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

[browneyes7]

Does anyone have any information about the ships that will be coming to Houston when the new terminal is completed? With Galveston down to 3 ships, I would really love to have the option of cruising out of Houston. Surely with a new terminal, ships will come to Houston!! Does anyone know anything about this? Any information, even here-say, will be appreciated.:rolleyes:

 

Thanks,

 

browneyes7:)

[Mysticks1]

This link might help. It won't be finished till next year (2008)but there is a nice video showing what it will look like. The video seems like a commercial created to show cruiselines to get their business.

http://www.portofhouston.com/cruiseinfo/cruiseinfo.html

[LHP]

This link might help. It won't be finished till next year (2008)but there is a nice video showing what it will look like. The video seems like a commercial created to show cruiselines to get their business.

http://www.portofhouston.com/cruiseinfo/cruiseinfo.html

 

That would be wonderful. Can you imagine being able to just fly into Houston and grabbing a taxi to the terminal!!!

[texreno]

My DW and I were in the area of the new cruise terminal yesterday so we turned off Hwy 146 and drove by the construction site. They've got Todville Road blocked and restricted access to the site so you can't see much from the road. What you can see is a lot of construction on the road ways leading to the site. Even if the terminal is completed on schedule I don't think The Port of Houston has a contract with any of the major cruise lines. If they do, they sure are keeping it quite.

 

I've read that not only Houston / Galveston but several other secondary US ports have lost ships this year. it appears that we are the victims of a strong European & Asian cruise market and not enough ships to fill the demand. Take a look at what the average per day cabin rate the cruise lines are getting for European or Orient itineraries compared to the Western Caribbean fares.

[gescn]

I'm only 2 hours from Houston, so I stay alert to any news about the new terminal. I haven't heard of any confirmations from cruise lines. I agree that the European and Asian markets are taking "our" ships, but I do hope that someone will give Houston a try.

[browneyes7]

Thanks everyone. We can keep our fingers crossed and hopefully get some more ships to come to Houston when the cruise terminal is finished. It would be a shame to build a brand new port and not have any cruise ships in it!!

 

browneyes7;)

[clearlakecruisers]

Well, I'm not one to be overly impressed with the political dealings around here, but I find it very hard to believe that Houston would build such a large new terminal without some assurances from the major cruise lines. I would think that, at the very least, Norwegian, who used the old Barbour's Cut terminal, would be bringing in one of their newer ships. There was even a "wild" rumor at one point that a Disney ship might be coming in. Guess all of us will have to wait a few more months to see what the final outcome will be.

 

Hey, In the Pink, do you have any recent info.?

[firefly333]

It cant be too soon for me either, Im up in the Dallas area. Disney will not have their next ship built until 2011, and the one after that 2012, so if the Houston port is finished next year (har har), then it probably wouldnt be Disney.

 

The only 7 day Disney ship is already spending half the year in Calif and half in Florida and going here and there in between. Its stretched pretty thin.

 

Iv got my fingers crossed RCI will bring in another ship. Im not too keen on Norweigan, but it wouldnt surprise me.

[Don Haynes]

At the earliest, NCL won't be able to have another ship until the F3's appear in late 2009, mid 2010.

 

NCL will move the Pride of Hawaii, Jade, to Europe and New York. NCL passed Houston by when the Sun left Hawaii to Miami, she will also replace the Dream in South America. NCL is strongest in the northeast New York area, Alaska, Hawaii, and Miami markets.

[In the Pink]

Hey, In the Pink, do you have any recent info.?

 

No, I'm sorry, but I haven't heard anything other than this discussion. :(

[Tucker in Texas]

There was a picture of a bunch of Chamber of Commerce people at the construction area of the new terminal in the Citizen (our worthless local weekly). In the caption they said the first of three terminals is estimated to open in March of next year. When the other two are completed (no ETA given), Houston will have the nation's largest cruise terminal complex. Of course, there was no mention of any ships coming to use this facility because there aren't any committed.

 

NCL has gone with no published plans of coming back--for sure not in 2008. Royal Caribbean is pulling out year round down in Galveston after the Voyager leaves in April. They are scheduled to bring a ship back in December of 2008 for another winter season. So, the only ships year around will be Carnival's down in Galveston which will have a 7-day cruise on the Conquest and shorter ones on the Ectasy--I think 5/4 days but not sure.

