Sailing out of Houston

[ne1travel]

We have sailed twice, both with Princess out of Ft Lauderdale. There are some nice itineraries and prices out of Houston for the Western Caribbean that we are interested in. Have read problems with fog out of there in the past, just wondering the experiences of others out of Houston....hotels nearby, cab ride in, proximity to airport, etc. Would you sail out of there again?

Thanks in advance.

[JimmyVWine]

Boy. That's a tough one. All things being equal, I would not sail out of "Houston". Not easy or cheap to get to. Nothing in the area. Fog issues. Ugly sailaway through petrochemical alley. That said, the only way to visit Belize and Roatan right now is by way of Houston. Having already done that itinerary, I can cross Houston off my list. But it is a great itinerary, and if you want to visit the Mayan world on a Princess cruise ship, you don't have much of a choice except to suck it up and do it.

[JF - retired RRT]

We did Houston last year. We were on the "famous" Noro/fog cruise. Missed Belize:(. But, in spite of that, would go again when the time is right.

We drove there and stayed at the Comfort Inn that is maybe a mile from the port (free shuttle). The port is very nicely laid out and didn't notice the "petrochemical" alley - we were on a cruise!!

The 2 ports we made it to were wonderful, some of our favorites.

Stuff can happen on any cruise: Noro, fog, high seas, hurricanes, broken ship engine. Who knows?

Check out the North American Home Ports forum here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414 to see what others have to say about Houston and find a hotel that would work for you.

An easy way to do it would be to take Princess Transfer with hotel.

Have fun!

[Princess Patches]

You can do most of the Houston itinerary from Florida. You can visit Roatan and Cozumel (but not Belize) on two Princess ships from Fort Lauderdale this season. Next season you will also be able to visit Costa Maya in addition to Roatan and Cozumel (but again not Belize) from Florida if you are interested in Mayan ruins but wish to avoid the port at Houston.

[arizonaperson]

We have sailed twice, both with Princess out of Ft Lauderdale. There are some nice itineraries and prices out of Houston for the Western Caribbean that we are interested in. Have read problems with fog out of there in the past, just wondering the experiences of others out of Houston....hotels nearby, cab ride in, proximity to airport, etc. Would you sail out of there again?

Thanks in advance.

 

I have a pretty detailed review from November 2013 under the member reviews(arizonaperson) from Houston on the Caribbean Princess,see if you can find it. I believe it answers all your questions.

We stayed at The Drury Hotel near Hobby airport,loved the location and complimentary transportation to and from the airport.(we did not have a car-flew in day before cruise) Drury has complimentary night time "dinner" and drinks and breakfast in the am. We took the Princess transfer bus from the airport to the port-was very easy.

Edited November 10, 2014 by arizonaperson

[ChiefBoats]

We are booked on a Thanksgiving week cruise out of Houston (Bayport) and will book one for this time next year . Last year we sailed in November out of Houston and had no problems. There are a number of good hotels in the area both at Bush International Airport and Hobby (the closest to the terminal). Hobby is the closest at about 20 minutes from the terminal. Bush International is about 50 minutes. If you purchase Princess transfers they will get you to and from the terminal with out much trouble. If you come in a day or two early there are a number of places to see and good food establishments. If you are staying on the south side of town you are only about 30- 40 minutes (traffic dependent) to Galveston and the beaches. Please don't base your decision on one review of an area. We have lived in the area for 50 plus years and we fell. That we have just a much to offer as any of the other areas.

________________________

Island Princess 2008 Alaska

Island Princess 2009 Alaska

Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska

Golden Princess 2011 Alaska

Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal

Star Princess 2012 Alaska

Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean

Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean

Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean

Royal Princess 2014 New England

_____________________

Future Cruises

Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean

Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska

[phantomII]

We went out of Houston last thanksgiving on the CB. Houston has the best parking and the best terminal I have ever been in. However, never again. The channel to the gulf is too narrow and therefore the fog will sock you in. We left a day late and missed Belize and Roatan. They did substitute Costa Maya in so we had Cozumel and Costa Maya for ports. It was actually the worst cruise we have ever been on just because of the Houston channel and fog. This area easily fogs in during Nov and Dec from previous experience. The fog hits Galveston too but they can get out to the gulf a lot easier.

