Why are all the ships leaving Galveston? (Merged)

[Snoozeman]

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

 

Very well could be. My guess as well.

 

I also think Princess will return to Houston/Galveston after '08.

[aggieastrosfan]

Where has it been announce that RCL is definitely leaving? The Voyager is arriving for seasonal sailings starting with the Christmas sailing this year.

 

I agree with above posters, I imagine RCL will take off to Houston when their terminal is complete (hopefully Princess will join them and come back!). Carnival has put way too much money into Galveston to leave.

[LHP]

It would certainly be nice to have a new large port in Houston. We have never sailed out of Texas, but a more convenient location would definately peak our interest.

[jetskier]

NCL is leaving Houston. The Dream is scheduled to leave in April and then go to Europe and then South America. I have not seen any replacement ships.

 

Dave

[Snoozeman]

It would certainly be nice to have a new large port in Houston. We have never sailed out of Texas, but a more convenient location would definately peak our interest.

 

It's really not bad at all. Lots of problems in September 2005 because of all the new ships in port because of the hurricanes, but it's been smooth ever since. Of course I drive so it would be easier for me, but I understand what you mean. I gave up flying to any port years ago.

 

I'm sure we'll be making up for fewer ships in the fall of 2007 in higher fares, but that balances out all the bargains we had in 2005/2006. The new ship terminals will get us to a happy median in 2008.

[clearlakecruisers]

According to an article in today's Houston Chronicle, the new Bayport cruise terminal at the Port of Houston previously reported to be opening in late 2007 now isn't scheduled to be operational until 2008. :mad: :mad: :mad: Just hope they have several ships lined up for when they DO open!!!

[cplNhst,tx]

does any body know what is going on the the cruise terminals in Houston & Galveston? I've checked several cruise lines for this area and after about april 2008 carnival seems to be the only cruise line cruising from this region. I find this a little odd since houston built a huge new terminal and galveston remodeled their terminals to account for the lrg ships.:confused:

[Host Kat]

Three threads concerning the same topic have been merged. All posts are now on one thread in date/time order.

 

I sincerely hope this will be satisfactory to all!

Kat

[aggieastrosfan]

does any body know what is going on the the cruise terminals in Houston & Galveston? I've checked several cruise lines for this area and after about april 2008 carnival seems to be the only cruise line cruising from this region. I find this a little odd since houston built a huge new terminal and galveston remodeled their terminals to account for the lrg ships.:confused:

 

Houston hasn't built a new terminal yet. The terminal that's finished so far is for cargo. I believe the cruise ship terminal isn't slated to be finished until the end of next year.

 

Also, some lines may just have not posted their schedules after April 2008 yet. The Voyager will be in Galveston in the fall. NCL has been sailing out of Houston for years, I haven't heard any indication that they're leaving. Princess is the only other one currently here, and they are leaving after this season.

[aggieastrosfan]

Well, I just posted all kinds of incorrect info in my prior post. :o Cruise terminal is slated to open in early '08, and NCL is in fact leaving for now when the Dream finishes its run.

 

Sorry about that! :o

[jetskier]

Well, I just posted all kinds of incorrect info in my prior post. :o Cruise terminal is slated to open in early '08, and NCL is in fact leaving for now when the Dream finishes its run.

Sorry about that! :o

 

At NCL's current prices increases, we would not be able to afford to sail on whatever ship gets put in Houston anyway. There has been a substantial increase in the fare on the ship we are sailing on in Nov. The OV's are currently going for $2687 per person. We only paid $2200 total for both of us in a balcony.

Dave

[GBRBEB]

I'd love to know that myself. Also people who cruise out of Baltimore, NY. Phila.,etc. must live a distance away also. How many live just a few mins. from a cruise port? My drive to Galveston is approx. 5 hours. I could fly to Florida in less time but the cost would be prohibitive. I can also pack more :D

 

Living in NJ...it takes 3 hours to get to the port in Baltimore, and about 40-45 minutes to get to all 3 ports in the NYC area...I think that the majority of thes people that sail out of the Northeast are with a 2 hours drive to the ports...IMHO

[GCurry]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/travel/shattuck/4578966.html

 

This is a good article discussing our situation, it answers a lot of the questions you asked.

