Galveston?

[ImBossy]

Does Princess still sail out of Galveston? I was down there a few weeks ago and I didn't see it.

[stonefemme]

Last cruise was in April

Cruise Calendar for Galveston is at

http://www.portofgalveston.com/cruiseinformation/2007cruisecalendar.pdf

[dforeigner]

Does Princess still sail out of Galveston? I was down there a few weeks ago and I didn't see it.

 

There are rumors (just rumors) that Princess may sail from Houston starting the Fall of 2008. This is based on what someone told someone else who told...

[spongerob]

Don't hold your breath for any more Galveston cruises from Princess, barring some event like a hurricane hitting a major cruise port and forcing ships to relocate. Rumors of cruises being offered from a new Houston terminal continue to be rumors. I don't think Galveston was a big money-maker for Princess - cruise fares were often ridiculously low compared to similar cruises from Ft. Lauderdale. Galveston also suffers because it is quite distant from the major airports.

[M&MCruisin]

Funny thing is that I was looking at the Grand out of Galveston for 2009 so I could go to Belize and Honduras. I talked to Princess on the phone yesterday who indicated that they would no longer be sailing out of Galveston. She told me the Grand was taking over for the Caribbean Princess because the Caribbean is being moved to sail out of NY.

 

Now honestly, I talked to several cruise lines so this next part, I may have confused. One of the cruise lines, which I was thinking it was Princess, told me that they will sail out of New Orleans.

[Colo Cruiser]

One of the cruise lines, which I was thinking it was Princess, told me that they will sail out of New Orleans.

 

 

 

Princess already tried this for a few cruises last year with the Golden Princess and it was a flop. Don't look to see Princess sailing out of NOLA in the near or distant future. :)

[ImBossy]

Oh, ok. I was just wondering what happened. Actually, the Houston port makes more sense. I thin the port is actually in Baytown. Is that right? Still far but better I guess.

[Fuzzzy]

I heard that RCI might do they same.

[ssbeagle]

Royal Caribbean has already pulled the Rhapsody out of Galveston beginning in August 07 and the Voyager of the Seas will be coming in December to do cruises through Apr 08. It will come back again the following December. Right now, the only lines staying in Texas are Carnival and NCL. RCL is even pulling the Grandeur of the Seas out of New Orleans. Again, only Carnival and NCL will be sailing out of there.

 

By the way, the Houston airports are no further away than some other places we have sailed out of like Alaska and Europe.

[spongerob]

By the way, the Houston airports are no further away than some other places we have sailed out of like Alaska and Europe.

You are absolutely right, but for some reason there were more complaints about transportation to and from Galveston than I've ever seen from other cruise ports. It might have to do with the fact that many people contemplating a western Caribbean cruise from Galveston might be used to the ease and efficiency of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I think the biggest reason for Princess to leave Galveston is revenue. There just wasn't any strength in pricing. I thought Princess should have tried offering cruises longer than 7-day same-old same-old cruises to separate themselves from their competition. They might have had more success.

[Stevesan]

You are absolutely right, but for some reason there were more complaints about transportation to and from Galveston than I've ever seen from other cruise ports. It might have to do with the fact that many people contemplating a western Caribbean cruise from Galveston might be used to the ease and efficiency of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I think the biggest reason for Princess to leave Galveston is revenue. There just wasn't any strength in pricing. I thought Princess should have tried offering cruises longer than 7-day same-old same-old cruises to separate themselves from their competition. They might have had more success.

 

The complaints are mostly from those who've had some horrible experiences with Princess bus transfers. One post-cruise bus driver actually got lost for a number of HOURS!!! I can't imagine how anyone loses I-45.:rolleyes:

[ssbeagle]

It might have to do with the fact that many people contemplating a western Caribbean cruise from Galveston might be used to the ease and efficiency of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I think the biggest reason for Princess to leave Galveston is revenue. There just wasn't any strength in pricing. I thought Princess should have tried offering cruises longer than 7-day same-old same-old cruises to separate themselves from their competition. They might have had more success.

 

It's very easy to get to Port Everglades or even the port of Miami; however, for us the airfares are a lot higher. I live 13 hours away from Miami by car even though I live in Florida. It's cheaper for us to fly to Houston which we do a couple of times a year. We also fly down to Fort Lauderdale when I can get a good fare.

 

We are paying just as much to go on the Voyager as we would have on the Grand. In fact the Grand was a bit cheaper for the same category cabin. As far as transportation goes, Princess could have gotten with a reliable company. It's impossible to get lost between airports and Galveston. The roads are well-marked. They really could have changed the itinerary a bit though and I agree that a longer cruise would have been a good idea.

[firefly333]

Again, only Carnival and NCL will be sailing out of there.

 

By the way, the Houston airports are no further away than some other places we have sailed out of like Alaska and Europe.

 

Ahhhhhh , NCL pulled out in April already, goooooooooone :( (Maybe you are thinking of the ship from NCL going out of New Orleans this fall?

 

btw when folks say the airport is too far away, Im guessing they dont realize that there is a new port being built in Bayside/Houston. The old port where NCL cruised out of I think(?)was taken over by cargo ships. I could easily be confused as I live clear up in Dallas, not Houston.

 

Its Galveston where Princess used to sail out of that is too far to some. But then of course folks fly into Orlando to sail out of Port Canaveral which also doesnt have a airport and no one says hey that airport is too far and the cruise fares out of Port Canaveral are notoriously low.

 

As a Texan I want the cruise ships to come back, so I admit to being preduiced. I have a future cruise credit on Princess and sure wish I could go out of Texas before it expires or I have to cancel it.

[txflyer]

Voyager of the Seas will be coming in December to do cruises through Apr 08. It will come back again the following December. Right now, the only lines staying in Texas are Carnival and NCL.

By the way, the Houston airports are no further away than some other places we have sailed out of like Alaska and Europe.

 

Royal Caribbean ran frequent radio ads this past week here in the Dallas market, emphasizing cruising out of Galveston to save money on airfare. Apparently they are trying to boost their bookings.... and/or capitalize on the fact that some of the competition has left Galveston.

[ssbeagle]

Ahhhhhh , NCL pulled out in April already, goooooooooone :( (Maybe you are thinking of the ship from NCL going out of New Orleans this fall?

 

btw when folks say the airport is too far away, Im guessing they dont realize that there is a new port being built in Bayside/Houston. The old port where NCL cruised out of I think(?)was taken over by cargo ships. I could easily be confused as I live clear up in Dallas, not Houston.

 

I didn't know NCL had pulled out of Houston. The terminal is in the Baytown/La Porte area which is south of the city but a lot closer than Galveston is. I had heard they are building a new cruise ship terminal there to try to encourage more ships to call. The port of Galveston is pretty crowded especially when there are two ships in at the same time. It gets very congested there. My son lives between the two so either one is easy for us to get to. He usually picks us up at the airport (Hobby) and we stay with him for a night before boarding the ship. I also used to live in Houston years ago so am fairly familiar with the area.

 

A great place to visit if you ever go there is NASA. It's really interesting. Galveston has Moody Gardens which also has an IMAX theater.