Princess Calling It Quits In Houston

[jewopaho]

After the 2015-16 Caribbean season, both Princess and NCL will cease operations out of the Bayport (Houston) terminal. Frankly, I'm not surprised. It took a bunch of money and incentives just to get them here ... as in no docking charges and $80,000 paid to the cruise lines for each sailing ... and they still couldn't make it work. Granted, the fare is only part of the overall revenue, but how many $299 cruises can the bottom line endure?

 

It's all about following the money, and it's not here. Right now, the hot markets are in Asia and Australia ... very similar to Europe a few years back. Five ships sailing virtually the identical itineraries from a region as small as this makes no sense.

 

Given the obstacles ... long, winding trips through the Ship Channel (no casino, no bar, no shops), the location (in the midst of one of the most active freight terminals in the country, with absolutely nothing for visitors to do), a capacity of one (count' em, one!) ship, the expense of getting to and from the airports, and the proximity to Galveston (a pretty decent tourist area, with two cruise lines sailing year-round) ... it was simply a matter of time. We sailed from there once ... that was enough for us.

 

The terminal was built as part of a political boondoggle in the first place, and was doomed from the beginning.

 

Al

Edited August 8, 2015 by jewopaho

[shredie]

It's sad for those who lived close. :(

[p010ne]

:mad:We have cruised from/to there several times and much prefer the excellent facilities compared to Galveston! Also, the highway access bypassing Houston is wonderful! (Fog can also be a problem for Galveston):p

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Sorry to hear this, as Houston sailings meant us West Coast residents didn't have to fly all the way to FL for Caribbean itineraries. I'll have to check out Galveston.

[Dudleydog73]

I had thought I read on here that NCL would continue in Bayport after Princess vacates but I just verified that there are no sailings from Houston for NCL after April 2016.

 

We had one and only one experience out of Bayport and leaving a day late due to fog and high winds made us miss several ports. For us the gamble was not worth it since Ft Lauderdale had better itineraries anyways so we never tried it again.

 

The logistics getting to the port, the lack of stuff to do around the port, the crazy Texas alcohol rules, and frequent weather issues all make this announcement a no brainer.

[Colo Cruiser]

Given the obstacles ... long, winding trips through the Ship Channel (no casino, no bar, no shops), the location (in the midst of one of the most active freight terminals in the country, with absolutely nothing for visitors to do), a capacity of one (count' em, one!) ship, the expense of getting to and from the airports, and the proximity to Galveston (a pretty decent tourist area, with two cruise lines sailing year-round) ... it was simply a matter of time. We sailed from there once ... that was enough for us.

 

A few threads on the same, here is one......

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2221128&highlight=houston

 

 

How about the biggest unknown? Weather. :cool:

Edited August 8, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[caribill]

This is not new news for Princess.

 

When Princess announced their schedule for 2016 several months ago, there was no ship scheduled to return to Houston in the fall.

 

What is news is that NCL will not be returning also.

Edited August 8, 2015 by caribill

[jewopaho]

:mad:We have cruised from/to there several times and much prefer the excellent facilities compared to Galveston! Also, the highway access bypassing Houston is wonderful! (Fog can also be a problem for Galveston):p

You're certainly in the minority. Incidentally, the fog issue also exists in Bayport. I continually received e-mails from Princess touting last-minute bargains out of Houston. We couldn't resist one ... don't exactly remember what we paid, but it was in the $500 range for the two of us. We found the port lacking in several areas, including having to wait outside in freezing weather while departing passengers took up the entire terminal.

 

The thing was built as a throw-in to placate voters when a huge bond issue for the Port of Houston was placed on the ballot. Just by its very location, there was absolutely no way it could have ever succeeded. Even bribing the cruise lines had a limited effect. With Galveston building a third terminal, the Bayport coffin can now be nailed shut.

[Steelers36]

 

How about the biggest unknown? Weather. :cool:

 

Besides the chance of fog, what is known is that in the depths of winter (prime Caribbean cruising time), you have to spend a lot of time at beginning and end of a cruise sailing into hot weather. Not so with south Florida.

[p010ne]

You're certainly in the minority. We found the port lacking in several areas, including having to wait outside in freezing weather while departing passengers took up the entire terminal.

:rolleyes: Talking about minority, you are obviously the ONLY one who thinks there is MUCH freezing weather in the Houston area (or Galveston)! Why would ANYONE think the terminal facilities are better in Galveston?:eek:

[Dudleydog73]

:rolleyes: Talking about minority, you are obviously the ONLY one who thinks there is MUCH freezing weather in the Houston area (or Galveston)! Why would ANYONE think the terminal facilities are better in Galveston?:eek:

 

They are certainly not the only one. Our Thanksgiving cruise out of Bayport was extremely cold which was unfortunate as we did not plan for needing a winter coat while waiting outside the terminal prior to be let in.

[MTJSR]

:rolleyes: Why would ANYONE think the terminal facilities are better in Galveston?:eek:

 

Maybe because of the Starbucks across the street? :D

[lljost]

:mad:We have cruised from/to there several times and much prefer the excellent facilities compared to Galveston! Also, the highway access bypassing Houston is wonderful! (Fog can also be a problem for Galveston):p

 

I am one of the few who agree with you. Have cruised several times and booked again for February 2016 on a B2B. Living in New Mexico, we love the short direct flight into Houston. And yes, we had a few weather related problems, but nothing that would have kept us from continuing to cruise from there. It was great for cheap, easy get aways...

