Is the Grand being replaced in Galveston

[GINNY L]

April 21, 2006 will be the Grands last round trip from Galveston. It is not coming back to Galveston. Does anybody know if Princess is putting a new ship in Galveston?:rolleyes: I know the Rhapsody is being replaced with the Voyager. :D But I was just curious about Princess.

 

Thanks for any info.

[spongerob]

No, Grand Princess will be going elsewhere. Golden Princess will be sailing from New Orleans, I believe. I don't know if Princess plans to return to Galveston in the foreseeable future.

[DrivesLikeMario]

The Golden will be arriving in New Orleans next month! :)

[Cruzman]

The Golden will be arriving in New Orleans next month! :)

Unfortunately, however; she won't be there but a few weeks then she is off to South America. Princess will not have a presence in the Gulf after that for the foreseeable future.

[Fuzzzy]

April 21, 2006 will be the Grands last round trip from Galveston. It is not coming back to Galveston. Does anybody know if Princess is putting a new ship in Galveston?

I presume you mean April 21, 2007? We are booked for the Feb 17. 2007 cruise on the Grand out of Galveston

[Hakuna Matata]

We are booked on the Grand Princess in March of 2008. She will be sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale doing the Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel route around Cuba.

[BirmanCrazy]

I have heard that Princess will eventually bring a ship back to Galveston in a few years. Which one ...is anyone's guess. Too many ports and not enough ships supposedly!

[chasetf]

I have heard that Princess will eventually bring a ship back to Galveston in a few years. Which one ...is anyone's guess. Too many ports and not enough ships supposedly!

Where did you hear that ? Wishful thinking, or possibly speculation. I doubt Princess would pull a ship and then plan on returning it (or another) in a few years. Princess based the decision to redeploy for some specific reason (lack of sales ?) so whatever the reason is, I would believe there must be a change for them to "reverse" that decision.

[spongerob]

I'm not holding my breath waiting for Princess to return to Galveston. Supposedly, the city of Houston will be building a new cruise terminal that might attract a Princess ship. That's several years away.

[BirmanCrazy]

Where did you hear that ? Wishful thinking, or possibly speculation. I doubt Princess would pull a ship and then plan on returning it (or another) in a few years. Princess based the decision to redeploy for some specific reason (lack of sales ?) so whatever the reason is, I would believe there must be a change for them to "reverse" that decision.

 

This was a topic brought up a month ago or so on these boards. You can do a search on it but that option doesn't work well for me. Doesn't like my computer or something. It was said that Princess will eventually return. A princess spokeswoman made an official statement to CruiseNewsDaily about it as well but since I do not subscribe I only don't have any details. I don't see why the sales aren't there. My sailing is full. I remain optimistic.

[japester]

If the ship is sailing full then that means they are not making enough money per passenger out of here compared to Asia. The casino was dead on my last voyage, and sneaking booze and wine onboard is a pretty popular topic around these parts. I guess there is a consequence after all.....

 

Jape

[Coral]

I read an interview with Princess about pulling out of Galveston.

 

They indicated that with a Grand class ship sailing to South America, and with a Sun class ship going to Australia - they just ran out of ships to allocate to Galveston for this year. They did say that they are not pulling out of Galveston forever and they may return in the future.

 

My guess is that they are seeing an increase in South America interest/cruises and those have higher per diems. Some of the cruises out of Galveston had some of the lowest cruise fares out there.

[DannyMac]

The Houston Chronicle "Travel" section reported on this topic a few months ago, in the report it was stated Princess would take a one year haitus from Galveston. No reason or timeline was given.

[spongerob]

Some of the cruises out of Galveston had some of the lowest cruise fares out there.

That's correct. The cruise we will embark in less than 2 weeks is the lowest daily-cost we've ever booked. Of course, it's during the slow season between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[GCurry]

IMHO, this is another corporate move by Carnival. With the departure of the Grand, if you want to cruise out of Galveston, your choices are only Carnival, Ecstasy & Conquest, or RCL, Splendour or Rhapsody, or the Voyager next year. All of them offer a Western Caribbean only.

 

Celebrity was sailing to Panama out of here and was pulled by RCL, much like Princess is going away. It looks like their thinking is they can make the most money with these ships and this itinerary, if you want something different, go somewhere else.

 

It remains to be seen what the new Houston terminals will bring. At this time, NCL sails the Dream out of La Porte, but it's pretty much the same itinerary. Certainly, they won't move out of Galveston as they (the cruise lines) have invested millions in the Galveston facilities, and it's much less expensive to sail out of here.

 

Real competition is rapidly disappearing in the Cruise Industry, along with so many things that made Princess, HAL, and Celebrity special.

[chasetf]

If the ship is sailing full then that means they are not making enough money per passenger out of here compared to Asia. The casino was dead on my last voyage, and sneaking booze and wine onboard is a pretty popular topic around these parts. I guess there is a consequence after all..... Jape

 

I read an interview with Princess about pulling out of Galveston. They indicated that with a Grand class ship sailing to South America, and with a Sun class ship going to Australia - they just ran out of ships to allocate to Galveston for this year. They did say that they are not pulling out of Galveston forever and they may return in the future.

 

My guess is that they are seeing an increase in South America interest/cruises and those have higher per diems. Some of the cruises out of Galveston had some of the lowest cruise fares out there.

I think that is why we may not see Princess returning to Galveston. There are so many other profitable routes, and if interest is growing in South America and Asia (see how many more ships a plying those waters these days) then that is where they will stay.

 

Problem with Galveston is the limited itinerary (Western Caribbean). At least from FL you can reach Eastern and Western Caribbean in 7 days plus Southern Caribben in 10 days from those ports.

 

Even though I have not done one yet, I would consider a cruise from Galveston but it would have to be "real cheap" because I would only want to go to be on the Grand again. Cozumel / Costa Maya / Roatan don't excite me. Been there and got the t-shirt.