$108M later, Port of Houston gives up on cruise ships

Commissioners who run the Port of Houston have given up the idea of using the site as a cruise ship base after spending $108 million on the project since 1999.

Port commissioners voted Tuesday to authorize sale of the gangway system used by passengers to board the few ships that chose to sail from the Bayport Cruise Terminal.

Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises declined to extend their contracts with the Bayport terminal, even though port commissioners in 2012 approved $6.7 million in incentives. The terminal, last used in April, was unable to compete with cruises from Galveston, where vessels are nearly three hours closer to the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.