 

As for it being more convenient to the airports. Not so. Actually, it is a tiny bit further than the old facility at Barber's Cut. And, as the OP pointed out, there is NOTHING at the Bayport facility as far as hotels and restaurants go. They are saying that there will be a 40-acre "retail development" site. Again, no ETA on when that will be completed or what type of "retail" they are talking about. The nearest point of civilization would be Seabrook about 3 miles south or LaPorte about equal distance north so you would need to rent a car if you come in a day early or stay close to the airport and catch the cruise transportation down on embarkation day--same as it has always been.

 

Right now, we are seeing the cruise terminal as one big boondoggle. They "dangled" the cruise terminal as a great economic boom to get the bond issue passed by voters who could care less what goes on that is NIMBY so they could have additional container facilities. It has ruined our wetlands and produced a whole lot more environmental concerns. I'm also willing to bet that construction on the additional two terminals won't be in our life time. It was hard for me to keep a straight face reading the caption that said when all the terminals are completed 1.7 million cruise passengers will pass through the facility.

 

The reasons the ships are pulling out of Houston/Galveston are not primarily because of the lack of a good terminal. RCI stated straight out that the European market was much more lucrative than the Texas market and they are putting their ships where they make the most money. Other reasons we believe they are leaving have to do with the difficulty/expense of getting passengers to the terminal from the airports; the itinerary is limited to the Western Caribbean and there are only so many places you can go; a bullet they have successfully dodged but is bound to happen someday is that, on occasion, the ship channel is closed down due to accidents/oil spills meaning a ship could be stranded in the Houston port or unable to return to port (which could be mitigated by hiring buses to take passengers up from Galveston assuming there was docking space available there); and, the on board revenue is not what they feel is worthwhile to stay here in comparison to the European market. We drink beer, don't buy art, don't gamble much, don't want photos, don't care to pay extra to eat in fancy restaurants.

 

The major advantage to cruising out of Houston is it is approximately three hours air time from just about any place in the US. This was great for those coming from the West Coast that had done the Mexican Riviera and Alaska all they wanted and those from the East Coast that wanted a different itinerary. There was also a good market for those that don't want to fly and/or can drive in from the middle states saving airfare. However, that cream has been skimmed. Ma and Pa have done their cruise--it was o.k. but don't need to do it again. Veteran cruisers have been to Cozumel (every cruise out of Houston/Galveston goes to Cozumel) so many times the shop keepers know them by name and they don't mind flying to get to a different itinerary rather than do the same ole, same ole. There just aren't that many cruisers left around here that just want "hots and cots" and a ride around in the Gulf to make it worthwhile to keep the ships here.

 

I hope we are wrong. I hope it turns out "if you build it, they will come" because I love cruising and the new terminal is about 5 miles from my house. Husband is retired and if we want a quick getaway, we can be packed and ready to go in an hour if the price is right (lol).

 

Tucker in Texas

[karenh1127]

Isn't the terminal on the bay side, not the channel? I could be wrong but the bay has never been closed due to spills that I know of. The ship channel has (from Hartman Bridge to the 610 ship channel bridge). I drove down to the construction yesterday and although you cant turn left on Cruise Terminal Road to get up close, you can see the roof of the terminal. I also did not realize there was a neighborhood back there. I will never believe that the port would build that terminal without some sort of promise from cruiselines to sail there. Personally, I would love to see 3 day cruises or cruise to nowhere. A quick, cheap getaway not involving flying. Also, if you take the Hardy Toll rd from Bush airport to 610 to 225, I think it would be closer than Galveston.

[clearlakecruisers]

Hey, Tucker

 

Don't you think the combined tourist draws of Kemah and the Clear Lake area around the Space Center would provide an attractive day before/day after the cruises out of Bayport? I'm thinking some of the motels/hotels in my area (Clear Lake) are going to start providing shuttle services from Hobby Airport to the motel/hotel and then to the cruise terminal- or some canny entrepreneur is going to jump on the opportunity.