[MarkSeattle]

Outside of totally inaccurate info from one of the posters who has not sailed out of Houston and apparently doesn't realize Houston is a major airline hub... The info is pretty fair.

 

I sailed last year, no delays or issues, and am sailing again next month. The port building is very good, close by parking is abundant, plenty of stuff to do nearby in Kemah, Seabrook, the NASA area, etc. there is nothing directly around the port though.

 

My hope is that some of the fog issues last year were compounded by new harbormasters, new ship and captains, and as the port and cruise lines have more experience now, that they'll safely be able to deal with conditions that caused delays last year. But maybe that's just wishful thinking... The same itinerary is available on RC out of Galveston if that's a major concern although they had some weather delays last year too, and there is lots to do on The Strand directly adjacent to the port.

[AKman2495]

We did a B2B out of Houston a year ago First 4 days stopping in Progresso and then 7 days stopping in Belize, Cozumel and Roatan.

 

We sailed out with no problem on the first cruise. Has a nice cruise and sailed back into Houston with no problem. We stayed on the ship (after the usual immigration check) and sailed out again with no problem. We had a great cruise and hit all the ports. On the last day we got up and had breakfast in a thick fog. I mean you could not see 20 feet in any direction. The ship basically anchored in the channel for over 3 hours before the fog lifted and we could dock. We docked right about 11:30 am. Now we had a later flight so, there was no problem for us. But a lot of passengers were getting frantic as we just sat there.

 

The lesson is that Houston is not a bad place to sail from. Just make sure you book a letter flight (something after 3 pm) and you will have no worries.

Edited November 10, 2014 by AKman2495

[Princess Patches]

The major issue with this port for those of us flying into the area is the long distance from either major airport to the port. We really wanted to do this trip last year, but with 9 family members flying in we figured it would cost about $200-300 each way to transport all of us to and from the airport. The long, pricey transfer from the airports was cost prohibitive for us.

 

As I recall, it was supposed to be about an hour drive or more from either Houston airport. The Fort Lauderdale transfer between port and airport is so much cheaper and easier. You can see all of the Houston ports except Belize by sailing from Fort Lauderdale. The Galveston port is best for people who can drive to it.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Princess Patches

[JimAOk1945]

We haven't cruised out of Houston yet, but are considering it for a future cruise. However, we have cruised out of Galveston several times.

 

We have cruised out of Galveston at different times of the year. I guess we were just lucky and never had a weather delay.

 

If the OP is considering Galveston cruises, information about hotels, etc., may be found at the link below.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414

 

We did the itinerary the OP is inquiring about on RC and really enjoyed it. My wife's picture slide show may be viewed at the link below.

 

Galveston Cruise ~ Belize, Costa Mayan, Roatan, and Cozumel

 

 

Happy cruising!

 

[Mekamax]

Houston is much closer to the airports than Galveston especially Hobby. Clear Lake, Kemah with the Kemah Boardwalk and NASA are all with 15-20 min of the port. The port is small and easy to get to and not crowded like some larger ones. It is a more industrial area and we find that fascinating - much better than looking at 8 other cruise ships and 20,000 other people cruising out with you. The ship channel allows you to sail past many ships and see more dolphins. We prefer it over Galveston. It is all in your perspective. As for fog last year was a bad year for fog and weird weather and since it was the first year Princess was here many think that is how it is when it really isn't. Mainly fog is in Jan and Feb but last year it was from November all through March. Drastic weather variations from warm to cold. Hope this year will be much better. But last year is NOT the norm. The fog has to hit too on the days the ship is coming and going. Galveston did get fogged in a few times last year on Sunday that effected ships but not Princess as it sailed on Saturday.

