More than 650,000 cruise passengers sailed out of the Port of Galveston in the first four months of 2025, a 7.6% increase over the same period a year ago and 2% over what was forecast for the period, according to the latest statistics from the port.

Galveston has consistently expanded its cruise capacity with new terminals and larger ships in recent years. A total of 12 ships have sailed out of Galveston so far this year including vessels operated by Carnival, Disney, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean. Galveston is currently the fourth business cruise homeport in the nation following the three ports in South Florida.

This November, the port will open its fourth cruise terminal. The $156 million project is turning two former cargo buildings into a single 160,000-square-foot terminal that will house ships from MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line.

Meanwhile other cruise lines such as Disney are reportedly looking at increasing their sailings out of Galveston.

Data from the Port of Galveston indicates the cruise industry accounted for over 4,500 jobs and $732 million generated for Galveston's economy in 2023. That’s in addition to more than $25 million in state and local taxes.

The Galveston cruise business also boosts the region’s overall hospitality industry as many cruise passengers travel into the Houston market from elsewhere in Texas and beyond. Those visitors often stay at hotels on the front or backside of their cruise, eat in local restaurants and enjoy area attractions.

See how the area hotel market is performing so far this year.

Written by A.J. Mistretta