Galveston or Houston?

[oldmedic]

If a cruise line would come to the new cruise ship terminal at Barbers Cut (Houston) would you prefer to cruise out of Galveston or Houston? They are both about the same distance for us...

[*Mach*]

If a cruise line would come to the new cruise ship terminal at Barbers Cut (Houston) would you prefer to cruise out of Galveston or Houston? They are both about the same distance for us...

 

 

The new terminal in Houston is in Bayport and some of us have sailed from there already.

I was on the second departure from Bayport last year, late September, after Ike.

It's new but that's all it is. It's not designed to handle 3000 plus passengers, perhaps 1200 or so. The rated capacity of the waiting area is about 900 and we EASILY had over 2000 in there.

Nope... I'd stick with Galveston...

:)

[Mekamax]

Houston - so much less traffic and parking right at the pier - no shuttles! Also the sail down the ship channel has you passing ships and seeing dolphins which is fun! Debbie :D

[Mekamax]

Mach - we sailed out of there too on the first ship - the Ecstasy after Ike. It was real nice and for those of us on the first ship the parking was wonderful! Na na na na - LOL :D ;)There was no room left after we boarded in the parking lot and we were wondering what the Conquest people were going to do. I think it would be a great cruise port for one ship. The old one seemed smaller and it handled NCL fine for years. We sailed out on almost all the NCL ships that were there and didnt' have any problems.

 

Also another good point is that alot of people get put off by the long and expensive tranfers to Galveston. My travel agent got her daughter on board the Conquest the last time we went and she was flying in from Canada. She called me to get info on Houston and was surprised by the length of the transfer from the airport and then realized the "deal" she got wasn't much of a deal when you factored in the price of transfers each way.....

[SATXLady]

I prefer Galveston, even though I have to drive through Houston on my way there. I love Galveston and am looking forward to seeing how they've recovered after Ike. Staying at the Harbor House and watching the ship arrive in the morning is part of the enjoyment for me....it really says that I'm getting ready to get on that ship in a few hours.

[dmdiver]

Houston would save me an hour of driving time. I'd be happy to try it.

[TheDINGOateMyBaybay!]

HOUSTON! I have sailed out of the of NCL and was absolutely delighted by my 15 minute drive home!

[karenh1127]

Really depends on the ship and the cruiseline and the price and the itinerary and the ........:);) Probably Bayport sine it is so close but I am working on platinum so I would want it to be carnival...

[oldmedic]

HOUSTON! I have sailed out of the of NCL and was absolutely delighted by my 15 minute drive home!

 

love your screen name...lol!!!

[pnjkeith]

Galveston, Houston too small.

[browneyes7]

I've cruised out of both, also. I loved being able to park right by the ship at the Houston Port. I also love cruising out of Galveston. I want Houston to get a ship so we'll have more choices for cruising out of Texas.:)

[LEtue]

Also another good point is that alot of people get put off by the long and expensive tranfers to Galveston. My travel agent got her daughter on board the Conquest the last time we went and she was flying in from Canada. She called me to get info on Houston and was surprised by the length of the transfer from the airport and then realized the "deal" she got wasn't much of a deal when you factored in the price of transfers each way.....

 

Agreed. We ended up renting a van and parking it for 5 days because it was less than the price of transfers - for 7 of us.

 

I found no deals on hotels either so the extra expense of sailing out of Galveston can be substantial....

[blyle]

I love Galveston but would like Houston too because it's much closer! Flying into HOU, Hobby is much better than IAH . Summer is high season for hotels but the rest of the year they are usually a good deal and include free parking.

[Jay B]

We would certainly prefer Houston. It would be the closest port for us for a Caribbean cruise and the port would be easy to get to from the airport. j

[*Mach*]

Just one more point...

Galveston is 30 minutes to open water... sailing from Bayport to open water is nearly three hours...

:rolleyes:

[Galveston Cruiser]

Galveston is perfect for us, but we are only 20 blocks to the cruise terminal.

Wish we could have Princess and Celebrity return and RCI year round.

[hougo3]

Strongly prefer Galveston. The Houston terminal is a LONG AND EXTREMELY SLOW WAY from the open ocean by ship. Cuts into port times significantly.

[Cuizer2]

If a cruise line would come to the new cruise ship terminal at Barbers Cut (Houston) would you prefer to cruise out of Galveston or Houston? They are both about the same distance for us...

 

I would rather cruise out of Houston. The cruise lines would rather cruise out of Galveston.

[ssb]

Galveston! Because I live there.

And Galveston again…. for all the reasons stated above by others.

Let be known I moved to Galveston recently.

I am a native Houstonian though.

My thoughts below are considering the distance and time comments

for the necessary airport travelers!

The distance is shorter to Houston Terminal,

from Houston Bush or Houston Hobby than to Galveston.

However, the travel time may not be that much different.

My rationale is as follows for what it is worth.

Once you get on Freeway system you do not stop until you are in Galveston.

The miles going on to Galveston are not that much greater anyway.

On all routes from Bush and Hobby to the Houston terminal,

you drive freeway system also,

then you have to drive for miles to the east

thru neighborhoods, traffic and many lights.

On the alternate Beltway 8 route,

you still travel thru many many neighborhoods, traffic and lights.

The tradeoffs are miles driven versa travel time factors.

Yes and for you locals, I know traffic can be bad on 45 at times.

But, if it is bad on 45,

it will also be bad off the freeway, at same times.

Another reason, when your going to the Houston Terminal,

you will still have to drive 45 in the same bad traffic areas as going on to Galveston,

until you get off to drive east.

The traffic to Galveston is almost never bad anyway,

after you have to get off to go east to Houston terminal.

Any travel time differences should be minimal in the grand scheme of things,

or it could about the same.

See Map

http://www.galveston.com/maps/houstonb.pdf