Cruise: Everglades, Galveston

 

Larger cruise ships as long as 1,100 feet can now dock at Broward County's Port Everglades Cruise Terminal 4 without extending into the Intracoastal Waterway.

The $18-million Slip 2 construction project, adjacent to the recently renovated Cruise Terminal 4, lengthened the slip by 225 feet from the original 900 feet. The total 1,125-foot slip length meets the needs of most of today's modern cruise ships such as Holland America's Line's Pinnacle-class ships, which were introduced at Port Everglades during the 2017 cruise season with the U.S. debut of the ms Konningsdam or Princess Cruises' Royal-class ships, which also homeport at Port Everglades. Carnival Cruise Line is currently the primary user of the newly extended berth. 

The Port Everglades Department is a self-supporting Enterprise Fund of Broward County, Florida government that does not rely on local tax dollars for operations. No local taxes were used for the Slip 2 extension project.  

 

 

 

The Port of Galveston remains the fourth busiest cruise port in the U.S. based upon number of embarking passengers according to a recent study prepared by Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA) for the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). The port has held this ranking since 2012. 

 

In 2016, the Galveston welcomed 869,923 embarking passengers, an increase of 35.4 percent since 2014. The last time the port experienced an increase of that magnitude was 2012, when embarkations jumped 31.6 percent to 604,000.

Thanks to Galveston, the State of Texas accounted for 6.6 percent of the industry’s overall spending nationwide, 6.5 percent of the industry's total employment impact and 7.9 percent of the income impact. The state ranks third in terms of the economic benefits derived from cruising. 

 

Galveston’s cruise business continues to expand. This month, the port welcomes Royal Caribbean International’s Vision of the Seas, which will sail round trip four- and five-day Western Caribbean itineraries. Beginning in September 2018, Carnival’s new Carnival Vista will be offering two Galveston-based seven-day western Caribbean itineraries. 

 

More than 1.28 million passengers and crew visited Texas during 2016, up 19 percent from 1.07 million in 2014. This represents 5.3 percent of all passenger and crew visits in the U.S.  

 

Galveston serves as point of embarkation for cruises to the western Caribbean and the Bahamas and handles more than 1.7 million embarking, debarking and transiting cruise passengers annually. Carnival Cruise Lines, Disney Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean International all offer regular sailings from Galveston.

 

"We are committed to remaining in the top five cruise home-ports in the North America," said Interim Port Director Peter Simons. "We are also committed to strengthening our existing relationship with the cruise industry. Recently, the Board of Trustees appointed a Port of Call committee to increase cruise activity by encouraging other cruise lines to visit Galveston. In addition, we are also moving forward with the planning effort for a third cruise terminal that will enable us to accommodate even larger ships and the related significant increase in cruise passenger volume."