Will Princess return to Galvestin, TX?

[Shoalwater]

Doesn't look like it will be anytime soon after reading the following in today's Houston Chronicle. Carnival Corp is putting some heavier horsepower into Galveston with its Carnival brand, and I think the load capacity will satisfy the local market. RCL is also going upscale a bit there as well.

 

June 23, 2010

 

New Carnival megaship to call Galveston home

 

Carnival Cruise Lines' made it official today: Its 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic, now under construction in Italy, will be based in Galveston year-round beginning in November 2011.

 

The Magic, first new megaship dedicated to the island port, will replace the Carnival Conquest in operating two seven-day itineraries, one to Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Montego Bay, Jamaica; and the other to Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas, and Key West, Fla.

 

Carnival Magic will debut in May 2011 with a series of cruises in Europe, then make a trans-Atlantic voyage from Barcelona, Spain, to Galveston. That cruise departs Oct. 28, 2011.

 

Carnival's announcement included another surprise: Also coming to Galveston next year is the 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph, a significant upgrade over Carnival Ecstasy on the cruise line's popular four- and five-days itineraries to ports in Mexico. The Triumph's Galveston itineraries will begin Oct. 6, 2011.

 

The Conquest and Ecstasy will transfer to New Orleans, but in the interim they will remain the only cruise ships based year-round in Galveston.

By November 2011, the entire Galveston fleet will be overhauled and modernized.

 

Royal Caribbean already had confirmed that its Voyager of the Seas will be replaced by the Mariner of the Seas for the 2011-2012 winter season. The Mariner was launched in 2004, 4 ½ years after the Voyager's debut.

Carnival Triumph debuted in 1999 and is eight years newer than the Ecstasy, which it replaces. The Triumph holds almost 1,000 more passengers, and its accommodations include 508 staterooms with balconies (compared to 54 balcony accommodations on the Ecstasy.

Carnival Magic's capacity of almost 3,700 passengers will be the most-ever for a Galveston-based ship, but the Voyager and Mariner of the Seas are slightly larger in size.

 

Carnival says it anticipates boarding about 450,000 passengers annually from Galveston, a 28 percent increase compared to the current numbers. The cruise line expects to carry about 340,000 passengers from New Orleans once these changes become effective.

[Colo Cruiser]

Princess no....

I seriously doubt it.

Its be tried and failed.

 

Same with New Orleans.

[hollon]

wonder why it failed out of galveston?

[Colo Cruiser]

wonder why it failed out of galveston?

 

Cause they made more money elsewhere by moving their ship.

[Times Prince]

A great example of this was one cruise we took out of Galveston where any balcony from BG to BA was the same low price. They tried all sorts of things to fill that ship, which was a December sailing. I can't imagine they made much from cabin pricing. Texans drinking was another story.:rolleyes:

 

I just wish CCL would credit Carnival sailings toward our Princess Captain's Circle, as Galveston was near enough to drive to for us.

[georoc01]

A great example of this was one cruise we took out of Galveston where any balcony from BG to BA was the same low price. They tried all sorts of things to fill that ship, which was a December sailing. I can't imagine they made much from cabin pricing. Texans drinking was another story.:rolleyes:

 

I just wish CCL would credit Carnival sailings toward our Princess Captain's Circle, as Galveston was near enough to drive to for us.

 

I agree. Given our great experience on Princess out of Galveston, I'm highly tempted to try these newer Carnival ships.

[ColoCruze]

I, too, wish Princess, or another line, would try Galveston, either for the first time, or again. It's been a few years, and the result may be different. ;)

 

I've never been on Carnival or RCCL...but I might be willing to try it just for the Galveston port as I grew up in Houston and would love to combine a cruise vacation with a trip home to visit family. Besides, airfare to Houston is so much less expensive for me than to Florida, Alaska, Europe, etc!

[caribill]

wonder why it failed out of galveston?

 

From Galveston there are a limited number of places to go, mostly including Cozumel.

 

When Princess was here, there were three brands doing essentially the same itinerary.

 

There were great sales because there were not enough people who wanted that itinerary to support three brands.

[Pam in CA]

From Galveston there are a limited number of places to go, mostly including Cozumel.

 

When Princess was here, there were three brands doing essentially the same itinerary.

