So with the news today that the Dream is moving to Galveston?

I cruised out of Galveston once, but decided never again due to the distance from the airport to the cruise port and the archaic Texas liquor laws. NOLA is my favorite port of embarkation, but I wish Carnival would introduce more eastern or southern Caribbean itineraries from NOLA. With the same ports of call offered over and over from NOLA from Carnival, I'm considering other options.

What does Costa Maya have to do with sailing out of New Orleans?

Because they are limited to Western Caribbean cruises and Costa Maya is a port they frequent.

I realize that by living in Florida I am extremely fortunate to have so many ship/port choices. I personally look at shorter cruises and longer cruises as completely different things. We live 20 min from the Port of Jax. Our choices here are very limited... we have one ship and it is Fantasy class (that will never change unless they move the port to the other side of the bridge...) Up until recently the itinerary choices were just 4 or 5 day Bahamas. Of course, being a seasoned Caribbean cruiser, the Bahamas are our LEAST favorite place to go... But- when we can sail for peanuts on special deals.... I will take my least favorite itinerary every.single.day. That said- I don't see that as a vacation- like a mini getaway. Our vacation cruises have all been at least 6 days typically involve travel to at least Port Canaveral and are usually on a larger class of ship. When a ship runs 7-day itineraries, that leaves no time for her to run shorter runs unless they flip between 4 day/5 day then back to 7... Maybe moving the Dream to Galveston offers that option of travel with the other ships still covering the longer trips.

I also realize that many that live more centralized in the US have travel time involved with just getting to the port. These shorter cruises also give those folks who don't wish to pay additionally for airfare the option of driving to the port before and after their trip. When they restrict the shorter itineraries to the fantasy class ship that means these folks never get to experience the larger classes. So, overall- I think it is a win. Galveston is lucky to be getting the Dream- still my favorite ship!

Because they are limited to Western Caribbean cruises and Costa Maya is a port they frequent.

I've cruised out of New Orleans more than a dozen times and have never been to Costa Maya.

I've cruised out of New Orleans more than a dozen times and have never been to Costa Maya.

Lucky you. While there are itineraries that don’t go there, some do.

Strange they would move Magic to Miami (from Port Canaveral) and put the Breeze in Port Canaveral??? Breeze originally (before Galveston) was out of Miami.

Just seems strange... Both are same class of ship

Lucky you. While there are itineraries that don’t go there, some do.

Yes, some do go there. My point was that associating New Orleans with Costa Maya is silly when that port is easily avoided.

Yes, some do go there. My point was that associating New Orleans with Costa Maya is silly when that port is easily avoided.

I associate New Orleans with somewhere I really don’t care to leave out of again for various other reasons as well. Same with Galveston.

I associate New Orleans with somewhere I really don’t care to leave out of again for various other reasons as well. Same with Galveston.

Ok. If that's the case, your post really made zero sense.

Ok. If that's the case, your post really made zero sense.

If you say so. I’m not sure what part of I don’t see myself going out of NO again doesn’t make sense. I don’t see any phenomenal itineraries warranting me to go all the way there. Same ol’ Western that I can get get from Miami. Like I said, if I’m going on Glory again I’ll have to plan on it before she leaves. Does that make it a little clearer?

Can you tell me when the Dream is moving to Galveston, we just booked for March. That would be disappointing that it is now the Glory!

So with the news that the Dream is moving to Galveston and Nola is getting the Glory and Valor does it seem that Nola is getting a bit of the short end of the stick. Has Nola done something to upset Carnival.

My first thought was that Galveston ships must sail full the majority of time, and that's why they want a bigger ship for the 4 & 5 days cruises.

I missed out on sailing the Vista in Sept because of hurricane Irma, but quite a few people I was supposed to sail with were able to change their booking at the last minute, and hop on the Dream out of NOLA instead. I remember telling my mom how surprised I was that the Dream was not full and still had room for people within a few days of departure.

It appears that Carnival is sending the larger ships to the ports that are going to fill them up regularly.

