Sailing out of Galveston….

[minnie00]

We have never sailed from Galveston….I have some questions…we are looking at sailing some time in Jan to Mar

what is the weather like? 
are the waters rough?

thx

[cruiselvr04]

The water can be rough anytime of the year.  Fog can prevent you from getting back sometimes in January and February.  Almost every year a ship gets delayed returning into Galveston due to fog.  It will be chilly the first and last sea day so plan accordingly.  Once you get further south it’s great.  

[twangster]

February 2022 departure time lapse.  Where we turned is near the location of the new cruise terminal that will open soon.

 

Any sea can have rough weather and calm weather.  Galveston in certain times of the year is known for fog more than terrible seas.  Yet the seasonal fog is not a given, it all depends.  The morning this video was taken there was fog yet the ship made it back into port safely and sail away was... pretty awesome.  

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Done it twice and it's our least favorite port.  Both sailings had horrible weather, once the day leaving and once the day coming back.  We sailed once in February and the other in January.  Lost an entire last at sea day coming back due to heavy rain and wind (no deck time).  Once we were a day away from port the weather was good and seas were calm.    

[miamimommie]

We live in Houston so Galveston is our home port. We’ve sailed many times from there. That time of year the biggest “threat” is fog. We only had rough seas once out of 10 cruises. 
 

[JBSteelerfan]

We have mostly had calm seas sailing from Galveston.  Maybe 1 day out of multiple cruises did we have some rougher seas, but certainly not like the North Atlantic or some areas in Europe.  Fog can be your biggest concern then.  If flying, just plan a little later flight for your return, just in case!

[Ret MP]

17 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Almost every year a ship gets delayed returning into Galveston due to fog.  

Ohhhhh man, I can only hope so.  I've had cruises shortened because of hurricanes.  Never extended because of weather.  I'm anxiously awaiting for that to happen.  One can look forward for something like that when fully retired and have nothing better to do. 🤠

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Be sure and watch for the dolphins in Galveston. I always see dolphins playing while we are in port and during sailaway. 

[George C]

I sailed out of Galveston many times do not remember any rough seas , agree on fog a couple of times we were delayed a few hours from embarkation because ship was late returning. 

[JupiterTwo]

On our last cruise in January 2019, we were returning to Galveston when we were delayed because the Coast Guard closed the port due to two ships colliding earlier in the morning due to fog. Two people were missing, and the Coast Guard was conducting search and rescue missions.

 

We were finally able to dock at about 3:00pm. The fog started rolling back in during our drive home, and when I checked later, the Enchantment had not been able to depart until the next day.

[awhfy]

We were delayed once returning to Galveston because of fog (April). Ship docked at 1pm. We were on a b2b so it didn’t affect us but many people were scrambling to get new flights

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've only sailed out of Galveston once, very early December.  The first and last days were very cool and it didn't really warm up much until we hit the islands.  Probably pretty common in the winter months.

[Ret MP]

My favorite terminal is the new terminal in the Port of Miami.  I don't like the City of Miami though.  So I stay in Ft. Lauderdale/Dania Beach (I grew up in Dania) when I cruise out of Miami.  Galveston is my second favorite (but I haven't been to the new terminal, yet) next to Port of Canaveral, a tie, for me.   Next, Port Everglades.  I really disliked Seattle and will never be back.  Bayonne isn't out of the question but it's not something I'd go looking for.  

 

Having said all that,  each port and any ship, has a chance, at any time, to be seriously effected by weather, obviously.  

YMMV 

[Seville2Cabo]

1 hour ago, JupiterTwo said:

On our last cruise in January 2019, we were returning to Galveston when we were delayed because the Coast Guard closed the port due to two ships colliding earlier in the morning due to fog. Two people were missing, and the Coast Guard was conducting search and rescue missions.

 

We were finally able to dock at about 3:00pm. The fog started rolling back in during our drive home, and when I checked later, the Enchantment had not been able to depart until the next day.

We were on the next cruise and yes, we boarded about 5:30 and left port about 9am on day 2.

 

The only issue we ever had with 5 cruises out of Galveston.  Will be there again in April for a cruise.

[vistapat]

We'll be there mid-August, and I sincerely hope the new terminal has a better layout than the current one.  I've waited in line outside many times, and the heat and humidity was truly memorable.

 

Pat

[Ret MP]

5 minutes ago, vistapat said:

We'll be there mid-August, and I sincerely hope the new terminal has a better layout than the current one.  I've waited in line outside many times, and the heat and humidity was truly memorable.

 

Pat

Hummm, I've sailed out of Galveston (Rustbucket Cruise Lines, Inc.) a few times and never waited outside, at least not more than a few minutes and I contribute that to people that ..... well, never mind.  No, I'm not doubting you or calling you out, at all.  I just find it surprising.  I like the terminal because of it's history.  It's an very old building and if it could speak, I could only guess what it would/could say.  

 

However, I really like new terminals, too.  Can't wait to see the new terminal in January 2024.  

[minnie00]

Thank you everyone… fog….good to know. And the cooler days sailing remind me of sailing out of LA to Mexico…..I think I will stick with FL departures 😀

[Tree_skier]

Last December we sailed out of Galveston and looking back on the pictures I see that DW was wearing a coat.  I'd assume that means it was cool.