 

There were great sales because there were not enough people who wanted that itinerary to support three brands.

Right. As has been said, Princess can make a bigger profit by sailing their ships elsewhere.

 

Something else that was probably a factor was transferring passengers to and from Galveston for the cruise. There were a lot of problems, i.e., bus drivers getting lost, the ship unable to dock due to weather so people who had driven had problems getting to their cars, etc. Too many headaches/complaints = take the ship elsewhere.

[Drink-in-Hand/Toes-in-Sand]

Every ship that I've sailed on out of Galveston has been stuffed to the gills. And Times Prince has it right: they ran out of Bud Light and Corona on the last cruise. :D The casino was packed 24-7 with high rolling gamblers. Not making money...? If they gave away free rooms to fill the ship up they still would've turned a tidy profit.

 

It's not always about the destination, sometimes it's just about the journey. I've done the Caribbean ad nauseum (12 times?), and the worst day on a cruise ship is still better than the best day chained to my desk at work.

 

Come on back, Princess! We're a good bunch of folks down here. I'm planning on booking that new Carnival cruise ship since they were kind enough to debut her in Galveston. Should be fun, even if it is Cozumel for the umpteenth time. :rolleyes:

[JLC@SD]

Every ship that I've sailed on out of Galveston has been stuffed to the gills. And Times Prince has it right: they ran out of Bud Light and Corona on the last cruise. :D The casino was packed 24-7 with high rolling gamblers. Not making money...? If they gave away free rooms to fill the ship up they still would've turned a tidy profit.

 

It's not always about the destination, sometimes it's just about the journey. I've done the Caribbean ad nauseum (12 times?), and the worst day on a cruise ship is still better than the best day chained to my desk at work.

 

Come on back, Princess! We're a good bunch of folks down here. I'm planning on booking that new Carnival cruise ship since they were kind enough to debut her in Galveston. Should be fun, even if it is Cozumel for the umpteenth time. :rolleyes:

 

Cozumel for the umpteenth time.....sounds like a Carnival passenger rather than a Princess passenger.....;)

[Cruzman]

Cozumel for the umpteenth time.....sounds like a Carnival passenger rather than a Princess passenger.....;)

 

FYI, lots of Princess folks are also Carnival folks, lol.

[Gabrielle R.]

Getting to Galveston was the biggest problem we ran into. We wanted to enjoy the city so flew in a day early. Booked a limo service- which NEVER showed up at the airport to pick us up. After a 5 hour wait, numerous phone calls from the company with a promise to pick us up, and attempts to find an alternative ride, we finally were stuck taking a taxi to Galveston from Houston. Nope, won't go to Hoston/Galveston for that reason. You can't get there unless you drive. We have to fly to pretty much every port- unless we can get them to do a cruise on the Great lakes!;)

[bhopal21]

Getting to Galveston was the biggest problem we ran into. We wanted to enjoy the city so flew in a day early. Booked a limo service- which NEVER showed up at the airport to pick us up. After a 5 hour wait, numerous phone calls from the company with a promise to pick us up, and attempts to find an alternative ride, we finally were stuck taking a taxi to Galveston from Houston. Nope, won't go to Hoston/Galveston for that reason. You can't get there unless you drive. We have to fly to pretty much every port- unless we can get them to do a cruise on the Great lakes!;)

 

There were/are several limo companies in the area that give very unreliable service. We were lucky to find Gulf Coast Limousine and those follks treated us like celebrities.;)

 

We would love to cruise from the new Bayport cruise terminal or even go back to Galveston.

 

Mike

[texancruzer]

Gotta chime in here.......

 

Keep your eyes open for MAYBE a new port in Texas !

 

We have a local politician (State Representative) who is "all fired up" about getting a cruiseline into Corpus Christi....

 

We have a deep water port, nice beaches and beautiful bayfront, closer to the Caribbean (would allow perhaps 1 or 2 different ports from Galveston) so makes sense in those areas......

 

one bad point - can't fly directly in to Corpus (must connect thru Houston or Dallas) BUT once here the airport is very close to City/bayfront (unlike Houston to Galveston trek)

 

I, for one, would love to see a cruiseline based here...... not just for the economic plus for our community but also for the convenience.

