Live Bayport Houston -waiting to board

[Ebvette]

Sitting in terminal, waiting to board. Sanitizing ship. Weather is clear, no

visibility issues, warm in the 60's. Terminal is about full, open up tent outside.got about another hour to go.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Ebvette

[Colo Cruiser]

Bon Voyage!! :)

[caribill]

First "cruise terminal live" thread I have seen.

 

Will you also be posting from the ship?

[chsalas]

Just off today, the cruise was great, bay port is nice, but the noro is running rampant through the ship still. I believe it's running among the crew, additionally several shows cancelled, the magician was cancelled, and they brought on a comedian and juggling act, Rootberry. Overall the cruise was ok, but we had to work hard to make it enjoyable. Very unorganized overall.

 

Good luck and enjoy.

[Raring to go]

Just off today, the cruise was great, bay port is nice, but the noro is running rampant through the ship still. I believe it's running among the crew, additionally several shows cancelled, the magician was cancelled, and they brought on a comedian and juggling act, Rootberry. Overall the cruise was ok, but we had to work hard to make it enjoyable. Very unorganized overall.

 

Good luck and enjoy.

Just off of the same cruise, with a slightly different perspective. I thought Bayport was terrible. You are stuck in the middle of a container port, and unlike Galveston, where you can go to the Strand if your boarding time is late, at Bayport there is nothing to do. We drove, and when we arrived at about 3:30, we were not allowed to enter the terminal area. Princess has said on line that the Bayport terminal is small, and cannot handle large numbers. We were directed to an area where the container trucks offload, which on Saturday was a huge empty parking lot. Going into the lot we were advised that it might be 6:00 before we could go to the ship. Once inside the lot there were only two restrooms, each with one toilet, for all the people who were self parking for the cruise. Luckily, we were only held until 5:00, but there was very little organization for leaving the holding area and going to the parking lot.

 

I was only aware of one show, being cancelled, and that was the magician. I stood next to him in a line, where he told someone that his assistant as not feeling well. That being said, the entertainment on the show was excellent, and unless you ate in the buffet, where all food was served by gloved stewards, I am not sure you would have been aware of the narovirus.

[paul929207]

Have a wonderful cruise

[chsalas]

I was only aware of one show, being cancelled, and that was the magician. I stood next to him in a line, where he told someone that his assistant as not feeling well. That being said, the entertainment on the show was excellent, and unless you ate in the buffet, where all food was served by gloved stewards, I am not sure you would have been aware of the narovirus.

 

No seasonings or bread on any tables in MDR, everything removed from tables. They were wiping every rail and hand hold every few hours. They were doing a good job, but I don't think they can keep up.

[RNGALNG]

First "cruise terminal live" thread I have seen.

 

Will you also be posting from the ship?

 

Cute! I love your sense of humor!

 

 

 

May they stop this bug before it gets any worse and you have the opportunity to enjoy your cruise!

[satxdiver]

Thanks for the update. I hope they get the noro wiped out before it gets worse. I just saw a news article where the Majesty OTS (RCCL) has a noro outbreak now. They sail out of Miami.

 

I have already sailed one time out of Bayport and enjoyed it. We sail again in a few weeks out of there. I never was a lover of Galveston so I am grateful to not have to endure I45 traffic across the single bridge and the pandemonium at the cruise terminal. I always stayed in Clear Lake area when going out of Galveston missing the tourist gouging on the island.

[sminfiddle]

Just off of the same cruise, with a slightly different perspective. I thought Bayport was terrible. You are stuck in the middle of a container port, and unlike Galveston, where you can go to the Strand if your boarding time is late, at Bayport there is nothing to do.

Attractions a few minutes' drive from Bayport include the Space Center, the Houston Yacht Club, the San Jacinto Battleground and Monument, the (WWI and WWII) battleship Texas, and the tourism area built up in Kemah.

If you just want to park for a couple of hours there is a beach just south of the terminal in the little Pasadena seaside neighborhood of El Jardin - the signs mention a fee for non-residents but each time I've been no one has been there to regulate entry (may only be a factor in summer).

 

There is an airport much closer than IAH, it's called HOU.

 

The port's fledgling cruise operations need better marketing and PR. Cruising only began this November and we passengers really need parking vendors, car rental companies, all the usual by-products to come and start doing business... By comparison it has been an industrial port for decades, in fact the cruise dock itself is used for cargo loading and unloading between cruises.

The port would still thrive without cruise business. But DW and I like cruising from there and look forward to it building up. A lot of locals still don't know you can cruise from Galveston let alone Houston. :confused:

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

Edited January 19, 2014 by sminfiddle

[TubT]

We sailed twice some years ago on the Norwegian Sea, which sailed out of the old Houston Cruise Terminal. It was actually IN the container yard. But, being a trucker, I found it interesting.

 

We drove down from Dallas. When we heard the delay to after 5, we drove down to Galveston, ate at one of the great old seafood restaurants there (Gaido's), and drove back with plenty of time.

 

"Running rampant" is, I think, not the correct term. We knew of one person (a few cabins down from us) who was ill. On the previous cruise, the number we heard was 11...which, by the way, is about how many people would get it ashore. (On land, annually 1 in 300 Americans gets noro. On cruises, about one in 4,500.)

