Galveston plans third cruise terminal, with Royal Caribbean as operator

[Goodtime Cruizin]

24 minutes ago, bilyclub said:

Speaking of distortion. I saw this in the Gulf Coast Departures which has a lot of threads about the terrible rental car situation in Galveston.

 

f you take this option be careful which location you rent from - ours was Budget in Texas City which turned out to be a $50 cab ride from the pier.

 

Well... I guess people just don't know how to do proper research. I just looked it up. I suggest everyone do the same. Because you suggested that $250 is the expected rental car fee, & it's BS. I also looked up the uber fee from Texas City to the terminal... $15. Another savings of $35

 

$250 / day for a car, $50 for a cab = $300  I just saved you enough money for Internet for two, and a Specialty dinner package for two for the week. 

 

You're welcome. 

[ssb]

Commensurate with demand for rental cars with the expanded cruse marketplace , our free enterprise marketplace  rental agencies will take up the slake! The demand is not in Galveston yet. Do not knock City of Galveston and Port of Galveston,  knock the lack of demand of fly ins cruisers. Presently our cruisers are a majority special drive in niche market.

 

SOME PRESENT OPTIONS: 

Galveston Express 

Galveston Limo. 

Super Shuttle.

Action Limo. 

Galveston Cruise Transfers Co. 

Uber. 

Cabs. 

Lyft.

Cruise lines provide transfers between Airports and Terminals 

       only on the same days of cruises. 

 

Galveston In town service with Cabs, Uber, Lyft, hotel in-house transfers , and excellent Galveston Trolleys 

 

Enterprise Car Rentals 

 

     

Edited December 7, 2018 by ssb

[BSocial]

     I’ve come to expect negative postings  to every thread about Galveston Port expansion.  But think about it - to be the 4th largest cruise port in the US,  there are millions of happy cruisers annually.  Cruise lines are continuing to invest in Galveston, and they would not bother without a firmly-entrenched cruise market.   

 

    I get that it takes effort when flying in to Galveston.  I’m very thankful to have this port within driving distance.  And we can all be glad that we DO have a choice of US departures - whether we choose to fly or drive.   

 

     It would be nice if people would be happy for the Galveston cruisers with the news of a new terminal and an Oasis class.   I was happy for cruisers from Miami when their new terminal was announced.   Why do folks want to diminish others’ joy?  

 

Here’s another article.  I hope I am attaching it correctly 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/20031-port-of-galveston-and-royal-caribbean-sign-mou-for-new-cruise-terminal.html

Edited December 7, 2018 by BSocial
Spacing

[John&LaLa]

On 12/5/2018 at 9:14 PM, The Fun Researcher said:

 

She's a wonderful, wonderful ship but I agree.  Getting "long in the tooth" simply because the Liberty has been there so long.

 

Dan

 

Typical.   Pretty sure Freedom was in PC longer.  😉

[John&LaLa]

23 hours ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

Well somebody is cruising out of Galveston... it's the 4th largest Cruise port in the US now... when they add a 3rd terminal and it could jump another notch. I'm not sure about all of the talk of two day minimums on hotels.  I'm sure it happens on traditional busy weekends but it's the same everywhere else too. In fact, in February, we have a two night min in Miami due to the boat show. My point is there are plenty of weekends that this does not occur. Now w/ regards to the rental car agencies....I couldn't tell you. They're too much of a hassle. Rideshare is the new rental car. Uber X is roughly $65 one way from Bush, $35 from Hobby.  

 

Seriously doubt it will jump ahead of PE.  Only reason PC is ahead of PE is the plethora of 3/4 night ships.   That seriously pads the departure numbers

[John&LaLa]

22 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

Once the new terminal is complete, will Royal move all sailings to the new and abandon the old terminal?  Or will it continue to use both?

 

If it's the latter, they might keep Liberty there full time in addition to Oasis-class.

 

No issues running a Saturday and Sunday departure out of 1 terminal.  

[BSocial]

Latest articles indicate Fall 2021 (instead of 2020) for Terminal 3 completion.   Any thoughts on whether Liberty will remain in Galveston until then ?

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, bilyclub said:

I prefer to fly in and rent a car and check out the area when I arrive early for a cruise. I'm paying $40 a day for a one way rental car in FLL this February . That's in the high range for Florida.  Just checked the rental car rate from IAH to Galveston was $250 and this didn't involve a Sunday.  

 

A one day rental from Tampa to Pt Canaveral later this month is $193

[ssb]

5 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

You are comparing apples to oranges.  I'm comparing flying to Florida for a cruise vs flying to Galveston for a cruise.

Florida has its positive attributes  and Galveston has its positive attributes, relative  to everyone in its relative marketplace . It seems to be working successfully for both markets . RCL is aggressively pursuing Galveston for a good reason with its market research . Potentially a 60 year commitment with the options included. 

 

Port Officials of Galveston are also saying a fourth terminal is a real possibility . 

 

RCL CEO and President Bayley is saying
“The deal gives Royal a foothold in the growing market for cruising in the western Gulf of Mexico.”

“We see it as a growth opportunity for our business  . It avoids a lot of guests having to fly to different homeports to do Caribbean cruising”

 

He also said  “the company is investing in its port facilities in Mexico and ports in the Caribbean . 
These new facilities  could bring Royal Caribbean   Oasis Class mega ships to the area ”.

Edited December 7, 2018 by ssb

[Goodtime Cruizin]

48 minutes ago, BSocial said:

     Why do folks want to diminish others’ joy?  

 

 

I don't get it either. It's a odd, strange dynamic. 

