Carnival to add a 4th ship in Galveston

[CanTex]

3 hours ago, RoperDK said:

I guess I just don't get that Galveston is so popular that it can support so many ships.  Not only Carnival, but other lines, too.  They do the math, so they know what they're doing.  I hate to see both the Dream and Breeze there while New Orleans has older, smaller ships.  What's going to happen to Port Canaveral?  The Mardi Gras is a great option, but the same old tired itinerary will, well, get old. They used to have unique itineraries from Port Canaveral, along with the shorter and standard 7 day cruises. I wonder when the repositioning cruises will be available to book? 

Why so many ships? 29 million Texans and a huge drive-in market from surrounding states adding to that. The ships from here sail totally booked (you can never book a room with one of the extra beds open), and fares are often higher than those from the Florida ports sailing comparable itineraries. Add a robust, diversified economy in the region. $s speak.

Plus, they're having to keep on top of the competition. RCI is building a new hundred million $ terminal at Galveston to accommodate Oasis class ships.  Disney has re-upped with a long-term contract and is doubling their sailings.

Edited October 16, 2019 by CanTex

[jbethel11]

6 minutes ago, shof515 said:

 

Some of the Conquest class ships doe have a retractable roof like the Sprint Class and Splendor. The NCL ships do not have this and they have no problems having 2 mega big ships cruising to Alaska

Yes. NCL has a retractable roof in the Haven area.

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, jbethel11 said:

How do you feel about this @jimbo5544?

There are no big secrets, but they would not share the info.  

[jimbo5544]

48 minutes ago, stobe1 said:

 

I doesn't matter what jimbo thinks. Carnival would not release detailed info like this. Nor would any other company without some sort of deathwish.

Of course it matters, what kind of dribble is that?

[stobe1]

1 minute ago, jimbo5544 said:

Of course it matters, what kind of dribble is that?

 

Lol. Jack of all trades of master of none....

 

😉😉

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, jbethel11 said:

Yay! Horizon to New York again! Maybe send Horizon to the West Coast, and Panorama to New York! Or better yet send Mardi Gras up to New York. Who knows?

They know.  If the Panorama sails discounted, she will not last on the west coast, but the Horizon will not go there.  

[shof515]

5 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

Yes. NCL has a retractable roof in the Haven area.

thats if you can afford the haven prices that they want on some cruises..wow..yikes. It would of been better if the roof was by like the main pool

[jimbo5544]

1 minute ago, stobe1 said:

 

Lol. Jack of all trades of master of none....

 

😉😉

So says my wife.  

[jimbo5544]

Just now, shof515 said:

thats if you can afford the haven prices that they want on some cruises..wow..yikes. It would of been better if the roof was by like the main pool

Bingo

[dave_k58]

3 hours ago, comoceva said:

I'm thinking that they might bring the freedom to Alaska but who knows. I loved the freedom and will miss it.

Is the Freedom to large to go through the Panama Canal?  I think a 10 day out of San Francisco like Princess would be fantastic for the Freedom. Or maybe even Long Beach

 

[jimbo5544]

7 hours ago, dave_k58 said:

Is the Freedom to large to go through the Panama Canal?  I think a 10 day out of San Francisco like Princess would be fantastic for the Freedom. Or maybe even Long Beach

 

The Freedom will fit thru the canal, I would agree with a 10 day out of Frisco, but doubt Carnival would do that.  Would jump all over that.   

[sanmarcosman]

8 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

The Freedom will fit thru the canal, I would agree with a 10 day out of Frisco, but doubt Carnival would do that.  Would jump all over that.   

The 10 day cruise would be a good idea, but please don't let the locals hear you call their city Frisco. 🙉

[jimbo5544]

6 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

The 10 day cruise would be a good idea, but please don't let the locals hear you call their city Frisco. 🙉

Lol, heard it in a song in the 70’s. I thought all Californians hated me anyway. 😎

[jimbo5544]

I pitched itineraries like this for the Panorama several times to friends in mgt at Carnival.  It would do very well.

[sanmarcosman]

Just now, jimbo5544 said:

I pitched itineraries like this for the Panorama several times to friends in mgt at Carnival.  It would do very well.

We're sailing on the Panorama to Mexico in February. A summer cruise on Panorama from the Bay Area north to Victoria, B.C. would be a cruise we would take instead of another Alaska cruise. 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

1 minute ago, sanmarcosman said:

We're sailing on the Panorama to Mexico in February. A summer cruise on Panorama from the Bay Area north to Victoria, B.C. would be a cruise we would take instead of another Alaska cruise. 

 

 

 

Agree, it would be a great to have a new ship with some different itineraries other than the one.  

[PhillyFan33579]

12 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

But notice how Carnival doesn't send any other ship besides the Spirit class. This is because Alaska is a cold weather climate, meaning passengers do not want to spend 50 degree days in an outdoor pool. Spirit Class ships, as well as the Carnival Splendor, are the only ships that have an indoor pool. This is also why RCI and NCL both have ships with indoor pools in Alaska.

