GALVESTON, Texas – Here’s a First On 2 inside look at the Port of Galveston’s newest terminal and our Traffic Expert Anavid Reyes was the first reporter to get to walk through the 150,000 square-foot facility.
The Port of Galveston is known as the port of everything! It is one of the busiest cargo ports in Texas, moving more than four million tons of cargo and hosting more than two million cruise passengers a year... and it’s only about to get busier as they prepare to welcome one of the largest cruise ships the Royal Caribbean has to offer to their new, high-tech terminal, the “Allure of the Seas.”
Galveston is the fourth busiest cruise ship-home port in North America and coming this Fall, the 840-acre port will be welcoming the Royal Caribbean’s largest cruise ship, “Allure of the Seas” to their game-changing terminal.
“It’ll be equipped with face recognition technology, faster, no long waiting lines, our parking system will be able to read your license plates,” said Rodger Reese, Port Director & CEO of the Port of Galveston.
Quick Facts:
- Terminal cost: $125 million dollars
- Parking: Terminal will have three new parking lots, adding 2,000 extra parking spaces. It’ll cost you just under $20 a day to park at the new terminal.
- When will it open? The third terminal is 60% complete, set to welcome the Royal Caribbean’s “Allure of the Seas” cruise ship in October, and the first sail is scheduled for November.
- About 5,000 people will be able to board the “The Allure of the Seas,” which will feel like a city on the ocean, fully equipped with a roller coaster and even a real-life park with living trees. You can start booking your trip and parking passes now.
Carnival also announced the addition of a new ship “The Jubilee,” adding about 1,500 more passengers to Terminal 2, so the Port of Galveston understands: more service, more passengers, more traffic and they’re looking ahead to address that need in their long-term master plan.
“We’ve developed an internal road network. In our master plan, we are looking into adding a road that goes down the middle of the port,” said Reese, Port Director & CEO of the Port of Galveston.
“I’m excited to have this ship here... I think we’re about 300 miles from the surrounding largest Texas cities and thousands come here from national and international flights, so that puts a lot of people here,” said Sharon Lewis, Council Member District 1 for the City of Galveston.
The expansion doesn’t stop here. The Port of Galveston has plans to build a potential fourth terminal, but those details have not been finalized just yet. we’ll be sure to keep you posted on all the latest!