Why are all the ships leaving Galveston? (Merged)

[In the Pink]

You could be right but RCCL has invested a significant amount of money into pier 2 in Galveston. I don't see them walking away from that investment any time soon.

 

That's what I would think, too, yet they have no ships scheduled here as of the Spring of '08, so what's up with that?

[molemaui]

Molemaui--just curious since I haven't sailed out of anywhere in FL, only Galveston, but in light of your comment, I can't help but wonder how far the airports are from the ports in FL?

 

Miami airport is minutes from the pier. The Ft. Lauderdale airport is also minutes from the pier. When I sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale, I flew into Miami, (much cheaper fare at the time) rented a car and dropped at FLL where I easily transfered to the ship. The opposite is true when I sailed out of Miami. If you happen to fly into the city you're sailing out of, it's real simple!

[In the Pink]

When I sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale, I flew into Miami, (much cheaper fare at the time) rented a car and dropped at FLL where I easily transfered to the ship.

 

Maybe I'm dense, but I don't understand what makes that any different than flying into Houston and renting a car to get to Galveston???

[yst347]

Flying into Ft. Lauderdale or Miami you can rent a car from any of the major rental companies at either airport and drop-off at a different location for no extra charge within the state. Here in Houston your only choice is Enterprise or Hertz, and Hertz in Galveston has been closed on Sundays. You will also pay an additional fee for dropping off in Galveston.

 

Cruising from south Florida gives you a vast choice in ships and itineraries, here you will sail western only and choose from at most six ships this winter.

[budaman]

Had it not been for Galveston, we probably would have never experienced the joys of cruising. The convenience of the family being able to drive to the port in under 3 hrs and being able to provide a cost effective vacation for 6 were key factors in deciding to try a cruise. Since last April have taken 3 cruises out of Galveston...1 each on RCI, Princess & Carnival and enjoyed all of them. Had we not, we would probably have never made the plunge to do a Tahiti cruise. All of those cruises were also filled to capacity, so I don't think that is the reason Princess & Celebrity are suspending service....I think it has more to do with Ship & Personnel shortages throughout the cruise industry, combined with the cruise industries desire to test the waters in new markets before commiting to build the ships for those markets.

 

Checking the itineraries for all the major cruiselines, none of them seem to have schedules & itineraries for any of the Ports past may of '08. I'm sure as soon as the schedules open up for the remainder of '08, you'll see a pretty full schedule for Galveston......I'm personally waiting for the schedule for Oct/Nov of '08 so we can book another trip to Tahiti:D

 

Mike

 

http://web.mac.com/csealove/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[BonNYTX]

Had it not been for Galveston, we probably would have never experienced the joys of cruising. The convenience of the family being able to drive to the port in under 3 hrs and being able to provide a cost effective vacation for 6 were key factors in deciding to try a cruise. Since last April have taken 3 cruises out of Galveston...1 each on RCI, Princess & Carnival and enjoyed all of them. Had we not, we would probably have never made the plunge to do a Tahiti cruise. All of those cruises were also filled to capacity, so I don't think that is the reason Princess & Celebrity are suspending service....I think it has more to do with Ship & Personnel shortages throughout the cruise industry, combined with the cruise industries desire to test the waters in new markets before commiting to build the ships for those markets.

 

Checking the itineraries for all the major cruiselines, none of them seem to have schedules & itineraries for any of the Ports past may of '08. I'm sure as soon as the schedules open up for the remainder of '08, you'll see a pretty full schedule for Galveston......I'm personally waiting for the schedule for Oct/Nov of '08 so we can book another trip to Tahiti:D

 

Mike

 

http://web.mac.com/csealove/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

 

Hey Mike! Did you really cruise to Tahiti from Galveston?? Sounds so exotic and... wonderful. I'll check your web links hoping for some photos and or a review. I know you're a diver and must have seen some awesome underwater life you don't usually see in the Caribbean. I agree with you about Galveston making cruising affordable for us Texans. I did 3 cruises out of NY when I lived there and 1 (soon to be 2) out of Galveston. If not for my home ports I would not be cruising at all.

[BonNYTX]

Hey Mike! Did you really cruise to Tahiti from Galveston?? Sounds so exotic and... wonderful. I'll check your web links hoping for some photos and or a review. I know you're a diver and must have seen some awesome underwater life you don't usually see in the Caribbean. I agree with you about Galveston making cruising affordable for us Texans. I did 3 cruises out of NY when I lived there and 1 (soon to be 2) out of Galveston. If not for my home ports I would not be cruising at all.

