Joe01 Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 Seen some really cheap fares going for the Allure from Galveston in August compared to the other Oasis Class ships in the Caribbean. What's the deal there? JimnKathy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 Not claiming to have an answer to your question but it seems Galveston has routinely had lower prices. There are also usually lots of casino comp cruises out of Galveston which would seem to indicate that they have some difficulty filling their ships. Truthfully I was a bit surprised when Royal put an O class ship there as it seems that historically they have trouble filling the ships they already had there. JimnKathy and CruiseGus 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimnKathy Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 Unlike the other Oasis class ships out of Ft. Lauderdale/Miami, the Allure sailings out of Galveston aren't visiting Perfect Day at Coco Cay in 2023. We're taking our little grandkids and their mom on a May cruise on Allure out of Galveston. While this particular sailing doesn't included Coco Cay, we picked up some fares that were dirt cheap. While we will miss Perfect Day, we plan on spending lots of quality time playing with the little ones...pretty easy to do on an Oasis class ship. I noticed that sailings including Coco Cay were about $150 higher relative to sailings without Coco Cay at the time we booked this trip. Happy Sailing!! DoomSlayer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 Also keep in mind that Allure hasn't been amped, so she has a lot less than the other Oasis ships. Rackham, asquared17 and bobroo 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustfsu Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 Hey, if it is going to save you money and get you on the ship then jump on it. Just went on the Allure and it was just fine. It didn't have some of the amped stuff, but I think right after I got off they changed Wipeout to El Loco Fresh. They just built that new terminal and like the buzz they are getting from people seeing it. So when Allure leaves if they bring in a newer ship people would be more inclined to travel to that home port. CrimsonCruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rackham Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 2 hours ago, Joe01 said: Seen some really cheap fares going for the Allure from Galveston in August compared to the other Oasis Class ships in the Caribbean. What's the deal there? Schools in the American South typically go back early August. Thus less local families are vacationing in the middle to the end of the month, and I'd imagine Texas is a less attractive port to people flying in than those in Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverk Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 1 hour ago, Rackham said: Schools in the American South typically go back early August. Thus less local families are vacationing in the middle to the end of the month, and I'd imagine Texas is a less attractive port to people flying in than those in Florida. I agree completely. I've noticed for several years the dramatic price difference between early and late August in Galveston. Given the limited itineraries out of Galveston and the distance to the airport, I've never thought Galveston was attractive as anything more than a drive to port. That said I'm always surprised by the number of people that do fly there for a cruise. DoomSlayer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 13 minutes ago, steverk said: I agree completely. I've noticed for several years the dramatic price difference between early and late August in Galveston. Given the limited itineraries out of Galveston and the distance to the airport, I've never thought Galveston was attractive as anything more than a drive to port. That said I'm always surprised by the number of people that do fly there for a cruise. Galveston (Houston of course) is the easiest/shortest flight for me, so I like Galveston. But yes, it's not an every cruise port due to the limited itineraries. But do remember there's a ton of people within an 8 hour drive. Last March I think half the state of Arkansas was on my cruise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveling Mike Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 Supply and demand... I can fly to Florida from California cheaper than I can fly to Houston. Then I have to pay much more for shuttle or Uber to get to the ship. After I get to the ship, they only have 3 ports to choose from and only one is something I like. With that said... I am taking my son on the Allure in April just because overall it is cheaper. WAAAYTOOO and jbrinkm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobroo Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 Galveston, and more notably San Juan, have always been leaders in the the "Lowest Cost Cruise Fare on a Per Night Basis" category. However they also both rank high in the "Cruise Ports With the Most Obstacles To Get To It" category. So-- the lower cruise fares sort of make up for obstacles to get to the cruise port and make them closer to on par with sailings from other US ports. I love sailing out of Galveston. There is always the bonus of going to Buc-ee's on the way to the port. Vincent, jbrinkm and Cactus527 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cakemeister Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 I'm not complaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 Our Galveston trip in December wasn't cheap, so I think it varies with the time of year. The new terminal may have been a factor, plus the week before Christmas.... I am glad you can find cheap fares; we loved the Allure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 It's the combination of schools starting early in Texas and also the heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobCruise Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 1 hour ago, Traveling Mike said: Supply and demand... I can fly to Florida from California cheaper than I can fly to Houston. Then I have to pay much more for shuttle or Uber to get to the ship. After I get to the ship, they only have 3 ports to choose from and only one is something I like. With that said... I am taking my son on the Allure in April just because overall it is cheaper. While supply and demand is far too broad of a response you are exactly correct. Recently we were searching for our winter 2024 cruise. The first place I looked was Icon of the seas and it was understandably not cheap. I started searching Oasis class ships that were cheaper and while I found more affordable itineraries I didn't find something that was interesting to me (I have been to Nassau enough). So we paid the price and booked Icon. There was an ample supply of itineraries I didn't demand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coda_Sarah Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 We booked August 27th (7 nights) and saw fares as low as $411 a person for inside cabins and $495 a person for balcony cabins. I got a junior suite total for 2 people for $2995. Prices are definitely up now. Insides were just $564 and junior suite (2 people) was $3800. I was eyeing a grand suite for $4000 (2 people), hoping the price would go down. It's $6000 (2 people) for the grand suite now! