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Galveston & the Oasis Class


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Apparently, the City of Galveston & State of Texas has approved funds to expand the Galveston Port. The thought, this will attract RCCL desire to move an Oasis Class ship there, some time after construction on the expansion is complete...approx. 2021. Now, I read a few months ago that Oasis OTS will be porting in Europe when it come out of drydock. Symphony OTS new home is obvious Port of Miami & Harmony OTS will be moving to Port Canaveral in May, I believe. So that leave me to believe, if there is any validity to a possible Oasis Class ship, porting out of Galveston, it would be Allure OTS....probably after it emerge from it's schedule drydock in late 2020. I am fully aware that a 5th Oasis Class ship is set to debut sometime in 2021; but, I can't imagine RCCL would move a newly built ship to Galveston Port over what would soon be an Oasis-less Class Port of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Is there any concrete information on this possibility?

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I receive comp cruise offers once a month from the casino revenue/marketing folks and I have been noticing that Liberty seems to be very prominent in the comp cruise category.  Matter of fact, we have a comp cruise coming up on Liberty in August.  Additionally, the OS on Liberty are significantly cheaper than any of the other OS that I have priced lately including an OS on Freedom out of San Juan (traditionally, cruises out of SJ are cheaper b/c the airfare is so expensive to get there).

All of these bread crumbs have me wondering if Galveston can really support an O class ship.  It seem (to me, at least) that they are heavily discounting the rooms out of Galveston now.  What would happen if they increase capacity even more.  Just an observation...

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1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I receive comp cruise offers once a month from the casino revenue/marketing folks and I have been noticing that Liberty seems to be very prominent in the comp cruise category.  Matter of fact, we have a comp cruise coming up on Liberty in August.  Additionally, the OS on Liberty are significantly cheaper than any of the other OS that I have priced lately including an OS on Freedom out of San Juan (traditionally, cruises out of SJ are cheaper b/c the airfare is so expensive to get there).

All of these bread crumbs have me wondering if Galveston can really support an O class ship.  It seem (to me, at least) that they are heavily discounting the rooms out of Galveston now.  What would happen if they increase capacity even more.  Just an observation...

Fourth busiest US cruise port.  When you leave the same ship in place for too long bad things happen.

Carnival has moved a number of ships in and out since Libery had been glued to Galveston.  Don't get me wrong, Liberty is a great ship, but briefly adding Vision or Enchantment doesn't come close to Carnival's movement and rotation of ships into TX, including it's largest ships.  

Liberty has been doing the same two itineraries (for the most part) for a dog's age.  Yawn.  Snooze.  Even Baltimore itineraries get some variety.  5, 7, 9, 12 Southern, Bermuda, Bahamas.  It's pretty telling when some of Grandeur's itineraries look more enticing than a Freedom class ship in TX.  

It was either give up on the fourth largest cruise port in the US or shake it up and try to take on the competition.

 

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I live near Houston, TX and in 100 days I will be driving to Miami to take the Symphony. I would much prefer to drive to Galveston but, as stated above, Royal Caribbean has very little variety of cruise itineraries. How about the Panama Canal, South America, Southern Caribbean or Key West? Just something different.

 

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53 minutes ago, Todd W said:

Galveston can handle it.  while not as big as RC Oasis class,  Breeze always seems to be filled up and later this year (or maybe it's moved already) Vista will be porting out of Galveston also

I agree, but they do need to consider shaking the itineraries up, I love Liberty and will keep sailing her out of Galveston as long as she is there but mostly because I have promised all my grandchildren that I will take them on a cruise when they turn 10, I did the first one last year, I still have 4 more to go, I choose Galveston because I can make the drive in 9 hours.

My oldest grandson that I took this year informed me that I couldn't take his brothers on any ship bigger than Liberty, sibling rivalry at it's best.

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Just now, JasonL said:

Galveston could use some variety of ports, but if they got an Oasis class I might YOLO book it just to hang on the ship all week.

+1, I have already started a tradition in the 3-4 cruises I have had out of Galveston, we go down a day early and always hang out in the downtown port area the night before and have dinner at one of the seafood restaurants, I haven't been out of Port Canaveral since 2012 but looking at the map of the port, it looks like I'll enjoy it the same.

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58 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

 looking at the map of the port, it looks like I'll enjoy it the same.

As far as "the night before the cruise" is concerned, Port Canaveral is by FAR my favorite port.  I love the seafood restaurants right there at the port.  We have such a workable scenario with Orlando airport/Hertz rental/Residence Inn that it is a carefree and fun trip.

