Royal Caribbean sees big passenger potential in Texas – Cruise Industry News

Royal Caribbean Group has high expectations for the Texas market, said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, speaking on the company’s third-quarter earnings results.

Liberty said the Texas market was larger than Florida, “and has similar cruise consideration, but only half the penetration.”

That has led to a number of important investments and strategic steps, starting with a new state-of-the-art terminal in Galveston, which opened in 2022.

This will be followed by Royal Beach Club Cozumel and a larger project in Perfect Day Mexico.

“Perfect Day Mexico is strategically located to deliver exceptional vacation experiences in both the Eastern and Western Caribbean, supporting our ambition that every Royal Caribbean brand guest will have a Perfect Day on their Caribbean itinerary. It also allows us to continue to grow the large and growing Gulf Coast area,” Liberty said.

Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, also noted that there would be an increased number of short cruises from Texas, Louisiana, North Florida and Tampa.

“And of course we can offer an extraordinary short break from these ports to Perfect Day (Mexico) and Royal Beach Club Cozumel. So we think this is really a huge competitive advantage,” Bayley said.

“We opened our brand new terminal (in Galveston) just as we were coming out of the pandemic, which was a huge success. It is incredibly efficient and can handle the large Oasis and Icon class ships. So when you think about that class of ships that are sailing at short notice to Perfect Day Mexico and Royal Beach Club, we think we really have a great product offering for our customers from Texas and all Gulf ports.”