Norwegian Cruise Line relaunched sailings from Philadelphia, adding the city back into the mix of U.S. cruise departure points for the first time in 15 years.
While Florida is home to the world’s busiest ports and cities like New York and Seattle may seem like obvious choices to begin a voyage, there are other cruise ports around the United States that may be more convenient – and less crowded.
“These are all great ports for people who hate to fly, or don't want to spend the money to fly,” said Edward Cicinato, a travel advisor and Dream Vacations franchise owner. He helped USA TODAY round up five alternative – and often underrated – ports across the country.
Frequent cruisers and Texas residents likely know of the island city, which is expected to account for 4.1% of embarkation and debarkation among Americans this year, according to a recent forecast from AAA.
However, newcomers may not be as familiar with Galveston, which has seen significant growth in recent years. MSC Cruises became the latest brand to base a ship there in November. “First of all, it doesn't have the problem that some of the other smaller ports have, where they have bridges that the ships have to go under, and some of the bigger ships can't get under bridges,” said Cicinato.
