Galveston

Although Galveston Island has been occupied since the early 1500s, the city was not created until 1836, when Canadian Michel Menard purchased a league and labor of land for $50,000 from the Austin Colony. Because of the need for more money to promote the town, Menard took on nine partners, forming the Galveston City Company. The first buildings were prefabricated houses from Maine, one of which still stands today. The Republic of Texas quickly made the fledgling city a port of entry, and the Strand area filled with wholesalers, cotton agents and merchants. The city flourished.

Galveston holds many firsts for the state of Texas: first post office, naval base, and bakery, first chapter of the Masonic Order, first cotton compress, insurance company, gas lights, electric lights, opera house, orphanage, telephone, medical college and school for nurses. One of Galveston s newspapers, the Galveston News, is the oldest daily newspaper in the state (now known as the Galveston County Daily News). Then disaster struck. On September 8, 1900, the deadliest hurricane in US history swept across the island, killing more than 6,000 people and destroying the majority of buildings in its path. Most people probably would have given up and left, but not the determined Galvestonians. They decided to rebuild, but to do so in a way to reduce the likelihood of such a disaster being repeated. Their answer was to build a seawall  seven miles long and 17 feet high and to raise the grade of the entire town. The grade-raising took eight years to complete and involved jacking up homes and pouring four to six feet of sand beneath them. Residents used elevated wooden sidewalks to navigate the town during this process. The seawall project was not completed until 1962, and is a noted feat of engineering  an example of how a city should respond after disaster. During the rebuilding period, Galveston lost most of its port business to Houston, but the resilient little city quickly recovered from that setback also. It turned its attention to tourism and made a name for itself as a playground for the wealthy. Tourists continue to flock to this marvelously inspirational seaside community, the city that almost wasn t. It will inspire you, too.


4 Night Western Caribbean Cruise
Carnival Cruise Line - Ecstasy
Destination To: Caribbean - Western
Departing from: Galveston
Ports: Galveston, Texas, Cozumel, Mexico, Galveston, Texas


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Inside
Outside
Balcony
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$729 USD
$759 USD
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$599 USD
$629 USD
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$579 USD
$629 USD
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$429 USD
$499 USD
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$899 USD
$479 USD
$479 USD
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$879 USD
$429 USD
$459 USD
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$899 USD
$479 USD
$539 USD
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$429 USD
$489 USD
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$899 USD
$379 USD
$399 USD
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$899 USD
$429 USD
$479 USD
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5 Night Western Caribbean Cruise
Carnival Cruise Line - Ecstasy
Destination To: Caribbean - Western
Departing from: Galveston
Ports: Galveston, Texas, Cozumel, Mexico, Galveston, Texas


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Inside
Outside
Balcony
Suite
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$699 USD
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$779 USD
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$729 USD
$789 USD
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$699 USD
$749 USD
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$699 USD
$759 USD
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$699 USD
$759 USD
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-
$599 USD
$629 USD
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$449 USD
$499 USD
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$899 USD
$429 USD
$489 USD
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$899 USD
$449 USD
$489 USD
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$899 USD

 

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7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise
Royal Caribbean - Voyager of the Seas
Destination To: Caribbean - Western
Departing from: Galveston
Ports: Galveston, Texas, Cozumel, Mexico, Roatan, Honduras, Costa Maya, Mexico, Yucatan (progreso), Mexico, Galveston, Texas


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Inside
Outside
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$799 USD
$849 USD
$999 USD
$1449 USD
$1249 USD
$1649 USD
$1699 USD
$3499 USD
$1599 USD
$2029 USD
$2299 USD
$3899 USD
$699 USD
$949 USD
$999 USD
$1799 USD
$699 USD
$949 USD
$899 USD
$1599 USD
$699 USD
$899 USD
$899 USD
$1599 USD
$649 USD
$949 USD
$899 USD
$1449 USD
$649 USD
$949 USD
$899 USD
$1449 USD
$649 USD
$949 USD
$899 USD
$1499 USD
$649 USD
$949 USD
$899 USD
$1449 USD

 
Cruise Price Guarantee: Find a better price we will match it - and give you a free getaway!