Port of Houston

[NJ Fred]

Before I begin, allow me to stress that I am soliciting opinions based on experience. This is not, in any way, a condemnation of the Port of Houston.

 

I have read several threads detailing long delays due to weather, etc. encountered on voyages that depart/arrive via Houston.

 

People have written about the need to cancel ports of call due to Houston-related weather (to certainly include fog) impact(s). Some mention airline connections that have been placed in jeopardy; especially of conern if one has booked their own air and might lose the reservation and have to buy a whole new ticket - - assuming you can find a flight that same day.

 

I have sailed out of Galveston on three voyages aboard different cruise lines. While I never experienced any delays that were born in Galveston, I do well-recall the lengthy trip form Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston to the dock.

 

I am not familiar with the location of the Houston dock in terms of travel from/to Bush Airport. Nor do I know the conditions at the Houston Terminal presently used by Princess.

 

Thus, my question to anyone who might care to respond is your candid assessment of Houston as a viable, workable port over the long haul.

 

I ask this since we are considering a couple of cruises that depart from Houston.

 

In advance, thank you.

[sminfiddle]

...

I do well-recall the lengthy trip form Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston to the dock.

 

...

 

I ask this since we are considering a couple of cruises that depart from Houston.

 

In advance, thank you.

 

We live in Houston, drive to the port and even we stayed in nearby La Porte the night before.

 

My advice would be to come on down, but fly Southwest Airlines - the airport they use (HOU) is closer to port than IAH, they check 2 suitcases for free, and most importantly they don't charge a fee (other than any change in fare) for changing your flight. Even the same day as the flight.

 

We had two wonderful cruises in December on the Caribbean Princess. We sailed from GAL last year and between the two, I prefer the shiny new Bayport (Houston) terminal.

Edited January 13, 2014 by sminfiddle
etaoin shrdlu

[travelgenie]

We just returned from the 1/4 sailing out of Houston, I started a thread, "Caribbean Princess, big disappointment", was accused of bad topic title, but for me it was all disappointing, I chose not to go into all the negative details, you get flamed sometimes on these boards for one thing or another. We usually travel from east coast ports and only went to Houston as we were traveling with others who live in Texas. We flew into Bush, had arranged a pick up for $80 to take us to The Comfort Suites in Seabrook a very short distance to the port, it took less than a hour to get there, traffic was not bad. The hotel shuttled us to the port the next day, we were some of the first to get there, as the ship was able to arrive on time. The port itself is in an industrial area, but I thought the cruise terminal had a nice set up and seemed very organized. Our problems stemmed from the fog that prevented us from getting back on time and the way Princess handled the disembarkation process due to the delay. We did not experience good weather for most of the week and needed to abort the day in Roatan, none of this the fault of anyone...maybe this is just an unusual weather pattern for the area and just our bad luck this time around. You can have bad weather anywhere, for us we really don't need to cruise from Houston and probably will not again, I really do think they are doing the best they can.

[AKman2495]

I sailed out of Houston on a B2B. We sailed out on the first day. Loading was a little rough, but then, it was the first time the terminal was used. We returned with no problems. We left again a little late, but had no problems making all the ports. The weather was fantastic in Cozumel and Roatan and it did rain some in Belize.

 

We returned to Houston and were delayed 3 hours due to fog. We had a late afternoon flight so there was no problem for us. Several people were having kittens over early flights, though.

 

Obviously, the weather this year has not been great. When we were in Belize they told us it has been an unusually wet year.

 

As for the fog, I have heard fog is an issue at the Houston port.

 

My advice is to book a late flight, being a rain coat and learn to relax.

 

I found the Caribbean Princess to be a beautiful ship, an in good shape.

[DebJ14]

Our Dec 14 cruise out of the Port of Houston was delayed on the front and back end due to fog. I concur that if possible either buy your air through Princess so that they will take care of any changes, or fly Southwest in to Hobby so there is no change fee. It is my understanding that those who had Princess transfers the day the cruise started were taken to the Kemah Boardwalk and had an enjoyable afternoon.

We live in the area and drive to the pier, so we are not impacted by the weather. We heed the e-mails and stay comfortable at home for as long as possible.

 

We arrived at the pier in Houston for our Princess cruise at 2:30pm, parked, and got right on the ship. From our balcony we could see a long line of cars coming into the port that lasted for hours. We finally sailed sometime after 8pm.

 

We didn't get off until around 2:15pm at the end of the cruise, but our car was in the lot and we were home in an hour.

 

We have had even worse fog delays in January out of Galveston on Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruises.

 

The terminal at Bayport is nice enough, but I was concerned with the few number of toilets in the ladies room if one has to wait any length of time. Also, only 1 sink and I saw lots of women not bother to wait in the line to wash their hands. It is a wonder that all the sailings didn't have NORO.

