Gambling Cruises From Galveston Texas
It wasn’t the most auspicious start for the Jacks or Better Casino boat.On April 15, only a week after its very first jaunt, the 155-foot yacht—which, conditions permitting, takes daily trips out of Galveston and into federal waters, where gambling is legal—scraped against a marker, causing an estimated $40,000 in cosmetic damage and knocking the ship out of commission for weeks.
Book your OFFICIAL Port of Galveston Cruise Parking Now. 2019/2020 ITINERARIES. Galveston, TX 77553 Phone: 409-765-9321 Fax: 409-766-6171 Quick Links. A cruise from Galveston is a great option to get away on a cruise vacation. Galveston, located just about an hour from Houston, offers miles of relaxing beaches, superb restaurants, marvelous shopping, antique stores, art galleries, fabulous entertainment, well-preserved Victorian architecture and is a great place to begin a cruise vacation.
- Galveston cruises from the Galveston terminal leave frequently, with the Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines all making stops in Galveston. Princess Cruise lines leaving from Galveston include an array of ships sailing to many different ports throughout the world, with a focus on Mexico and the Western Caribbean Islands.
- Overview Set out on the waters of the Gulf Coast for a 6-hour casino cruise from Glaveston, Texas. While cruising aboard a luxurious 155 foot long vessel, you can play the latest slots and table games, including 3-card poker, craps, roulette, Texas hold'em and blackjack.
We took a ride on the Jacks on May 5, the day it resumed operations. Captain Dave Kendrick, who’s been a licensed captain since 1997, gave us a tour of the bridge, the room from which he steers the ship.
Gambling Cruises From Galveston Texas Cruise Port
“I was the captain during the accident,” he said, addressing the incident in his matter-of-fact manner. “It’s the first time that has ever happened in my career. We were coming in at 11:20 p.m., and I lost sight and confused the markers. When I figured out what was happening, it was too late…. There’s no good excuse for it, but things happen, and I’m thankful nobody got hurt.”
The incident certainly didn’t deter 60 passengers from paying $15 a pop to board the sleek vessel the day we went out. They resembled your typical casino crowd, which is to say most were Baby Boomers or older, many were wearing Crocs, and more smoked cigarettes than didn’t.
We wandered up to the top deck of the boat from the bridge. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The ship glided past shrimp boats casting their nets and container ships heading to port. Seagulls and pelicans followed in our wake, hoping to catch an early lunch.
Although it was a beautiful scene, few were taking it in. Instead, they were inside, having already claimed their seats on the mostly windowless gambling floors, ready to play.
Many people are traveling to Louisiana to gamble. Why not keep that money in Texas?
Each trip the Jacks takes out into the Gulf of Mexico lasts seven hours—an hour and a half each nine-mile trip into federal waters, plus four hours of gambling—and the best days to go out, particularly for the seasickness-prone, are when the water’s nice and calm. The ship offers two floors of colorful Vegas-style slot machines and card tables where up to 150 passengers can play games like blackjack, craps, roulette and baccarat (pending Coast Guard approval, the capacity could jump to 300).
“I’m excited to try this,” one woman also enjoying the view, Kim Walden, told us. Walden owns a beach home in Galveston and, she confessed, loves gambling. She and her husband not only frequent commercial cruise lines (which all have casinos), but regularly travel to Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas’s Native American reservations. She was excited, she said, to try something closer to home. “It’s nice that finally we have something practically in our backyard.”
Largely due to antiquated Bible Belt politics, gambling in Texas is illegal, with the exceptions of the lottery, horse and greyhound racing, reservation casinos, and casino boats like the Jacks or Better, which offer single-day gambling trips without having to meet the old requirement of first calling on a foreign port. These boats have served towns along the state’s coast, including Galveston, ever since being legalized in 1989, but before the Jacks’ arrival, the Oleander City had done without for a couple of years.
We wandered inside, and, finally, the moment arrived. The captain announced we were in federal waters and that tables were open. Immediately, a symphony of dings, pings and slot-machine tunes filled the air.
As we watched the action, we thought of a point Henry had made while we chatted inside the bridge. “Many people are traveling to Louisiana to gamble,” he’d said. “Why not keep that money in Texas?”
2019/2020 ITINERARIES
Carnival Dream
Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Dream offers four- and five-day Eastern Caribbean cruises year round.
Carnival Freedom
Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Freedom offers three different seven-night itineraries out of Galveston, all beginning on Saturdays:
A Western Caribbean itinerary with stops in Cozumel, Mexico; Belize and the Honduran island of Roatan.
A Western Caribbean itinerary with stops at Montego Bay, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel.
A Bahamas itinerary with stops at Key West; and Freeport and Nassau, the Bahamas.
Carnival Vista
Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Vista offers two different seven-day western Caribbean itineraries departing every Saturday. The first itinerary includes calls at Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, and the second itinerary will visit Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan), Belize and Cozumel.
Disney Wonder
Disney Cruise Line Disney Wonder offers a seven-night itinerary to the Bahamas, which will include stops in Key West, Florida; Nassau, Bahamas; and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Sailings begin November 2, 2019.
Gambling Cruises In Galveston Texas
Enchantment of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International'sEnchantment of the Seas offers four and five-night Western Caribbean cruises seasonally including Cozumel, Puerto Costa Maya, and the Yucatan as ports of call.
Liberty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International's Liberty of the Seas offers seven-night Western Caribbean cruises year round including Isla Roatan, Honduras; Belize City Belize; Cozumel, Mexico; Falmouth, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Costa Maya, Mexico as ports of call.
Gambling Cruises From Galveston Texas Resorts
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