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted February 12, 2023 Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 4 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: Also keep in mind that Allure hasn't been amped, so she has a lot less than the other Oasis ships. I would think most passengers wouldn't know what being amped means nor consider that in their cruise plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoomSlayer Posted February 13, 2023 Report Share Posted February 13, 2023 9 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Not claiming to have an answer to your question but it seems Galveston has routinely had lower prices. There are also usually lots of casino comp cruises out of Galveston which would seem to indicate that they have some difficulty filling their ships. Truthfully I was a bit surprised when Royal put an O class ship there as it seems that historically they have trouble filling the ships they already had there. I have my booking on Allure by casino comp. I do wonder if they had an agreement with the port authority and Galveston that they would homeport an O class ship to bring in more people and grow tourism in Galveston proper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoomSlayer Posted February 13, 2023 Report Share Posted February 13, 2023 5 hours ago, smokeybandit said: Galveston (Houston of course) is the easiest/shortest flight for me, so I like Galveston. But yes, it's not an every cruise port due to the limited itineraries. But do remember there's a ton of people within an 8 hour drive. Last March I think half the state of Arkansas was on my cruise I live in the DFW area, so about a 4.5 hour drive for me. I usually see a lot of people from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Lousiana, and Mississippi on the cruises with me. All are within an 8 hour drive. aubtfan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 13, 2023 Report Share Posted February 13, 2023 There is only ever one reason why cruise fares are low anywhere. Slow sales/demand is soft. No matter what port is involved if the ship was selling gangbusters then fares would not be low. It's also possibly a sign the ship is not right sized for the market. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankman Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 August is an off month. Most of the kids are returning to school. Whole lot of less kids in August! Take advantage of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike n Ky Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 Balcony on Wonder end of April, JS on Allure first week of September...same price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne Elise Posted February 14 Report Share Posted February 14 On 2/12/2023 at 1:59 PM, steverk said: I agree completely. I've noticed for several years the dramatic price difference between early and late August in Galveston. Given the limited itineraries out of Galveston and the distance to the airport, I've never thought Galveston was attractive as anything more than a drive to port. That said I'm always surprised by the number of people that do fly there for a cruise. We actually really enjoyed visiting Galveston a lot, and it was one of reasons we decided to cruise. We may just go back there for a vacation. steverk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne Elise Posted February 14 Report Share Posted February 14 On 2/12/2023 at 2:26 PM, bobroo said: Galveston, and more notably San Juan, have always been leaders in the the "Lowest Cost Cruise Fare on a Per Night Basis" category. However they also both rank high in the "Cruise Ports With the Most Obstacles To Get To It" category. So-- the lower cruise fares sort of make up for obstacles to get to the cruise port and make them closer to on par with sailings from other US ports. I love sailing out of Galveston. There is always the bonus of going to Buc-ee's on the way to the port. We loved going to Buck-ees. A year later my husband still talks about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne Elise Posted February 14 Report Share Posted February 14 On 2/12/2023 at 2:26 PM, Traveling Mike said: Supply and demand... I can fly to Florida from California cheaper than I can fly to Houston. Then I have to pay much more for shuttle or Uber to get to the ship. After I get to the ship, they only have 3 ports to choose from and only one is something I like. With that said... I am taking my son on the Allure in April just because overall it is cheaper. Interesting. When we went last year, flights to Houston from NY were impressively low. That was a big part of the reason we were able to try a cruise. We rented a car and made visiting Texas and Galveston part of the adventure. Traveling Mike and Villageidiot 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveling Mike Posted February 23 Report Share Posted February 23 On 2/14/2024 at 3:56 PM, Suzanne Elise said: Interesting. When we went last year, flights to Houston from NY were impressively low. That was a big part of the reason we were able to try a cruise. We rented a car and made visiting Texas and Galveston part of the adventure. We ended up going on our cruise and really like the cruise and the three ports. I have family that live in Texas and I lived there for 3 years. For some reason from central California the airline price to Texas has always been high. Back 20 years ago we could fly from California to Florida cheeper than we could fly to Texas. That still hold true. I will probably book more cruises out of Galveston but will take extra time and drive to the cruise port. WAAAYTOOO and KristiZ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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