blog post

We’re so fortunate in the Dallas area to have 2 nearby cruise ports – Galveston and New
Orleans.  They’re just a drive or inexpensive flight away, so we can enjoy a fun and relaxing cruise vacation whenever we want.  The ports are home to Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and starting September 2012 – Disney, and Christmas week 2012 – Princess.

Let’s meet the fleet:

• 
  Carnival Cruise Line’s current Galveston ships are the Conquest and the Ecstasy.  The Conquest sails a 7-night cruise every Sunday, usually on a Western Caribbean route, but
  once a month on a Bahamas itinerary.  The Ecstasy operates a year-round 4-and-5-night rotation to Mexico.  This October, the 70,000-ton 2,056-passenger Ecstasy will be replaced by the 101,500-ton 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph (currently running a 4-5-7-night rotation out of New Orleans), giving even more Galveston cruisers the opportunity to take  fun little get-aways!  The Ecstasy will be moved to Port Canaveral, Florida.

In November, Galveston has the privilege of becoming the home port for the magnificent new Carnival Magic.  She’ll replace the Conquest, which will move to New Orleans.  Lucky New Orleans will then have 2 year-round Carnival ships, as the Elation will come over from Mobile, Alabama to run a 4-and-5-night rotation.

• 
  Royal Caribbean’s Galveston ship the Voyager of the Seas will be moving to New Orleans, and her glamorous sister the Mariner of the Seas will come to town in her place (also happening this
  November). These large, action-packed ships are both seasonal, moving back to Europe in April. For you advance planners keeping track of ship movements, the Voyager will go to Australia for the winter of 2013, with some very interesting repositioning cruises in-between (you can actually sail from New Orleans to Sydney, Australia if you want to!).  If you like cruising from close to home but would like something a bit different in the Caribbean, give Janet a call for more details about the new routes.
• 
  Norwegian (NCL) is keeping the Spirit in New Orleans until April, when she will sail to the Mediterranean for the summer season. In November of 2012, the Norwegian Star will come to New Orleans to take her place (so no NCL ship in town next summer).
• 
  Princess fans are wishing the spectacular Crown Princess would come to Galveston this
  Christmas, but they’ll just have to wait until 2012!  She’s bringing back the Cozumel-Roatan-Belize-Costa Maya itinerary that the Grand Princess used to sail. Believe it or not, the Christmas cruise is already selling like crazy so go ahead and place a deposit now if you are even remotely interested.
• 
  Disney! Saving the biggest surprise for last – next September 22^nd, the delightful Disney Magic debuts in Galveston! This is fantastic news for all local Disney lovers who ever wished for a more easily accessible, affordable Disney cruise. She’ll set sail every Saturday during the Fall-Winter season. Her cruises will also sell out fast, so advance planning is a must, especially for families and groups.