Is Princess ever going to sail out of Galveston? Sure wish we could get more lines!

[Galleon1234]

Seems like Galveston would be happy to build more dock space to accommodate more cruise lines. But what do I know:)!

[wrongwaywatson]

We sailed out of Galveston in the Grand Princess in 2007!

[Galleon1234]

Excellent!! They need to come back and have long itineraries. They will sail full if they do. We are all sick of the same old ports of Carnival and RCCL. Though Carnival is catching on and adding a very few Journey cruises that sail full!

[ChiefBoats]

No, They have never sailed out of Galveston. They sailed out of BAYPORT cruise terminal and that is where they had the problems. Bayport is too narrow a channel and was a BIG expensive goof:)! Galveston does not have the problem. Occasional fog only. Cruises sail full out of Galveston!

 

They have sailed out of Galveston. We sailed on the Crown Princess prior to Princess sailing out of Bayport.

[cccult]

We sail the Emerald Princess out of Houston in April before they stopped.

Yes, lots of fog. We actually stayed overnight not leaving port until noon-ish the next day.

 

We still hit all three ports 🙂 Just cruised a little faster. I really didn't mind being stuck overnight. Plenty of fun & relaxing to be had. Life is way to short to get twisted up by the little things.

 

I loved Princess but unless they come back to Texas, I'll probably just stick with Royal C. It's just cheaper to drive and park  vs. bother with air fare and transport. I do wish royal offered longer trips. maybe a 12-14 day Caribbean that covered some ports you only see listed out of FL.

 

 

When/if we go back to Alaska, we might opt for Princess again. They always seem to have great deals.

I would like to try a smaller adventure cruise line next Alaskan trip. Maybe Uncruise Adventures or National Geographic. But the prices are quite frightening!

 

 

 

[wrongwaywatson]

We sailed out of Galveston in 2007 on the Grand.  We ended up driving to the port, because there weren't convenient/affordable flights into Houston at the time, plus you still need to arrange transport to Galveston.

[Loritd]

We sailed once out of Galveston and twice out of Houston on Princess. 2 out of 3 times there were delays with fog. That said I would sail again in a heartbeat. Its a drivable port for us and was a fun winter getaway. But they must have had problems filling the boat because the prices were great. Princess is a business, they go where the money is. 

[akeasley]

On ‎3‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 1:16 PM, Galleon1234 said:

Sure wish we could get more cruise lines to sail out of Galveston!!

 

Sure wish they would cruise out of Baltimore....very doubtful though!

[jeanandjim]

On 3/20/2017 at 2:07 PM, neverbeenhere said:

Texas Residents: Start your letter writing campaign to get Princess to cruise out of Galveston. 

You are absolutely right, Texas residents need to get their legislature involved by writing letters.

 

1. Princess captain has told me that there is no reason in the world to deny a ship with the technology available on Princess ships these days, access to either Bayport or Galveston in the fog. It is a non issue, but the channel is controlled by the port authority and they hold the cards.

 

2. Texas law requires any alcohol served in Texas to be purchased thru Texas distributors, limiting what you can purchase prior to throwing off the lines, in the case of a long delay, the inventory can get quite pinched. This gives Princess an additional cost and inventory control.

 

3. If you purchase a bottle of Rum in Jamaica, or Tequila in Mexico, Texas demands that a state tax be paid on those bottles even if you are just passing thru Texas.

 

Jim. 

[satxdiver]

We completed our first cruise on Princess out of Galveston in 2005 and repeated in 2006 on the Grand back when it had Skywalkers.  After the 2006/2007 winter season, Princess left.  Princess returned in the 2012/2013 season with the Crown and then took Houston's offer of moving to Bayport for the 2013/2014 season.  We were aboard the CB when it made its first voyage out of Bayport and remember the overhead helicopters and fire boats shooting their water streams.  Houston had built the multi-million dollar Bayport which set empty for over 5 years and was getting political pressure for wasting the money on non-existent cruises so they offered it to Princess and NCL at ridiculous prices for 5 years.  At the end of the five years, both cruise lines left and once again Bayport set empty.  They never charged for parking at Bayport which was right in front of the terminal and easy walk.  Bayport was repurposed and no longer accommodates cruise ships.  

 

Galveston is building a third terminal to accommodate three ships at a time.  Currently 3 Carnival ships and 3 RCL ships are  sailing out of Galveston.  Disney has announced that they will have a ship in Galveston for the winter season.  Will Princess ever return, we don't know but I think they will at some point within the next 5 or so years.  There are millions of cruisers within driving distance in the 6 state area and obviously Carnival who was first and RCL are not having the problem of filling ships. 

 

We were on the Carnival Magic the first week of December a few years ago and there were about 200 kids aboard of all ages.  We were again a few years later on the Magic the first week of May thinking that school was about to finish and the kids would be in school.  There were over 600 aboard that cruise!  So much for not being able to miss school.  We are going to be on the Vista the end of April and fully expect hundreds of rug rats aboard.  Galveston is 250 miles from our home over interstate highways with most being 75 mph and open space thus an easy drive to the port.   We would welcome Princess returning and in the meantime CCL it is. 

[satxdiver]

15 hours ago, jeanandjim said:

You are absolutely right, Texas residents need to get their legislature involved by writing letters.

 

1. Princess captain has told me that there is no reason in the world to deny a ship with the technology available on Princess ships these days, access to either Bayport or Galveston in the fog. It is a non issue, but the channel is controlled by the port authority and they hold the cards.

 

2. Texas law requires any alcohol served in Texas to be purchased thru Texas distributors, limiting what you can purchase prior to throwing off the lines, in the case of a long delay, the inventory can get quite pinched. This gives Princess an additional cost and inventory control.

 

3. If you purchase a bottle of Rum in Jamaica, or Tequila in Mexico, Texas demands that a state tax be paid on those bottles even if you are just passing thru Texas.

 

Jim. 

 

Houston and even Galveston is plagued with fog and at times has even closed down Hobby airport in South Houston.  It is a fact of life that we are all aware down here.  The channel out to the Gulf is narrow and tightly controlled by the port authority.  The port of Houston is the most active cargo port on the Gulf and in constant use.  One ship can tie up the channel for days.  The cruise terminal at Bayport has been repurposed and no longer can accommodate cruise ships as of several years ago.

 

Thanks to the alcohol distributors Texas has archaic laws where all alcohol has to be bought from a distributor.  Wineries and craft brewers can sell limited amounts.  This not only applies to Texas but also out to the international boundary offshore.  Therefore state sales tax must be collected and only Texas purchased alcohol can be sold until in international waters.  

 

Indeed everyone who brings alcohol back into Texas has to pay a state tax no matter if you are just passing through.  Never underestimate the state getting their pound of flesh.   

[Cafedumonde]

The worst thing about cruises out of Galveston and new Orleans is the itineraries. 

[Xyla]

5 hours ago, satxdiver said:

 

Indeed everyone who brings alcohol back into Texas has to pay a state tax no matter if you are just passing through.  Never underestimate the state getting their pound of flesh.   

 

Since Texas has no state income tax, they make that up where they can! As a Texas resident, I appreciate the out-of-staters helping us out here. 🤣

 

We sailed on Princess once out of Houston and got stuck in the dreaded fog on the return. We didn't end up docking until around 2 pm. Not so much a problem for us, other than have to sit around with our luggage, since we had already vacated our cabin and we were driving home. But many others were scrambling to change flights and figure out what to do. 

[Colo Cruiser]

I hope not. Tried twice and no mas.