Meanwhile, here I sit in Galveston wishing I didn't have to fly to Anchorage for a new cruise destination.

 

We need more itineraries!!

[amarillocruisecat]

Well RCI has released almost all of their 2008 itineraries and things don't look good for Galveston/Houston. No ships are departing from Galveston after Voyager leaves for Europe in April 2008. The summer itineraries for a few ships have not been released yet. Radiance and Serenade appear to be headed to Alaska. I suppose there is hope that one of the others (Empress, Enchantment, Majesty, and Sovereign) will move to Texas for the summer, but I am not holding my breath. We were really hoping to have an opportunity to sail on a Radiance Class next year without having to fly halfway across the country.

 

We probably would never have taken a cruise if not for the convenience of travelling to Galveston. It is sad to see all the ships leaving.

[In the Pink]

We probably would never have taken a cruise if not for the convenience of travelling to Galveston. It is sad to see all the ships leaving.

 

We would DEFINITELY have never taken a cruise if not for the convenience of Galveston (being about 25 miles from there). It is very sad but I am very much looking forward to the new Bayport and what it will have to offer.

[springtxbill]

I do not see anything new until Bayport is finished.:)

[zantedeschia]

 

We probably would never have taken a cruise if not for the convenience of travelling to Galveston. It is sad to see all the ships leaving.

New Transatlantic schedules show Voyager coming back to Galveston in winter of '08. Given we've already been told Galveston's going to be seasonal in '08, this hardly comes as any surprise.

 

Seasonal Caribbean itineraries have yet to be published.

[amarillocruisecat]

New Transatlantic schedules show Voyager coming back to Galveston in winter of '08. Given we've already been told Galveston's going to be seasonal in '08, this hardly comes as any surprise.

 

Seasonal Caribbean itineraries have yet to be published.

 

True. Voyager leaves Galveston on April 27, 2008 and returns December 14, 2008. In between, we've got nothing. Not necessarily a surprise, but with Princess also pulling out and NCL pulling out of Houston (or at least going seasonal only) it is a trend I don't particularly like to see. Galveston/Houston will go from 7 ships just last summer to 2 in the summer of 2008.

[amarillocruisecat]

Here are some additional stats on Galveston and Houston.

 

306 cruises departed the two ports in 2006. Cruise departures will drop to 222 in 2007. Breakdown by ship follows.

2006 2007

Carnival Ecstasy 58 78

Carnival Conquest 53 52

Carnival Elation 21 0

Celebrity Galaxy 11 0

NCL Norwegian Dream 53 15

Princess Grand Princess 22 17

RCI Splendour OTS 34 24

RCI Rhapsody OTS 53 34

RCI Voyager OTS 0 2

Looks like the trend down will continue in 2008. Interestingly enough, statistics published in the December 2006 issue of "Seatrade Cruise Review" lists Galveston as the fourth busiest cruise port in North America with 332,000 passengers in 2006. Galveston also had the second highest increase in passengers from 2003 to 2006 (108,000 passenger increase; Long Beach was first with a 147,000 passenger increase). Galveston was third in percentage increase among the ten largest cruise terminals with a 79.4% increase in passengers from 2003 to 2006 (Long Beach was number 1 with a 137.4% increase followed by Seattle) For the first 6 months of 2006, cruises departing from Galveston averaged 2,426 passengers per cruise. Only cruises departing out of Port Canaveral (2,693) and Miami (2,596) had more passengers on their ships.

 

I'm not sure why the trend away from Galveston/Houston, but I suspect the following are factors.

1. Fuel costs. While I for one enjoy the sea days that all cruises out of Galveston have, the fact is it is further from Galveston to most destinations and that means higher fuel costs.
   