As I have said before, I have no trouble underestimating our politicians but I really hope that they didn't build this with no assurances of ships coming in.

Why wouldn't NCL come in in 2008? As we have seen with other lines, changes in home ports seem to be made frequently and almost instantaneously.

We recently came in from Bush (IAH) via Hardy Tollway, 610 East, Hwys 225 and 146 - long story - and realized that it not going to be a bad drive to the terminal at Bayport. That route missed almost all of the infamous Houston traffic. While not that close to the port, it was a fairly quick trip. Of course, Hobby (HOU) is significantly closer via 610 south to 225 and 146.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that this works out, cause, like the previous poster, I'm ready to cruise from my backyard and I, frankly, don't care if the ship just skips all the ports and sails around the Gulf for 3-5 days! !

[Tucker in Texas]

Hi:

 

You are correct, the new terminal will not be on the ship channel but on the Bay. Geography is not my bag (lol). That is probably a good reason they located the new terminal there rather than where the old terminal was to avoid that potential problem.

 

We have a lot going for us down here tourism wise with Fertitta's little projects. When they released plans for the Kemah Boardwalk, I laughed almost as hard as I did reading the 1.7 million cruise passengers will pass through the new terminals. When we moved down here in 1980, there was a drawbridge to get over to Kemah from Seabrook--and it opened for every little sailboat that needed through. Fertitta was smart enough when the bridge came in to see the bucks and he has sure spent them and reaped big time what he sowed. A lot of unhappy neighbors over the new roller coaster, though. And, can you believe the high rises! The first one is slated to be occupied by the end of August which I think is a little optimistic, and they have started construction on another one. They say there will be twenty or more when the dust settles. The guy who owns Villa Capri says he fields offers weekly for his property. One person offered him big bucks monthly just to have the first right of refusal when, and, if, he ever sells. There won't be many fish camps along the Lake much longer.

 

I know the Hilton Hotel across from NASA has a shuttle but not sure where it goes to, just seen it around town. I think some of the hotels--which are sprouting like mushrooms--will provide service (maybe for a fee) if there is a demand for it to get business. It takes about 20 minutes to get from Hobby to Webster and 50 minutes from the big airport. But once here, you would need a rental car to get around as public transportation is ziltch. You are right in that you can avoid a lot of Houston traffic by going on the toll road. We have found going up Red Bluff-Genoa or Space Center to Red Bluff-Genoa to IH 45 has cut out a lot of traffic But, alas, so have a lot of other people. Used to be three stop lights between us and the Sam East/IH 45. Now there are about eight or ten.

 

As for building the terminal without commitments. I can see it. The Port Authority desperately wanted more space for containers and needed a bond issue to get it funded. Empty, rusty containers aren't that decorative. All the hype on jobs, etc. wasn't being digested by John Q. Citizen enthusiastically enough. Locals here knew what a disaster it would be to our environment and really didn't want that kind of economic boost, we are doing fine without it, thank you. So the bond issue was going to be a hard sell unless they could "sweeten" the pot and get Citizens John and Mary up in Houston to vote for it if they thought it might help their tax base out, fill hotel rooms, fill restaurants, rent cars and bring in non-local tax money. You know the old "don't tax me, don't tax thee, tax that man behind the tree." Tourism people get. Ripple effect from jobs they don't.

 

When I was on the Dream in April I talked to some of the officers and they said that they really didn't have any ships to put in here available and that the itineraries had already been set for 2008. They also told me about the disappointing bottom line they were reaping from Houston. Now if another Katrina (God forbid) comes along and forces ships to relocate from the Gulf Coast, then we will be ready for them. I think the lines are taking any "surplus" ships they have and sending them across the pond to cruise Europe because they don't mind the older ships and are willing to spend more bucks for cruise fare. Maybe when they started the terminal before the European cruising boom they had some "verbal" commitments but I think if they had anything in concrete they would be touting it right along with telling us that 1.7 million passengers will be coming through. Show me one official press release from a cruise line saying they will be home porting a ship at the new terminal(s) beginning (date). I've never seen anything and, trust me, I have been looking diligently. If they ever have a Port Authority person come down here for a "town meeting", I will make it a point to go and ask just what commitments they have.