[p010ne]

Maybe because of the Starbucks across the street? :D

:p I have you covered, just check their site perhaps: http://www.starbucks.com/store-locator/directions/from/seabrook%2C%20tx%2077586%2C%20united%20states/to/1300%20fairmont%20parkway%20laporte%2C%20tx%2077346 :D

Edited August 8, 2015 by p010ne

[caribill]

:p I have you covered, just check their site perhaps: http://www.starbucks.com/store-locator/directions/from/seabrook%2C%20tx%2077586%2C%20united%20states/to/1300%20fairmont%20parkway%20laporte%2C%20tx%2077346 :D

 

Link does not work

 

Worked on the 2nd try

Edited August 8, 2015 by caribill

[p010ne]

Link does not work

:eek: Perhaps a neighbor's kid can help you?:p

[caribill]

:eek: Perhaps a neighbor's kid can help you?:p

 

It worked the second try.

[NoWhiners]

After the 2015-16 Caribbean season, both Princess and NCL will cease operations out of the Bayport (Houston) terminal. Frankly, I'm not surprised. It took a bunch of money and incentives just to get them here ... as in no docking charges and $80,000 paid to the cruise lines for each sailing ... and they still couldn't make it work. Granted, the fare is only part of the overall revenue, but how many $299 cruises can the bottom line endure?

 

It's all about following the money, and it's not here. Right now, the hot markets are in Asia and Australia ... very similar to Europe a few years back. Five ships sailing virtually the identical itineraries from a region as small as this makes no sense.

 

Given the obstacles ... long, winding trips through the Ship Channel (no casino, no bar, no shops), the location (in the midst of one of the most active freight terminals in the country, with absolutely nothing for visitors to do), a capacity of one (count' em, one!) ship, the expense of getting to and from the airports, and the proximity to Galveston (a pretty decent tourist area, with two cruise lines sailing year-round) ... it was simply a matter of time. We sailed from there once ... that was enough for us.

 

The terminal was built as part of a political boondoggle in the first place, and was doomed from the beginning.

 

Al

 

wait...what? There's no bar service as you depart the port? Is that true? I never heard that before. We are trying Princess for the first time out of Houston next March. If we can't buy a drink for sailaway we will need a backup plan!

 

can anyone verify this?

 

Thx

ML

[Working 2 Cruise]

From what I understand, bar service is severely limited before and during sailaway due to Texas laws...

[Dudleydog73]

wait...what? There's no bar service as you depart the port? Is that true? I never heard that before. We are trying Princess for the first time out of Houston next March. If we can't buy a drink for sailaway we will need a backup plan!

 

can anyone verify this?

 

Thx

ML

 

Its not so much that there is no bar service, however Princess can only serve alcohol that was purchased from a TX vendor until they are out in the Gulf and out of TX waters. The choices are VERY slim and bottom shelf at best.

[NoWhiners]

From what I understand, bar service is severely limited before and during sailaway due to Texas laws...

 

Hmmm...how "severely limited". No drinks, only 1 bar open, etc? How far out in the gulf do we have to be to get back to normal? Do you know? What is it about Texas law that limits getting a drink on a cruise ship? Anyone know?

 

Thanks

ML

[caribill]

Hmmm...how "severely limited". No drinks, only 1 bar open, etc? How far out in the gulf do we have to be to get back to normal? Do you know? What is it about Texas law that limits getting a drink on a cruise ship? Anyone know?

 

 

First of all, the laws also apply to cruises that start/end in Galveston.

 

The law involved says that alcohol served in Texas (so it would apply to the ship until it is out of Texas waters) must have been purchased from a Texas distributor.

 

Obviously alcohol purchased from Texas distributors costs more than the way it is normally purchased by Princess. (Maybe it includes federal and Texas alcohol taxes?) So, Princess has chosen to only purchase a limited quantity of a limited number of brands from Texas distributors. That is why the drinks are limited when you first board the ship.

 

By the way, another Texas law that has started to be enforced in the past year in both Galveston and Houston is that any alcohol purchased out of state must pay a Texas tax when brought into Texas. It does not matter if you will be taking it out of Texas in a couple of hours, the tax must still be paid.

Edited August 8, 2015 by caribill

[Dudleydog73]

 

The law involved says that alcohol served in Texas (so it would apply to the ship until it is out of Texas waters) must have been purchased from a Texas distributor.

 

 

Which makes it even nicer when the frequent weather / fog issues crop up and you are held prisoner tied up at the dock like we were overnight which meant no bottles of wine could be purchased at dinner (remember only alcohol bought from TX could be served) so they only had VERY limited wine by the glass and only cocktails from their bottom shelf liquor was served.

 

I know more than our sailing got held up overnight so it was not just a single outlier occurrence.

 

Roll the dice and see what mother nature brings you on your cruise.

[jmss1950]

Any idea on whether Princess will move its sailings to and from Galveston when it stops using Bayport in 2016? We live in East Texas and driving to either Bayport or Galveston the morning of the cruise is very convenient. :confused:

Edited August 8, 2015 by jmss1950

[bigchid]

We tried Bayport once, and that was enough, for all the above reasons.

Delayed departure and return, nothing to drink while we waited, long trip to and from the airport, etc. We just have no desire to try it again.