For years, Galveston has been one of the fastest growing cruise ports in the country. In fact, it’s the largest cruise port outside of Florida. Now, the Texas city looks to be doing everything it can to compete with those Florida cruises.
Galveston recently debuted a brand-new Royal Caribbean terminal (Cruise Terminal 10) and an update to its existing terminal to welcome Carnival Jubilee — the first newbuild cruise ship to homeport on the island.
Most recently, the cruise port has started construction on a fourth cruise terminal on the island, and it just made a major reveal on what cruise passengers can expect.
In a celebration for the new terminal, the port revealed a number of renderings and details of what passengers can expect when the construction is completed. This included a large-scale image of the new terminal with a ship docked and ready to take passengers cruising:
Cruise Terminal 16 will sit on the water in between Cruise Terminal 25 (primarily used by Carnival) and Royal Caribbean’s Terminal 10. Construction is already underway on the spot, which currently has cargo warehouse in its place. That will be transformed into a 165,000 square foot cruise terminal at a cost of $151 million. In addition, there will be a $55 million parking garage constructed.
In addition to a new terminal, Galveston is also getting a new cruise line. MSC Cruises will be the primary tenant for Terminal 16, and will begin sailing from the island for the first time in November 2025. The cruise line will port MSC Seascape at the new terminal, where it will sail 7-night cruises to Mexico and Central America.
While the news of the new terminal and MSC’s arrival has been known for several months now, the port’s renderings give more detail into what the new facility will look like.
They show a large, modern design with enough space to easily funnel thousands of passengers from the island and onto the ship. For convenience in getting to the ship, you can also see the new parking garage sitting right at the terminal. Most ports in Florida feature this sort of design, making it simple to park and walk to boarding. Most of Galveston’s parking is a shuttle ride from the current cruise terminals.
You can take a look at more renderings of what to expect here:
With the recent growth in Galveston cruising and the addition of the new terminal, Galveston Wharves CEO Rodger Rees says the port expects more than 2 million passengers a year starting in 2026.