 

Mike, please strike that dumb question at the top of my previous post. Not sure why I even asked it. :o I checked out your pictures and I have to say they were by far the best pictures I've ever seen!! Colors are so crisp and clear and the scenery is just breathtaking. Even the storm was awesome. Your underwater pictures are unreal. I can see why you want to return.

[budaman]

Now THAT would be a great cruise.....Galveston through the Panama Canal to the Galopogos, Easter Island and then French Polynesia...sign me up!

 

Unfortunately, it took from 8AM Austin time till 8PM Tahiti time (-4hrs) to get there by air.....I hate airports!

 

Thanks on the pics:D

 

5 weeks till we go out of Galveston on the Ecstacy!

 

Mike

 

http://web.mac.com/csealove/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

 

http://www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[BonNYTX]

Now THAT would be a great cruise.....Galveston through the Panama Canal to the Galopogos, Easter Island and then French Polynesia...sign me up!

 

Mike, one can always dream!

[In the Pink]

Flying into Ft. Lauderdale or Miami you can rent a car from any of the major rental companies at either airport and drop-off at a different location for no extra charge within the state. Here in Houston your only choice is Enterprise or Hertz, and Hertz in Galveston has been closed on Sundays. You will also pay an additional fee for dropping off in Galveston.

 

Ahhh..... now I get it. Thank you both for patiently explaining all this to me.

 

Cruising from south Florida gives you a vast choice in ships and itineraries, here you will sail western only and choose from at most six ships this winter.

 

That I understood but at least for now I'm willing to make that sacrifice in order to not have to pay airfare (and condense my packing!).

[In the Pink]

Had it not been for Galveston, we probably would have never experienced the joys of cruising.

Mike

 

Exactly!!! Us either! And I'm sure the same is true for many, many others.

[hilltopfamily]

Exactly!!! Us either! And I'm sure the same is true for many, many others.

 

Exactly! Our first cruise actually was out of Port Canaveral (Disney) but we were immediately and completely "hooked" and were so ecstatic that we could actually "feed this addiction" by driving to Galveston (much, much shorter trip than our van trips to Florida have been). If we can't drive to Galveston (or NOLA), that completely knocks out our being able to go in Oct. and we're "stuck" with going in the summer months.

 

I can't believe that just as I'm ready to book another cruise, this time for extended family to go with us, I have very little choices to offer up to the family. I know that we loved the Conquest, but it sure would be nice if there was more than that to consider for a Oct. '07 cruise. Life is so short and I was hoping to try as many different ships and itineraries as I could in my lifetime :), so "repeating" a particular cruise was something I hadn't so much considered before! Guess I better give it some consideration now. Any chance RCI might "add" something to Galveston's schedule? Or NOLA? Any thoughts about whether they could/would do this?

[yst347]

Funny, for us it had nearly the opposite effect. Do you fellow Texans remember when NCL brought the first ship to Houston in the mid 1990's? NCL held an open house at the Barbour's cut terminal, we went down to check it out and frankly we were very disappointed. I forget which ship NCL had here first but it was old and ugly. Its first season here went very badly with frequent air conditioning breakdowns and passengers dragging mattresses out on deck to sleep. It nearly turned us off to booking a cruise. Fortunately a family member organized a family reunion cruise in 2000 from Florida. We went and we were hooked. As we near our 8th cruise and 4th from Galveston we couldn't be happier with having great ships here near our home.

[DannyMac]

Just be patient, an 81 million dollar investment and no cruise ships! The POH terminal will be have room for three ships. You an bet the cruise lines are waiting to see what kind of deal can be made with the POH. The only drawback is the Bayport facility is located just north of mid Galveston bay, adding around 2 hours steaming time to reach the open Gulf of Mexico.

 

This area is 100% industrial, no hotels, stores, malls etc. It is closer to Hobby and IAH. A person will need to stay in LaPorte, Kemah, or Clear Lake if they come early and will need to have transportation to get around as the cab or shuttle service is none exsistant.

[yst347]

Just be patient, an 81 million dollar investment and no cruise ships! The POH terminal will be have room for three ships. You an bet the cruise lines are waiting to see what kind of deal can be made with the POH.

 

What worries is me is the lack of investment by the cruise lines. The new Bayport terminal is beginning to look a bit like the Alamo Dome. It is bought and payed for by the tax payers. The cruise lines have no stake hence no rush to commit.

