Should Corpus Christi Become the Next Major Port?

[talkorpi]

I've been doing a lot of research and thinking. Corpus Christi would be PERFECT for the next cruise port. Think about it. I live in New Braunfels, TX, smack dab in between San Antonio and Austin. It takes two hours to get to Corpus and 4 to get to the Houston/Galveston area. South and Central Texas has a HUGE population, which would be more accessible to Corpus. Corpus is closer located to the ports of call, so Carnival could cut their fuel costs by travelling slower but still having a 6 or 7 day cruise. Corpus has tons to do and a more convenient airport than Hobby or Bush Intercontinental. I've heard that there are some people working on getting Corpus to be a port, but that will take FIVE YEARS. Here's my thoughts on it.

 

Carnival should (If this is true) take the Fantasy off the sales market. Instead of moving a larger ship to Charleston, they should put the Vista wherever it is going to go (I'm betting Miami :mad:) and place one of those ships (Either Ecstasy or Victory, preferably the latter) in Corpus. There, they could do a Roatan, Belize, Cozumel, and Costa Maya or Grand Cayman itinerary, A Grand Turk, Grand Cayman, Falmouth itinerary, and a Key West, Nassau, and Freeport itinerary.

 

So what do you think? Should Corpus Christi become the next major Gulf Coast port and should Carnival take that chance? I'm thinking of calling them this week and pitching it to them! :D :D :D

 

Feel free to share your thoughts!

 

Thanks,

Tate

[KirkNC]

It would work for me as I would like to see less cruises out of Florida.

[bury me at sea]

Living just SE of Austin, I would love it.

[Disconnections]

No thanks.

[talkorpi]

No thanks.

 

why not?

[utopiagal]

I think it sounds like a great idea. I live in the Texas hill country and Corpus is a much easier drive for me.

[tigereye]

Why not just use Mobile, which is ready to go now.

[Ontario_Cruiser]

It would not work for me for two reasons. First, the flights to Corpus would likely be expensive. We need to fly to the port, and I can always get good rates to south Florida. Second, the geography would limit the itinerary options to Western Caribbean. Not sure if the Grand Turk option you suggest would even be possible in a seven day.

 

Florida will continue to be well served as it has cheap flights from many places and is well placed to get to many ports. Texas will get ships as long as the large population will support them. But I am not at all sure that another port is needed with Galveston and Houston both available.

[Badfinger]

Why would Carnival canibalize their Galveston cruises? Makes zero business sense.

[amber381]

Why does everyone always hate on Florida? I realize we have more ports & ships but we are also more centrally located to the popular Bahamas & Eastern routes. The only really feasible route from Texas ports would be the Western itinerary, and really- do we need more of those?? On the flip side, if I lived in that area of the country I would probably pull for more ships & ports too, but realistically, the ports of call are pretty limited.

[CoconutJD]

The airport might be more accessible to and from the cruise port, but it would likely be less accessible for people to fly there. It's not a major airport by any stretch. I think there's only 2-3 airlines that fly there.

[oldvato]

I've been doing a lot of research and thinking. Corpus Christi would be PERFECT for the next cruise port. Think about it. I live in New Braunfels, TX, smack dab in between San Antonio and Austin. It takes two hours to get to Corpus and 4 to get to the Houston/Galveston area. South and Central Texas has a HUGE population, which would be more accessible to Corpus. Corpus is closer located to the ports of call, so Carnival could cut their fuel costs by travelling slower but still having a 6 or 7 day cruise. Corpus has tons to do and a more convenient airport than Hobby or Bush Intercontinental. I've heard that there are some people working on getting Corpus to be a port, but that will take FIVE YEARS. Here's my thoughts on it.

 

Carnival should (If this is true) take the Fantasy off the sales market. Instead of moving a larger ship to Charleston, they should put the Vista wherever it is going to go (I'm betting Miami :mad:) and place one of those ships (Either Ecstasy or Victory, preferably the latter) in Corpus. There, they could do a Roatan, Belize, Cozumel, and Costa Maya or Grand Cayman itinerary, A Grand Turk, Grand Cayman, Falmouth itinerary, and a Key West, Nassau, and Freeport itinerary.

