Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas will homeport in Galveston beginning in 2020, becoming the largest Royal Caribbean vessel yet to sail short voyages out of the Texas port. The cruise line released the news this week as they announced their 2020-2021 North American ship deployments.
Additional Capacity for Galveston
As we previously reported, Royal Caribbean has steadily increased its capacity in Galveston. The cruise line is currently in the process of building a third cruise terminal, large enough to welcome the cruise line’s larger vessels.
And while Royal Caribbean has had large ships sailing on 7-day cruises for years now (currently served by Liberty of the Seas), it added additional sailings for shorter journeys with the Enchantment of the Seas and Vision of the Seas. Both of those vessels are much smaller than the Liberty of the Seas.
Adventure of the Seas represents an upgrade over those smaller vessels. When it arrives in November 2020, the Adventure will replace the Enchantment of the Seas. That ship was built in 1997, and comes in at 83,000 tons, with the capacity for about 2,500 passengers.
The Adventure of the Seas was built in 2001 and weighs 137,000 gross tons and can carry more than 3,100 passengers. The ship will sail primarily four and five-night itineraries out of Galveston. Those cruises include stops in Progreso, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. In addition, passengers can enjoy “only-on-Royal” favorites like the Splashaway Bay waterpark and the Perfect Storm trio of waterslides.
When she starts sailing, Adventure of the Seas will join Liberty of the Seas, which will continue to offer 7-night Caribbean cruises from the Texas port.
Other Deployments for Royal Caribbean Ships
In addition to the big news for Galveston, other Royal Caribbean ships will have new homeports in the coming years.
San Juan
In another homeport first, Enchantment of the Seas will make San Juan, Puerto Rico its winter port after summering in Galveston. Enchantment will sail 7-night voyages to the Southern Caribbean, including Barbados and Dominica. Freedom of the Seas, which will undergo refurbishment in March 2020 as part of the “Royal Amplified” fleet modernization program, will continue to homeport in San Juan year-round.
Florida
Explorer of the Seas will unveil her facelift with a summer season in Europe before returning to Miami. Explorer’s Miami-based voyages will include 5- and 9-night cruises sailings to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacoa. The ship will also visit Royal Caribbean’s private destination in Labadee, Haiti as well as Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, in the Bahamas.
Independence of the Seas returns to Fort Lauderdale in November 2020, sailing 4- and 5-night cruises to the Western Caribbean and Nassau. Select sailings will call on Perfect Day at CocoCay. Vision of the Seas will also sail out of Fort Lauderdale. The ship will offer 10- and 11-night cruises to the Southern Caribbean, including St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Thomas, San Juan, Antigua and St. Maarten.
Rhapsody of the Seas returns to her longtime homeport of Tampa. The ship’s 7-night itineraries will call on Grand Cayman, Belize and Mexico. Also sailing out of Tampa, Brilliance of the Seas will offer 4- and 5-night sailings to the Western Caribbean.
