First and foremost I am a Royal Caribbean fan. I have sailed on Freedom, Explorer, And Oasis. I have also sailed on Princess. The trip out of Galveston in August should by no means be reflective of my overall RCI experiences. With that said, I will never ever ever ever ever sail out of Galveston again until the port terminal is upgraded. Even with a preferred status (Platinum member) our embarkation was slow, disorganized, and more importantly - it set a negative tone for my three first-time sailing companions. I set the bar high in describing my previous sailing experiences but in retrospect, these experiences were always out of Ft Lauderdale and Miami. Florida has the terminals and the experience. Texas does not.

The morning started with a 23.00 cab fare that should have been 13.00. The problem? One police officer directing traffic into the loading area. We sat and sat in the cab while one bus or car at a time was allowed through. Next came the disaster of baggage handling. Lines and confusion reigned. No direction, no calming influence of a competent staffer, no joy. Instead we were met with the ridiculousness of a Port employee trying to argue with a RCI agent who was unsuccessfully trying to get the port employee to use his head for something other than a hat-rack. All passengers were in a line with their bags dutifully near them. It seemed weird and so I asked the first available porter if he could take our bags. He gladly did so explaining that the system was entirely screwed up that day. Why we're we in line in the first place? Because everyone else was. I decided not to stay in the lemming line.

After turning over our bags we proceeded to the cue to enter the terminal. Alas, another Port employee cueing us up incorrectly. The way the line was set, others realized they could cut in and did so, or inadvertently cut because of the way the line was configured. Thank goodness the security and registration lines were flowing. Read more