Carnival Triumph Docked In Galveston As the year 2015 comes to a close, it is time to look towards 2016 which will bring a more changes to Texas' cruise industry. In 2016, Galveston will continue to have cruise ships year round and Houston will have cruise ships through the early spring months. Each of these ports offer different cruise lines, ships, and itinerary options. Here are the highlights of 2016 for Texas cruises:
Galveston Cruises
The year will start with sailings from Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, and Disney Cruise Line. Disney will offer one 2016 sailing on the Disney Wonder before sending the ship to another homeport. Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas will sail from Galveston in early January and then spend a month in dry-dock. The ship is scheduled to depart for dry-dock on January 10, 2016 and is scheduled to return to Galveston on Sunday, February 7, 2016. This long dry-dock will give Royal Caribbean time to add new features and refresh areas of the ship. Following this dry-dock, Royal Caribbean will deploy the Liberty of the Seas from Galveston to sail weekly cruises to various parts of the Caribbean throughout the year.
Carnival Cruise Line will begin the year with the Carnival Triumph, Carnival Magic, and Carnival Freedom deployed from Galveston. In March, the Carnival Triumph will be redeployed and replaced with the Carnival Liberty. In April, the Carnival Magic will be redeployed and replaced with the Carnival Breeze. The Carnival Freedom will remain in Galveston all year.
While Carnival and Royal Caribbean will sail Galveston year round, Disney Cruise Line will sail from Galveston seasonally. After completing a 2015/2016 season, Disney Cruise Line will redeploy the Disney Wonder, but the Disney Wonder is scheduled to return to Galveston in November 2016 to sail seasonally again from Galveston.
Houston Cruises
Houston will begin the year with sailings from Princess Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line.
Princess Cruise Line will have the Caribbean Princess sailing from Houston until mid-April 2016. The Caribbean Princess will mostly have seven day cruises departing on Sunday with a few exceptions.
Norwegian Cruise Line will have the Norwegian Jade sailing from Houston until early April 2016. The Norwegian Jade will mostly be sailing seven day cruises departing on Saturdays. Of course, there are a few scheduling exceptions, but the majority of departures from Houston are on Saturday.
Following the Spring 2016 deployments, Houston does not have any more cruise ship sailings for 2016. Both Princess and Norwegian decided to deploy ships elsewhere, but we can remain optimistic and hopeful cruise ships will return to Houston in the future!
2016 is going to be an exciting year for the Texas' cruise industry!
Information Sources: I have gathered information from each cruise line's website and verified the information against information on Galveston's port website and Houston's port website. Please keep in mind things are subject to change and in the event I made a mistake or typo please let me know!
Galveston Cruises
The year will start with sailings from Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, and Disney Cruise Line. Disney will offer one 2016 sailing on the Disney Wonder before sending the ship to another homeport. Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas will sail from Galveston in early January and then spend a month in dry-dock. The ship is scheduled to depart for dry-dock on January 10, 2016 and is scheduled to return to Galveston on Sunday, February 7, 2016. This long dry-dock will give Royal Caribbean time to add new features and refresh areas of the ship. Following this dry-dock, Royal Caribbean will deploy the Liberty of the Seas from Galveston to sail weekly cruises to various parts of the Caribbean throughout the year.
Carnival Cruise Line will begin the year with the Carnival Triumph, Carnival Magic, and Carnival Freedom deployed from Galveston. In March, the Carnival Triumph will be redeployed and replaced with the Carnival Liberty. In April, the Carnival Magic will be redeployed and replaced with the Carnival Breeze. The Carnival Freedom will remain in Galveston all year.
While Carnival and Royal Caribbean will sail Galveston year round, Disney Cruise Line will sail from Galveston seasonally. After completing a 2015/2016 season, Disney Cruise Line will redeploy the Disney Wonder, but the Disney Wonder is scheduled to return to Galveston in November 2016 to sail seasonally again from Galveston.
Houston Cruises
Houston will begin the year with sailings from Princess Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line.
Princess Cruise Line will have the Caribbean Princess sailing from Houston until mid-April 2016. The Caribbean Princess will mostly have seven day cruises departing on Sunday with a few exceptions.
Norwegian Cruise Line will have the Norwegian Jade sailing from Houston until early April 2016. The Norwegian Jade will mostly be sailing seven day cruises departing on Saturdays. Of course, there are a few scheduling exceptions, but the majority of departures from Houston are on Saturday.
Following the Spring 2016 deployments, Houston does not have any more cruise ship sailings for 2016. Both Princess and Norwegian decided to deploy ships elsewhere, but we can remain optimistic and hopeful cruise ships will return to Houston in the future!
2016 is going to be an exciting year for the Texas' cruise industry!
Information Sources: I have gathered information from each cruise line's website and verified the information against information on Galveston's port website and Houston's port website. Please keep in mind things are subject to change and in the event I made a mistake or typo please let me know!