On August 20, 2024, construction began at the Port of Galveston converting an existing warehouse into the port’s fourth cruise terminal. The $151 million cruise complex at Pier 16 will include a cruise terminal and a parking garage when it opens in November 2025. The cruise terminal will be home to MSC Seascape, making it MSC Cruises fourth U.S. home port.
The construction was celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by executives from MSC Cruises and the Cruise LInes International Association, elected officials, community leaders and port partners. Galveston Wharves port director and CEO, Rodger Rees, and MSC Cruises U.S. Chairman, Rick Sasso, unveiled a large-scale rendering of the complex with MSC Seascape docked at the terminal.
Rodger Rees, Galveston Wharves port director and CEO, said, “We have so much to celebrate today with this milestone and what it means to our community, cruise guests and port partners. This beautiful new terminal will generate jobs and economic growth for the region, an exciting new cruise choice for our market, and growth opportunities for our port partners. We also want to take this opportunity to give a warm, Texas welcome to MSC Cruises, the world’s third largest cruise line. Having a cruise line of this stature homeporting in Galveston says a great deal about our position in the U.S. and global cruise markets.”
The Port of Galveston is the fourth most popular cruise home port in the United States and home to ships from Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Disney Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, and, in 2025, MSC Cruises. By 2026, Rees expects the port to welcome more than 2 million passengers annually which would be a record for Galveston since it became a cruise home port.
When she sails from Galveston, MSC Seascape will offer 7-night Western Caribbean voyages with ports of call in Roatan, Honduras; Cozumel, Mexico; and Costa Maya, Mexico.