 

In Galveston Terminal 1 (Carnival's) has been remodeled and is fine. There are many, many stations to check in and a large seating area with lots of bathroom facilities.

 

The shed that RCCL uses for its embarkation is way too small and results in long lines outside the door. We froze in Jan 2013 while we waited outside in freezing temps for 40 minutes just to get in the terminal (and we had priority boarding).

 

Whenever we fly to a port to take a cruise we go in at least one day early, often two. We book our return flight for later in the day, even in places like FLL where the airport is close by, just to be safe. I would rather cool my heels at the airport than panic about making a flight.

 

Houston is not the only port with fog problems this season - Jacksonville and Tampa have had their share of fog delays too.

 

It is weird because this year so many of our cold fronts have arrived on a Friday night or Saturday morning resulting in Saturday fog. The Galveston cruises on the Navigator and the Carnival Magic have been pretty lucky since they leave on Sunday.

 

FYI we found the Caribbean Princess to be a beautiful ship in great shape and we had great service all week on our cruise, although Mother Nature did not cooperate.

Edited January 13, 2014 by DebJ14

[NJ Fred]

Thank you one and all. I freely acknowledge that weather problems can happen anywhere.

 

So far as Caribbean Princess goes, we spent seven wonderful days enjoying the vessel this past October on the Canada/New Egland run (highly recommended) out of the nearby - to us - Brooklyn, NY cruise facility.

 

I will keep the proximity of Hobby Airport in mind when planning time comes.

 

Again, thank you.

[Colo Cruiser]

There have been quite a few threads based on these same inquiries over the last few months especially since Princess moved its operations to Bayport.

Even though there have been an obviously equal amount of weather related issues at the Port of Galveston as well.

[frangul]

Unless you like to gamble as to whether you will actually be able to visit the ports on the itinerary and do the activities/tours/excursions you have planned, DO NOT DO IT.

 

Roatan was cancelled on innumerable departures from the Port of Houston. Unfortunately, and Princess should have known this before it took all the perks in the form of $ saved on their bottom line, if winds pick up, the channel is too narrow for the ship to turn around safely which causes a delay and change in the itinerary. Fog is also an issue and the length of the channel prevents them from entering and making their way to the dock causing delays leaving and returning.

 

Delays of as much as a full day departing and delays coming back into port make for chaos in the travel plans for their customers but it appears from what others have posted that Princess was of no help to those who did not book air travel through Princess. The fact that Princess advised them to change their flights to later in the day and then revised that the day of arrival made no difference. They were on their own.

 

It definitely was money not well spent. Too many other choices where you have a chance to get what you expected to get.

 

Galveston appears to have suffered the same weather but because they did not have the narrowness of the channel nor the length, they did not have the same unfortunate changes to the passenger's experiences.

[monakayk]

Our Dec 14 cruise out of the Port of Houston was delayed on the front and back end due to fog. I concur that if possible either buy your air through Princess so that they will take care of any changes, or fly Southwest in to Hobby so there is no change fee. It is my understanding that those who had Princess transfers the day the cruise started were taken to the Kemah Boardwalk and had an enjoyable afternoon...................

 

Thanks for all this info. Keeping for future reference.;)

Edited January 15, 2014 by monakayk

[sminfiddle]

 

Roatan was cancelled on innumerable departures from the Port of Houston.

Innumerable = 2

 

I've had innumerable cruises! :D

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

[bjkTX]

It's a "viable" port as long as Houston keeps paying Princess to use it! I don't think they are selling that great right now (we just had another price reduction on our cruise in Mar) and if the bad press keeps up Houston may have to up the ante!

[Dudleydog73]

Innumerable = 2

 

I've had innumerable cruises! :D

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

 

 

The thanksgiving cruise missed both roatan and Belize. I believe more than 2 cruises out of Houston skipped at least roatan??

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

[frangul]

Innumerable = 2

 

I've had innumerable cruises! :D

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

 

Thank you Dudleydog73 for explaining what I meant by innumerable, more than 1, more than 2 even. One cruise after another, not just ours, cancelled the Roatan destination when trouble hit paradise, aka the Houston Ship Channel.

[Cruzin-K]

 

My advice is to book a late flight, being a rain coat and learn to relax.

 

 

^^this

 

I had one of the best cruises ever on the Nov 30 cruise. We had great weather except for the very last sea day, and made all the ports. We had to get back early to beat some weather which resulted in the casino and some bars closing early on Friday night, but that wasn't an issue for me at all (might have been for some, never heard any complaints though).

 

The cruise terminal is nice enough, although it got quite crowded in the last few minutes before they started to board.

 

I have another cruise booked out of there in 2015.

 

I get to drive to the port, so I'm lucky that way. If I didn't, I'd just plan to fly in a day early, and get a late afternoon/early evening flight home. I got there a day early anyway, even though it was just a four hour drive.

