Galveston Island is located in the Gulf of Mexico, around two miles off the coast of Texas. Considered a state treasure, Galveston features 32 miles of beautiful beaches, excellent restaurants, and top-notch resort hotels. Visitors will also find spectacular shopping opportunities, amazing art galleries, exciting entertainment, and some of the most well preserved 19th century Victorian architecture in the country. While millions of tourists frequently travel to Galveston by air and land, sailing aboard Galveston cruise ships is also a top choice for thousands of passengers each year.
The popular Port of Galveston, Texas had more than 500,000 embarking passengers in 2005, and nearly 700,000 in 2006. Additionally, the port welcomed 233 cruise ships in 2005, and 255 in 2006. Galveston cruise ships such as Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Conquest and Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas are just a few of the vessels that frequent the bustling Port of Galveston.
The state of Texas is home to a whopping 16 ports of call. In addition to the Port of Galveston, other ports include: Orange, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Houston, Texas City, Freeport, Palacios, Port Lavaca-Point Comfort, West Calhoun, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Port Mansfield, Harlingen, Port Isabel, and Brownsville. The most popular Texas port is Galveston, of course, with Port Isabel and Port of Houston coming in at a close second and third.
Besides Royal Caribbean and Carnival, there are many other cruise lines that enter and exit the Port of Galveston regularly along with a number of different types of cruises. American Hawaii Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Commodore Cruises, Costa Cruises, Princess Cruise Lines, Cunard Line, Delta Queen, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Royal Olympic Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, and Windstar Cruises. Destinations run the gamut from Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal, Europe, and Transatlantic cruises, Greek Islands, and more.
The main cruise lines with itineraries leaving Galveston, Texas are also among the most popular cruise lines in the world. The main cruise lines with itineraries leaving Galveston, Texas include: Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International, and Princess Cruises. Carnival cruises out of Galveston to Mexico and the Caribbean range in length from 4-7 days. These cruises have itineraries that include service to Cozumel and Playa del Carmen, Mexico, as well as a variety of Caribbean ports.
One of the 4-day Western Caribbean Carnival cruises from Galveston, Texas sails to Cozumel, offering round-trip service to and from Galveston. A Carnival 7-day Western Caribbean cruise features roundtrip service to and from Galveston with stops in Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and Cozumel, Mexico. To find out more about Carnival cruises leaving from Galveston visit the Carnival Cruise Lines website.
Royal Caribbean International features Galveston cruise ship sailings such as 7-day cruises to various ports along the Mexican coast and the Western Caribbean such as Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Progresso & Cozumel, Mexico. You will also find Transatlantic sailings (such as a 15-night cruise) leaving from Barcelona, Spain and sailing into the Port of Galveston, and a 13-night cruise leaving from the Port of Galveston and sailing into Barcelona, Spain.
For more information about Galveston cruise ships, visit the Port of Galveston website.