Galveston RUMOR!!!!

[ski ninja]

I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Would love to do Panama canal and Galveston might be an intreging port.

[nomoreknothead]

This would be the greatest & the worst thing for me at the same time. I would love to sail out of Galveston all year around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D But I can't afford to cruise all year around :eek: !!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Come Back To Galveston, RCI!!! We need a ship year round!

[BecciBoo]

During the Q&A time at C&A party I asked about the another ship for Galveston. The answer was "NO" do to the uncertainy of the weather, ie hurricanes, during the late summer & fall months.

 

I've been told the same thing by multiple ambassadors and Fain and Goldstein.

 

But if this is true, wouldn't Erica know about these negotiations? Cruiseloverandagent, hope you see this and can confirm.

 

If its true......woohoo!:D

[springtxbill]

Hope it is true also. There is hope in the lawyer comment as they may be in negotiations and do not want Galveston to hink they are overly interested. They may also be playing Galveston against Houston.:)

[LisaH]

Note: This is only a rumor, it is not fact, it is not verified, it is NOT substantiated!!!

 

Porter dragging our bags yesterday through customs in Galveston, taking about "the good old days" when Galveston had 6 ships....

 

Galveston is in talks with RCI about Rhapsody coming back to Galveston in 2010.

 

Would that mean year round? no idea

Would that mean different itinerary than when Voyager is in Galveston? no idea

 

But he said RCI was adding not replacing...

 

Dream Come True: Another RCI ship that does the Panama Canal circuit

 

DId I mention this is a rumor?

 

Hey! You will be getting off the Jewel as we are getting on. Please take good care of her. Happy Cruising! And I hope you are right about another option in Galveston.

[LisaH]

Is nobody else excited about Rhapsody possibly coming back to Galveston???

 

Having never been on the Rhapsody and knowing it is an older ship...what is special about it? Has it been updated recently? I would like to get excited about it too but know nothing about the ship.

 

Thanks!

[tugboat]

Hope it is true also. There is hope in the lawyer comment as they may be in negotiations and do not want Galveston to hink they are overly interested. They may also be playing Galveston against Houston.:)

 

Port of Houston, owns Port of Galveston I don't think that will happen

[sas80]

note: This is only a rumor, it is not fact, it is not verified, it is not substantiated!!!

 

Porter dragging our bags yesterday through customs in galveston, taking about "the good old days" when galveston had 6 ships....

 

Galveston is in talks with rci about rhapsody coming back to galveston in 2010.

 

Would that mean year round? No idea

would that mean different itinerary than when voyager is in galveston? No idea

 

but he said rci was adding not replacing...

 

Dream come true: Another rci ship that does the panama canal circuit

 

did i mention this is a rumor?

 

nice!!!!

[sas80]

Having never been on the Rhapsody and knowing it is an older ship...what is special about it? Has it been updated recently? I would like to get excited about it too but know nothing about the ship.

 

Thanks!

 

It's not the Freedom, or the Voyager, but it is a good ship.

having 2 ships in port definitely means different itineraries - maybe even that one ship will do a 3 and then 4 nighter and the other will do 7 nighters.

 

I would love to have a Galveston ship go to the Bahama's and/or St. Thomas, St. Martin and/or do some type of So. Carib itinerary (Barbados, St. Lucia, etc) (yea, asking for a lot there, eh?) But it would mean we dont have to fly to San Juan, which would be GREAT!

[Vacation Boy]

Port of Houston, owns Port of Galveston I don't think that will happen

 

Are you sure about that? I think they are two seperate groups all together. Houston has it's own cruise terminal/port, which is new - Bayport Terminal, but it was only used a couple times after Ike last year.

[RoyalCaribbeanLover]

I think that all of us who would like another RCI ship back in Galveston should write the company and let them know! I would love for another ship to be here ;-) With the new ships coming out they should share the wealth.

[Bigtex1622]

Oh please DO NOT Teast a Texan. That would be great. I was so worried that they would leave us with only Carnivvvvaaa...... I just can't get myself to even type thier name !

[TEXASMUNK]

Yup, she is smaller, but when she was in Galveston, the crew grew to love the number of friendly, polite and smiling passengers. The ship gained the reputation as the friendliest ship in the fleet. The next reason was the layout....she is perfect. Easy to get around, still lots of different venues, so easy to go from one area to another....

She was as close to the perfect cruise ship as you could imagine!

 

And she had DEREK LEWIS!

[wolfganghowell]

It is physically impossible for a ship out of Galveston to make the Southern or Eastern Caribbean ports. The only ports that can be made are Key West, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Jamaica, Honduras and Nassau. Celebrity tried the Panama Canal out of Galveston and did not do well financially - 10 day cruises didn't sell well there. RCI pulled out of Galveston full time due to $$$$. That's it. The demand for Europe was high. And apparently the onboard revenue in Galveston was low in comparison to other ships. All this information came directly from cruise reps that I spoke with both onboard and at a cruise event.

 

That being said, now with so many new builds and the demand for Europe decreasing, hopefully we will profit. The other poster is right - Voyager is coming in a full month earlier in 2010 - we're already booked for the post Thanksgiving week, our old "favorite" cruise week. Maybe they will do what they did when they had 2 ships in Galveston (Was the other one Serenade or Splendor?) One did a 7 day and other rotated 4/5 nights. Now that Princess is gone, the competition has decreased as well.

 

We were on the final roundtrip Rhapsody cruise. Standing in the Centrum as everyone gathered to present the Captain with a proclamation from the State of Texas and sing Deep in the Heart of Texas and The Eyes of Texas was a really special moment - and showed everyone there how much Rhapsody and her crew were loved in the years they spent here. Yes, she is smaller and has a lot less "bells and whistles" than Voyager but she is a lovely ship.