 

This area is 100% industrial, no hotels, stores, malls etc. It is closer to Hobby and IAH. A person will need to stay in LaPorte, Kemah, or Clear Lake if they come early and will need to have transportation to get around as the cab or shuttle service is none exsistant.

 

Once ships are sailing from Bayport this will change. Shuttles from the Nasa/Clear Lake area will spring up like mosquitoes on a warm spring day.:D

[clearlakecruisers]

yst346 -- I have to agree that shuttle service from the Clear Lake area to the new Bayport terminal will be available and widely promoted.

 

We have seen a remarkable number of new major chain motels being built in this area - and construction of a couple more of the Marriott variety has just been announced. Although NASA/Johnson Spacecraft Center has been a major tourist draw for many years, no one in this area can understand why there would be a major demand for new loding since nothing has recently changed with the space program.

 

Current thought is that this area is gearing up to provide a package of pre and post cruise lodging, entertainment (Kemah Boardwalk, NASA), shopping, restaurants with convenient access from both airports and a +/-15-minute shuttle ride to the cruise port. That would certainly be my plan if I were in the tourist industry.

[Host Kewlguy]

As for pricing, I don't see a HUGE difference out of TX to comparable cruises out of FL. Taking into account that some of the price differential may very well be port charges, I doubt that there is much difference at all. With the TX departures not having any difficulty filling up, if the lines wanted to raise the prices, as long as they are in line with other departure ports, I would think the demand would bear it. It doesn't make sense to argue that you can't get a full fare when you're selling out at a lower fare.

 

I strongly disagree with the above statement. We are paying $549.00 per person for our 1/20/07 five day cruise on Splendour out of Galveston in a Junior Suite verses paying $929.00 per person sailing a five day cruise on Enchantment the same day, same cabin category out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We are saving $780.00 total in cruise fare. Yes, we'll have to spend money to rent a car to and from the port but the savings are still huge. The airfare was pretty much the same price for both destinations out of Newark. Also our cruise fare for Splendour included a residency discount for NJ residents.

[hince57]

glad to see some lively conversation about galveston...i'm glad to have experienced it (rci...the rhapsody, i think) this past april and can't wait to go back...it's an easy choice, considering i live in dallas...a few questions though:

 

- can anyone provide a link for info on this bayport terminal? i've never even heard of it.

 

- when, if not already, does the new terminal in galveston open? i saw the construction on it this past spring, and it lookged good.

 

i've already petitioned rci to get more going in galveston (if anyone has a better suggestion, i'll entertain it).

 

here's to hoping they throw us a bone!

[clearlakecruisers]

Go to http://www.portofhouston.com/cruiseinfo/bayportcruise.html for info on the new Port of Houston cruise terminal at Bayport.

[In the Pink]

I strongly disagree with the above statement. We are paying $549.00 per person for our 1/20/07 five day cruise on Splendour out of Galveston in a Junior Suite verses paying $929.00 per person sailing a five day cruise on Enchantment the same day, same cabin category out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We are saving $780.00 total in cruise fare.

 

Okay, and recognizing that you obviously have more experience booking cruises than do I, and I have only sailed out of Galveston, but I can't help wonder.... are those two ships really considered comparable? Not only is Splendour a year older than Enchantment to begin with, but Enchantment has now been stretched, making it actually longer now than the Radiance class ships. It also now has a Chops Grille whereas Splendour has no speciality restaurant.

 

And then there is the residency discount. Looking at RCCL right now, the suites are listed at $929 for Enchantment, as you said, and $849 for Splendour.... yes, a difference, but not as great as what you got, and we don't know if you could have gotten a residency discount on Enchantment, unless you tried?

[Corvette]

Does anyone know why the cruise lines are leaving Galveston? We will only have Carnival left.

[gratefulguy]

You will have NCL in "Houston", but the answer is probably the same as for any business decision--their estimation of where the best return on investment is.

[clearlakecruisers]

Lots of discussion and opinions on this. Most think that changes will come with the opening of the new terminal at the Port of Houston later this year. It is certainly going to be an improvement. The location/access is much better and the terminal looks great http://www.portofhouston.com/cruiseinfo/bayportcruise.html

[firefly333]

Does RCI plan on leaving Galveston too?? Durn. I had just thought maybe the sites were not showing those dates. Double durn.

[springtxbill]

RCCL will probably move to the new Houston terminal and carnival will stay in Galveston.:)