Thread: Fog and lack of staff blamed for delay on Carnival Conquest

GALVESTON — Frustrated passengers waited more than five hours Easter Sunday to get off the Carnival cruise ship Conquest that already had been delayed making port by eight hours because of fog. Passengers interviewed by The Daily News blamed a lack of customs and immigration screeners at the terminal for the massive delay.

The Conquest was due back in the Port of Galveston on Sunday morning after a seven-day cruise to Key West and the Bahamas. A thick fog bank delayed the ship’s arrival, and it didn’t make port until about 4 p.m.

Once at the dock, though, the delays continued, Mary Blake of Minnesota said.

“It’s been horrible; it took them hours just to get people off the ship and into the terminal,” she said.

Blake said about 8:45 p.m. she and her family were able to get off the ship, only to stand in one of seven lines set up for customs and immigration screening. The Transportation Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for the post-cruise screenings at Galveston’s cruise ship terminals.

Port of Galveston police told KHOU-TV that instead of letting everyone off the ship in groups, as is the normal procedure, Carnival cruise officials let everyone off at the same time. That overwhelmed the system, port officials told the TV station.

Blake said it appeared there where not enough screeners to accommodate the Conquest’s 2,900 passengers.

Calls to Carnival and the Department of Homeland Security went unreturned Sunday night.

Blake said the cruise line did little to inform passengers of what was happening. Other passengers said outside of being kicked out of their staterooms and forced to wait on deck for several hours, the cruise line was doing what it could to accommodate them.

“We can’t even get back to Minnesota because we missed our flight and all the flights tomorrow are booked,” Blake, who lives outside Minneapolis, said. “We have no idea how we are going to get home.”

Among those traveling with Blake was her 76-year-old mother-in-law.

“You can imagine how rough a day it’s been for her,” Blake said.

It was rougher on some than others. Blake said firefighters were called in about 9 p.m. to assist with a female passenger who became ill while waiting to get out of the terminal.

Meanwhile, passengers who were supposed to board the ship at 1 p.m. for a seven-day cruise to the Caribbean also were forced to wait, with little information as to when, or if, they would leave Galveston for their vacations.

Fog, lack of workers blamed for cruise ship delay

That fog in Galveston has caused many a delay over the years. It appears that the port was not ready with an alternate plan for this delay...not enough personnel available to process the huge number of passengers.

My sister was leaving on the Conquest yesterday. She called me from Galveston very frustrated! What time did they finally leave port?