Conquest class ships also have an indoor pool ( the aft pool). Victory and Triumph also have/had an inside pool (also the aft pool). I don’t know if they kept (or will keep) the option to close the roof on the aft pool on Sunrise and Radiance. Hopefully someone who has been on Sunrise will provide the answer. 

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

The Freedom will fit thru the canal, I would agree with a 10 day out of Frisco, but doubt Carnival would do that.  Would jump all over that.   

I hope Freedom goes to a port in Florida. I am bummed they are moving both Breeze and Victory (Radiance) from Florida. Florida already has enough Fantasy class ships. Hopefully Carnival will keep both Horizon and Magic in Florida, even after both new ships (Mardi Gras) come here.  Over the last several years it has been great having so many Carnival ships to choose from in Florida. I would hate to see that change in the future. 
 

Of course this is my biased hope based on living in Florida. I am positive Carnival knows what they are doing and has numbers/statistics to back up decisions on where to home port their ships. 

[BallFour4]

12 hours ago, shof515 said:

Some of the Conquest class ships doe have a retractable roof like the Sprint Class and Splendor.

Really?

We've been on all of them and I don't remember which ones don't have the retractable roof. I did a quick review of the PDFs from Carnival on the Conquest, Glory, Freedom, Valor and Liberty and all show the sliding Sky Dome roof as I remember.
 Our favorite aft pool on ships from here in Galveston was aboard the Rhapsody.
 

Remind me which ones don't.

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by BallFour4

[LibratPDX]

To each their own!   Galveston is my least favorite port to cruise from, transportation options for a solo traveler are few and far between and stupid expensive!  That and the fact that you can't use/purchase Cheers for the first night because of antiquated Texas laws.  That said, I'm cruising the Dream from there 10/28 :P  

[jbethel11]

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Conquest class ships also have an indoor pool ( the aft pool). Victory and Triumph also have/had an inside pool (also the aft pool). I don’t know if they kept (or will keep) the option to close the roof on the aft pool on Sunrise and Radiance. Hopefully someone who has been on Sunrise will provide the answer. 

Ah, that's right. I completely forgot about the aft pool. But unfortunately that pool is adults-only so kids are inconvenienced for the season, and since Alaska cruises typically take place during the summer, kids are out of school. However, I do understand that the pool can be converted to all ages, but that will upset many cruisers.

[Saint Greg]

 

 

5 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

The 10 day cruise would be a good idea, but please don't let the locals hear you call their city Frisco. 🙉

 

I was trying to figure out how they'd get a ship to Frisco, Texas.

[DebJ14]

On 10/15/2019 at 5:35 PM, RoperDK said:

I guess I just don't get that Galveston is so popular that it can support so many ships.  Not only Carnival, but other lines, too.  They do the math, so they know what they're doing.  I hate to see both the Dream and Breeze there while New Orleans has older, smaller ships.  What's going to happen to Port Canaveral?  The Mardi Gras is a great option, but the same old tired itinerary will, well, get old. They used to have unique itineraries from Port Canaveral, along with the shorter and standard 7 day cruises. I wonder when the repositioning cruises will be available to book? 

Galveston is the closest cruise port for those living in places like Chicago and Milwaukee. For those from the west coast, it is a shorter flight than flying all the way to Florida to take a Western Caribbean cruise.   The terminals also have their act together making it super easy to board.  People complain about the distance from the airports to the pier, but Port Canaveral is just about as far from the airport in Orlando.

For those of us within an easy drive of Galveston it is a no-brainer.  Saving $500-$600 on flights for the two of us every cruise allows us to go 3 or 4 times a year, every year.

 

[jbethel11]

4 minutes ago, DebJ14 said:

Galveston is the closest cruise port for those living in places like Chicago and Milwaukee. For those from the west coast, it is a shorter flight than flying all the way to Florida to take a Western Caribbean cruise.   The terminals also have their act together making it super easy to board.  People complain about the distance from the airports to the pier, but Port Canaveral is just about as far from the airport in Orlando.

For those of us within an easy drive of Galveston it is a no-brainer.  Saving $500-$600 on flights for the two of us every cruise allows us to go 3 or 4 times a year, every year.

 

Meanwhile, us New Yorkers are incredibly inconvenienced. To start, cruises from New York are already too expensive, and flights to Florida, Houston and California are almost the same (in fact California flights are cheaper than Houston flights!) 

[jimbo5544]

11 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Conquest class ships also have an indoor pool ( the aft pool). Victory and Triumph also have/had an inside pool (also the aft pool). I don’t know if they kept (or will keep) the option to close the roof on the aft pool on Sunrise and Radiance. Hopefully someone who has been on Sunrise will provide the answer. 

No they did not keep the option.  That was part of my thinking for it being the Freedom.