Royal Caribbean's new terminal in Texas is generated by solar panels

Royal Caribbean International’s new $125 million (USD) cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas, has opened its doors and welcomed the Lone Star State’s largest cruise ship, Allure of the Seas. 

The cruise line held a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Port of Galveston to mark the state-of-the-art facility’s opening and the Texas debut of its Oasis Class.

The city of Galveston also marked the day with a proclamation, recognizing the cruise line’s commitment to the city and the successful partnership started more than 20 years ago when Royal Caribbean first set sail from Galveston. With the introduction of the Oasis Class, the world’s largest cruise ships, its estimated the new terminal will welcome as many as 630,000 vacationers each year.

“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.”

Sustainable design

Royal Caribbean’s Galveston facility is as bold in its sustainable design as the bold adventures that vacationers have in store. 

The terminal will break even more new ground as the first LEED Zero Energy facility in the world, generating 100 per cent of the energy it needs through onsite solar panels. 

From the start, the design strategies used to develop the terminal were 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.

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. 

Allure will set sail from the new homeport on its first cruise on Sunday, Nov. 13.

Vacationers can enjoy all that Allure has to offer on the new 7-night Western Caribbean cruises from Galveston and visit sun-soaked destinations, such as Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; and Roatan, Honduras, for the winter 2022-2023 season.

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