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Galveston Cruises Are Overpriced

EAZYLIVING

By EAZYLIVING,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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EZ4

EZ4

Posted
Posted
Why would they put Magic in dry dock during what is arguably the busiest week of the year? That week is the main sp week for south Texas area.

 

Magic is moving. Galveston will have Carnival's newest and greatest, the Freedom.

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Pom Lover

Pom Lover

Posted
Posted

We are cruising on the Magic next month and this will be our first cruise out of Galveston and our first cruise driving to a port. We have always flown to FL but after we figured in airfare this time the Magic was cheaper then FL.

 

We are anxious for the new experience of driving to the port and not messing with airlines.

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TruckerDave

TruckerDave

Posted
Posted
Why would they put Magic in dry dock during what is arguably the busiest week of the year? That week is the main sp week for south Texas area.

 

Dry dock availability maybe. Pretty sure they have to sched yard periods years in advance and it might not be the best time but the first avail one.

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TruckerDave

TruckerDave

Posted
Posted
Magic is moving. Galveston will have Carnival's newest and greatest, the Freedom.

 

Your official source for this is????? They are still showing dates through the end of April out of Galveston. (and that is as far out as it will let me check as of 2 min ago)

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bbqman

bbqman

Posted
Posted
Magic is moving. Galveston will have Carnival's newest and greatest, the Freedom.

 

The Carnival Freedom is not their newest ship, it is a Conquest class ship built in 2007.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

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EZ4

EZ4

Posted
Posted
The Carnival Freedom is not their newest ship, it is a Conquest class ship built in 2007.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

 

LOL. It replaces Sunshine as the newest and greatest. It will be the flagship until Vista is born. ;):p;)

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GROUCHPUSS

GROUCHPUSS

Posted
Posted
LOL. It replaces Sunshine as the newest and greatest. It will be the flagship until Vista is born. ;):p;)

 

I think you are wrong about the flag ship, The Magic will be it. With a 40 plus day dry dock it will be interesting to see what will be done and if it really happens. The Freedom was going to get Sunshined, but you see what happened to that dry dock time. It was dropped from 47 days to 14 days. So who is to say if the Magic dry dock time will stay the same or not.

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BusyBlond

BusyBlond

Posted
Posted
Is Royal really cheaper than Carnival out of Galveston? If so, you should definitely give them a try! I've been reading about the upgrades to the Navigator of the Seas and they sound fantastic. What's holding you back? :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Nope, on the whole Royal is more expensive. Occasionally I find a cheaper deal on Royal, but not often.

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EZ4

EZ4

Posted
Posted (edited)
I think you are wrong about the flag ship, The Magic will be it. With a 40 plus day dry dock it will be interesting to see what will be done and if it really happens. The Freedom was going to get Sunshined, but you see what happened to that dry dock time. It was dropped from 47 days to 14 days. So who is to say if the Magic dry dock time will stay the same or not.

 

The flagship thing is kinda like the Air Force One call sign, isn't it? Whatever ship JH is on is the flagship? ;)

Edited by EZ4
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BusyBlond

BusyBlond

Posted
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Agreed with the OP.

 

Our last cruise we took in summer of 2012. I would have loved to have sailed out of Galveston on the Magic as it's in our home state and closer. However it was cost prohibitive.

 

We ended up doing the exact same 7 day itinerary out of New Orleans on the Carnival Conquest for about $1200 cheaper for my family of 4. We ended up driving to NO a day early

and staying in a hotel and it still saved hundreds.

 

We also end up sailing from New Orleans about half the time because of the price difference. I would always prefer to sail from Galveston since it's only a 4 hour drive, but sometimes I just can't justify the cost.

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Boozebabe

Boozebabe

Posted
Posted

Maybe it isn't Carnival. My guess would be that its port fees for the State of Texas. I haven't priced out any Galveston cruises but I would think Carnival would be the lowest price. They are from every other port I've cruised from the last 10 years or so.

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gweedo

gweedo

Posted
Posted

When I booked our Royal cruise out of Galveston for next year, I priced the Magic and the Emerald Princess out of the new Houston port. Royal was cheaper than both of them for the same balcony-type cabin. After I figured the drive time etc it was cheaper to go out of Galveston all things being considered.(And I have a sister in Florida and one in Texas to stay with). We have enjoyed being on Carnival in recent years but with the price difference it will be nice to try Royal again. I think it just depends on when you book and check the prices often.:)

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christyran1228

christyran1228

Posted
Posted
Agreed with the OP.

 

Our last cruise we took in summer of 2012. I would have loved to have sailed out of Galveston on the Magic as it's in our home state and closer. However it was cost prohibitive.

 

We ended up doing the exact same 7 day itinerary out of New Orleans on the Carnival Conquest for about $1200 cheaper for my family of 4. We ended up driving to NO a day early

and staying in a hotel and it still saved hundreds.

 

This is what we did this past August ... the price difference was ridiculous. That being said, the 9 hour drive from San Antonio to New Orleans was a blast because we were all excited about our first cruise. The drive back was so depressing, I have no desire to ever do it again ...lol.

 

We are driving the 3 hours to Galveston in November. Lol

 

 

 

Sent from my Commadore 64 using the Cruise Critic forum app

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mrBit

mrBit

Posted
Posted

RCI is not cheaper unless there is a sale and both Cruise lines have sales during the year thus they are comperable. As with anything, the East coast is saturated with cruising, FL alone has all within driving distance 4 ports all sharing the same cruise lines many times. Galveston is bringing in huge area of drivers, which was a big deal that carnival brought up years ago in a press conference. Houston now has a cruise terminal so that puts 2 ports within an hour's drive and with time and more competition, prices will come down, but heck i can sail my family of 5 in december on the Triumph 4 day for the price I paid on the Navigator for 4 days this past Feb when it was just my wife and I. Granted Summer, Spring break, Holidays all have incredibly high pricing but it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out why.

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bbqman

bbqman

Posted
Posted
LOL. It replaces Sunshine as the newest and greatest. It will be the flagship until Vista is born. ;):p;)

 

Now that is LOL. That doesn't make it new just a refurb.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

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DebJ14

DebJ14

Posted
Posted (edited)

We cruise all the time from Galveston since we live about an hour from the port. We have found some great deals in the past on Carnival, however this year the best deals we have found were on Royal Caribbean (Grand Suite with lots of perks for $1399 each) and on Princess (Full suite with HUGE balcony for $1999 each). Carnival's GS and OS suites with no perks were significantly higher on the dates we were looking to book. Both RCCL and Princess had inside cabins for $499.

Edited by DebJ14
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EZ4

EZ4

Posted
Posted
Now that is LOL. That doesn't make it new just a refurb.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

 

Oh, no. It'll be brand new. Just like when I get a new paint job and tires on my 2006 truck. ;)

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EAZYLIVING

EAZYLIVING

Posted
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Posted

Yesterday, I just had to start this thread to get this off my chest and to notify Carnival. I see a lot of my cruise critic pals agree. Except for the ones who aren't near a coast. I know you middle land cruisers are amazed at how we near coast lovers still complain.:D

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