 

anyway....... we'll see ;)

[bhopal21]

Do any cruise ships at all utilize the new Bayport Cruise Terminal that was so hyped??

 

Mike:)

[Shoalwater]

Why are they just specific to Princess? Other lines mentioned are INCREASING capacity into Galveston. Presumably their passengers face the same difficulties.

 

While the reasons listed by OPs are true, they obviously haven't stopped Carnival from upgrading into Galveston. I think there must be something else operative here.

[caribill]

Do any cruise ships at all utilize the new Bayport Cruise Terminal that was so hyped??

 

 

Nope.

 

It was built and they did not come.

 

It was used briefly by Carnival in 2008 when Hurricane Ike make Galveston unusable for a couple of weeks.

 

It is no easier to get to than Galveston. It has no amenities and attractions with walking distance. And cruise ships must spend more time and fuel to go the extra distance from Galveston.

[restasured]

Nope.

 

It was built and they did not come.

It was used briefly by Carnival in 2008 when Hurricane Ike make Galveston unusable for a couple of weeks.

It is no easier to get to than Galveston. It has no amenities and attractions with walking distance. And cruise ships must spend more time and fuel to go the extra distance from Galveston.

 

 

I have to chime in here. I live in La Porte and I don't know many people that go to Galveston and walk to attractions or amenities just prior to getting on one of the ships there. If you stay and any of the hotels along Seawall Blvd you will have to take a cab or some other transportation to get to just about any of the attractions or amenities in Galveston, other than the beach. The Strand is near the cruise terminal but can't think many people wander around the Strand pulling their luggage with them in the hour or two prior to going across Industrial Blvd to get on the ship. The port in Bayport is within 4 miles or so of the Boardwalk in Kemah which has attractions and Space Center Houston is within 6 or 7 miles. There are plenty of restaurants within 2 - 4 miles. There are a number of motels nearby and if they had a permanent cruise ship or ships docking there I would imagine more would be built, but for now with the ones in Clear Lake, La Porte and Kemah there are more than enough to handle the people that would be coming in for a cruise. When they had the Rhapsody of the Seas in La Porte a number of years ago, most if not all the motels in the La Porte area had either a free shuttle service or a reasonable rate for a limo and no doubt when a ship comes into Bayport the motels will have that service available for ship passengers. As far as Bayport not being easier to get too than Galveston I differ with that also. The terminal in Bayport is about 48 minutes and 37 miles from Houston Intercontenintal and it is 1 hour 22 minutes and 70 miles to Galveston. If you fly into Hobby Airport, Galveston it is 50 minutes and 41 miles. Bayport is 28 minute and 21 miles. That seems easier to get to in my opinion, and cheaper for the cruise passenger in taxi/shuttle fare. Cruise ships I would imagine do pay more to come into Bayport as it takes them about an hour longer to get there than to Galveston, but from what I have heard the port fees are less in Bayport. Evidently the difference is enough for the cruise lines to stay in Galveston but the passengers would be better off going to Bayport as it is more convienent to either airport and is less expensive for a limo or shuttle or cab. Space Center Houston is every bit as interesting to me than is Moody Gardens, though both are interesting and fun, and you will have to take a cab to either one from a hotel in Galveston or in Clear Lake/La Porte.

[bighairtexan]

We've often cruised out of Galveston. Drive down, park our car and walk to several restaurants and bars and shops from the various hotels. No we don't schlep our luggage from the hotel to the pier or from any attraction to the ship, but we don't do it at FLL, Miami, San Pedro, Vancouver or Port Canaveral either.

NCL also (w/in the past 5 years) sailed from Texas and they pulled out too. I'm surprised, as there are plenty of folks w/ money in TX, New Mexico, and surrounding states, but I have to figure the cruise lines want to make money and would be here if they did.

I'm glad, at least, that they are upgrading the Carnival fleet out of Galveston. I did a spur of the moment 5 day on the Ecstasy after she came out of drydock and I felt like the Pope. I wanted to kiss the terminal ground when got off that bucket at the end of the cruise. I'd always said that even the worst cruise is better than a decent day at the normal grind. WRONG.

