Today I am going to discuss a topic that nobody likes to think about when it comes to cruising. You guessed it, we are going to discuss the trials and tribulations of getting to the ship. There are a number of ways in which this can occur. Some are a breeze while others are pure torture. Whether or not it is a miserable process can depend to some extent on the port that you are cruising from. Another factor, is the mode of transportation in which you arrive to the terminal.
Now, I've sailed out of Galveston a number of times and it's great if you live in Dallas since it's a straight shot down I-45. I can leave my house and be there in 4-1/2 hours or less, depending on my motivation, and drive straight to the ship. I've sailed out of New Orleans once. I drove to NOLA the night before and stayed in the French Quarter. The drive wasn't too bad since I did it the day before I was setting sail and had a night in a very nice hotel room to recover. I've sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale and arrived there 2 days prior to my cruise for a little sightseeing time. I've cruised out of Miami and flown in on the day of the cruise and gone straight to the ship. And finally, I've sailed out of Barcelona arriving there 4 days before the ship set sail. None of these experiences were bad. Maybe it's because they all ended up with me on a ship.
To me the best thing about cruising out of Galveston is the convenience of being able to hop in the car and be there in such a short amount of time. But also, I like the parking situation there. Once when I sailed out of there, I parked at my Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Johnny's house. They live just on the other side of the causeway and from there Aunt Dorothy drove us over to the cruise ship terminal. The parking at Aunt Dorothy's was free. That is the cheapest I have ever parked for a cruise. The only way it could have been better would be if she had paid me to park at her house. We parked at Aunt Dorothy's one other time when we all went in my parents car. On another occasion, my Dad drove my Mom and me down there and dropped us off since he wasn't going on the cruise. Beyond that I have always parked at Light House Parking when cruising out of Galveston. In the past, it was a shell parking lot across from the cruise terminal. But apparently, they have now made enough money to build a covered facility. Because this time, I will be in covered parking. Now, I don't know if they have built a state of the art parking garage or if they simply set poles in the shell parking lot and placed a tin roof on top of them. But either way, I have confidence that it will be just fine.
Parking at Light House is $55 for a 7 night cruise if you book it on line. If you just drive up and they have a spot available, it is $5 more. However, I would guess that the chances of driving up and being able to get a parking place are slim. Friends of mine were turned away once when they thought they had made a reservation because they didn't complete the booking process and get a confirmation. On the day of the cruise, there were no spaces left. In the past when I have parked there while it was nothing but a shell lot, it was still fenced in with 24 hour security. Once you park, you get your luggage out of your car and stand at the end of your parking row and a bus comes around. You load your luggage underneath and climb on board and they then drive you over to the terminal and let you out at the door. When you return, they bring you back from the terminal with your luggage and drop you off at your car. You really couldn't ask for more. Their website says they also will help you out if you come back to a dead car battery or flat tire. That is good to know, but I hope I don't have to find out how helpful they will be on this cruise.
The only inconvenience I have ever experienced there was the last time I sailed out of Galveston when the port was fogged in and the returning ships could not get in to drop passengers off. This also meant that we couldn't get on the ship, but we had hoped that we might be able to wait in the cruise terminal. However, since parking is so limited, the returning passengers have to leave the parking area before they can let you in to park for your cruise. So, on that occasion, we went and had lunch, then waited in the car playing cards for an hour or two. There is not much that can be done about an act of nature. So, you just have to deal with it.
When I sailed out of NOLA, I scoured the cruise terminal website trying to find information for affordable parking. I didn't find information on affordable parking since that doesn't exist in New Orleans. I did find out that the cruise terminal had a parking garage and it was basically the only game in town. They charge $16 a day. So parking for a 7 night cruise ran $112. P.S. If your car battery dies, you are on your own. I know, because it took me and my nephew more than an hour to finally find someone with jumper cables who would help us. Also, there are no shuttles. Once you park, you lug all of your stuff out of your car and hoof it to the terminal. When you return from your relaxing week at sea, you are forced to drag all of your heavy luggage across the street and to the parking garage and around and round the parking garage until you find your car with it's dead battery. Oh the other thing is, that you have to pay in cash for parking there. You feed a machine $20 bills one after the other while a line forms behind you. This is particularly pleasant in a driving rainstorm.
In Ft. Lauderdale and Barcelona I took cabs to the cruise ship terminal and had no problems whatsoever. The cab dropped us off at the door to walk into the terminal on those occasions. In Miami, I was traveling alone and had booked my air through Royal Caribbean when I booked the cruise. When you do that, you get free transfers and there is absolutely no thought involved on your part. I like that! The less I have to think during a vacation, the better. I stepped off of my flight to Miami and walked through the airport to the designated baggage claim area for my flight. As I stood waiting for my luggage, a lady walked by yelling "SUSAN MEYERS!!!!" I turned and said, "That's me!" She asked if she could help me find my luggage at about the same time I pulled it from the baggage carousel. I told her I already had it and she said, "Follow me." So, I did and she took me to stand with another group of people who were all going out on Freedom of the Seas with me. We all chatted for a few minutes until a bus arrived to take us to the cruise ship terminal. From the time I walked off of my airplane until I was on the cruise ship was less than 2 hours.
At the end of that cruise, as I left the cruise terminal, I was told to hop on the bus waiting on the curb. Somebody put my luggage below and we were at the airport less than an hour after I exited the ship. The only glitch on that occasion was that I brought too much stuff back with me so I had to pay American Airlines an extra $25 because my luggage weighed too much. The guy tried to convince me to just open the suitcase up and rearrange things. But I informed him that if I opened it up, there was no way it was closing again unless I went and bought more luggage. It was totally worth the extra $25 to just get the luggage out of my sight at that point. I think since then I have become a better packer and I have also gotten a luggage scale that I carry anytime I will be flying. So hopefully, I won't run into that issue again.
Tomorrow we will touch on the joys of boarding your ship. Have a great Monday!
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