Which port - Galveston or New Orleans?

[LandlockedCruiser01]

To decide, ask yourself what's your main priority. Is it a nicer, fancier ship? Or is it a more exciting embarkation city?

My personal opinion is to go with the Conquest out of New Orleans. In accounting terms, your marginal benefit is greater than your opportunity cost. In layman's terms, you have more to gain from going on Conquest out of New Orleans than what you're losing by passing on Magic out of Galveston. Reasons why:
* Conquest and Magic have the same basic chassis, if you will, except Magic is somewhat bigger. They also both have Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades, so you don't gain that much by going on Magic, unless the extras truly matter to you.
* New Orleans is pedestrian-friendly for the most part. Once you get to your hotel, you can easily get around the city on foot, by bus, by streetcar, or if necessary, by taxi. Galveston, like a lot of Texas cities, is heavily car-oriented. So you'll most likely need to rent a car to get to places. If that doesn't bother you, fine. But one thing I enjoy about vacations is not having to drive at all.
* New Orleans has plenty of things to see and do; just remember that you got your shoes "on your feet on city streets" . All I know around Galveston is the Schlitterbahn waterpark; if someone knows more places, feel free to enlighten me.

In a nutshell, I say go with Conquest. The truly unique embarkation city to enjoy your pre-cruise day in is worth foregoing the extras you'll get on Magic, especially considering that itineraries are quite similar.

[Mizzouaholic]

New Orleans!

[k2excursion]

Some people have mentioned debarkation problems in Galveston. Yeah, I give you that. People tend to be very anxious to get off the ship as quick as possible in Gavleston, so the early debarkation can get a very long line. But if you have the time, relax around the pool and wait for the crowd to die down. Then, it's no big deal at all.

New Orleans was cool to check out for one day. We walked around and looked at the buildings, and stopped at a few spots. I felt that kids might not find it too interesting, but adults tend to love it. Still, the cruise's home port city usually isn't a big deal to me. For my last 3 cruises out of Galveston, I've stayed at a hotel in Houston. It's just a place to sleep before getting on the cruise. Moody Gardens in Galveston is nice, and they actually have a beach. Sure, the water is brown, but it does have a beach. I've enjoyed their beach, and gone to Moody Gardens, and there are some restaurants that foodies seem to love there. It sounds like your plan to fly into New Orleans, check out the city, then drive to Galveston for the cruise (nicer ship, more families on board) may be a good plan.