By
Rebecca Gibson |
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd is to upgrade a cruise terminal and increase its cruise calls at the port of Galveston after a five-year agreement was approved by the Board of Trustees at Galveston Wharves.
As part of the agreement, which will generate a minimum of US$1.86 million a year in operating revenues, Galveston’s Cruise Terminal No. 2 will be upgraded to accommodate larger vessels and more passengers. According to initial plans, which are estimated to cost around US$10 million, the terminal will be extended to 150,000 sq ft with the capacity to seat about 1,000 guests.
“The port has worked closely with Royal Caribbean to identify the upgrades needed to improve their operations at Cruise Terminal No. 2 for both Voyager class vessels and any larger vessels in the future,” said port director Mike Mierzwa. “I’m confident that these improvements will be completed by spring 2015 without disruption to current cruise operations.”
Galveston, which serves as a primary embarkation point for itineraries to the western Caribbean and the Bahamas, currently serves as the year-round homeport of Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas. The line has agreed to schedule an additional 30 calls in 2014 and 2015, committing to a year-round vessel in both years. It has also promised to deploy a large vessel from the port in 2015 after the improvements to Cruise Terminal No. 2 are completed.