 

Tucker in Texas

[karenh1127]

I agree Tucker. If they did have some committments, why arent they advertising them? I had also heard that Tillman was trying to buy the old Flagship hotel in Galveston to build a boardwalk there. That would make Galveston look even better. But Kemah and Nasa is something to offer potential cruisers. What is even odder is that that new container port looks really nice but there is no rail going to it. All the other ports in this area do. Perhaps there are plans to build one.

 

BTW....we went to Kemah yesterday to eat at Saltgrass and they were testing the rollercoaster (no pax). It got up to the highest curve and stuck!:eek: I hate that they took away parking to build that thing.

[Host Kat]

... If they ever have a Port Authority person come down here for a "town meeting", I will make it a point to go and ask just what commitments they have...

Someone could go to the next Port of Houston Authority Commission meeting and ask there. It is Tuesday, August 28, 2007 @ 9:00 AM. There is a sign-in sheet if you want to have up to 3 minutes speaking time in the public comment session.

 

Port of Houston Authority

1111 East Loop North

Houston, TX 77029

 

Click here for more info: http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/meetings.html

 

Anyone want to be a Cruise Ship Crusader?!?

 

To pay respect to the departed Marrrrr... vin Zindler, you could wear a white suit, blue glasses and a white wig. For those not from around this area, Marvin's name above is not a typo. Marvin was a Consumer Crusader on one of our TV stations. He recently passed away at 80 something years old. He came to fame when he initiated the closing of The Best Little -----house in Texas. He would sign off his report saying, "Marrrrr...vin Zindler, Eye... witness News!"

Kat

[Tucker in Texas]

Someone could go to the next Port of Houston Authority Commission meeting and ask there. It is Tuesday' date=' August 28, 2007 @ 9:00 AM. There is a sign-in sheet if you want to have up to 3 minutes speaking time in the public comment session.

 

Port of Houston Authority

1111 East Loop North

Houston, TX 77029[/quote']

 

Rats, I have a "serious" denitist appointment at 8:30 a.m--we are talking root canal and crown. But, I will keep an eye out for the next one. I just have to talk husband into driving me there because I don't "cross" Belt 8 north (lol). I have two places I will drive to in Houston by myself: the Gallaria and Lohmans. Used to drive to the AstroWorld drop off point for kids but they closed down (lol). It will take me 15 seconds to ask my question and I will hear 15 minutes of not having it answered because there is no answer (lol). It is a boondoggle--but I will give it a shot. I had a neighbor who was a "pilot" (for those of you who equate that with air--it is ship channel pilot) and I could have gotten an answer out of him in a minute. But he moved away and they have an unlisted phone number but I have a couple of people I can call to try and find it out. I will do that. He would know the scuttlebut.

 

Tucker in Texas

[Tucker in Texas]

I agree Tucker. If they did have some committments, why arent they advertising them? I had also heard that Tillman was trying to buy the old Flagship hotel in Galveston to build a boardwalk there. That would make Galveston look even better. But Kemah and Nasa is something to offer potential cruisers. What is even odder is that that new container port looks really nice but there is no rail going to it. All the other ports in this area do. Perhaps there are plans to build one.

 

 

Oh, don't kid yourself, they are working on the rail we have heard. The locals aren't happy about that, either. I heard the Flagship rumor, too, and don't doubt it. He has a big hunk of the convention business down there. There was some kind of law suit recently about something he was doing in regards to tourism vs. the Moody Gardens people. But, in the past week, he has been in trouble with his stockholders for not filing financial reports in a timely matter so his empire might be wobbling (lol)

 

Tucker in Texas

[clearlakecruisers]

I surely hope that Tillman or someone buys and rehabs the Flagship. We stayed there once several years ago - great location, but the place was a DUMP!

 

Rumor I heard was that there are plans to have a "water taxi" from the Kemah Boardwalk area to the cruise terminals. Wouldn't that be great?

[Host Kat]

Rats, I have a "serious" denitist appointment at 8:30 a.m--we are talking root canal and crown. But, I will keep an eye out for the next one...

Mark your calendar. It is 09/25/07.

