Royal Caribbean has officially opened the doors of its state-of-the-art cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas. The cruise line held a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the $125 million cruise terminal opening and the Texas debut of its revolutionary Oasis Class ship.
With the introduction of the Oasis Class to Galveston, it's estimated the new cruise terminal will welcome as many as 630,000 passengers each year.
Royal Caribbean executives, government and port officials celebrated the milestone achievement, including U.S. representative Randy Weber, Federal Commissioner Louis Sola, and Mayor Craig Brown.
"We are thrilled to take family vacations to a whole new level in Texas. Our new, 161,334-square-foot terminal opens up a world of vacation possibilities for families in the Southwest," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "Now our unmatched Oasis Class ships, known as the best family vacations in the industry, can set sail from Galveston. Allure of the Seas is just the beginning, and we thank the Port of Galveston, Ceres and all the teams involved for making this bold vision a reality."
Generating 100% of the energy needs through onsite solar panels Royal Caribbean's Galveston facility is bold in its sustainable design and will break even more new ground as the first LEED Zero Energy facility in the world.
From the start, the project design used to develop the terminal was aligned with parent company Royal Caribbean Group's wholistic environmental goals, its focus to advance the development of sustainable infrastructure as well as its decarbonization strategy – Destination Net Zero.
"This new cruise terminal is a gamechanger for the port and the region," said Rodger Rees, Port Director, Port of Galveston. "This $125 million investment, in collaboration with Royal Caribbean, the port and Ceres, is expected to bring 800 new jobs, $1.4 billion in local business services revenue, $5.6 million in state and local taxes, and incredible business development opportunities. And, of course, Allure of the Seas means more cruising adventures for our Texas cruise guests."
Welcoming vacationers in the terminal as they make their way to Allure is a new, dynamic art sculpture named the Galveston Beach Trio by Texas-based artists Brad Oldham and Christy Coltrin of Brad Oldham Sculpture. The cruise line selected the husband-and-wife team for their one-of-a-kind concept that's inspired by Galveston's rich musical heritage, which includes the likes of Galveston-native and Grammy Award-winning, bass-baritone singer and songwriter Barry White. As the embodiment of the city's island time spirit, the stainless steel and lost-wax bronze sculpture is the perfect backdrop for the start of vacationers' getaways.
Allure of the Seas will set sail from the new homeport on its first cruise on Sunday, Nov. 13 offering 7-night Western Caribbean voyages to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; and Roatan, Honduras, for the winter 2022-2023 season.
The Oasis Class ship has in store a lineup of thrills, ways to chill, restaurants, nightlife, entertainment and more across seven signature neighborhoods, including the open-air Central Park with thousands of real plants and the Boardwalk neighborhood filled with ways to play and the one-of-a-kind AquaTheater entertainment venue that comes alive with high divers, acrobats, aerialists and more.
