You all know about the boom in Galveston cruising over the past decade. But what about that other cruise terminal — Bayport?

Most people have never heard of the Bayport Terminal. It’s located on Galveston Bay, just north of Kemah.

The cruise terminal was built in 2007/08. Despite being closer to Houston, it hasn’t been used for cruises except during a brief period after Hurricane Ike hit Galveston.

Slowly but surely, that will be changing.

So far two cruise lines have contracted to start regular trips out of the Bayport terminal. Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess will begin sailing 7-day trips to Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize beginning in November 2013. Those cruises will run weekly through April 2014.

That will be the only ship sailing from the terminal for the 2013-14 season. But beginning in late 2014, Norwegian Cruise Lines will begin sailing the Norwegian Jewel on 7-day trips. Those weekly sailings will hit Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize as well.

In other words, it will still be awhile before the terminal is seeing a full schedule. And those sailings don’t offer much choice of itineraries. However, as more cruise lines look to profit from the booming Texas cruise market, I expect options to increase. Carnival already sails year-round from Galveston. I think it’s just a matter of time before other lines take that lead given that the Ports of Galveston and Houston offer plenty of space.

A couple of weeks ago, Carnival announced that the Triumph — the ill-fated ship that was stranded in the Gulf of Mexico in February — would have to cancel an additional 10 sailings before it returned to service.

That decision was simply another black-eye on what has been a tough few months for Carnival from a public relations standpoint.

So it begs the question… Continue Reading »

After the public relations nightmare for Carnival, you can’t blame them for taking the time to make sure they get everything right. In this case, however, that means there are going to be a lot of disappointed vacationers.

The Carnival Triumph was supposed to be back in service this April following repairs done after its much-publicized crisis in the Gulf. Now Carnival is pushing that date back to June 3rd.

That means an additional 10 cruises from Galveston are being cancelled. According to Carnival, “Guests on the affected voyages will receive a full refund, reimbursement for non-refundable transportation costs and a 25 percent discount on a future four- to five-day cruise.”

The affected departure dates are:

April 18
April 22
April 27
May 2
May 6
May 11
May 16
May 20
May 25
May 30

All of these cruises are 4 or 5 day trips that sail to Mexico. The Carnival Magic’s itineraries are unchanged.

Are you about to embark on your first cruise? Then listen up…

We’ve rounded up our 10 best dos and don’ts for first-timers. These ideas cover everything from boarding to dining — and everything in between. But they all have one thing in common: We wish we knew about them before we took our first cruise. Continue Reading »

Hey cruise fans, I have a special treat for you today. I’ve been in touch with Danielle from the popular cruising blog CruiseMiss.com.

Danielle recently returned from a trip of a lifetime — a 35-day cruise from the United Kingdom to the Caribbean. She’s been gracious enough to write up a review of her stop in Cozumel. Since this is a port of call for nearly every Galveston cruise, I know you’ll enjoy her firsthand look.

And in the meantime, don’t forget to follow Danielle on her site or on Twitter… Continue Reading »