Princess, Norwegian to begin cruises from Houston

Finally, a cruise ship for Houston. Actually, two.

Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises on Thursday both announced plans to begin voyages out of Houston's Bayport Cruise Terminal, which has been mostly vacant since being completed in 2008.

Princess says the 3,080-passenger Caribbean Princess will offer seven-night sailings to the Western Caribbean out of the terminal starting in November 2013.

Norwegian says the 2,374-passenger Norwegian Jewel will begin seven-night sailings to the Western Caribbean out of the terminal starting in the fall of 2014.

Houston has struggled to lure cruise lines to the $108.4 million terminal, which was built without a guaranteed cruise tenant and has been criticized as an example of wasteful public spending.

Located on the southeast side of the Houston metropolitan area in Pasadena, Texas, the Bayport terminal competes with the nearby Port of Galveston, which is closer to the open sea and well established as a cruise hub for the region. Five ships from four lines will be sailing out of Galveston this winter: The 1,754-passenger Disney Magic, 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic, 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph, 3,080-passenger Crown Princess and Royal Caribbean's 3,114-passenger Mariner of the Seas.

Both the Caribbean Princess and Norwegian Jewel will sail seasonally out of Houston during the winters.

Norwegian say it has committed to at least three years of such seasonal sailings out of Houston, with 75 departures in all. The company says it has an option to extend its deployment for two more years.

Norwegian's announcement comes as the line prepares for the arrival of two new ships over the next 15 months that will expand its passenger capacity by more than 25%. Norwegian currently operates 11 ships.

Princess, too, is expanding, with its largest ship ever -- the 3,600-passenger Royal Princess -- due in June.