Carnival gets bigger in Texas

By Jerry Limone
Carnival FreedomCarnival Cruise Lines will have three ships based in Galveston when the Carnival Freedom joins the Magic and Triumph at the Texas port next February.

Carnival said no other cruise line has deployed three year-round ships in Texas.

“In partnership with the Port of Galveston and the local community, we have been able to increase our passenger counts fivefold since we first launched service from Galveston in 2000,” Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Gerry Cahill said. “Additionally, we are extremely grateful for the support of our travel agent partners who have played a key role in the growth of our Texas cruise program.”

Before arriving in Galveston, the 3,000-passenger Freedom will undergo a previously announced makeover that will add Fun Ship 2.0 product enhancements, including Guy’s Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, RedFrog Pub and the Camp Ocean kids’ club.

Carnival Freedom will sail a 12-day repositioning cruise departing Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 2, arriving in Galveston on Feb. 14. The cruise will call in St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Curacao, Aruba and Grand Cayman.

The Freedom will kick off its new schedule from Galveston with a six-day Caribbean voyage to Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize; and Cozumel. Following the six-day voyage, the Freedom will sail seven-day Caribbean cruises year-round.

Oil spill puts cruises on hold

By Jerry Limone
An oil spill near the Houston Ship Channel has affected the schedules of cruise ships that sail out of Galveston and Houston, Texas.

On Saturday, a collision between a fuel barge and a cargo ship spilled as much as 170,000 gallons of tar-like oil into waters south of Houston.

The Carnival Magic and Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas pulled into the Port of Galveston about 10 hours late Sunday evening. The ships were ordered to slowly navigate into port so they would not create a large wake that could spread the spill.

The Carnival Triumph returned to port early Monday under the same conditions.

All three ships have not departed for their next cruise from Galveston, plus the Caribbean Princess has been stranded at Houston’s Bayport Cruise Terminal since Saturday, with passengers aboard.

It is not certain when the shipping channel will reopen.

Upgraded Navigator of the Seas gets ‘virtual balconies’

By Tom Stieghorst

Quantum's Virtual BalconyRoyal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas is expected to resume cruising on Feb. 5 after a drydock to install Royal Advantage upgrades.

Also, Navigator will be the first Royal Caribbean ship to feature the virtual balconies that are coming later this year to the Quantum of the Seas.

The virtual balconies are nearly floor-to-ceiling projection screens that display external images of the ocean, making it seem like interior cabins have balconies. The balconies even come with projection railings.

A total of 81 cabins have been fitted with the virtual balconies.

Navigator of the Seas is scheduled for a four-day cruise from Galveston, Texas, to Cozumel, returning to Galveston on Feb. 9.