Royal Caribbean International's new $125 million cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas, recently opened its doors and welcomed the 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 facility's opening and the Texas debut of its revolutionary Oasis Class.
Royal Caribbean executives, government and port officials and partners celebrated the milestone achievement. The dignitaries included U.S. representative Randy Weber, Federal Commissioner Louis Sola, Mayor Craig Brown, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley and Port Director Rodger Rees. 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, it's estimated the new terminal will welcome as many as 630,000 vacationers each year.
Royal Caribbean's Galveston facility has a sustainable design and is poised to become the first LEED Zero Energy facility in the world, generating 100 percent of the energy it needs through onsite solar panels.
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. The cruise line selected the husband-and-wife team for their one-of-a-kind concept that's inspired by Galveston's rich musical heritage, which includes the likes of Galveston-native and Grammy Award-winning, bass-baritone singer and songwriter Barry White.
Allure set sail from the new homeport on its first cruise on Sunday, November 13. The Oasis Class ship has in store a lineup of thrills, restaurants, nightlife, entertainment and more across seven signature neighborhoods, including the open-air Central Park with thousands of real plants and the Boardwalk neighborhood filled with ways to play and the one-of-a-kind AquaTheater entertainment venue that comes alive with high divers, acrobats, aerialists and more. From a nine-story-high zip line and two FlowRider surf simulators to rock climbing, ice skating, and original productions that span four stages—air, ice, water and theater—there's adventure from end to end.
When it comes to refueling in between the action, the 30-plus restaurants, bars and lounges on board serve up a range of flavors like family-style Italian classics at Giovanni's Table, American steakhouse favorites at Chops Grille and fresh sushi and sizzling hibachi at Izumi. New concepts and dishes are coming to Allure as well, including Wipeout Cafe featuring El Loco Fresh. Fitting for the ship's new home in Texas, the venue will serve up El Loco Fresh's popular, grab-and-go Mexican delights like made-to-order quesadillas, tacos, nachos and more. Plus, joining the staples guests know and love at Giovanni's Table will be menu items such as crispy calamari, eggplant parmigiana and caprese salad.
Vacationers can enjoy all that Allure has to offer on the new seven-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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