[Bimmer09]

We have sailed twice, both with Princess out of Ft Lauderdale. There are some nice itineraries and prices out of Houston for the Western Caribbean that we are interested in. Have read problems with fog out of there in the past, just wondering the experiences of others out of Houston....hotels nearby, cab ride in, proximity to airport, etc. Would you sail out of there again?

Thanks in advance.

 

If you have the time I wrote a review of the Caribbean Princess sailing last January that had some issues. It may answer some questions for you.

 

Norris

[CSloan]

The major issue with this port for those of us flying into the area is the long distance from either major airport to the port. We really wanted to do this trip last year, but with 9 family members flying in we figured it would cost about $200-300 each way to transport all of us to and from the airport. The long, pricey transfer from the airports was cost prohibitive for us.

 

As I recall, it was supposed to be about an hour drive or more from either Houston airport. The Fort Lauderdale transfer between port and airport is so much cheaper and easier. You can see all of the Houston ports except Belize by sailing from Fort Lauderdale. The Galveston port is best for people who can drive to it.

 

We're arriving in Houston tomorrow, at IAH. Using the Princess xfers to the ship, it's costing $48 for both of us to get from the airport to the ship. For 9 people, I wonder if it would be cheaper to use a car service?

Edited November 10, 2014 by CSloan

[RocketMan275]

We cruised out of Houston last Spring. They did have some fog and noro issues there last year. Our cruise was delayed due to a deep cleaning. No noro issues on our cruise. The deep clean did delay departure until seven PM. No big deal. Great cruise. We plan on alternating our of Florida with cruises from Houston.

 

Our flights last year were less than half what we would have paid to go to Florida. We also found a non-stop which got us there in an hour and a half. we would have spent more time on the ground in Atlanta than that. Of course, it may vary for you.

[DebJ14]

We had a fog delayed cruise in mid December 2013 on the CB. Actually, fog problems on both ends. The first sea day it was darn cold, it was too cool in Cozumel to go to the beach, it rained all day in Roatan and the sea days back were too cool to sit by the pool. We had one really nice day in Belize. All that said, we are going again in January on the Emerald. "Why." one might ask? Because we had a great time on the ship. The food was fine and the service was great. Entertainment was good too.

We booked our January sailing specifically because it is going to Costa Maya. We love Cozumel and have beach reservations, but if the weather is lousy we will have a great time downtown. We are hoping for great weather in Costa Maya for our day at Almaplena. We don't plan to get off in Belize. Frankly, if the ship never leaves the dock we will be OK with it. At least we won't be at work and I won't have to cook, clean or do laundry for a week. Works for me. FYI we live an hour from the port.

[ne1travel]

Thanks for all the great responses. I will take a look at the reviews some of you have offered. It has been greatly appreciated.

[caribill]

We sailed from Houston in February.

 

Great weather all the way except the last full sea day sailing back when it was windy and ccol with a little rain.

 

No fog on the day we left or the day we returned.

 

Summary of the weather issue: It can be good or it can be bad.

 

As others have pointed out, the parking if you have your own car is only 200 feet or less (depending on where you are in the lot) from the terminal which is modern and new. Immigration/customs was very quick when we returned.

 

Within six miles of the port are a number of hotels. Particular nice is the Kemah Boardwalk area which a number of restaurants and located within a mile of Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreen's and Spec's liquor store if you need any supplies.

 

The port is not convenient to either IAH or HOU. SuperShuttle can provide a transfer. Or as others have done, stay at an airport hotel and take the Princess xfer.

 

(And Galveston is even further away from both airports and has a lack of real good xfer options other than what a cruise line offers.)

