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#1
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Galveston?
I am very curious regarding cruise lines leaving from Galveston. It
seems that Celebrity has left the port, and I seem to remember something about Princess leaving as well. It also appears that after Rhapsody leaves, RCCL will move Voyager in for the winter, but she appears to be leaving for the summer months, and it further appears that Splendor which has done the short cruises for years may not be returning. This leaves just Carnival doing 4,5 and 7 day cruises from that port year round. I'm also not sure that Norwegian is coming out of Houston anymore either. Does anyone have any info on what's going on in Galveston? That is my main port to use since I live in Ft. Worth. Thanks, Ray B. |
#2
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Galveston?
Ray Bensch wrote: I am very curious regarding cruise lines leaving from Galveston. It seems that Celebrity has left the port, and I seem to remember something about Princess leaving as well. It also appears that after Rhapsody leaves, RCCL will move Voyager in for the winter, but she appears to be leaving for the summer months, and it further appears that Splendor which has done the short cruises for years may not be returning. This leaves just Carnival doing 4,5 and 7 day cruises from that port year round. I'm also not sure that Norwegian is coming out of Houston anymore either. Does anyone have any info on what's going on in Galveston? That is my main port to use since I live in Ft. Worth. Thanks, Ray B. Galveston is an interesting port from the point of view of the lines. It has fair facilities and convenient loading & unloading. It is very quick to get in and out of. Alas this corner of the Gulf is a fair ways from anything with it taking a full day & a half to get to either Jamaica or Cancun/Cozumel. It works best for week long trips. Galveston is a pretty minor location and a long way from airport service so in that way it is not convenient. I doubt that it will be a good location for the lines although it would be an excellent place for long range cruising. The port got a real boost when Katrina & Rita took out a lot of the competition. It will be interesting to see how things play out. |
#3
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Galveston?
"Ray Bensch" wrote I am very curious regarding cruise lines leaving from Galveston. It seems that Celebrity has left the port, and I seem to remember something about Princess leaving as well. It also appears that after Rhapsody leaves, RCCL will move Voyager in for the winter, but she appears to be leaving for the summer months, and it further appears that Splendor which has done the short cruises for years may not be returning. This leaves just Carnival doing 4,5 and 7 day cruises from that port year round. Galveston is a great port to sail from if you are within driving distance... and not too terrible if you fly. Houston (IAH) is a Continental hub and Hobby is served by SouthWest. Drawback is that both are a fair distance from the pier with at least an hour+ drive from IAH (Hobby is closer but fewer flights). Mostly, the cruise lines are pulling out because the per diems weren't as much as they could get in other ports and other itineraries. Carnival is committed to staying in Galveston and loaned the Port of Galveston $$$$ for improvements to the terminal and passenger loading/unloading area. It used to be a nightmare getting in and out of there... now it is pretty easy. I don't see and haven't heard any news about any cruise line operation out of Galveston year round except Carnival. It is great that the Voyager of the Seas will be there through April. Down the line, some of us are hoping that Carnival moves the Conquest out (maybe to replace the Destiny in San Juan?) and replaces it with a Spirit-class ship.... but that is just wishful thinking at that point. New Orleans is still not ready for prime time and I promise not to get off on a rant about that. Carnival decided to keep the Triumph in Florida rather than move her to NOLA as scheduled. NCL will run some 7 day cruises on the Norwegian Spirit from there this winter, and Carnival has the Fantasy doing 4 and 5 day cruises. Right now and for the immediate future, there are not a lot of choices when it comes to sailing out of Galveston or New Orleans. -- George Leppla http://www.CruiseMaster.com October 14, 2007 MOAGC 3 - http://www.moagc-3.com January 20, 2008 - GGC2008 - http://cruisemaster.com/adventure.htm June 5, 2008 9 nt from NJ - http://www.cruisemaster.com/explorer.htm |
#4
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Galveston?
Also, as George pointed out, we Texans are cheap! They weren't getting the on-board revenue they wanted. Let's just cross our fingers and see what happens but the best I think we can hope for are ships winter-porting here when the Alaskan season runs out. That is what my daughter (not the MSC one) thought as well when she was trying to sell art on the Rhapsody last fall. All of those drive ins are great for the cabin sales, but they don't buy the shore excursions, don't drink enough, and certainly aren't feeding the casinos the way they are supposed to. We Floridians are just so much more generous :-) |
#5
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Galveston?
