Galveston will get more cruise ship passengers

 

The governing board of the Port of Galveston on Monday approved spending $190,000 to nearly triple the number of seats at the Texas Cruise Ship Terminal, from 1,350 to 3,640, reports the Galveston Daily News.

 

The money also will pay for crowd control barriers, the news outlet says.

 

The $190,000 appropriation for chairs and barriers is just part of what will eventually amount to a $12 million outlay in improvements at the terminal, the Daily News says. Also in the works is a new screening area for embarking passengers, additional restrooms and a new gangway.

 

The improvements comes in advance of a major expansion at the port by industry giant Carnival.

 

Carnival's newest ship, the 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic will begin seven-day Caribbean cruises out of Galveston on Nov. 14, becoming the largest ship based in Texas year-round. In addition, the 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph, currently based in New Orleans, will reposition to Galveston on Oct. 6 to sail year-round four- and five-day western Caribbean cruises.

 

Carnival currently has two ships with a smaller total capacity operating out of Galveston -- the 2,974-passenger Carnival Conquest and 2,052-passenger Carnival Ecstasy. When the two new ships arrive, the Conquest and Ecstasy will in turn move to New Orleans to operate year-round departures.

 

Two other cruise operators, Princess Cruises and Disney Cruise Line, also recently announced plans to move ships to Galveston.

 

In March, Princess revealed it would send the 3,070-passenger Crown Princess to Galveston for the winter of 2012-13, operating a series of 19 seven-night sailings to the Western Caribbean. The line last offered voyages out of Galveston in 2007.

 

In April, Disney announced the 1,754-passenger Disney Magic would sail a series of 12 voyages out of Galveston starting in September, 2012.

 

Also sailing out of Galveston, on a seasonal basis, is Royal Caribbean. The line's 3,114-passenger Mariner of the Seas will sail out of the port this coming winter, taking the place of the 3,114-passenger Voyager of the Seas.