Galveston Newest and Largest

Port ready to receive Carnival's newest, largest ship

By MATT DEGROOD The Daily News 10 hrs ago

The Port of Galveston recently completed improvements at Cruise Terminal No. 1 in anticipation of Carnival Cruise Line’s newest and largest ship arriving, the first of major changes coming to the public docks, a top port official said.

“When I think about the Vista coming in, it’s the first STAGE of the expansion of the cruise business in Galveston,” Director Rodger Rees said. “COUPLED with the Oasis-class ship coming in, it shows the market can sustain the passenger counts we need and it will allow the port to really start looking forward.”

The Carnival Vista, a 1,055-foot vessel, will move to Galveston on Sept. 23, replacing Carnival Breeze, and crews over the summer completed a project costing about $3.3 million to accommodate its arrival, Rees said.

Crews strengthened mooring devices, built a new gate for a gangway, improved the surface of the wharf and built a larger area that connects the passenger waiting area to the passenger loading bridge, officials said.

Port officials expected the improvements to cost about $4 million, but crews reduced expenses by completing much of the work in-house and brought the project in $700,000 under budget, Rees said.

The port will use some of the leftover money to paint the terminal’s waterfront exterior and add lighting to the interior, Rees said.

The Vista’s increased capacity of about 244 more passengers compared with the Carnival Breeze could result in 20,000 more passengers a year traveling to Galveston, officials said.

While the port undoubtedly benefits from the Vista’s arrival, it is only part of a LARGER cruise-related PICTURE at the port, Rees said.

“It’s ALL coming together at the right time,” Rees said.

Port officials are NEARING an agreement with Royal Caribbean to build a THIRD cruise terminal and bring the world’s largest passenger ship to the island in 2020 and a FOURTH cruise terminal could be part of a larger picture, Rees said.

Officials also are working to lure MRE cruise lines to the public docks, Rees said.

“This will finally help us get that steady stream of money coming in for us to leverage to reposition some cargo and fill slips,” said Ted O’Rourke, the chairman of the port’s governing board. “We don’t want all of our eggs in one basket with cruises, but to take that and enhance other areas.”

The CITY also is working on a $2.2 million PROJECT from 51st Street to Second Street along Harborside Drive that will improve TRAFFIC flow around the cruise terminals, Rees said.

The port depends heavily on revenue from cruise ships. Port officials anticipate about 55 percent of revenue budgeted for 2018 will be cruise-related.

Galveston’s port is the fourth-busiest U.S. cruise port. It’s a landlord port that generates much of its income from lease agreements with maritime tenants and fees related to ship calls.

Port officials can protect the public docks from depending overly much on cruise revenues through smart agreement structures, Elizabeth Beeton, a member of the Wharves Board of Trustees, said.

Port officials have estimated about $250 million is needed to update dilapidated facilities at the public docks and hope that growing the cruise business could help accomplish some of those renovations, Rees said.

Cruise TERMINAL No. 1 is the BIGGEST single-berth cruise terminal in the WORLD Harbormaster Brett Milutin said.

Carnival Vista, which debuted in 2017 and has been stationed in Miami, weighs about 133,500 tons and has a capacity of about 4,000 passengers.

The ship will offer two seven-day Caribbean trips, departing each Sunday. The first includes calls at Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. The other trip includes stops at Mahogany Bay, Belize and Cozumel.

Matt deGrood: 409-683-5230; matt.degrood@galvnews.com

Only one thing wrong here. The Vista is not Carnival's newest ship. The Horizon is their newest ship.

2nd cruise, this will be my first time on the Vista. Sailing in November!!! I can't wait!!!!

We're so excited about the Vista. My sisters are in the area and we try to cruise together every few years. It's an economical trip, so thank you, Carnival!

Only one thing wrong here. The Vista is not Carnival's newest ship. The Horizon is their newest ship.

that is true however the vista is the newest and largest ship to port our of Galveston and sail from there

I'm booked on the Vista Oct 14, 2018 & July 6, 2019

can't wait to check her out...

Original article stated: Officials also are working to lure MRE cruise lines to the public docks, Rees said.

Meals Ready to Eat cruises? I think they mean MSC??

that is true however the vista is the newest and largest ship to port our of Galveston and sail from there

IIRC, Liberty of the Seas is larger, so that is not true either.

Original article stated: Officials also are working to lure MRE cruise lines to the public docks, Rees said.

 

 

Meals Ready to Eat cruises? I think they mean MSC??

I hope they are talking to MSC. My DW and I loved sailing on the Divina last year.

Good general information, just disregard the errors.

Can't wait to board the Vista in about 58 days!!

Can't wait to board the Vista in about 58 days!!

Oh yeah!