[caribill]

It's a "viable" port as long as Houston keeps paying Princess to use it! I don't think they are selling that great right now (we just had another price reduction on our cruise in Mar) and if the bad press keeps up Houston may have to up the ante!

 

Ours in February is closing in on being sold out.

 

Prices went up in the past week for the remaining inside and balcony cabins.

[satxdiver]

I loved the description of the Galveston cruise terminal that RCCL uses as a "shed" and I believe you were being very generous in this assessment. I have been to the terminal that CCL uses and agree it is much better. As for Galveston itself, it is a tourist town and I don't really care for it. Most of the times we have sailed out of Galveston, we have stayed in Clear Lake/NASA area.

 

As for all the complaints about the western Caribbean ports of call, it does not matter what port you sail out of when it comes to weather in those ports. Mahogany Bay in Roatan is used by all Carnival Corp ships including Princess, CCL, MSC, etc. They all have problems at times. However it is a much nicer and better developed port than the one used by the other cruise lines.

 

Belize has a rain forest so it .....RAINS! Adjust to the weather patterns.

 

Princess has been gone from south Texas for 7 years and this is the first season that they have returned. Therefore the built up cruising base has to be recreated while CCL, RCCL and DCL have been there before or in CCL's case they have been there year around for a long long time. It takes time. Hopefully Princess will be able to make it. If not we are stuck with CCL.

 

The new Bayport terminal (yes, I realize it has been there for a few years) is quite nice and one of the nicest I have sailed from. We drive to the port of course and being able to park our car right outside the terminal without having to fight the crowds like one does in Galveston is quite nice. When NCL arrives, things might change. NCL cruised out of the Port of Houston's old cruise terminal for years without a lot of problems.

 

Galveston and as someone else mentioned Tampa and others have had fog problems this season. I used to fly every week in my job and frequently flew to or through both HOU and IAH. I have had problems this time of year with fog several times over the 30 years I did fly. Yes it can and does impact the airports as well.

 

The four Florida ports, New Orleans and the two south Texas ports all need pax for their ships, so there are plenty of opportunities.

 

Now if you want to talk about the two gargantuan of the seas, that is another story :rolleyes:

[cubfan63]

As for all the complaints about the western Caribbean ports of call, it does not matter what port you sail out of when it comes to weather in those ports. Mahogany Bay in Roatan is used by all Carnival Corp ships including Princess, CCL, MSC, etc. They all have problems at times. However it is a much nicer and better developed port than the one used by the other cruise lines.

:

 

MSC Cruises is not part of Carnival Corporation.

[Paula_MacFan]

Princess has been gone from south Texas for 7 years and this is the first season that they have returned.

 

The Crown sailed from Galveston last year. I was on the Crown in January from Galveston.

[desiro]

Hi DudleyDog!! We are going out of Houston on the CB APril 19th! Maybe the weather improves during the Spring?? Hope so - wanted to see Belize and Roatan - now I'm wondering! Hope you and your family are well!

[Gunner22aa]

Both are well known issues especially by the locals who are most effected. They need to be taken into account when planning travel to and from the ship. It might be inconvienient to book a flight later in the day when returning from Houston if all goes smoothly but it could be a life saver if you can't get into port for the early morning fog.

 

Princess has determined that sailing out of Houston is or expected to be profitable and that there is a large enough demand for their product at that port. If things change they could abandon it for somewhere else.

[sminfiddle]

Thank you Dudleydog73 for explaining what I meant by innumerable, more than 1, more than 2 even. One cruise after another, not just ours, cancelled the Roatan destination when trouble hit paradise, aka the Houston Ship Channel.

 

Thank you for explaining you really meant "a couple of," not "too many to be counted." I'm sorry I made fun of the exaggeration, the OP wants candid assesments based on our experience, but I couldn't just let that one go unchallenged.

I do count 2 instances.

Still, failure to dock at Mahogany Bay is sometimes caused by conditions there, not (as in your Thanksgiving cruise) because of delayed departure. Might be fairer to criticize CCL ships overall for building/using Mo'Bay instead of Coxen Hole.

 

Unfortunately, and Princess should have known this before it took all the perks in the form of $ saved on their bottom line,

 

If you mean the waived port fees, my experience is that the first item on my folio was a credit for over $20, description was "GOVT" and though unconfirmed by Princess, this looks like a refund to the passenger of the Houston port fee. This would not help Princess' bottom line, right?

Net Positive for a passenger sailing from Bayport.

 

Houston is also giving Princess and Norwegian the proceeds from parking. I don't have any problems with that. You pay for parking wherever you go. Neutral effect on passenger.

