The Port of Galveston ranks as the fourth busiest cruise port in the U.S. based upon embarkation according to a recent study prepared by Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA) for the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). In 2013, the Port of Galveston, Texas’ premiere cruise port, welcomed 901,000 passenger and crew, which is a 4.4 percent increase from 2012.
With over $1.2 billion in direct spending and 20,271 jobs paying $1.16 billion in total income, Texas accounted for 6.3 percent of the industry’s direct expenditures, 5.6 percent of the industry’s total employment impact and 6.3 percent of the income impact. The state ranking remains third following behind Florida and California. The Port of Galveston embarked approximately 605,000 passengers last year.
“The Port of Galveston is committed to remaining in the top 20 cruise home-ports worldwide. We are dedicated to strengthening our existing relationship with the cruise industry and increasing the economic impact to the local and regional communities.” said Mike Mierzwa, Port of Galveston Executive Director.
Next year will prove to be even better for Galveston’s cruise business. Carnival Cruise Line will add a third year round cruise ship, Carnival Freedom to its Texas fleet starting in Feb. 2015, marking the first time a cruise line has deployed three year round ships in the state of Texas. Together with the Carnival Magic and Carnival Triumph the three ships will operate 170 four- to seven-day to the Western Caribbean and two 21-day voyages to the Eastern Caribbean from the Port of Galveston in 2015, providing consumers with an array of cruise lengths, departure days, and itineraries for “Fun Ship” cruising from Texas.
"Galveston is already one of our most popular embarkation ports and with Carnival Freedom we're not only dramatically expanding capacity in the market but also providing consumers with yet another exciting opportunity to experience our spectacular Fun Ship 2.0 innovations on a Texas-based ship," said Gerry Cahill Carnival president and CEO. "In partnership with the Port of Galveston and the local community we have been able to increase our passenger counts five-fold since we first launched service from Galveston in 2000. Additionally, we are extremely grateful for the support of our travel agent partners who have played a key role in the growth of our Texas cruise program," he added.
In the summer 2015 Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas will complete two consecutive years of homeporting at the Port of Galveston. In November 2015, the Liberty of the Seas will be taking over year-round offering vacationers weekly Caribbean sailings from Galveston on a new and larger ship. The Liberty of the Seas will offer 7-night Western Caribbean cruise itineraries, 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.
In addition, Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wonder will return offering Texas vacationers holiday sailings beginning November 2015. Disney Cruise Line will offer a seven-night itinerary on the Disney Wonder to the Bahamas, which will include stops in Key West, Florida; Nassau, Bahamas; and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.