 

So what do you think? Should Corpus Christi become the next major Gulf Coast port and should Carnival take that chance? I'm thinking of calling them this week and pitching it to them! :D :D :D

 

Feel free to share your thoughts!

 

Thanks,

Tate

The Ecstasy would not work for me. About 5 or 6 years ago, we cruised on it from Galveston. After they made the upgrades, it became too kid oriented. They only have one pool and the serenity area has no pool and is in the after part of the ship, and is very hot. No breeze coming through. We did write on the evaluation card that we would never cruise on the Ecstasy, ships of the same class again. Now 5 years later, we are going on the Magic from Galveston in about 6 days. Edited June 16, 2014 by oldvato

[Tapi]

A small regional airport (CRP) is better than 2 airports, one which is a hub for the second largest airline in the world (IAH) and another airport which is a hub for the largest low cost airline in the US (HOU)? :confused:

 

A quick scan of flights in and out of Corpus reveals that there are only 3 airlines, and 2 destinations. And one of those destinations is Houston. Who in their right mind would hop on a flight from Houston to sail from Corpus Christi when Carnival, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean sail from the Houston area? Double :confused: :confused:

 

Corpus Christi may make sense for the people that live in New Braunfels and surrounding areas, but not to the rest of the US population that would need to either drive farther south or find affordable airfare to an underserved and often overpriced airport.

 

And another port of embarkation in Texas doesn't open any possibilities for new itineraries, since you're still geographically limited to the same ports as from other Gulf coast ports of embarkation.

 

Farther drive? Less flight options? More expensive airfare? Same old itineraries? On an old Fantasy class ship? No thanks.

 

 

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Edited June 16, 2014 by Tapi

[cruzinlisa]

Personally, I probably won't do it, because its a little too far to drive for me. If I am going to fly, I will just fly to Florida because: 1. cruises are usually cheaper from Florida than Texas; 2. airfare to Florida is cheaper and more plentiful (there are actually economy direct flight options); 3. more options for ships and itineraries.

 

I wish that there were more options from NOLA or Mobile, as those are a more reasonable drive for me. I have considered going as far as Houston/Galveston, but that is still a little farther than we want to drive.

 

If I lived closer though, I would like your idea.

[kona_wahine]

If there is no major airport close I highly doubt carnival would base a ship there. It's fine for the people who would have to drive but those of us who would have yo fly it would never be cost effective.

[LaShea]

I live in Corpus and believe me I am sure it will happen but, it will most likely be about 5 years or so. They are in the process of constructing a new harbor bridge to allow for bigger ships in the port and that would include cruise ships. It will happen it just takes time.

 

We do have an international airport in Corpus. It is small but the major airlines and Southwest come here. Southwest is also starting to offer non-stop flights here from Vegas. So, not everyone will have to come through Houston to get here. I actually think United is the only one that comes through Houston. American comes through DFW.

 

I am positive it will work here but, we need to do some things as a city to be able to have a cruise ship here.

[EZ4]

Tell Corpus officials to call San Diego and Mobile, before they rush out and buy themselves a cruise dream.

[Tapi]

 

We do have an international airport in Corpus. It is small but the major airlines and Southwest come here. Southwest is also starting to offer non-stop flights here from Vegas. So, not everyone will have to come through Houston to get here. I actually think United is the only one that comes through Houston. American comes through DFW.

 

 

International airport means that the airport has customs capabilities, and because of Corpus' proximity to Mexico, it's a necessity.

 

But don't be fooled into thinking that the designation means much for passenger flying. An airport could literally have ZERO airline service and be considered an international airport.