... I had a neighbor who was a "pilot" (for those of you who equate that with air--it is ship channel pilot) and I could have gotten an answer out of him in a minute...

Very familiar with the Houston channel pilots back in the late '50s & early '60s. I was a teen-aged babysitter for a couple of the families living in Texas City. One was a very good family friend that then moved down to the Panama Canal area as one of the canal pilots. While there, he and his wife became the other type of pilot and had their own plane. My mother was able to fly down commercially, visit, then fly back to Texas with them so they could visit up here for a while before they flew back. He retired before Panama took the Canal back and he and his wife now live in Florida.

Kat

[Tucker in Texas]

I surely hope that Tillman or someone buys and rehabs the Flagship. We stayed there once several years ago - great location, but the place was a DUMP!

 

Rumor I heard was that there are plans to have a "water taxi" from the Kemah Boardwalk area to the cruise terminals. Wouldn't that be great?

 

Well he has a water taxi to get people from an "outlaying" parking lot to the Boardwalk because his parking garage fills up. During the day, the demand for his "shuttle service" is not that great so he could pick people up at the terminal, bring them back to the terminal later that day. However, how many people would want/could arrive at the terminal early enough to go and want to give up boarding at noon? If you came in a day early, there are no hotels on the Bay where he could do a "group" pick up say at 5:00 p.m. (because he needs those shuttles for paying customers in the outlaying parking lots in the evenings) so you would have to make your own way down to Kemah and then he could carry you back to the terminal the next day. However, it might be a "requirement" you stay overnight at the Boardwalk to get shuttled back to the port for embarkation the next morning. And what do you do with your rental car that got you down to Kemah? Guess who owns the only hotel on the Boardwalk. Guess what the prices are? Not $100 a night. But, it is a nice hotel with great views. There is a Passport Inn (which I would compare to a Motel 6 looking at it from the outside) within walking distance of the Boardwalk that is less than half the price. He isn't going to pick you up at the airport, take you to the Boardwalk and then give you transportation to the terminal. Well, maybe he would but I can't envision it. His "water taxi" just might be a ten seater outboard since it takes less than 5 minutes to get from that parking lot to the Boardwalk so he wouldn't mind running it to the terminal for a few people at a time. The people who it would really work for would be B2B coming in at 7:00 a.m. and not leaving until 5:00 p.m with time to kill. But, since the itinerary doesn't change (or didn't for NCL) how many want to do the same cruise twice? Very few. Only those that love to cruise just to be on the water and have paid mega-bucks to come from Europe.

 

Maybe, there is a business opportunity for me! I pick you up at the airport, carry you down to the Boardwalk and pick you up when you are done, Let you sleep in my guest room, carry you to the terminal. Heck, I'll even fix you biscuits (home made not out of a tube or Bisquik) and gravy (not from a package) for breakfast and all for $200. Naw, you would sue/stiff me because I didn't have Charmin toilet paper in the bathroom , my 1994 Aero van was not up to your standards, and the trundle bed (which the trundle can be raised to "equal" level but made up separately so you would have to "commute" ) is not a king-sized bed. Hey, the bedroom is small and I have two boys who had a gazillion friends who would "camp" here with or without them and that was their bed of choice. I have had several "casual" cruise buddies stay here (people I have met on cruises but not neccesarily kept up with them until they needed me and contacted me) and they have been very uncomplaining about the accommodations and service (the price was right-free). I would direct them to T-Bone Tom's for dinner (one "guest" said it was the best fried shrimp he ever had) and Frenchies for lunch (their homemade bread for their sandwiches is to die for) rather than the Boardwalk's overpriced restaurants and dropped them off there. Some of them even invited us to join them and picked up the tab! Then some said thank you very much, we enjoyed it and sent a very nice postcard from a port. Doesn't bother me, we enjoy interacting with fellow cruisers and it was no skin off our nose. But, money never exchanged hands so I was not worried about liability. They were guests.

 

Personally, Tillman has vision so nothing would surprise me he does because whatever it does, WILL make money for him (lol).

 

Tucker in Texas

[BallFour4]

I had also heard that Tillman was trying to buy the old Flagship hotel in Galveston to build a boardwalk there.

