Houston building a "state of the art" cruise terminal?? (Merged threads)

[rsjc]

During the disembarkation talk on the Ecstasy out of Galveston this past Monday (02/02/09), Steve, the Cruise Director made an interesting comment. He said that the Ecstasy won the coveted Crystal Eagle trophy for its 2006 performance, and as a result, the Conquest was moved to Galveston. He continued, by talking about how well Carnival had been received in Houston during the month they sailed out of there after Ike, and how even though the port wasn't quite done at the time, how well it seemed to work for both parties.

 

He then followed that up by saying that the Ecstasy had won the Crystal Eagle for 2008. He did NOT say that there would be another ship anytime soon, but he did imply that there is the possibility that Carnival would look at adding a ship out of Houston, since they are being so well received in Texas. I don't know whether or not anything will come out of this, but it did give us some hope!

 

We pretty much were given the same talk during the Past Guest Party when we were on the Ecstasy the week after X-mas. It was mentioned that when Port Canaveral received its new ship(Carnival Dream I think could be wrong) that there could be some move a rounds that might put a ship in Houston because of the great successes the Texas market has given Carnival.

[Capt. Mike]

Carnival and RCI CAN'T add any ship to bayport. They entered into a contract that states they cant sail any ships out of competing ports (essential HOU).

 

The contract says they will not move and existing ship to Bayport that is calling on Galveston thru 2011, it say nothing in the contract about adding another ship of the same line to sail from Bayport. Trust me on this one.

[GregD]

The contract says they will not move and existing ship to Bayport that is calling on Galveston thru 2011, it say nothing in the contract about adding another ship of the same line to sail from Bayport. Trust me on this one.

intresting..A captain in one of my classes told me that they can't send any ship to bayport, and now i learn what you just said, so now I dont know what to beleive.

[Texas Teen]

Texas needs more ships! I hope Royal Caribbean will send another ship!

[houstoncruisers2001]

I'd like to see Princess or Celebrity come back too.

[Snoozeman]

The contract says they will not move and existing ship to Bayport that is calling on Galveston thru 2011, it say nothing in the contract about adding another ship of the same line to sail from Bayport. Trust me on this one.

 

But the RCL contract expires soon. I think they would still stay in Galveston though, but one never knows.

 

I still think MSC is our best shot.

[yst347]

I just came across this,my apologies if it has been posted before. Texas' tall ship Elissa, the ship usually docked by the Galveston cruise terminal will be open for tours at the Bayport cruise from March 30, to April 5. :)

 

http://www.galvestonhistory.org/Sailmaker_Jim_Brink.asp

 

This sounds like a great opportunity to see the Bayport facility as well as a beautiful ship.

[*Mach*]

But the RCL contract expires soon. I think they would still stay in Galveston though, but one never knows.

 

I still think MSC is our best shot.

 

 

Hiya, Snooze!!

I don't have a clue about RCL but I KNOW that Carnival is dedicated to Galveston. As was mentioned above, they have a contract with Galveston through 2011 and I'm sure they'll be there beyond that.

I've asked folks at Carnival specifically about Bayport v. Galveston and they have stated that Carnival will not relocate. In fact, there's some considerable talk about putting a third ship in Galveston, the market is just that important to them...

[Snoozeman]

Hiya, Snooze!!

 

I don't have a clue about RCL but I KNOW that Carnival is dedicated to Galveston. As was mentioned above, they have a contract with Galveston through 2011 and I'm sure they'll be there beyond that.

 

I've asked folks at Carnival specifically about Bayport v. Galveston and they have stated that Carnival will not relocate. In fact, there's some considerable talk about putting a third ship in Galveston, the market is just that important to them...

 

Yes I agree, I don't see Carnival going anywhere else. That's why I also think Princess would continue to use Galveston as well.

 

Bayport was wonderful, we just need another Cruise Line. I think I know how to get MSC on the ball. I'll book a cruise on the Lirica out of Florida. With my luck they will announce the day after I make final pmt that they are moving to Bayport the next year.:)

[*Mach*]

Yes I agree, I don't see Carnival going anywhere else. That's why I also think Princess would continue to use Galveston as well.

 

Bayport was wonderful, we just need another Cruise Line. I think I know how to get MSC on the ball. I'll book a cruise on the Lirica out of Florida. With my luck they will announce the day after I make final pmt that they are moving to Bayport the next year.:)

 

 

Rick Sasso, President of MSC USA, will be answering questions on this forum next week:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=571

I asked specifically about MSC and Bayport. I hope he'll shed a bit of light on the subject...

[Snoozeman]

Mach: SUPER, great timing. Maybe we'll get some clue.:)

[*Mach*]

Mach: SUPER, great timing. Maybe we'll get some clue.:)

 

 

That's what I'm hoping for, Snooze... If he doesn't answer publicly I'm hoping for a response privately via email.

:)

[Galveston Cruiser]

We were on Transatlantic in Dec/Jan.

[lovetexas]

Do ya think it would help if there were alot of posts about moving a ship to Houston? I am thinking the more posts he sees, the more he will take time to read and ponder this?

 

What 'cha think fellow Texans???

 

Or we could all drive to Florida and take him hostage until he agrees.......:eek:

[*Mach*]

Do ya think it would help if there were alot of posts about moving a ship to Houston? I am thinking the more posts he sees, the more he will take time to read and ponder this?

 

What 'cha think fellow Texans???

 

Or we could all drive to Florida and take him hostage until he agrees.......:eek:

 

 

Humm... good question... MSC is primarily a European line moving into the US market.

Europe is still a good market for folks who don't have to fly there to board a ship... the Europeans...

The Caribbean is a HUGE market for the US and I'm sure that MSC would love to have a piece of it!!!