[TEXASMUNK]

The Key is onboard spending...The only way to do a southern Caribbean is either 10 or 11 night cruises. Galaxy was spectacular, we did several Panama canal cruises with her...

At one Point Galveston had:

Splendor of the Seas

Rhapsody of the Seas

Galaxy

Grand Princess

Carnival Conquest

Carnival Ecstacy

 

 

Oh yeah, the new Port of Houston was part of a bond issue from the City of Houston...which does NOT own Galveston's Port facilities. The folks that follow local politics in Houston are not pleased. The facility was built with no contracts, very poor parking facilities and no local support facilities (hotels, restaurants, etc)..another example of spend it since we got it...

 

We will wait and hope Europe softens and RCI turns an eye back to Galveston....

[02143]

Any notion about storms, ect is nonsense. Florida is just as risky as any Texas port.

 

A ship leaving the east coast of Florida can, if a hurricane approaches, go west to Mexico/Jamaica instead of southeast or southeast to Puerto Rico and the islands instead of west. It could even go northeast to Bermuda.

 

The Gulf of Mexico is a cul-de-sac. A ship leaving Galveston has a day in the Gulf of Mexico before it goes anywhere else. It's a trickier situation in case of storms.

[Ausgirl]

Spare a thought for us in Australia who have only just gotten Rhapsody for our Summer season and would have to fly to the other side of the world to go on most cruise ships. Certainly any of the RCI ships. I am thrilled to be able to go on her in January. We want to keep her too!!! :) But I hear what you're saying - nice to have local options in your home port.

[djneph]

Hey everyone,

 

Seems everyone is focused on the Rhapsody of the Seas. However, there is tons of speculation that the Carnival Magic (sister ship to Dream) will be homeported in Galveston. This is Carnival's newest ship class and their biggest. If they bring one of their biggest ships to Galveston in 2011, it is possible RCI may try to steal there thunger by bringing one of their biggest ships to Galveston and bring a Freedom Class vessel.

 

Wouldn't that be something.

[Texas Teen]

Port of Houston, owns Port of Galveston I don't think that will happen

 

The port of Houston doesn't own the port of Galveston!

 

Yup, she is smaller, but when she was in Galveston, the crew grew to love the number of friendly, polite and smiling passengers. The ship gained the reputation as the friendliest ship in the fleet. The next reason was the layout....she is perfect. Easy to get around, still lots of different venues, so easy to go from one area to another....

She was as close to the perfect cruise ship as you could imagine!

 

And she had DEREK LEWIS!

 

Quick Question: Is there a list somewhere of the frendliest RCCL ships? Is there a list of any cruise line's most profitible ships? I'm curious because I heard a while back that the Carnival Conquest was the most profitible ship in Carnival's fleet!

 

Hey everyone,

 

Seems everyone is focused on the Rhapsody of the Seas. However, there is tons of speculation that the Carnival Magic (sister ship to Dream) will be homeported in Galveston. This is Carnival's newest ship class and their biggest. If they bring one of their biggest ships to Galveston in 2011, it is possible RCI may try to steal there thunger by bringing one of their biggest ships to Galveston and bring a Freedom Class vessel.

 

Wouldn't that be something.

 

I doubt a Freedom Class ship would ever come to Galveston. The Freedom Class ships are too long to turn around in Galveston's Harbor. They could always sail into Galveston backwards, but somehow I doubt that would ever happen.

[Imalismom]

I asked my TA if they had heard any rumors... this is the email I got:

 

quote:

I have not heard anything that would substantiate this rumor, but I

haven't heard anything to discredit it, either. If you consider how often

RCCL changes itineraries and moves their hardware around, it wouldn't

surprise me to see another ship in Galveston. I believe the Voyager has

been a success there.

unquote

[mechcc]

I am not so sure about this rumor. We are booked on the Voyager for 21 Feb and the prices are really low. And by looking at a certain web site, half the ship is still available and it is less than 6 mos to the cruise. There are other cruises that have some great prices. Last year, there were many cabins open after final paymet for our Voyager cruise. So are we Texans really supporting cruises consistantly out of Galveston enough to have a full time ship there?

 

And Derek Lewis has moved to the Voyager. Can't wait to see him again but this time, I am not singing! Been there, got the t-shirt.

[Mrsg324]

I didn't realize Derek was on Voyager! I loved him.

[jerin]

I hope there's some truth to this rumor. We just moved to TX, and would love more RCCL availability out of Galveston.

[cruiseknots]

I am not so sure about this rumor. We are booked on the Voyager for 21 Feb and the prices are really low. And by looking at a certain web site, half the ship is still available and it is less than 6 mos to the cruise. There are other cruises that have some great prices. Last year, there were many cabins open after final paymet for our Voyager cruise. So are we Texans really supporting cruises consistantly out of Galveston enough to have a full time ship there?

 

And Derek Lewis has moved to the Voyager. Can't wait to see him again but this time, I am not singing! Been there, got the t-shirt.

 

Prices on most of their cruises are low in February due to slow demand at that time. This happens almost every year and is true on most cruises. Nothing to really worry about!

[J & G]

We would LOVE to have Rhapsody back.....in either Houston or Galveston. Right now, RCCL has all ships booked through April of 2011, but Rhapsody booked through March 2011. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/search/cruiseCalendar/home.do;jsessionid=0000BJvN0xwZHpp_AOSoiUgQg1C:12hdhubrs?cruiseCalType=cruiseCalTypeShip&cruiseCalType=cruiseCalTypeDest&cruiseCalMonth=0&cruiseCalYear=2011&x=27&y=10

 

Of course, that can change at anytime, but wouldn't it be super if Rhapsody showed up just as Voyager was about to depart? WOOHOO!!!! Here's holding on to a ray of hope!