One of the challenges with going on a cruise is that you have to embark– show up and stand in several lines before you are eventually allowed to get on the ship. The good news is that Royal Caribbean seems to have this down for the Liberty of the Seas, and our Galveston embarkation earlier this week was quite smooth. The new terminal helped.
Sailing in a suite, we have priority boarding privileges. We got to Galveston Park n’ Cruise at 9:58, showed a copy of our receipt, and promptly parked. We walked across the street to Terminal 2 with our luggage, and we got there at 10:13. I dropped off our bags with the porter and tipped $10 for 3 bags (side note- our bags were by the cabin door when we went to the cabin shortly after 1). We went to security, which had a smallish line even for suites. Still, that only took a few minutes. We then went to check in, which had no lines at all.
Check in only took a few minutes. I had pre-purchased drink and internet packages. The drink stickers were on our boarding cards, and I was handed a small card with the internet access code. We then made our way upstairs into the waiting area and got Kid’s Club wrist bands for our children. We were seated at 10:26 and had to wait for boarding to start. Boarding started at 10:54, and we were amongst the first to board as we are in a suite. All told, it was an easy process.
The only problem comes when you arrive early. The picture above is of the waiting room. It is essentially the mother of all airport waiting areas. There is nothing wrong with it, but this space isn’t built for entertainment. Don’t arrive earlier than needed.
Getting on the ship in Galveston?
- Galveston Park N Cruise
- La King’s Confectionary
- Hampton Inn Galveston
- Fisherman’s Wharf
- Olympia at Pier 21
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Glad to hear this! Leaving out of Galveston next summer. Hope the process still runs smoothly!