:)

[Snoozeman]

MSC has two new ships coming out in the future as well. One next year. They have to put them somewhere.

[dlbaqua]

we need more ships in Texas!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

does that help?

[dawyv]

We definitely need more ships in Texas, but I'd love them to be from Carnival and maybe something from the Spirit class. On class, I'm just speculating as I have no idea how that would work, but given we already have Ecstasy and Conquest, I'd rather their classes not be duplicated or, at a minimum, another CQ-class ship. Ideally, the ship out of Bayport would take over doing the western Caribbean run and the larger of the two remaining in Galveston could run eastern Caribbean full-time or alternate between eastern and different western Carib ports.

 

Either way, more ships please. :)

[CGBCruiser]

I really miss RCCL's Splendour that did the 4 and 5 day cruises out of Galveston. I wish we had another ship besides The Ecstasy doing the short cruises. It's so easy for to drive the 45 min. to Galveston and get away for a long weekend! Ecstasy is ALWAYS booked to capacity. It's hard to believe that we used to have so many choices.

[*Mach*]

This is the response that my post received from Mr. Sasso, North American VP for MSC:

 

"As you may know, we are the second largest container company in the world and the Gulf Coast is a major region for us.

We do have that area on our future plans for cruising but it will take some time for that to develop.

There are many other more opportunities for us to expand and we must be sure to use our fleet in the best possible way and that they can be successful operations. I do speak regularly with the port officials there so to keep up with the latest.

Let’s see… "

 

 

So, there you have it. Nothing promising about MSC being the first tenant of Bayport...

[txskier]

Mach and Snoozeman

....Looks like we need to resurrect BCL :eek:

Bubba Cruise Lines

 

I absolutely hate to see Bayport sit empty.

[Debe7ing]

I really miss RCCL's Splendour that did the 4 and 5 day cruises out of Galveston. I wish we had another ship besides The Ecstasy doing the short cruises. It's so easy for to drive the 45 min. to Galveston and get away for a long weekend! Ecstasy is ALWAYS booked to capacity. It's hard to believe that we used to have so many choices.

 

It's hard to believe in this economy that they are ignoring the fact the ships are booked out of Texas, isn't it???

 

HELLLLOOOO out there...folks will SAIL if only you bring the ships back.

 

We have done the Conquest 5 times now...as well as Princess and NCL when it was here...it certainly seems that someone would be taking notice they are having to GIVE Alaska away this year and they could be sailing well out of Texas.

[texreno]

If there's some poor financial factor when cruising out of Houston I wish someone in the industry would explain it to us.

I've heard things like the lack of reachable ports of call from Houston but how many San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Martin and Nassau cruises do they have out of Florida? After all, they seem able to reach Key West, Nassau, Freeport, Progress, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan, Belize, Jamaica & Grand Cayman form here.

When we use the argument of all ships sailing full out of Galveston we get back that they price to fill. Like Debe just said, they're giving away Alaska this year and I've seen some real bargains out of Florida and LA.

They talk about the distance from the airport but refuse to recognize that Southwest who flys into Hobby is a major player in all the states bordering Texas. On all the Texas based cruises we've been on the passenger list consisted mainly of residents from these states.

 

They talk about the lack of pre & post cruise options. Well, I'm a local and they've got me there. Like any local, I take most of these for granted but they do exist.

 

I think we all know the real reason for the lack of cruising out of Houston. Houston just does not have a national reputation as a vacation destination.

If San Antonio were located on the Gulf Coast, we'd have plenty of cruising options. Look how quickly they were tripping over themselves to get a ship back to new Orleans before it was ready.

I think it's just our national image. What else can it be?

[*Mach*]

Mach and Snoozeman

....Looks like we need to resurrect BCL :eek:

Bubba Cruise Lines

 

I absolutely hate to see Bayport sit empty.

 

 

Ya' know... Bayport isn't a world class facility but it's a good facility... completely functional BUT it can only accommodate one ship at a time.

When Carnival had to reposition to Houston from Galveston because of Ike the two ships, Ecstasy and Conquest, had to swap positions from Barbors Cut to Bayport to disembark and embark... Not an ideal situation at all...

The area around Bayport is dismal... There's NOTHING there within walking distance or for that matter even reasonable taxi distance!

The port needs hotels, restaurants, bars and silly attractions. That's what makes a port an attraction for cruisers... not the proximity to a container terminal...

Perhaps the old rumors about the MGM corp positioning a fairly large gambling ship at Bayport will come to fruition... That facility needs a tenant...

:(

[clearlakecruisers]

If there's some poor financial factor when cruising out of Houston I wish someone in the industry would explain it to us.

 

I have had many of the same thoughts and also question the limited number of cruises available from this area. I remember when Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess were sailing out of Galveston and none of them seemed to be leaving port empty. How could the number of potential cruisers have deteriorated such that we now have only Carnival and a limited time with RCI???? Every commentator admits that the economy in this area, although taking some hits, is running rings around most of the country.

As for the argument that pre- and post-cruise attractions are limited, we have sailed from Baltimore, Seattle and Fort Lauderdale and, frankly, the options in those cities were not significantly superior to what could be promoted in Galveston/Houston.

My theory goes back to the original decision made by the cities of Galveston and Houston to separately pursue the cruise business. If, at that time, they had developed a comprehensive plan which promoted 1.the great access via two major Houston airports, 2. Galveston as a fun port city (it's quirky and charming like Key West), 3.readily available/inexpensive/convenient transportation from those airports to Galveston, 4.pre- and post-cruise packages of lodging and tours of NASA, Galleria, San Jacinto monument, Galveston's historical district, and 5. a major joint ad campaign, I think we would have seen a much different situation right now.

I'll now step off my soapbox!