Port of Galveston

I’m not sure what to say except our time at this port was filled with unorganized confusion! I think part of the problem might be that it isn’t setup currently to handle the Liberty of the Seas (the largest cruise ship to ever sail out of this port with approximately 3,600 passengers).
This was our forth cruise so we had a bit of an idea as to what to expect from the process.
The shuttle dropped us off in front with no problems. At that point we got in a line outside the terminal that seemed to go on forever. And when we finally got inside… We found another long line to get to security. And when we finally made it through security… We found another long line to get our seapass card. The whole process took well over an hour (when in Florida we would do it in about fifteen minutes).
Disembarking may have been the worst experience ever. No organization. Lots of delays. Lots of lines. From getting off the ship to getting out the door took over two hours. In Florida we would do it in about thirty minutes. If you need to make a bus to get back to Houston is can certainly cause some panic!
If you’re taking a cruise and trying to decide between leaving from Galveston or Florida — do Florida and avoid Texas at all costs.

We drove down from Dallas and it was a pretty smooth drive except for Houston which had horrible traffic. Once we passed Houston, it was smooth sailing. We parked at EZ-​Park which was 2 blocks away. We walked to the port and it took less than 5 minutes. it was a little confusing where to drop off our luggage, but we found it. It took about 30 minutes to get on the ship from that point. Our trip was awesome, there is so much to tell but I will keep it semi short. The food both at the buffet and the Northern Lights restaurant was good. Our excursions were fun. I would recommend getting to shows in the evening early because seating fills up fast on the Carnival Magic. The Lido deck was packed pretty much every time we walked through there. Disembarkation was smooth, we just waited a little longer since we did not need to rush to get to the airport. Overall, good port to sail out of.

Embarkment as well as disembarkment was easy. Other than the tons of people who decide to stop all of a sudden while the lines are slowly moving, the port experience overall was easy with no hassle. Four stars because everyone that I interacted with was extremely friendly. And that is crucial when one is beginning AND ending their cruise vacation.

What can I say… simply a cluster *&%$!! There are two terminals here and during our visit, both terminals were in use. We just crawled along for close to 45 minutes before we were finally able to pull into the port area and drop off our luggage. Then we had to drive to across the street where the parking actually is and then you have to take a shuttle back to the port. The problem is that there are shuttles dropping people off at their cars from the previous car and people trying to get on them wherever they stopped to drop people off. Some drivers were letting people on while others would not. There was no designated spot to pick up shuttles and no easy way to figure out which shuttle was going to which terminal. Dealing with all of this in the hot Texas heat is not a pleasant way to start your vacation. After running from shuttle to shuttle, we finally said *&%^ it and just walked back to the terminal. My shirt was soaked from sweating so bad and I was in a pretty foul mood by the time I got onto the ship.
This is just simply a poorly designed port. You have one way in and out and you have people trying to get off the ship while the next batch of people are trying to get on. No signage to help direct passengers where to go and no employees around to help either. Luggage is generally not allowed on the shuttles; otherwise, they will fill up so fast that they wouldn’t be able to take many people. So when you depart your cruise ship, you have to grab a shuttle to take you back to your car, and then you have to drive back to the port to pick up your family and luggage. Again, a new batch of people are also trying to get to the port to get on the cruise ship and chaos ensues.

I thought the people working for the port were very good. They seemed to be helpful and a few offered explanation of some things we were waiting on. All in all, I thought they were a well run entity.

This port is a bit older. They also don’t allow photographs in the port. If they catch you texting, tweeting, Unilocaling they’ll ask that you turn your cell phone off.