For a cruise port, being the homeport for the world’s largest cruise ship is a fairly big deal. It shows not only that the port can handle such a large vessel, but it also makes for great branding in a heated competition among U.S. cruise ports.
Recent discoveries on the Port of Galveston website have driven speculation about Icon of the Seas having a potential home in Texas.
According to news reports, the website may have inadvertently put Icon of the Seas in a drop-down menu for parking reservations.
A screenshot by Chron.com showed the words “RCCL Icon of the Seas” under the “Select Your Ship” heading.
The link for the drop-down menu didn’t have a destination so perhaps it was an accident, but recent comments by port director and CEO Rodger Reese have only fueled speculation when he said in April, “We can handle it”, referring to Icon of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean has not given any new information about the ship moving to Galveston and the website has removed the ship from the drop-down menu as of this morning.
On top of this, Rees made comments again on Thursday which added to the speculation.
“As the fourth most popular cruise port in the U.S.—and one of the fastest growing—Galveston would be honored to welcome the Icon of the Seas to our state-of-the-art Royal Caribbean Cruise Terminal,” Rees said. “We’re one of the few cruise ports in the country that can accommodate this class of ship.“
Cruisers should keep in mind that this is purely speculation and no announcements have been made. It’s fun to think about where the world’s largest cruise ship will go next, but until we hear concrete news, it’s all just fun to think about.
Some other large cruise ships have recently begun offering sailings out of Galveston, including Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas and Carnival Jubilee, Carnival’s largest ship.
Icon of the Seas currently sails out of PortMiami. Sailings out of the Florida cruise port are available through April of 2026.
The 248,663 gross ton ship is capable of carrying up to 7,600 passengers and 2,350 crew and has been the world’ largest cruise ship since it was launched in December of 2022.
See our video tour of Icon of the Seas here.