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19 hours ago, SolariumSnoozer said:

I've used Avis to get from the airport to Port Canaveral with great success, so you might compare there rates as well

The reason to use Hertz is not for the price.  I never EVER use Hertz any other time (we are both Executive with National).  The reason to use Hertz for this trip is b/c the Hertz office and the Residence Inn share a parking lot.  You can rent the car at the airport (no one-way penalty), drive the rental car all day long and as much into the night as you want to, drop off the car at the Hertz office and drop the keys in the night drop, and walk a few steps to the hotel for the night.  The hotel offers a shuttle to the terminal the next day.  It is a very easy way to do the drive/commute from Orlando airport to the cruise terminal and enjoy a day and an evening at Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, theme parks or whatever you want to do.

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On 2/6/2019 at 5:25 AM, kontraxed said:

I live near Houston, TX and in 100 days I will be driving to Miami to take the Symphony. I would much prefer to drive to Galveston but, as stated above, Royal Caribbean has very little variety of cruise itineraries. How about the Panama Canal, South America, Southern Caribbean or Key West? Just something different.

How about Cuba?

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I hear they are trying to bring Perfect Day into Galveston itineraries. 

If Vision out of NOLA can do Key West, Nassau and Cococay you would think they could do the same out of Galveston.  Two sea days in that itinerary are done at ~12 knots to burn some time off.    

I just booked a Liberty cruise in April.  Airfare much cheaper than Florida (from Colorado) $260 round trip on Southwest.   Add an Oasis class ship into TX, some itinerary spice and I'd rather fly to Hobby than Florida.  

The Texas market has the potential to extend well beyond the Texas borders.  Folks on Vision in January out of NOLA were driving vast distances from across the mid-west to sail her.  With Royal lacking any West coast presence (beyond Alaska cruises) an Oasis class ship in Galveston has a pretty good sized market to draw from.   

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Just now, Zambia-Zaire said:

http://portofgalveston.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=79

 

Key phrase: "safely accommodate the cruise line’s largest vessels"

Or perhaps it's newest one... Odyssey!  One can only hope...  

Actually a cold weather ship makes sense in winter out of Galveston.  I'm not saying an OA class isn't coming, but I think Odyssey would be cool for Galveston and very unique.  Bring OA at a later date.    

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Hmmm....I would think they would want it(a new Quantum Class Odyssey OTS) to port out of Ft Lauderdale, versus Galveston, since no ship of that class has ever ported out of Florida & the possible major hole in late 2020 forward, for a 164,000t or greater ship from that port, when Allure emerge from drydock late that year, first of 2021. Either way it would be wonderful news to have a Quantum or Oasis Class ship out of Galveston. I agree with some who have said, the itinerary needs to expand & have some variety...and not just for those possible ships.

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I'm sure you are correct, just wishful thinking.  Although an enclosed solarium is going to be hot in South FL.  Granted Texas isn't cool in the summer either.  

I'm hoping they rotate more ships into Galveston with the new pier.  Sticking with one 'anchor' ship for so many years in a row will drive people to look elsewhere. 

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On 2/7/2019 at 7:51 PM, twangster said:

The Texas market has the potential to extend well beyond the Texas borders. 

We were on Liberty July 2019, we meet people from Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado. Some drove, some flew.

But I agree, bigger ships, more diversity in itineraries means more cruisers for Galveston.

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On ‎2‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 6:11 PM, twangster said:

The good news is that by 2021 all Oasis class will be great!  It really won't matter which one.  

This is exactly what I was thinking. After seeing what they did with Mariner I would almost be more excited to try out an "Amped" Oasis or Allure than Symphony. I really want to try out the Bamboo Room so I am hoping whatever ship lands in Galveston has that and maybe a Playmakers.

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On ‎2‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 10:43 PM, twangster said:

Carnival has moved a number of ships in and out since Libery had been glued to Galveston.  Don't get me wrong, Liberty is a great ship, but briefly adding Vision or Enchantment doesn't come close to Carnival's movement and rotation of ships into TX, including it's largest ships.  

This is exactly what led us to try out Carnival. While we loved Liberty we just like to try out different ships since we only cruise once a year. Although I didn't even particularly love the Carnival Breeze they have now brought in the Vista which is their 2nd best ship and it was a little enticing. Thankfully this announcement of the Oasis class coming in has completely squashed that interest in the Vista and I know now that I will always be sailing Royal Caribbean out of Galveston.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Currently, Royal is offering only short cruises out of Galveston (4-5-7 days).  We would love to see longer itineraries that could perhaps reach So America.  We have done back to back several times on the Liberty, but as everyone has said - that gets tiresome - to go to the same ports.  We have flown to Florida to get longer cruises.  The cost of the airfare would pay for another week on the ship out of Galveston.  