Hi:
The information you have is pretty accurate. NCL has gone until at least 2009 when we heard they would reconsider putting a ship in here. Princess and Celebrity have also split. RCCL is cutting back on their ships just leaving Carnival to feed the masses. What we locals are hoping is that the Port of Houston is building a shiny new state-of-the art cruise terminal at their new Bayport facility. We'd like to think that the cruise lines are holding back signing contracts with Galveston until they see how it plays out and to give it a rest because the "cream" has been skimmed off the top--people that didn't cruise before because they won't fly, left coasters who would prefer a 2 1/2 hour flight than a longer one to Miami, etc. Maybe after a year or two, new "cream" will rise and repeat cruisers will think about cruising since it would have been a while since they went to the ports offered. They had originally expected to open the new terminal by the end of the year but when they found there weren't going to be any ships around, they put it on the back burner to finish up the container part of the port. In reality, what we are afraid of is that when they were seeking bond money for the new terminal to clutter up our countryside with even more rusty containers and has had major negative ecological impact on our wetlands, they dangled the economic impact of cruise ships coming in. They knew that lack of a great terminal was not keeping the cruise ships away. What keeps them away are the limited itineraries, distance from the airport, no close by tourist facilities, the long sail down the ship channel to the Gulf which is closed down periodically due to oil spills or accidents and can really create havoc, and the aforementioned "cream." With no ships coming in, that gave them a great excuse to not finish the project in a timely manner and get the greater revenue producing container port done. Also, as George pointed out, we Texans are cheap! They weren't getting the on-board revenue they wanted. Let's just cross our fingers and see what happens but the best I think we can hope for are ships winter-porting here when the Alaskan season runs out. Tucker in Texas Ray Bensch wrote: I am very curious regarding cruise lines leaving from Galveston. It seems that Celebrity has left the port, and I seem to remember something about Princess leaving as well. It also appears that after Rhapsody leaves, RCCL will move Voyager in for the winter, but she appears to be leaving for the summer months, and it further appears that Splendor which has done the short cruises for years may not be returning. This leaves just Carnival doing 4,5 and 7 day cruises from that port year round. I'm also not sure that Norwegian is coming out of Houston anymore either. Does anyone have any info on what's going on in Galveston? That is my main port to use since I live in Ft. Worth. Thanks, Ray B. |
#6
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Galveston?
Our experience on the Splendour, a year ago last Christmas, was both
excellent and horrible. The ship and cruise were excellent, as was the port facilities in Galveston. The drive from Hobby wasn't too bad. The downside was our experience in Houston at the Comfort Inn by Hobby. It was post-Katrina, and the displaced New Orleans "youth" were assembled in force by the hotel. During the night, there was actually gunfire as oppressed youths vied for drug deals. At lunch, a friend's daughter, who had come to visit with us, had her purse snatched my more of the poor, oppressed children. If we were to return to a Galveston cruise, we would 1) stay in a different area of Houston than around Hobby and 2) hope that there was a fast and reliable (armored) shuttle service between Houston and the port. BTW- if I could suggest a single thing needed for Galveston, it would be a decent hotel within walking distance of the port, including secure, covered parking. While the Queen Mary in Long Beach was not acceptable as a hotel, it was both within walking distance of the Pride and offered covered parking. Perhaps Galveston could purchase a retired ship and make it's own version of the Queen Mary? -- ---Nonnymus--- You don’t stand any taller by trying to make others appear shorter. |
#7
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Galveston?
"Nonnymus" wrote:
BTW- if I could suggest a single thing needed for Galveston, it would be a decent hotel within walking distance of the port, including secure, covered parking. There are at least two within walking distance. The Harbor House and The Tremont. Other hotels in Galveston offer free parking (some covered) during your cruise and shuttle to/from the port. Diana Ball Austin, TX |
#8
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Galveston?
Nonnymus wrote:
BTW- if I could suggest a single thing needed for Galveston, it would be a decent hotel within walking distance of the port, including secure, covered parking. Flew into Hobby, rented a car and drove down to Galveston that day. Stayed at the Harbor House (free parking) and returned the car the following morning (cruise day). Took the free rental car shuttle to the pier. It worked perfectly. ~ Peri |
#9
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Galveston?
They have pretty much been arrested or shipped away to New York City.
It would be better if you stayed away though. Nonnymus wrote: Our experience on the Splendour, a year ago last Christmas, was both excellent and horrible. The ship and cruise were excellent, as was the port facilities in Galveston. The drive from Hobby wasn't too bad. The downside was our experience in Houston at the Comfort Inn by Hobby. It was post-Katrina, and the displaced New Orleans "youth" were assembled in force by the hotel. During the night, there was actually gunfire as oppressed youths vied for drug deals. At lunch, a friend's daughter, who had come to visit with us, had her purse snatched my more of the poor, oppressed children. If we were to return to a Galveston cruise, we would 1) stay in a different area of Houston than around Hobby and 2) hope that there was a fast and reliable (armored) shuttle service between Houston and the port. BTW- if I could suggest a single thing needed for Galveston, it would be a decent hotel within walking distance of the port, including secure, covered parking. While the Queen Mary in Long Beach was not acceptable as a hotel, it was both within walking distance of the Pride and offered covered parking. Perhaps Galveston could purchase a retired ship and make it's own version of the Queen Mary? |
#10
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Galveston?
Diana Ball wrote:
"Nonnymus" wrote: BTW- if I could suggest a single thing needed for Galveston, it would be a decent hotel within walking distance of the port, including secure, covered parking. There are at least two within walking distance. The Harbor House and The Tremont. Other hotels in Galveston offer free parking (some covered) during your cruise and shuttle to/from the port. Diana Ball Austin, TX Its as good, as its going to get near cruise ship terminals. |
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