2. Better revenue opportunities in Europe. Apparently, Europeans aren't as cheap as we are and are willing to spend more money on their cruises.
   
3. Lower on board revenue from Galveston/Houston cruises. I'm not sure that this is true, but have seen others indicate that it is.

[zantedeschia]

In between, we've got nothing. Not necessarily a surprise, but with Princess also pulling out and NCL pulling out of Houston (or at least going seasonal only) it is a trend I don't particularly like to see.

A trend?

 

Right now the Caribbean market is soft, oil prices are high, there is a hot market in Europe (possibly South America too as I see Splendour is going back there). Bayport construction got delayed and the opening got pushed back and the New Orleans economy recovery has been slow.

 

So you're saying because there are no Royal/Princess/NCL ships sailing out of the upper Texas Gulf Coast in the summer of '08 there never will be? Kind of like the people who are claiming Bayport is floundering because no cruise lines have signed a contract yet. OMG, better tell the Port of Houston Authority to quit throwing away millions of dollars in a facility no one is ever going to use!

 

This is a can't see the forest for the trees sort of thing. The Caribbean market will pick up again, Bayport will open, the New Orleans economy will recover. The cruise lines will continue building bigger and newer cruise ships giving them more ships to deploy in various places. Like Houston/Galveston/New Orleans.

 

I guess I'm a make lemonade sort of person. The paucity of Royal cruises out Galveston forced me to look at other ports and I found a sweet cruise out of Tampa I don't think I would have looked at otherwise.

[zantedeschia]

Here are some additional stats on Galveston and Houston

We know.

 

All the points you make have been beaten to death on several threads (including this one). I'd love to hear some new information, would be fabulous!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=496885

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=513354

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=516630

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=519249

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=521065

[amarillocruisecat]

We know.

 

All the points you make have been beaten to death on several threads (including this one). I'd love to hear some new information, would be fabulous!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=496885

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=513354

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=516630

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=519249

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=521065

 

Sorry for the duplication of info. Just felt like venting this morning. I'm sure you are right and things will pick up eventually. I did not intend to come across as a pessimist.

[amarillocruisecat]

A trend?

 

 

So you're saying because there are no Royal/Princess/NCL ships sailing out of the upper Texas Gulf Coast in the summer of '08 there never will be?

 

Actually that is not what I was trying to say. I was just observing that during the near term (2008) there will be fewer opportunities for people who want to cruise out of Houston/Galveston.

[zantedeschia]

Sorry for the duplication of info. Just felt like venting this morning. I'm sure you are right and things will pick up eventually. I did not intend to come across as a pessimist.

I can understand. People are impatient. 2009 is too far away for them. :(

[Don Haynes]

In the last two years NCL ships leave their winter home ports to other summer home ports. The only NCL ships sailing the Caribbean are from New York and Boston. All of their ships leave Miami during the summer.

 

Frankly, the weather is too hot and humid in the Caribbean. NCL would rather sail to places not so hot, such as Alaska and Europe. While Europe may get 90 degree weather for a week, the Caribbean gets this for months.

 

NCL doesn't have the number of ships to homeport year round like Carnival. NCL prefers to reposition their ships seasonally for more profit, much like Celebrity, Holland American, and Princess. Passengers of Royal Caribbean want more itineraries, they are tired of the same itineraries, and it appears RCI is accomodating. Carnival owns so many cruise lines, their other lines pick up Alaska and Europe, leaving Carnival to commit to their homeports.

 

Houston is building a new cruse terminal at Bayport, with room for two more terminals in the future. Bayport's terminal will be large enough to handle super mega sized vessels, unlike the old Barbours Cut terminal. I have doubt whether Barbours Cut could handle a Panamax sized vessel. Barbours Cut was also being squeezed out by the container business.

 

When NCL receives its new F3 class of ships in late 2009 to early 20011, NCL may return to Houston with one of their freestyle ships. Recently NCL announced that one of their Panamax sized ships will be transferred to Europe and the east coast, this may see a return to Houston of a ship a year or two earlier.