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Princess cruises back into Galveston with new voyages to sunny locales

Princess Cruises returns to Galveston after a six-year hiatus.

Texans ready to cast off on a voyage upon the deep blue now have a new nearby option. Princess Cruise Lines is back in Galveston after a six-year hiatus with a slew of new trips to popular destinations.

The premium carrier will operate in the Galveston homeport with its Ruby Princess liner and sail from December 2022 to April 2023, the company announced. Cruises range from five to 11 days, headed mainly to the Western Caribbean.

The Ruby Princess will also trek through the Panama Canal on two 16-day, ocean-to-ocean transits between Galveston and San Francisco. The ship houses 900 balconies and can carry up to 3,080 guests.

Local cruisers ready for adventures out of Galveston can start booking trips on April 7, the company notes; those interested should call 1-800-PRINCESS or visit princess.com. 

Elsewhere, Princess announced service from San Diego starting in September and a return to cruises in Australia in June, citing more comfort with sea-born travel in the region.

“Returning a ship to San Diego gives more options for our West Coast guests and Galveston makes a Princess cruise easily accessible to millions of Texans,” said John Padgett, Princess Cruises president, in a statement.

Promising “world-class” dining and entertainment, Princess boasts resort-style topside pools, two-bedroom suites, sweeping balcony views, and sporty fun like golf on the deck. The company has gone techy with the Medallion, a quarter-sized, wearable device that allows expedited, contactless boarding, locating loved ones anywhere on the ship, and special deliveries anywhere on board. The liner also offers Wi-Fi on all journeys, perfect for streaming, posting pics to Instagram, or for those working — albeit from a water-borne office.

Princess cruises range from three to 111 days, with some 170 itineraries servicing 380 destinations across the globe.

Galveston is seeing a resurgence of cruise line offerings. Last year, Disney Cruise Line announced trips from the port to the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean International recently broke ground on a $125 million cruise terminal that’s set to open this fall.

vacation holidays

Holiday News

American Airlines expects record-setting travel on Thanksgiving 2024

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

American Airlines ready for takeoff.

The holidays are looming and American Airlines is ramping up. Over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to process nearly 8.3 million customers across more than 77,000 flights.

According to a statement from American's COO David Seymour, the airline is having a good fall season and canceled fewer flights than its peers during October.

“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” Seymour says.

That's surely good news. One hates to rain on their parade, but in June 2024, the only flight I booked this year, my flight was canceled less than 24 hours before take-off. I had made hotel reservations, scheduled a pet sitter, planned events, and arranged for a friend to pick me up at the destination airport. One employee speculated that it may have been "insufficient crew." Their only solution offered was: Feel free to reschedule your flight.

Thanksgiving facts and figures
The travel window runs from November 21 to December 3, and the airline expects to carry more than 500,000 more customers than it did last year.

The most-traveled day will be Sunday, December 1. The second most-traveled day will be Monday, December 2.

The peak of peak: 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft will be enroute at 10:45 am on Sunday, December 1 — the highest number of flights handled at any given time during American’s travel period.

The airline expects to serve more than 6.8 million Biscoff cookies on board from November 21 to December 3.

Travel tips
Download the American Airlines app and check in for your flight, noting added any bags to your trip. This will save you time at the airport.

If traveling internationally, download the Mobile Passport Control app, which can speed up your entry into the U.S. Global Entry members can download the Global Entry app, which allows you to submit your entry and go straight to the officer.

Upon arrival at the airport lobby, scan your mobile boarding pass to print bag tags quickly at a kiosk. If you’re not checking bags, go straight to TSA security with your mobile boarding pass.

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