My opinion: The PERKS offered to the cruise lines do show local businesses some good faith in promoting cruising in the area. Hotels and parking vendors and other cruise-support businesses are watching and deciding, at this moment in time, how much to invest in capitalizing on the once-a-week population boom.

 

Back to the topic of discussion, I did think of a COUPLE (innumerable? sorry :D) of the port's Negatives not yet mentioned, that the OP can factor into decisions:

 

Being a Texas port, some laws are in play until the ship leaves TX territorial waters. Casino is closed until out of TX jurisdiction. Liquor sales are affected: some bars are closed, and dining venues offer a limited selection of wines until about 7:30 PM. Galveston is affected by the laws too, but Bayport has a couple of hours extra wait-time, due to the Channel length, both coming and going.

 

This next one can be listed in Positives, but may change at any time: Princess has not, to date, enforced the Corkage Fee on wine/champagne carried on board in Houston. Compare with FLL where they are enforcing it strictly. Some passengers may save a lot of $$ here, plus be able to enjoy choicier wines before the ship leaves TX territorial waters.

[sminfiddle]

It's a "viable" port as long as Houston keeps paying Princess to use it! I don't think they are selling that great right now (we just had another price reduction on our cruise in Mar) and if the bad press keeps up Houston may have to up the ante!

Ours in February is closing in on being sold out.

 

Prices went up in the past week for the remaining inside and balcony cabins.

 

Noted.

Why is it that Princess can offer "full fare refunded in future OBC" on unsold sailings from the West Coast and Cruise Critic members don't seem to predict DOOM DOOM DOOM for those ports?

Port fees in Houston are refunded through to passengers by Princess.

(As a local taxpayer) REALLY, I don't mind pax getting that $23.15 off their bill... just wish (as a Shareholder) those pax would stop accusing Princess of pocketing it! :mad:

 

context re Bad Press: The local ABC affiliate is our "If It Bleeds, It Leads" news station - they were the home of the investigative series that became famous as shutting down the "Chicken Ranch" (Broadway's Best Little Whorehouse In Texas) and all the Bad Press has been from them since the Port's bond proposal. They really want something to be corrupt there that they can expose. I don't think a musical production will be made about the Bayport Terminal, but I don't think either that the Dog will ever let go of that Bone. The rest of us are getting on with our lives...

 

A successful Bayport Cruise Terminal benefits the local cruising culture, including Galveston. And vice versa. It needn't be a competition, y'all!

 

Rick

Edited January 15, 2014 by sminfiddle
etaoin shrdlu

[Gunner22aa]

I took one of these cruises which are currently or were under trial by Princess. Unlike some other lines Princess has not been a major player in this nitch of the market. I had occasion to speak with the Staff Captain while onboard and he told me about the trial and it's apparent lack of success. While Princess will continue to offer some of these cruises in the future he told me that they would not be offering the volume that they did this year. The Golden Princess has a capacity of about 2600 passengers. We sailed with 1132 if I recall correctly.

[Mekamax]

This has been a VERY unusual weather year for Houston. A lot of times we get fog problems after we get Arctic Northerns and then our weather heats back up to 60-70... Normally we don't get Arctic Northerns till at least December and most times not till Feb. BUT this year we got them starting in November. Very strange and makes a cold winter for us. It took years for Galveston to get all their debark and embark processes down to a tee when there was delays. Give Princess a break to figure out this new terminal and port and these weather problems and how they effect the port. Also I'm not sure most know that the Old Houston cruise port just up from this one housed NCL for 8 years and they made it work. We sailed out of there 3 times with NCL. So glad to see Princess here and NCL coming back although after my first Princess cruise last month on the Caribbean Princess I have to admit I really really like Princess! :D

[Mekamax]

Noted.

Why is it that Princess can offer "full fare refunded in future OBC" on unsold sailings from the West Coast and Cruise Critic members don't seem to predict DOOM DOOM DOOM for those ports?

Port fees in Houston are refunded through to passengers by Princess.

(As a local taxpayer) REALLY, I don't mind pax getting that $23.15 off their bill... just wish (as a Shareholder) those pax would stop accusing Princess of pocketing it! :mad:

 

context re Bad Press: The local ABC affiliate is our "If It Bleeds, It Leads" news station - they were the home of the investigative series that became famous as shutting down the "Chicken Ranch" (Broadway's Best Little Whorehouse In Texas) and all the Bad Press has been from them since the Port's bond proposal. They really want something to be corrupt there that they can expose. I don't think a musical production will be made about the Bayport Terminal, but I don't think either that the Dog will ever let go of that Bone. The rest of us are getting on with our lives...

 

A successful Bayport Cruise Terminal benefits the local cruising culture, including Galveston. And vice versa. It needn't be a competition, y'all!

 

Rick

 

Rick you are so right! When NCL was giving them competition from the old Houston port the prices were great!! :)