Construction on Royal Caribbean's new cruise terminal in Galveston was celebrated with an official kickoff ceremony over the weekend.
On Saturday, Royal Caribbean and the Port of Galveston celebrated the start of construction of the Terminal 3 cruise terminal.
Attending the groundbreaking was U.S. Congressman Randy Weber, Texas Rep. Mayes Middleton, City of Galveston Mayor Dr. Craig Brown, and City Councilmember Marie Robb. Representatives from Royal Caribbean and the Port of Galveston were also in attendance.
Work on the new facility began two months ago, but the official groundbreaking ceremony was held to coincide with Independence of the Seas departing Galveston, becoming the first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to sail from Galveston since March 2020.
After completing her test cruise earlier this month, Independence of the Seas received her Conditional Sailing Certificate from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Terminal 3 will be built at Pier 10 for exclusive use by Royal Caribbean on a 10 acre parcel of land, which will eventually be the new homeport for Allure of the Seas.
The cruise terminal is estimated to cost $110 million and encompass 150,000 square feet of space.
The facility will feature state-of-the-art technology, including mobile check-in and facial recognition to expedite guest arrival. The terminal will be designed and developed sustainably to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental) certification standards.
Construction of the terminal should be completed by November 2022.
Once construction is complete, Allure of the Seas is scheduled to arrive on November 13, 2022.