[John&LaLa]

5 hours ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

And likewise, the ports in Florida are the most inconvenient to drive to. I mean Texas is centrally located (East/West) while the Florida costs aren't, especially the Miami & Ft. Lauderdale. And the cruises we've been to in Galveston we've met many, many cruisers from out of state that flew in etc. I guess one's perspective on convenience is where one is traveling from. We're in Houston and we're about to spend a half a day of travel (if not more) and about $750 to cruise out of Miami. Such as it is. 

 

It may be centrally located physically, but not in population density

If you look at a 500 mile radius from the port, a decent one day drive, Galveston ranks 13th of the major US cruise ports.

 

Baltimore 110 million

Norfolk 103 million

Bayonne 89 million

NYC 87 million

Charleston 77 million

Mobile 61 million

Jacksonville 58 million

New Orleans 57 million

Los Angeles 49 million

San Diego 48 million

Tampa 45 million

San Francisco 44 million

Galveston 43 million

Pt Canaveral 42 million

Miami 24 million

Seattle 13 million

 

http://www.statsamerica.org/radius/big.aspx

 

I'm sure Oasis will do well in Galveston, and would love to sail from there some day.

 

If I can only figure out how to get there. 😱

 

Just kidding, sailed from Galveston years ago.  Celebrity Galaxy, TA to Rome.

Flew into Bush Intercontinental and took bus to port

 

[Goodtime Cruizin]

45 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Seriously doubt it will jump ahead of PE.  Only reason PC is ahead of PE is the plethora of 3/4 night ships.   That seriously pads the departure numbers

I don't know any of the numbers...so I don't about PC or even PE, but I do know that Houston is now the 4th largest city in the country and it just keeps growing each week, each month, each year. Along w/ DFW, San Antonio, and Austin. The potential customer base is huge for the industry as a whole. I would think that RCL could run a few ships out of Galveston w/o any problems. 4, 5, 7 and 10 day cruises are very doable. If they don't, Carnival will and RCL knows it. 

[John&LaLa]

18 minutes ago, ssb said:

Florida has its positive attributes  and Galveston has its positive attributes, relative  to everyone in its relative marketplace . It seems to be working successfully for both markets . RCL is aggressively pursuing Galveston for a good reason with its market research . Potentially a 60 year commitment with the options included. 

 

Port Officials of Galveston are also saying a fourth terminal is a real possibility . 

 

RCL CEO and President Bayley is saying
“The deal gives Royal a foothold in the growing market for cruising in the western Gulf of Mexico.”

“We see it as a growth opportunity for our business  . It avoids a lot of guests having to fly to different homeports to do Caribbean cruising”

 

He also said  “the company is investing in its port facilities in Mexico and ports in the Caribbean . 
These new facilities  could bring Royal Caribbean   Oasis Class mega ships to the area ”.

 

"could bring" 

[John&LaLa]

7 minutes ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

I don't know any of the numbers...so I don't about PC or even PE, but I do know that Houston is now the 4th largest city in the country and it just keeps growing each week, each month, each year. Along w/ DFW, San Antonio, and Austin. The potential customer base is huge for the industry as a whole. I would think that RCL could run a few ships out of Galveston w/o any problems. 4, 5, 7 and 10 day cruises are very doable. If they don't, Carnival will and RCL knows it. 

 

Numbers are your friend.

Miami has around 5 million annual departures, PC around 4.5 million, and PE around 4 million. 

Galveston is just under 2 million, so it may be underserved. I guess Royal thinks so.  

 

My point is they have a long way to catch the big 3

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

 ...

My point is they have a long way to catch the big 3

 

I don't think Galveston cares much.  My gut feel (not based on any real numbers) was that while the Florida ports actively try to attract the cruise business, Galveston sorta just tolerates it.

[molsonschooner]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Typical.   Pretty sure Freedom was in PC longer.  😉

I think so too. It just seems like Liberty has only been in Galveston for about 3 years.

[John&LaLa]

2 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I don't think Galveston cares much.  My gut feel (not based on any real numbers) was that while the Florida ports actively try to attract the cruise business, Galveston sorta just tolerates it.

 

Um, then why invest 50-100 million in a new terminal?  I doubt Royal is paying the whole bill

[Clarea]

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

Um, then why invest 50-100 million in a new terminal?  I doubt Royal is paying the whole bill

 

We shall see.  I'm curious if the infrastructure improvements come too.

[John&LaLa]

3 minutes ago, molsonschooner said:

I think so too. It just seems like Liberty has only been in Galveston for about 3 years.

 

I think Freedom was in PC 7-8 years

[Clarea]

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

I think Freedom was in PC 7-8 years

 

And Mariner 6 years before that.

[John&LaLa]

Just now, Host Clarea said:

 

We shall see.  I'm curious if the infrastructure improvements come too.

 

The new Carnival deal in PC has Carnival paying 50 million, but not up front.  Fees from passengers.  That's probably not a third of the cost. 

[John&LaLa]

2 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

And Mariner 6 years before that.

 

Maybe one of the Voyagers will get Amped for the 5/5/4 market in Galveston.

 

That could happen before the 5th Oasis is ready

Edited December 7, 2018 by John&LaLa

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Maybe one of the Voyagers will get Amped for the 5/5/4 market in Galveston.

 

That could happen before the 5th Oasis is ready

 

Yep, maybe Voyager or Explorer.  I think the other 3 are pretty well set.

[John&LaLa]

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Yep, maybe Voyager or Explorer.  I think the other 3 are pretty well set.

Can you get to Coco Cay from Galveston on a 4 day cruise?  Or even a 5.🤔

[Clarea]

6 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Can you get to Coco Cay from Galveston on a 4 day cruise?  Or even a 5.🤔

 

I think it would be easier to get to Labadee.