[azbirdmom]

We went over New Year's and had perfect weather. No fog, no noro, and it was sunny and downright hot in Belize, Cozumel, and Roatan. It was a great cruise and we're doing it again in February. Weather can change on any cruise and in any year, some cities can be hit unusually hard. Hopefully Houston is done with that and the cruises there this year will go off without a hitch.

[WisCruiser2]

We did Houston last year. We were on the "famous" Noro/fog cruise. Missed Belize:(. But, in spite of that, would go again when the time is right.

We drove there and stayed at the Comfort Inn that is maybe a mile from the port (free shuttle). The port is very nicely laid out and didn't notice the "petrochemical" alley - we were on a cruise!!

The 2 ports we made it to were wonderful, some of our favorites.

Stuff can happen on any cruise: Noro, fog, high seas, hurricanes, broken ship engine. Who knows?

Check out the North American Home Ports forum here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414 to see what others have to say about Houston and find a hotel that would work for you.

An easy way to do it would be to take Princess Transfer with hotel.

Have fun!

 

We were also on this one (Hi, Jeanette!). We enjoyed Cozumel & Roatan, disappointed to miss Belize but made the best of it (we are Midwesterners, after all). We flew from Milwaukee to Hobby the day before, stayed at a hotel near the airport & took the Princess shuttle the next day. Met lots of great people & had a good time on the ship! That being said, don't think we'd go out of Houston again, decided we prefer Ft. Lauderdale as a departure port. Have a good cruise wherever you go!

[PenguinLife]

We are sailing out of Houston in about 18 hours on a short 5 day cruise, we did the Roatan, Belize, Cozumel in 2013 before princess switched from Galveston to the new port of Houston. In my experience with the area, fog is hit or miss, mostly Jan-Feb, there is not much around the new terminal, however the Kemah boardwalk and its associated lodging is only about 8 miles south right down Hwy 146, so 10-15 minutes away. For those worrying about airport transport costs for larger groups supper shuttle offers a private van option (either 7 or 10 passenger sizes) for $100-$175 each way depending on which airport you fly into (IAH or Hobby). This is our local port about 150 miles from home, so I can't comment about airport transportation too much.

[brentlym]

I'd sail out of Houston in a heartbeat. Although I live in Dallas, the drive is very easy and can be easily done same day. I wouldn't hesitate flying into Hobby, if needed, and cabbing it to a hotel nearby the port and again he next morning. While Houston has its drawbacks to some, I wouldn't hesitate going again. I, like some others, am just happy to be boarding a ship no matter where it goes (or doesn't as some experienced last season). :D

[Times Prince]

We've taken Western Caribbean cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale, Galveston, Houston, and even New York.

 

Weather can happen at any port - we've missed Cozumel twice, and had a long fog delay going into Galveston for disembarkation. Otherwise we have had good experiences.

 

Last year we sailed into Houston (November 2013 - no problem), and both out of and back into Houston Bayport (March 2014) in the inaugural year of Princess at the Houston Bayport terminal. No problem for us at all, despite some previous cruises in 2014 having either fog delays or closed channel (barges collided - a rare event).

 

We used a Princess transfer to get to IAH on that first trip, and it was not by any means an arduous trip, despite it being a first for the bus driver, too, who couldn't find where to drop us off.

 

We are booked again for a Princess cruise out of Houston Bayport in a couple of weeks. Does that answer your question?

Edited November 11, 2014 by Times Prince

[caribill]

 

We used a Princess transfer to get to IAH on that first trip, and it was not by any means an arduous trip, despite it being a first for the bus driver, too, who couldn't find where to drop us off.

 

 

I have never figured out why the contracted bus drivers (and not just in Houston) have no idea how to properly bring passengers to the right place at a destination.

[CasualGeek]

Been out of Galveston many times, mostly during December, never had a fog problem. Will be going out of the Bay Port terminal this December. I have a sailboat down around Kemah that I sail on Galveston Bay, We watch the cruise ships at the Bay Port terminal all the time. While there is an chance of fog, it is not very common.