For as long as most Americans can remember, the idea of going on a luxury cruise has conjured up notions of jetting down to the sun-baked pastel and palm tree-lined ports of Fort Lauderdale or Miami, but in recent years, that dream has shifted west – and so have the cruise lines.
As Jacob Passy of the Wall Street Journal reports, Galveston has become a key port and destination for the whole cruise industry. He joined the Texas Standard to discuss his reporting.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: What made Galveston so hot among the big cruise lines?
Jacob Passy: I think there’s a few factors. First off, the sheer number of people who live in close proximity to Galveston. I mean, you’ve got tens of millions of people within a reasonable drive of the city. And that’s just like a huge market that the cruise lines can tap into for prospective customers.
And folks would obviously rather drive to a cruise than fly, and it removes some of the cost and the complexity of that. So, they always want to tap into these drive-to markets.
And it seems like there’s more space at the port. Have they been doing some expansion or something like that?
Yeah, so they’ve definitely been expanding. They’re set to debut a new terminal later this year. They’ve built out other terminals in recent years. And yeah, it’s not quite developed to the same extent as the ports in Florida.
You also have issues in some of those Florida ports, like Port Canaveral, which has the space business also operating there, so they have to limit some of their cruise activity because of that.
So Galveston has room to grow, and they’re certainly taking advantage.
By my count, six major players you talk about sail out of Galveston: Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess Cruises, Disney, Norwegian Cruise Line. You know, that’s not like just one or two companies that are doing business there.
Yeah, we’re seeing a real embrace from the cruise industry in Galveston. MSC Cruises is set to start sailing later this year when the new terminal opens.
And it’s not just that they’re sailing, they’re also bringing some of their newest ships. I mean, the Carnival Jubilee, which is one of the newest ships in Carnival’s fleet, is themed to Texas because it homeports in Galveston.
Some of these other cruise ports outside of Florida will get the older ships, the smaller ships — they’re not getting the newest and shiniest, fanciest vessels. But cruise lines, because of how popular Galveston has become as a cruise port, are actually sending their biggest ships there, which is kind of interesting to see in a shift from what you might expect.
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Well, Galveston wouldn’t seem like necessarily the most logical place as a hub for luxury cruises. I mean, it’s obviously further from the Caribbean than, say, Miami is. Where are these folks going to?
Yeah, so they’re definitely going to Mexico, and you’re seeing the cruise industry take advantage of that. Royal Caribbean’s developing a new private island off the Yucatán Peninsula, and that’s going to largely cater to ships out of Galveston. But yeah, they definitely go to Mexico and the southern Caribbean.
So, thinking of destinations like Aruba, places like that, they’re still far from Galveston, but they’re also far from Florida. Those sailings are certainly feasible out of Galveston. But that is a challenge that the cruise industry readily admits to — Galveston is just further away from the places people want to go during their cruise vacations, and they have to address that.
I had not heard about this new exclusive island that they’re building. That’s really a fascinating thing, and it sort of speaks to Galveston’s rising profile in the industry.
I wonder, too, though, how much cost is a factor. Is it cheaper to do your business out of Galveston than it might be, say, out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale?
You know, there are still fees and stuff like that that the cruise lines have to pay, but I think for the travelers, it can certainly be cheaper. Even if the cost of the sailing is not necessarily cheaper, flights are often going to be, and again, a lot of people are driving to the port, which is cheaper than paying for airfare.
The cruise industry is always trying to position itself as an affordable alternative to land-based vacations. To the extent that that fuels that kind of image, it makes it popular with customers and benefits the cruise lines.
I can’t help but think that it also benefits Galveston because, I mean, you have an uptick in tourists leaving on cruises. That’s got to affect the local economy there.
And then also, unless I misunderstood something in your story, is Galveston becoming kind of like a destination as well?
Yeah, I think that Galveston is growing in terms of its profile nationwide as kind of an alternative destination.
In general, some of the beach towns in Florida — I have a co-worker who’s working on a story right now about how some of those towns are cracking down on spring break and stuff like that, and you see similar destinations in Texas taking advantage of that and trying to position themselves as alternatives.
The cruise business in Galveston is the rising tide that lifts all ships. The hotels and businesses in Galveston certainly benefit because it’s pretty common for folks to want to get into the port city a day early, just so that they’re not rushed before they board the ship. And so they’ll eat in the local restaurants, go to the beach, etc.
So Galveston is certainly benefiting from this. And I think that’s also why you see the business growing — because the local leaders there are all in.
Now, Jacob, I have to ask you on the personal front here. I know you have connections with Florida. You live in New York nowadays, I gather. Have you had a chance to go out and visit Galveston yourself?
I have not had the chance to go to Galveston yet, but after writing this story, it certainly made its way up on my bucket list of travel destinations, let’s put it that way.