 

The Flagship has been tied up in a legal disaster for years. The current owners cannot close the deal Landrys Inc. has given them due to a Workmans Comp. lawsuit from a worker that was hurt while doing repairs. The lawsuit was filed the day after Landrys announced the Flagship Boardwalk plans to the media.

 

Fertitta has bigger problems, his primary lender put in a immediate payment demand for 400 million last week, and the Landrys lawyers got a judge to stop that payment request. Easy to say he has put his company in debt with the Golden Nugget and other expenses. The sale of most of the Joes Crab Shacks was for immediate, and needed cash.

 

Read the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce website. Amazing at the numbers of hotels and new development coming from Sylvan Beach to Galveston.

 

I am also a skeptic of the new terminal, but NCL had bathtubs for ships at Barbours Cut. Also, the terminal and draft of the berths were never suitable for larger vessels.

 

RCCL is a collection of turds :eek: for the way they handled Galveston. They got their feelings hurt when Katrina brought the Conquest here, and the renovated Ecstasy sails full and generates revenues on every sailing. We sail her each Thanksgiving week.

 

The cruise lines needed the older, paid for ships to pay for the new mega-ships built and in construction, so the move to the Asian market made sense for the dollars generated.

 

When we sailed the Rhapsody in June it was obvious they are looking to no longer impress us. I took a photo of a football sized rotted hole in our shower that leaked water all the way to the Internet Cafe.

 

Bottom line, and before I ramble on more... Carnival will stay in Galveston and do well. NCL or/both RCCL return to Bayport for a limited schedule versus year-round. Long term will find Carnival drawn to Bayport for access, new development along the bayfront, etc.

 

We'd better bank on this taking at least two years to unfold.

 

JMHO...

[*Mach*]

A couple weeks ago a thread started on the Carnival board about the possibility of the Conquest moving to NOLA. There was quite a bit of back and forth, as there always is, followed by a bit of morphing. A significant amount of discussion centered around the new cruise terminal that Houston is building in Bayport.

 

I cited an piece written by Harry Shattuck, the travel editor for the Houston Chronicle. Published in April, it was an excellent piece featuring a sidebar interview with a Carnival VP. Here's a link to the article:

 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...k/4578966.html

 

It prompted me to send Mr. Shattuck an email asking if he had any additional news regarding Bayport since April. He was kind enough to respond:

 

 

"Unfortunately there is nothing new to report (to my knowledge) about the Bayport Cruise Terminal. Construction continues, and the latest date I’ve heard for completion is early next year. From all I’ve seen and heard it will be a beautiful facility. But there are still no ships booked. I know they are trying to lure somebody, but schedules are pretty much firm through mid-2009. It’s bad timing on the part of the Houston port – cruise lines are moving OUT of Gulf ports, not into them. They’ve found they can make more money per diem in Europe, Asia, South America, Alaska and other parts of the world. Ships consistently sail full from Galveston, just as they did from the Houston port, but cruise lines never could get the pricing up to what they can charge in other areas. Texas is handicapped, too, in that there are only so many ports ships can visit from here.

 

It’s usually cyclical. Chances are the trend will change eventually. There is also the chance that a ship from New Orleans will move here. Norwegian Cruise Line, which has moved into and out of the port several times, changes strategy frequently so don’t be surprised if they return; their Hawaii product is really suffering. If the Port of Houston completes its new terminal, as seems likely, and is willing to subsidize a vessel, cruise lines probably will listen.

 

I’ll be doing an update at some point this fall.

 

Thanks for reading our section and for your interest.

 

Harry Shattuck

Travel editor

Houston Chronicle"

 

At the least, very interesting. I'm looking forward to his update this fall.

[Jhawktx]

Those pictures in your sig line must take up a lot of storage space. Everytime I click on a thread of yours it takes a long time to open and sometimes freezes the screen.

[*Mach*]

I'm not sure what the total size in kb is...

 

It wouldn't surprise me that it could stall dial up, the images aren't actually present but are embedded from a myspace-toys account (not mine...) I've tested it using my phone as a modem from my laptop and it loads fine. I get about 115K on that connection.

 

One other person has mentioned that my countdown clocks have caused her machine to 'freeze'. I apologize for the inconvenience.