[spongerob]

I'd like to see Galveston back on the Princess rotation, but won't hold my breath. One of the problems that Princess would have is getting a preferred Saturday departure. The port facilities are limited and as has been shown in the past, if there is a conflict between Carnival and Princess, Carnival wins and gets to use the terminal facility they own. Princess has to make other arrangements like using a hotel to check in. No one wants to deal with that.

 

The port area itself is just not set up to handle the traffic volumes they get right now. You can easily spend an hour in a traffic queue just trying to get into the port, then once you get in it's a madhouse. It could be part of the reason that local car service is a bit reluctant to go there.

 

Other than the local traffic flow transportation is no worse than most cruise ports for logistics. You face exactly the same challenges in New York, Los Angeles, and Southampton.

 

I think the fact that Princess will always have to take the leftovers for docking and terminal usage, and the port's obviously limited ability to handle large numbers of people resulted in a greater number of complaints compared to other ports. Put the two together, and you have a no-win scenario for Princess.

 

The only thing IMO that would mitigate the challenges would be offering a longer and more diverse itinerary than is available through RC or Carnival. Even then I don't know that there would be enough demand for 10-14 day sailings to make it work. Too bad, because we'd there waiting to embark if they did! :)

[hollon]

I, too, wish Princess, or another line, would try Galveston, either for the first time, or again. It's been a few years, and the result may be different. ;)

 

I've never been on Carnival or RCCL...but I might be willing to try it just for the Galveston port as I grew up in Houston and would love to combine a cruise vacation with a trip home to visit family. Besides, airfare to Houston is so much less expensive for me than to Florida, Alaska, Europe, etc!

I'm sure the new carnival is nice, but I've been on the Mariner and she is so beautiful and classy, we had a great time, staff was friendly, we had tons to do, never got bored, shows are good. shes one of my favorite, but like I said I'm sure the new ship will be great too.

[Coral]

I doubt it.

 

These sailings had to go for dirt cheap to fill up the ship. It is a pain for non-locals to get to the ship compared to other ports and supposedly there were more complaints amongst passengers on these sailings compared to any other ship when it was in Galveston. They also had a difficult time with their port schedules and making the ports on time and when they changed the port times, people complained. They gave shipboard credits for about 8 weeks or so (to cover those who had already made final payment and then everyone expected shipboard credits even when they knew of the port changes at final payment.

 

From what I understand speaking with Princess people, there was very little positive things to come out of it except for locals liked driving to the port.

[jam82]

Interesting. From what I was told from a Carnival employee, their Galveston cruises are on average a higher price pp per night than cruising out of Florida. We live close to Galveston and often choose to fly to Florida to cruise because in the big picture it's cheaper to do so and there are more itinerary choices. I really do think that the parking and transportation issues to Galveston have all but gone away.

 

Even though I wish that someone would use the Bayport terminal, on any given Sunday you will find many many cruisers wheeling their luggage around The Strand.

[dforeigner]

I'd like to see Galveston back on the Princess rotation, but won't hold my breath. One of the problems that Princess would have is getting a preferred Saturday departure. The port facilities are limited and as has been shown in the past, if there is a conflict between Carnival and Princess, Carnival wins and gets to use the terminal facility they own. Princess has to make other arrangements like using a hotel to check in. No one wants to deal with that.

 

The port area itself is just not set up to handle the traffic volumes they get right now. You can easily spend an hour in a traffic queue just trying to get into the port, then once you get in it's a madhouse. It could be part of the reason that local car service is a bit reluctant to go there.

 

Other than the local traffic flow transportation is no worse than most cruise ports for logistics. You face exactly the same challenges in New York, Los Angeles, and Southampton.

 

I think the fact that Princess will always have to take the leftovers for docking and terminal usage, and the port's obviously limited ability to handle large numbers of people resulted in a greater number of complaints compared to other ports. Put the two together, and you have a no-win scenario for Princess.

 

The only thing IMO that would mitigate the challenges would be offering a longer and more diverse itinerary than is available through RC or Carnival. Even then I don't know that there would be enough demand for 10-14 day sailings to make it work. Too bad, because we'd there waiting to embark if they did! :)

 

Nice to hear some actual facts other than the Princess was losing money in Texas misleading story. Even though people have mentioned these facts before, some still insist that it was a profit issue.