By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
“’If you build it,’ I told Rodger,’ we will come,’ and here we are,” said Dan Farkas an executive with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH).
Rodger Rees, Galveston port director, echoed the conversation he had had with Farkas several years ago.
Farkas and Reese smiled and exchanged paperwork while they each signed the official contract between the Port of Galveston and NCLH to begin sailing out of Galveston when the newest terminal opens in November 2025.
The Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees unanimously approved the contract at a special meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15. This is the second major cruise line to commit to homeport at Cruise Terminal 16.
The port broke ground in August to convert an existing cargo warehouse into the port’s fourth cruise terminal. The cruise complex at Pier 16 will include a 165,000-square-foot terminal and a $55 million parking garage.
With the opening of the new terminal, Rees estimated that the port would serve more than 2 million passengers a year beginning in 2026. Reaching these numbers would mean reaching a new milestone in Galveston’s 24 years as a cruise home port.
The signing event took place at the Galveston Economic Development Partnership Summit.