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47 minutes ago, ranchlady403 said:

Currently, Royal is offering only short cruises out of Galveston (4-5-7 days).  We would love to see longer itineraries that could perhaps reach So America.  We have done back to back several times on the Liberty, but as everyone has said - that gets tiresome - to go to the same ports.  We have flown to Florida to get longer cruises.  The cost of the airfare would pay for another week on the ship out of Galveston.  

Unfortunately Royal doesn’t currently have any cruises to South America. Celebrity and Princess have most of the market there sprinkled with an occasional Holland America. But I would love to them do more in South America. They used to do Brazil but not right now 

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I have never done a back2back; yet alone, even consider such a compelling thing. However, unless the itinerary is different on the 2nd leg of a B2B, than yes, I certainly agree, what would be the enjoyment of that, unless you are one of those, that either just like the ship or just desire to completely unplug & relax, regardless of itinerary.

 

Yet, one thing I do ponder...why don't any cruise line have cross-port itinerary? For an example: porting out of Galveston, include stops in New Orleans or Mobile or even Tampa(not all on the same itinerary; but rotate between, if stops was allowed), before heading to Progresso, Cozumel, Belize, etc. I suspect that would increase more interest & variety.

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On 2/23/2019 at 12:15 PM, Zambia-Zaire said:

Yet, one thing I do ponder...why don't any cruise line have cross-port itinerary? For an example: porting out of Galveston, include stops in New Orleans or Mobile or even Tampa(not all on the same itinerary; but rotate between, if stops was allowed), before heading to Progresso, Cozumel, Belize, etc. I suspect that would increase more interest & variety.

2

Maybe i 'm not understanding your question but if I am, they are out there, you just need to look harder.  I've seen Royal sailings out of NJ that port in Florida before sailing further to the Caribbean.   Also some San Diego departures stop at San Franciso as well as Seattle before finishing up in BC.   I would venture to say all lines do something similar

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On 2/23/2019 at 11:15 AM, Zambia-Zaire said:

Yet, one thing I do ponder...why don't any cruise line have cross-port itinerary? For an example: porting out of Galveston, include stops in New Orleans or Mobile or even Tampa(not all on the same itinerary; but rotate between, if stops was allowed), before heading to Progresso, Cozumel, Belize, etc. I suspect that would increase more interest & variety.

Your example includes some ports with "challenges".  Tampa requires a 3-4 hour transit from the pilot station through Tampa Bay to reach the port.  There is also a nasty bridge that limits the port to Radiance class and smaller.  Losing 4 hours inbound and 4 hours outbound would make for a short day in port.  New Orleans is even worse.  The transit up the Mississippi River takes 8+ hours.  Mobile isn't a port for Royal.  They have no contracts in place for the dock workers or terminal access.  It's also limited to smaller ships. 

The last factor is cruise marketability.  Who wants to board a ship and cruise to the state next door or two over?  Some may, most don't.  They want Caribbean ports.  The Gulf is so big if you don't speed directly South it becomes difficult to include an international stop on the itinerary to make the cruise legal per US law.  Going "sideways" in the Gulf makes it very hard to reach another country without it becoming a much longer cruise.

When Vision of out NOLA dropped CocoCay and swapped in Miami thousands complained.  They didn't want to go there, they wanted Bahamas.  

For ships out of the greater NYC area that stop in Orlando (Cape Canaveral) at least it's warmer and many states away.  You feel like you went on a vacation and it's Florida.  

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That's interesting it take thst amount of time to transverse the New Orleans port...that is challenging.

 

As far as visiting NO from Galveston, I would disagree. Although the majority of cruisers cruising out of Galveston are from the Great State of Texas, a stop in NO would be just as enjoyable as going to Freeport, Progresso, or Costa Maya. It's certainly more familiar to cruiser & more American. They wouldn't be push to buy, Bourbon St. is a popular destination, as well as the unique clubs, bars, and cuisine. I think if what you say is true about the challenges & time at port, probably makes it less viable for cruise lines to make NO a "port of call" than just because it's next door. Still a number cruisers cruising out of Galveston are not from Texas or come from western & central part of the huge state, that would love to experience what NO has to offer. Again it also keep down the redundancy of some Caribbean locations. The same can be said for Tampa, imo...especially at the right time of year, during those cities many festivals.

You know...you are so right however about Mobile...didn't realize Mobile port was that small & inadequate. A major expansion & upgrade to accommodate mid-size ship, could go a long ways and help that area a lot...some good beaches there...Orange Beach & Pensacola comes to mind.

 

Great info twangster as always. ?

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South Padre Island is trying to build a port to be a port of call. I think New Orleans would be a better port of call, but with Galveston and NO in competition with each other, I don't see it happening. I think a great itinerary would be a 7 day sailing out of Galveston going to New Orleans, Key West and Cozumel (Alternate Grand Cayman).

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