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Carnival Newest and Largest and RCL Update


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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 EXPANSIONS 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

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Being stuck in West Texas where rain is usually a myth, we love taking cruises for our vacation and have been wanting to try a Quantum or Oasis class ship and if we can do that without the added hassle of flying than awesome.

With the Texas economy continuing to hum along and diversify itself away from energy we can support a larger more robust cruise industry. I would like to see a more diverse itinerary, but being so much further away from the eastern Caribbean does hurt us from a geography position. I do like that it appears Carnival is going to be doing more southern Caribbean trips over the next few years, as well as some panama canal cruises.

I wonder what they plan to do for parking? Probably will have to build some parking garages but how big can they build on Galveston Island?

We're coming for you Florida. (that last line was a joke we have a long way to go to catch the Florida ports, but we can continue to solidify our spot as number 2.

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Royal Caribbean and Galveston Memorandum of Understanding for Terminal # 3 and Oasis Class Ship .........................

Port Director of Galveston Rees is saying " the port has a memorandum of understanding with Royal Caribbean and is working toward a contract. Royal Caribbean would build the terminal, investing about $100 million in Galveston.

The Port of Galveston will lease the cruise line 10 acres of land. It will turn unused portions of Pier 10 into surface parking, and it will provide utilities to the pier. Rees expects construction to begin by the end of this year, if the contract is finalized as expected.

That would free up the terminal where Royal Caribbean currently operates for new cruise lines. "

 

To quote:

“That would free up the terminal # 1 ,

where Royal Caribbean currently operates for NEW cruise lines. “

 

 

With new cruise lines wanting to come into Galveston,

and with the existing fierce competition between Carnival and Royal Caribbean ,

and with bigger and more efficient ships , ...

Cuba , Eastern and Southern Caribbean itineraries can certainly be in the future of Galveston.

Cuba is building six new terminals.. And new terminals are being built on Western Caribbean destinations ports of call. .

 

Presently with many repositioning and transatlantic cruises in/out of Galveston ,

different ports and itineraries are available now .

Look at cruises for Royal Caribbean Vision and Enchantment Ships , all Carnival Ships , and Disney Ships with different ports and itineraries into/out Galveston. .

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  • 2 weeks later...

Captain on Liberty on September 1 , 2018 during Captains Corner get together, said Liberty leaving Galveston May 3 2020 and plans are still for an Oasis Class ship coming into Galveston. Captain also said it informally another time on this weeks Liberty cruise .

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