By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Port of Galveston was the fourth busiest cruise embarkation port in the US in 2013, according to a recent study prepared by Business Research and Economic Advisors on behalf of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
Ranking behind Florida and California, the Texas cruise port embarked around 605,000 passengers last year and welcomed a total of 901,000 guests and crew, a 4.4% rise from 2012.
In addition, Texas’ cruise industry generated US$1.2 billion in direct spending and 20,271 jobs paying US$1.16 billion in total income, accounting for 6.3% of the industry’s direct expenditures, 5.6% of the industry’s total employment impact and 6.3% of the income impact.
“The Port of Galveston is committed to remaining in the top 20 cruise homeports worldwide,” said Mike Mierzwa, the port’s executive director. “We are dedicated to strengthening our existing relationship with the cruise industry and increasing the economic impact to the local and regional communities.”
2015 is also set to be a busy year for the cruise port. In February, Carnival Cruise Line will become the first cruise operator to homeport three year-round cruise ships in Texas. Joining Carnival Magic and Carnival Triumph, Carnival Freedom will operate 170 four- to seven-day cruises to the western Caribbean and two 21-day voyages to the eastern Caribbean.
“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, president and CEO of Carnival. “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 programme.”
Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean International’s Navigator of the Seas will homeport at Galveston for two consecutive years from summer 2015. In November, she will be joined by Liberty of the Seas to offer weekly seven-night Western Caribbean cruise itineraries. The ship will call at Isla Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; Cozumel, Mexico; Falmouth, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Costa Maya, Mexico.
November also marks the start of Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wonder returning to Galveston to offer seven-night itineraries to the Bahamas. The sailings will include calls at Key West, Florida; Nassau, Bahamas; and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.