Galveston Terminal # 2 expansion opening

By CHACOUR KOOP The Daily News | Posted 11 hours ago

The wait is over.

For the first time, passengers Sunday will board their ship through the $13.2 million expansion of Cruise Terminal No. 2, a facility built to accommodate the largest cruise ship to call at the Port of Galveston but marred by months of delays. Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Liberty of the Seas, a 1,111-foot-long ship with capacity for 4,200 people, will be the first vessel to welcome passengers through the two-story, 60,000-square-foot expansion.

While the project won’t be complete until late July, the port is using the new part of Terminal No. 2 so it can remodel the original part of the terminal, Port Director Michael Mierzwa said.

The expansion includes a check-in area, a large waiting room and a ramp for disembarking passengers, which will be more efficient than the previous exit route — an escalator prone to breaking down, officials said. The existing part of the cruise terminal will have a significantly expanded space for passengers to line up for screening and a separate baggage area for travelers to pick suitcases up after their trip.

The port is also rolling out valet service for the first time this weekend. Valet drivers will be available for passengers boarding at both cruise terminals on today and Sunday. In hopes of generating cash from 159 parking spaces at the Galveston Transit Terminal, the port entered a three-month trial period with Sovereign Services, a Houston parking company. Parking will cost $20 per day.

If the idea works, the port will put out a bid for valet parking services, Mierzwa said.

The cruise terminal expansion and other improvements, which total $16.3 million, has been delayed numerous times.

In January 2014, the port’s governing board approved a five-year agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises that would generate a minimum of $1.86 million in annual operating revenue for the public docks. The deal was predicated on the port making improvements to Cruise Terminal No. 2. Royal Caribbean said the agreement would mean more island sailings and promised a larger vessel — Liberty of the Seas — to replace its Navigator of the Seas.

Construction of the expanded terminal was slowed because engineers found problems. Without a substantial upgrade to the supporting piles, soil conditions would have made the foundation in a section of the building subject to considerable settlement. The expansion was supposed to be completed by the first sailing of Liberty of the Seas in November. The cost increased to $13.2 million.

To satisfy the cruise line, the Wharves Board of Trustees, which governs the port, approved rental of a 10,000-square-foot tent to keep waiting passengers inside. The tent cost $75,000 a month for the first three months and $35,000 per month after that. The port also bought a $48,000 portable restroom and parked it adjacent to the tent.

Renting the tent, which will be taken down after the Fourth of July weekend, cost $434,100, Mierzwa said.

Constructing three additional mooring bollards and dockage to secure the Liberty of the Seas was hampered by a search expedition for a 19th century Texas Navy Ship. In September, work on the $2.9 million project was delayed until archaeologists determined the site had no signs of the warship Zavala.

In 1842, the Zavala was run aground in a mud flat to keep it from sinking and then allowed to deteriorate, according to historical reports. Because the site is of historical interest, the state required the port to secure an antiquities permit and allow archaeologists to conduct surveys.

Contact reporter Chacour Koop at 409-683-5241 or chacour.koop@galvnews.com.

Hooray!!!!!! :D :D :D

I hope people going through Terminal 2 will start posting pictures both of the boarding, waiting process as well as going through the return process. Some before and after comparisons would be great!

Love the idea of an exit ramp instead of the escalator, if I understood the article correctly. One of the really scary parts of self-debarkation for me, at any port, is using the escalator with my bags, which were usually top-heavy and always awkward for me to control on the escalator. Always had visions of losing control of my luggage and causing an accident.

Pat

Yay! Finally! I'll be there on Sept 18 so can't wait to see what it looks like!:)

I'll be there in August and will surely get pics!! Exciting news....

I hope the valet parking works. We used it in Tampa on several cruises and it was great, especially with my Mom in a wheelchair.

Great news!! :D

Really great to hear. We are taking our first Galveston cruise in September so hopefully they we have the new terminal routine down by then. :)

Love the idea of an exit ramp instead of the escalator, if I understood the article correctly. One of the really scary parts of self-debarkation for me, at any port, is using the escalator with my bags, which were usually top-heavy and always awkward for me to control on the escalator. Always had visions of losing control of my luggage and causing an accident.

 

 

 

Pat

This happened to me in Ft. Lauderdale. My dad broke my fall but still was an extremely embarrassing situation. My bags tumbled to the bottom of the escalator [emoji15]

Looking forward to seeing the new terminal in September!

That's good to hear! I'll be leaving from there in 3 weeks on July 17th. I'll try to remember to take some pics of the terminal.

Can't wait to see pictures of the expansion. We've never had issues but know that many experienced delays disembarking. Hoping this will address the problem.

DW and I are on the August 21 sailing. When we sailed in February it wasn't the most accommodating place.

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