Can you tell me when the Dream is moving to Galveston, we just booked for March. That would be disappointing that it is now the Glory!

According to the information in post 12 of this thread, the Dream will start sailing short cruises from Galveston in May, 2019.

Totally missed that even after reading it 3 times! Welp, guess if I’m going on Glory ever again looks like it will have to be next year. Don’t see myself going out of NO again. Did that my first cruise and it was OK. But unless they have a good itinerary, I don’t see it happening. I am totally not a fan of Costa Maya.

Carnival Glory has a journey's cruise Feb.16, 2019.....12 nights out of Miami :)

Carnival Glory has a journey's cruise Feb.16, 2019.....12 nights out of Miami :)

I would LOVE to go on it, but I can’t get that much time off of work and I’ll be just getting back from my Celebrity Edge Cruise in January of 2019.

So with the news that the Dream is moving to Galveston and Nola is getting the Glory and Valor does it seem that Nola is getting a bit of the short end of the stick. Has Nola done something to upset Carnival.

It's all about $$$.

Maybe they are making room for vista 3 in Nola

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I bet they’re recogzing the increasing competition in NOLA and they don’t want to sail a ship not at capacity.

I bet they’re recogzing the increasing competition in NOLA and they don’t want to sail a ship not at capacity.

That's what it seems like...but these other ships are seasonal. And RCCL is sending a relic. CCL responds by taking the nicer, newer ship they have there and replacing it with a relic? Doesn't make sense to me.

That's what it seems like...but these other ships are seasonal. And RCCL is sending a relic. CCL responds by taking the nicer, newer ship they have there and replacing it with a relic? Doesn't make sense to me.

Especially when they turn the Dream into a short run booze croozer.

That's surprising as well. I would've thought Dream would replace Freedom which does 7-day cruises. But I guess demand must be up for first time cruisers so they want a bigger ship for them.

Would like to see Norwegian come to Galveston to add a little more competition.

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Would like to see Norwegian come to Galveston to add a little more competition.

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I'd like to see Princess return to Galveston.

It is puzzling to me that Carnival is planning to use the Dream for short cruises.

Hmm, I am not sure how I feel about it. I have not cruised Dream yet, I was kind of holding out because Dream did not have a lot of the upgraded venues from the 2.0, but I think they took care of that on a recent drydock. I was hoping to try the Guy's BBQ place (Pig and anchor or something) that they just added to Dream, but I guess I will miss that.

Have not been on Glory. It looks like it does have 2.0 stuff, which is a plus. I really like the Conquest class, which is my fav to date but I was hoping to try a Dream class ship. It looks like my time is running out if I want to go from NOLA.

I am not sure why Carnival is taking Dream from NOLA. Maybe they feel that the shorter cruises are filling up more (needing a bigger ship) and the longer cruises not filling.

I typically like to do 7 day cruises myself. I may do a 5 day cruise if its a Monday through Friday cruise, because that leaves me some travel days while still taking only 1 week vacation. I cant see myself driving the 11-12ish hours to NOLA for anything less than 5 days, unless it was free.

Now that Royal is talking about putting a ship in NOLA and NCL reportedly moving one of the newer ones there, I may just try new lines.

NOLA is a nice port to drive to, especially if you live in the middle of the country, like I do. Its an easy, straight drive. Galveston is a little further, but a pain, because I have to go through Dallas and Houston both, which slows things down.

The shorter cruises out of Galveston are sailing at near capacity. The five day I have coming up is the first cruise where I never got a price drop. Price went up right after I booked it about ten months ago and never went down. Right now all that's available are a few Ocean View rooms when I checked yesterday. The short cruises are very popular here. The four days are a nice quick getaway for someone who doesn't want to take a lot of days off work, and the five day cruises are more laid back and appeal to the people who might normally book a seven day but want to save a little money. Both are popular with first timers who want to try cruising but don't want to commit to a full week. Two out of every three cruises (in the 4 and 5 day category) from Galveston are five day cruises, which aren't as boozy as the four days. It has more of a seven day vibe to it.