 

With Houston as Corpus' primary destination, and Dallas the secondary destination, there's really not much of a network to attract fly-in passengers. That means that Corpus would mainly feed from drive-in passengers. Unless there's a huge clientele base from major cities (NOT mid-sized cities like Austin or San Antonio) with a shorter drive to Corpus than to Galveston/Houston, I honestly don't see this venture being successful.

 

 

 

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Edited June 16, 2014 by Tapi

[PlanoTim]

The USS Lexington is already in Corpus. Couldn’t they just slap on a whale tail and take her out? :D There’s be plenty of room for chair hogs on her flat top. :eek:

[talkorpi]

That means that Corpus would mainly feed from drive-in passengers. Unless there's a huge clientele base from major cities (NOT mid-sized cities like Austin or San Antonio) with a shorter drive to Corpus than to Galveston/Houston, I honestly don't see this venture being successful.

 

San Antonio has a population of 1.4 MILLION people. Austin has 750,000 and is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Combined with a fast growing cruise industry, I think we have a substantial amount of people to fill the Victory without making Carnival lose a profit.

[Tapi]

San Antonio has a population of 1.4 MILLION people. Austin has 750,000 and is

 

 

The population of San Antonio and Austin combined may seem large, but it really isn't, at least to support a cruise ship year round. You'd need a considerably larger passenger base, even to fill one small Fantasy class ship doing 4-5 day itineraries year round. And you wouldn't be able to loose a single passenger to another port of embarkation, which may be hard considering that there's a major port with multiple cruise lines with brand new, larger ships a few hours away.

 

Believe me, I know what it's like to cheer for the "hometown" port. I live in Georgia and I dream about Savannah, GA becoming the next big port. In my head, I can think of all the reasons why it would work, but the economic reality is very different. I'll have to settle for driving a bit farther away to more established ports of embarkation. Savannah is not going to happen just like Corpus Christi is not going to happen.

 

 

 

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Edited June 17, 2014 by Tapi

[Keith1010]

I am not sure if the city could support this.

 

Keith

[jwalk03]

A small regional airport (CRP) is better than 2 airports, one which is a hub for the second largest airline in the world (IAH) and another airport which is a hub for the largest low cost airline in the US (HOU)? :confused:

 

A quick scan of flights in and out of Corpus reveals that there are only 3 airlines, and 2 destinations. And one of those destinations is Houston. Who in their right mind would hop on a flight from Houston to sail from Corpus Christi when Carnival, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean sail from the Houston area? Double :confused: :confused:

 

Corpus Christi may make sense for the people that live in New Braunfels and surrounding areas, but not to the rest of the US population that would need to either drive farther south or find affordable airfare to an underserved and often overpriced airport.

 

And another port of embarkation in Texas doesn't open any possibilities for new itineraries, since you're still geographically limited to the same ports as from other Gulf coast ports of embarkation.

 

Farther drive? Less flight options? More expensive airfare? Same old itineraries? On an old Fantasy class ship? No thanks.

 

 

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This is spot on! While Texas has a large population it also already has cruises from Houston & Galveston which are both closer to a larger portion of the population than Corpus Christi. Carnival is FAR MORE LIKELY to increase capacity in Galveston or go to Houston than to go the opposite direction and add a ship in CC. Just doesnt make financial sense.

[jimbo5544]

This is spot on! While Texas has a large population it also already has cruises from Houston & Galveston which are both closer to a larger portion of the population than Corpus Christi. Carnival is FAR MORE LIKELY to increase capacity in Galveston or go to Houston than to go the opposite direction and add a ship in CC. Just doesnt make financial sense.

 

I would tend to agree. A while back (4 years ago?) I sat in on a TA call where Carnival exec's talked about a home port right in Corpus Christi. The location was perfect for going further south. Of course, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since that time.

[EZ4]

I would tend to agree. A while back (4 years ago?) I sat in on a TA call where Carnival exec's talked about a home port right in Corpus Christi. The location was perfect for going further south. Of course, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since that time.

 

Since that time, Carnival has pulled out of 4 homeports and then returned to 2 of them, but they have added 0 new homeports.