are going on another Carnival cruise which we said we would never do. I can't imagine flying here and going on a cruise if I lived somewhere else but for us Texans and surrounding states without a port, it's a great option. Fingers crossed this really happens!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SG65CB

SG65CB

Posted
Posted
No but since concierge walks you off after the people that carry there own luggage that is not really a issue , what other ports have separate customs for suites ? Do not recall seeing that

Port Everglades and in San Juan we didn't have separate customs but we had a separate line that goes to the front ahead of everyone standing in the regular line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lbjen

lbjen

Posted
Posted

Carnival is bringing Vista here later this year, isn’t that their biggest ship? I believe it’s still smaller than Oasis class.

 

We’ve been hearing rumors about Oasis class coming to Galveston for years. Driving/flying to Florida when you have a port on your doorstep seems like such a waste, but when you want to try out the ‘showstopper’ you have no choice. It would be nice to have their top of the line ship here.

 

For me the traffic, hotels and car rentals aren’t an issue, same as most Galveston cruisers I think. Our main request has always been longer and more varied itineraries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruiselvr04 Great Review Rare

cruiselvr04

Posted
Posted (edited)

Although we love Liberty it would be great to have an Oasis class ship in Texas. We have done many cruises on Liberty and are now choosing to to fly to Florida for some variety. You can only watch Saturday night fever so many times. It is great to drive to a port but we need longer cruises and some some different ports of call. RCL had a nine night out of Galveston that we jumped on and then they canceled it. We wish they would take the smaller ship with the four and five nights and do some longer sailings.

 

And the comments on this thread are correct. They HAVE to fix the issues of traffic congestion and disembarking before they bring on a bigger ship. Our last time off the Liberty was so awful. We stood in the terminal for 2 hours in a line that did not move. Personally I think it was the RCCL personnels fault as there were custom agents in every station. Just poor flow issues. Our daughter and son in law were in the line right next to us and they came out 45 minutes later. No issues, the line just didn’t move. Just crazy.

 

Fog, extra Texas tax to me are non issues. You can’t control weather or laws.

 

Celebrity coming in would be fantastic! Doubt that will happen though.

 

We don’t want to stay in Galveston pre cruise due to hotel prices but Houston or just south has fair prices and no 2 night rule.

 

We’d love to go to Galveston and drive but our next 4 cruises are not from Texas. We need variety.

Edited by cruiselvr04
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...