[caribill]

"Running rampant" is, I think, not the correct term. We knew of one person (a few cabins down from us) who was ill. On the previous cruise, the number we heard was 11...which, by the way, is about how many people would get it ashore. (On land, annually 1 in 300 Americans gets noro. On cruises, about one in 4,500.)

 

From the CDC website in a post updated January 8, 2014

 

Noroviruses are the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the United States. CDC estimates that each year on average 19 to 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis are caused by noroviruses. That means about 1 in every 15 Americans will get norovirus illness each year.

[Raring to go]

Attractions a few minutes' drive from Bayport include the Space Center, the Houston Yacht Club, the San Jacinto Battleground and Monument, the (WWI and WWII) battleship Texas, and the tourism area built up in Kemah.

If you just want to park for a couple of hours there is a beach just south of the terminal in the little Pasadena seaside neighborhood of El Jardin - the signs mention a fee for non-residents but each time I've been no one has been there to regulate entry (may only be a factor in summer).

 

There is an airport much closer than IAH, it's called HOU.

 

The port's fledgling cruise operations need better marketing and PR. Cruising only began this November and we passengers really need parking vendors, car rental companies, all the usual by-products to come and start doing business... By comparison it has been an industrial port for decades, in fact the cruise dock itself is used for cargo loading and unloading between cruises.

The port would still thrive without cruise business. But DW and I like cruising from there and look forward to it building up. A lot of locals still don't know you can cruise from Galveston let alone Houston. :confused:

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

 

We are from Texas, and have done all of those things, except the beach, before. I was thinking more in terms of someplace to go while you were waiting to board the ship since waiting room in the terminal is limited. In Galveston and New Orleans, for example, we checked our luggage in, then parked the car and went to a restaurant or bar to kill time until the boarding lines had gone down. In Bayport we went into a truck parking lot where we sat for quite a while before we were allowed to proceed to the actual cruise parking.

[chsalas]

We are from Texas, and have done all of those things, except the beach, before. I was thinking more in terms of someplace to go while you were waiting to board the ship since waiting room in the terminal is limited. In Galveston and New Orleans, for example, we checked our luggage in, then parked the car and went to a restaurant or bar to kill time until the boarding lines had gone down. In Bayport we went into a truck parking lot where we sat for quite a while before we were allowed to proceed to the actual cruise parking.

 

Yes, they held people who did not have ship arranged transportation in a holding lot. The Bay Port Terminal, even with the overflow tent cannot hold 3000 people. It's small, and I agree, the area is underdeveloped. We went to Kehma the night before and it 's got some great restaurants and bars, and a nice little board walk, but it's not close. Then again it's no further than the sights at the Fort Lauderdale Terminal either. Eh, Bayport is good, just new.

[caribill]

A view of the Bayport terminal and parking (from their website).

 

[satxdiver]

We are from Texas, and have done all of those things, except the beach, before. I was thinking more in terms of someplace to go while you were waiting to board the ship since waiting room in the terminal is limited. In Galveston and New Orleans, for example, we checked our luggage in, then parked the car and went to a restaurant or bar to kill time until the boarding lines had gone down. In Bayport we went into a truck parking lot where we sat for quite a while before we were allowed to proceed to the actual cruise parking.

 

If you sail out of Port Everglades or Seattle among others, don't count on anything being nearby such as restaurants etc. Both are in commercial port facilities. Galveston and New Orleans are the exception and certainly not the rule.

 

Since the port is only used during the winter season and for one now and two cruise ships next winter, I would not count on much of anything locating near the port. Bayport has never been used up until now so they are still trying to figure it all out. When NCL arrives next season it is going to get more interesting at Bayport but they have expansion plans for the parking.

[sminfiddle]

I thought Bayport was terrible. You are stuck in the middle of a container port, and unlike Galveston, where you can go to the Strand if your boarding time is late, at Bayport there is nothing to do. We drove, and when we arrived at about 3:30, we were not allowed to enter the terminal area. Princess has said on line that the Bayport terminal is small, and cannot handle large numbers.

I guess what I'm not getting is how one is "stuck" if one has a car and forewarning.

Bars, gastro-pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, movie theaters are within 15 minutes drive to support the populations of NASA, University of Houston Clear Lake, and the truckers and stevedores of the port itself.

Maybe a bar, or diner with a liquor license, will eventually apply and lease land right by the Terminal. They would not survive there now on one-day-a-week customers, November thru April.

 

My realistic hopes:

-> That parking-and-shuttle lots will open up; ideally walking distance from existing viable eateries (and drinkeries)...

-> That Clear Lake and Seabrook hotels will kick up their shuttle service a notch, to service HOU airport and Bayport...

-> That La Porte's awesome "Monster Tacos" will reconsider their decision to be closed on Saturdays. I hoteled next door to them anticipating an Epic breakfast to start my cruise. I settled for a mere "Good breakfast" at the friendly Waffle House before shuttling to Bayport. :D

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

Edited January 20, 2014 by sminfiddle