Galveston, TX (Nov. 8, 2021) – Royal Caribbean International’s Adventure of the Seas, the first Voyager-class ship to homeport in Texas, began its inaugural seasonal sailing itinerary from the Port of Galveston on Nov. 8 with a 5-day Western Caribbean cruise.
The largest RCI ship sailing short getaways from Galveston, Adventure of the Seas offers 4- and 5-day sailings to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.
“We welcome Adventure of the Seas to her new home, the fourth most popular cruise port in the U.S. and only cruise port in Texas,” said Rodger Rees, Galveston port director and CEO. “Giving cruise passengers additional sailing options is one of the reasons why our port continues to draw more than a million passengers a year from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and beyond.”
Adventure of the Seas joins RCI’s Liberty of the Seas as the largest cruise ships to sail from Galveston, which draws from a cruise market of an estimated 30 million people within a 300-mile radius. The Port anticipates an average of 3,100 passengers per cruise.
In 2022, the Port of Galveston will prepare to welcome RCI’s award-winning Oasis Class ship, Allure of the Seas. One of the world’s largest, most innovative cruise ships and the first of its kind to call Galveston home, the ship will sail from RCI’s new $125 million cruise terminal.
The terminal is under construction and scheduled to open in fall 2022. Rees called the port’s third cruise terminal a game-changer for Port of Galveston cruise passengers and the Galveston community.”
The construction project will generate an estimated 400 Texas construction jobs and 400 local operations jobs. The161,300-square-foot terminal will cover 10 acres at Pier 10 in the easternmost area of the port on Galveston Island. The port will build and operate an 1,800-space cruise parking lot at the terminal.
The port began its successful partnership with Royal Caribbean in 2002 with the inaugural sailing of Rhapsody of the Seas.
About Galveston Wharves at the Port of Galveston
Located at the entrance to Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel, Galveston Wharves has been a thriving maritime commercial center since 1825. Just 45 minutes from open seas, the 840-acre port has infrastructure and assets to serve growing cruise, cargo and commercial businesses. As the fourth most popular U.S. cruise port, it welcomed more than 1 million cruise passengers in 2019. Also one of the busiest in Texas, the port moved 4.3 million tons of cargo in 2020 and has an estimated annual state economic impact of $2.1 billion.