RyG's Cruise Guide
Please Like Us On Facebook!
  • Home
  • Cruise Tips
  • Cruise Resources
    • Cruise Schedules
    • Carnival Drydock Schedule
    • Carnival Cruise Director Schedule
    • Carnival Dive In Movies Schedule
    • Galveston Cruises
    • General Cruise Blog
    • Cruise Ship Webcams
    • Just For Fun
  • Carnival Cruise Food
  • My Cruise Reviews
  • Blog
  • Contact

What Galveston Might Look Like With An Oasis Class Cruise Ship

3/13/2015

 
Galveston Cruise Terminal
     When the Liberty of the Seas comes to Galveston later this year (2015) to replace the Navigator of the Seas, it is marking a capacity and ship size increase for Galveston. Since Royal Caribbean already has two Oasis Class vessels (Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas) and a few more vessels for this class on the way, the company is going to have to homeport each of these ships somewhere. 
       Could Galveston be the homeport to one of these ships in the future? Only time will tell, but for now it is interesting and fun imagining what Galveston might need to change to accommodate one of these ships. What would Galveston's cruise terminal area look like with an Oasis Class ship docked?


I.  The Pier Must Be Able To Accommodate The Ship 
         The Oasis of the Seas is long (approximately 1,186 ft. in length), while the Liberty of the Seas is approximately 1,125 ft. long. Based on these figure's from each ship's fact sheets, the pier in Galveston would need to be able to accommodate a ship 61 feet longer than Liberty of the Seas in order to fit a ship the size of the Oasis of the Seas. Sixty one feet doesn't seem to be too much longer and some work could probably be done to Cruise Terminal 2's pier in the future to accommodate this ship's length.

II.  Traffic Problems On Harborside Drive Would Be A Little Worse Than They Already Are
          An increase in passengers would bring an increase in traffic at the port when a ship is docked. More cars would be looking for a place to park and drop off/pick up lines could be longer. Galveston's Harborside Drive is already a busy place when cruise ships are in because all of the cars, parking lot buses, and airport shuttles. Imagine the traffic nightmare during peak embarkation times, if there is an Oasis Class ship docked in Galveston and one of Carnival's Dream class ships docked at the same time. If this scenario were ever a possibility, Galveston would need to look for  ways to alleviate traffic on Harborside Drive. 
           The Oasis of the Seas carries 5,400 guests double occupancy and the Liberty of the Seas carries 3,634 guests double occupancy, according to each ship's respective fact sheets. Remember, double occupancy only represents each room being filled at 2 guests. Many staterooms can often accommodate 3 or 4 guests.  However, the double occupancy capacity difference between these ships is 1766 passengers. To put this into perspective, lets say there are 4 cruise passengers per car. This would add approximately 442 cars to the road that would need parking spaces. Congestion on Harborside Drive would increase significantly as well as competition for available parking spots.

III. Parking Lots Rejoice! More People Increases Demand For Parking, And Potential To Earn More Revenue
           Cruise parking lots currently appear to be highly utilized in Galveston because Carnival has 3 ships, Royal Caribbean has one ship, and Disney sails some years seasonally. These ships are coming in at least once per week and each time one cruise ends a new set of guests need to be parked.  Passengers that are dropped off or shuttled from the airport, of course, wouldn't need to park. However, all of the passengers that drive to their cruise would need a place to park, which would likely increase demand for parking spots. 
            More people needing a place to park would help cruise parking lots fill their spaces. A vacant parking space doesn't earn money and I am sure parking lot owners would be happy to have their parking spots filled to capacity. 
            The Port of Galveston has its own parking lots and there are many independent privately owned parking lots near the cruise terminals. Most of them vary in parking price and number of available parking spots. As a whole, I wonder if Galveston (the port and independent lots combined) could handle an increase in passenger capacity. Are there enough spots for everyone?  My guess is if ship capacity increases in Galveston someone would open a new lot or some current parking lots would be revamped to increase parking capacity.  

IV. The Channel and Depth
              I don't know the length or depth of the waterway around Galveston's port or cruise terminals, but I do know that the water must be deep enough to accommodate any ship needing to sail through it. I tried finding detailed information about Galveston's waterway depths, but I was not successful in finding this information. Galveston's port would need to be deep enough for an Oasis Class ship to dock and there would need to be an area wide enough for the ship to have room to turn around. Currently, the Navigator of the Seas and Carnival Magic typically turn around before arriving at their designated terminal in Galveston. These ships appear too large to turn in the area directly around the cruise terminal, based on my observations. When these two ships don't turn around before arriving, they typically will back out and turn around during sail-a-way. 

V.  More Cruisers = More Tourism
             Galveston should want its cruise ship industry to grow because as more people come to the island for a cruise, these vacationers will often check out local attractions, dine in restaurants, and stay in hotels. Of course, some cruisers will only come to Galveston Island to cruise and then leave, but many people will check out the attractions Galveston has to offer. Cruise ships are often known for generating tourism dollars and if Galveston's cruise capacity increases, it is safe to say an increase in tourism revenue will follow. 

             Only time will tell if Galveston gets an Oasis Class ship or maybe even a Quantum Class ship. For now, I can only imagine how things would look if Galveston gets a bigger ship. As cruise ships get bigger and older smaller ships are phased out, some cruise ports will get these larger ships if their facilities can handle the size of the ship. For now, Galveston's Royal Caribbean cruisers can enjoy the Navigator of the Seas and then the Liberty of the Seas when it comes in late 2015. 

Please Like RyG's Cruise Guide On Facebook!
Click Here To View Our Facebook Profile


Comments are closed.

    RyG's Cruise Guide
    Blog 

    Like Us On Facebook
    For new and featured blog posts and articles please like us on Facebook! 

    Click Here For Our Profile

    Now Ongoing!
    Carnival Breeze 5 Day 2022
    Click Here To View

    Quick Links:

    Carnival Dry-Docks
    Carnival Cruise Food
    My Cruise Reviews
    Galveston Cruise Guide

    Archives:

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

Home        About Us        Contact Us        Privacy Policy & Disclaimer

www.embarkandaway.com     Thank you for visiting RyG's Cruise Guide!
RyG's Cruise Guide is not affiliated with any cruise line or travel organization. Any information is subject to change at any time given that the cruise industry is always changing. Due to the Covid pandemic, crew staffing shortages, and supply chain issues information could change without updates being made here. I always recommend checking with your cruise line for the latest information related to onboard amenities and Covid protocols. 

Connect With Us!