For the past 10+ years, Carnival has been the 800-pound gorilla in Galveston cruising. That presence in the port is getting a little stronger. The cruise line just announced that starting in 2016, it will reposition the Carnival Breeze and the Carnival Liberty to Galveston, replacing the Magic and Triumph.

You’ll remember that Carnival just positioned the Carnival Freedom to Galveston, making it the third ship from the cruise line to sail from the port. Bringing the Freedom was big news. Its capacity means roughly 3,000 more passengers can sail from the Port of Galveston at any one time.

But in cruising, it’s all about adding something new and fresh to get your most loyal cruisers back on the ship. The Freedom was a great move in that regard. Repositioning the Breeze and the Liberty is even better.

Carnival Magic and Carnival Triumph have sailed from Galveston for years. And while the Magic is one of the fleet’s newest ships (launched in 2011), the Triumph has been one of the most troubled cruise liners. In fact, after the problems it faced in being stranded a couple of years ago, many people refused to set foot on the ship.

The Breeze and Liberty should change some of that, while offering some new features for Galveston cruisers. As explained in a recent press release from Carnival:

“Carnival Breeze offers such innovations as a multi-dimensional cinema experience called Thrill Theater, Bonsai Sushi full-service Asian restaurant and WaterWorks highlighted by a 312-foot-long slide, while Carnival Liberty offers a classic American steakhouse, the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar and a 14,500-square-foot spa.”

When all three ships are in place in late 2016, they are expected to carry 600,000 passengers annually from Galveston — roughly the population of Las Vegas.

Cruisers can expect to see the Liberty in port starting March 2016. The Breeze will arrive December 2016.

Photo: James Willamor

President Obama made a surprise announcement when he revealed plans for the United States to normalize relations with Cuba.

The island nation just 90 miles from U.S. borders has long been romanticized in American culture. Known for delicious rum, fine cigars, beautiful women, and antique cars, many Americans have longed to travel to explore Cuba.

But since the 1960s, Cuba has been one of the few places on the planet where it was all but impossible for most Americans to visit. Now, with relations seemingly getting better, does that mean you could see Havana as a stop on Galveston cruise itineraries?

First things first is to understand that many laws and regulations put in place in the past 50-plus years will have to be changed. Just because the President makes a statement doesn’t automatically make something the law of the land.

According to law firm Holland & Knight, however, one of the restrictions that will likely be lifted concerns ships stopping to port in Cuba:

“The restriction on foreign flag vessels calling on the U.S. if they have called in Cuba in the last 180 days will be modified in the case of vessels that called on Cuba and engaged in certain “humanitarian” trade. It is not expected that this restriction will be lifted on cruise ships in the short term, however, it is possible if there is pressure from the cruise lines.”

As well, U.S. citizens are still prohibited from most purchases in Cuba, which will have to be adjusted before American cruise passengers could reasonably expect to visit the island:

“U.S. citizens, permanent residents, companies organized under the laws of the U.S. (and their foreign subsidiaries), and persons or entities located in the U.S. are still largely prohibited from engaging directly or indirectly in any transactions with Cuba, unless such transactions fall within a general or special License.”

In short, don’t expect to lounge on Cuban beaches this summer. But we wouldn’t be surprised if in the next 5-10 years there are some cruises that begin traveling to the country as the rules are changed.

And frankly, Galveston would be an ideal port for trips to Havana/Cuba. Havana is just about 900 miles from the Texas coast — only 100 more miles than Cozumel. It is easily within sailing distance for a 7-day cruise.

Add to that the fact that competition for cruising dollars is heating up in Texas. Between Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess, and Norwegian, cruisers have a wide choice of which line to sail. That means the cruise lines will look for any way possible to differentiate themselves — including being the first to add exotic Cuban ports to their itineraries.

We’re excited about the possibility of opening up Cuba to American vacationers. We know it won’t happen overnight, but it’s likely that Galveston will be one of the first ports to service the area.

Sailing on a Royal Caribbean cruise in the near future? Interested in knowing just how much it will cost to have an umbrella drink while relaxing by the pool? We were able to snag pictures of the pool bar menus on a recent trip and have posted them here to give you a better idea of what to expect.

Take a look:

Yes, those figures are right. The cheapest beer is $4.75. Keep in mind that all prices will also have another 15% added as an automatic gratuity. No one ever said it was cheap to drink in paradise.

Note: The article below originally appeared on our sister site, FloridaCruiseTips.com

In today’s world, humans have made day-to-day life relatively passive. Mishaps, unplanned events, or other hurdles have been systematically removed from most of our lives.

There is one area, however, where man will never have full control — the sea and the weather.

And with cruise ports dotting the coast, the big weather concern is a hurricane. So what actually happens if there is a hurricane that impacts your cruise?

First, the likelihood of you ever seeing a hurricane while on a cruise is very, very small. Thanks to radar and advance weather reports, the ships have plenty of time to avoid a major storm. So if you are sailing in the middle of the Caribbean and a storm is nearby, then the ship will sail in a direction that avoids the trouble altogether.

Now, avoiding the storm may mean that your cruise itinerary is adjusted. The cruise line may decide that in order to keep the ship and passengers safe, it won’t be able to port. Sometimes a port will simply be scratched altogether (meaning another day at sea) or the cruise line will replace it with another port.

But what if the hurricane is bearing down on your port of departure in the United States? Or what if it hits your home port while your ship is on your cruise?

In that case, there are several factors that will decide what the cruise line will do.

A major hurricane bearing down on a home port, even if it is several days away, may result in a cancellation of the cruise (and a refund of your money or have the fare apply to a future cruise). After all, if the hurricane destroys the port infrastructure while the cruise ship is gone, then the question of unloading passengers becomes a logistical nightmare.

If the storm isn’t as big a threat or hits on what would be the embarkation day, then it’s possible that the cruise line may decide to delay boarding, shorten the cruise, and refund a pro-rated amount to passengers.

What’s most important is to keep in touch with the cruise line if you think a hurricane may disrupt your trip. The cruise lines will do their best to keep in constant contact with passengers regarding the situation.

If you’ve followed the Galveston cruising scene for any time at all, then you know that one of the biggest drawbacks in the variety of destinations.

Given the port’s location on the Gulf, a 7-day cruise can only go so far before it has to start the return trip. That means most of them go to the western Caribbean, stop in Cozumel, and then head back to Galveston.

Carnival is adding a little variety, and in the process, differentiating itself from the other cruise lines in the area.

According to USA Today, Carnival has just announced a couple of new itineraries scheduled for October 2015 and January 2016 for the Carnival Triumph. The trips are one-way cruises from Galveston to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The first trip will be an 11-day sailing with stops in Grand Cayman, Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Martinique and St. Maarten. Most of these ports (except for Grand Cayman) aren’t served by any cruise line from the Galveston area.

What’s most exciting is that once this cruise reaches San Juan, it will then depart on a 10-day trip to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Antigua, Grand Turk, and the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay before returning to Galveston.

In other words, passengers will be able to cruise these itineraries back-to-back, for a 21-day mega cruise that begins and ends in Galveston. Or they can sail a shorter 11-day trip to San Juan and fly back to Texas.

Given that 11 days (or 21 days) is too long a trip for most families to take, we don’t expect Carnival to make this trip a permanent fixture. But it is definitely exciting to see varied itineraries coming to Galveston… and it’s one more sign that the port is turning into a world-class cruising spot.