A passenger gangway at the Port of Galveston in Texas is affecting the embarkation and disembarkation process of a Carnival cruise ship.
Passenger Gangway Issue
The guest gangway at the Port of Galveston cruise terminal 1 was damaged from a lightning strike on May 18. This caused the gangway which is a direct connection from the terminal building to the cruise ship to be damaged.
As a result of the damage, the port has needed to get a special technician all the way from Sweden to help repair it. Even though some repairs have been made to the gangway for some reason it continues to cause issues with just the Carnival Dream. It does seem to be related to the specific design of that class cruise ship.
Related: 17 Ways to Enjoy a Carnival Dream Cruise
In an email sent out on May 26 to Carnival Dream guests, the cruise line said an alternative gangway would be used for the May 27 departure from the port.
Officials from the Port of Galveston have informed us that the guest gangway for Cruise Terminal 1 will not be available for your embarkation.
We will use an alternative gangway which is located on the ground level. Our embarkation staff will direct you to this boarding area, but we expect the boarding process to be slower than usual.
Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. We are looking forward to welcoming you aboard for a FUN and memorable cruise vacation.
Hopefully, the issue will be fixed before the Carnival vessel arrives back into Galveston on June 1. The issue was affecting other cruise ships using the terminal but that no longer seems to be the case. Carnival has informed guests that a slower boarding process was expected and this could be the case when disembarking.
The staff has been on hand to guide passengers to the deck 0 gangway. The alternative gangway is usually used for guests during a port of call and for crew members. Most large cruise ships have two deck 0 gangways and some even three.
Galveston Cruise Terminal: 9 Things You Need to Know
Carnival Dream already departed Galveston on May 27 on its 5-day cruise including calls to Costa Maya and Cozumel, both in Mexico. The 130,000-ton vessel just recently started sailing from the port from May 13 after repositioning from New Orleans. The ship replaced Carnival Valor as that ship moved to New Orleans, read all the details here.
