The Port of Galveston announced last year plans to build a third cruise pier. Those details are forthcoming. However, in December 2018 Galveston officials talked about building it as a much larger pier. Royal Caribbean officials discussed their desire to bring a larger ship to Galveston. On Tuesday, I wrote that only the Liberty of the Seas is scheduled in Galveston past April 2021. It looks like there will be more good news for Galveston cruisers. However, a Galveston Oasis class announcement has been delayed. Royal Caribbean should announce more details in early December.
Let’s review what we know. Royal Caribbean has consistently run two ships out of Galveston for some time now. One typically runs 7 day Western Caribbean itineraries. The other is usually a smaller, older ship. It focuses on 4 and 5 night runs to Mexico. The Liberty of the Seas departs Galveston for good at the end of October 2021. This would mean only one ship in Galveston Summer 2021. It would also mean nothing in Galveston past October 2021. That seems exceedingly unlikely.
So what ships are coming to Galveston?
The first part of the puzzle is easy. Why hasn’t Royal Caribbean announced which ship will join the Liberty for short runs? Shorter Caribbean sailings will be announced the week of December 16. The Adventure of the Seas will spend a few months in Galveston starting November 2020. Her next destination is Europe in May 2021. I suspect Royal will move the Explorer of the Seas to Galveston. There is a great deal of speculation about that on the message boards. The Explorer is in the same class of ships as the Adventure and the Navigator. Galveston Cruise Reviews will, of course, keep you updated.
The second part of the announcement is harder. What about a Galveston Oasis Class ship? I am confident that Royal Caribbean will announce Allure of the Seas Galveston sailings. Look for that announcement in early December. Some travel agents reported that those sailings are loaded into the system. They simply aren’t available for booking yet. That is also consistent with the holes in the schedule. Those sailings would start in November 2021. We will follow the situation closely and write more as soon as there is an official announcement.
Correction
An earlier version of this story speculated that the Adventure of the Seas might stay in Galveston. However, Royal Caribbean has announced she will move to Europe in Summer 2021. We corrected it the same day, and we apologize for the mistake.
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