Galveston cruise terminals: locations, transportation and parking
Terminals 10, 16, 25 and 28 all sit on Harborside Drive but up to a mile apart. Here is which ship uses which, and how to reach each one.
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The Port of Galveston operates four cruise terminals, all on the north side of Galveston Island facing the ship channel. They are numbered 10, 16, 25 and 28, and while they sound close together, the spread is about a mile end to end. Arriving at the wrong one on embarkation morning means a walk or a second ride with all your luggage.
This page covers each terminal, which lines use it, how to reach it from the Houston airports, and what parking looks like.
Terminal 10 — Royal Caribbean
Address: 1152 Royal Caribbean Way. Terminal 10 sits about a mile west of the downtown waterfront, slightly separated from the cluster of the other three. It is a newer purpose-built facility designed to handle Oasis-class ships, which are among the largest afloat.
Because it is the westernmost terminal, drivers approach it differently from Terminals 25 and 28, and parking lots serving the downtown terminals are not walking distance. If you are sailing Royal Caribbean out of Galveston, confirm your parking choice actually serves Terminal 10.
Terminal 16 — MSC and Norwegian
Address: 1602 Harborside Drive. Terminal 16 is the port's newest terminal, opened in late 2025, and it has its own parking. It serves MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line, both of which expanded Galveston operations when the terminal came online.
Norwegian occasionally berths elsewhere in peak season, so this is one of the terminals where checking your boarding pass genuinely matters rather than being boilerplate advice.
Terminal 25 — Carnival and Princess
Address: 2502 Harborside Drive. Terminal 25 is Carnival's main Galveston berth and sits on the downtown waterfront. Carnival is the busiest operator sailing from Galveston, so on a typical cruise Saturday Terminal 25 handles the largest passenger volume of the four.
Princess uses Terminal 25 on some sailings and Terminal 28 on others. If you are sailing Princess, the terminal number on your documents is the one to give us.
Terminal 28 — Disney and Princess
The four terminals
Address: 2702 Harborside Drive. Terminal 28 sits directly across from Terminal 25, close enough that people confuse the two but far enough that you do not want to be dropped at the wrong one. Disney Cruise Line sails seasonally from Terminal 28, and Princess splits between here and 25.
Disney embarkation days bring a high proportion of families, which is when we book the most child safety seats. Reserve those at the time you book rather than on the day.
Reaching each terminal from the Houston airports
All four terminals are the same distance from the airports for practical purposes, and we serve all of them at the same fare. A shared seat is $39 one way from either IAH or Hobby, and a private black Suburban starts at $249 from Hobby or $257 from IAH.
| From | Distance | Shared shuttle | Shared time | Private Suburban |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby Airport | about 40 miles | $39 per seat | about 1 hour | $249 |
| IAH (Bush) | about 70 miles | $39 per seat | about 2 hours | $257 |
| Downtown Houston | about 50 miles | private only | — | $249 |
| Clear Lake | about 30 miles | private only | — | $249 |
| The Woodlands | about 85 miles | private only | — | $317 |
Give us the terminal number at booking and we deliver you to the right door. Detailed driving directions and drop-off zone information for each terminal are in our terminal directions guide.
Parking at the Galveston cruise terminals
If you are driving yourself, budget roughly $175 for a seven-night sailing in an official Port of Galveston lot. Covered parking costs more but protects against Gulf sun, salt air, and hail. Off-site private operators undercut the port on daily rate and run their own shuttle to the pier, which adds a transfer at each end.
- Match the lot to your terminal. A lot convenient to Terminal 25 is not convenient to Terminal 10, which is about a mile west.
- Reserve in advance on cruise weekends. Several ships sailing the same Saturday can exhaust capacity at the closest lots.
- Terminal 16 has its own parking, which is one of the advantages of the newest facility.
- Check shuttle frequency at any off-site lot, especially for the return when everyone disembarks at once.
Our Galveston cruise parking guide covers the lots in detail, and the shuttle vs parking cost guide runs the full comparison against booking a seat instead.
Terminal drop-off and pickup on the day
Embarkation days concentrate thousands of passengers into a few hours. Terminals operate numbered curbside zones for drop-off, and porters are available to take checked luggage at the door. Give yourself a few minutes of slack for the approach roads, which back up close to peak check-in windows.
On the return, we pick up from all four terminals between 8 AM to 5 PM daily. If your ship docks late and you miss your pickup, that is covered by Shuttle Protection on shared seats, so the fare is refunded and we move you to a later van when there is room.
Galveston cruise terminals: common questions
Four active cruise terminals: Terminal 10, Terminal 16, Terminal 25 and Terminal 28. All are on or just off Harborside Drive on the north side of Galveston Island, spread across roughly a mile.
Carnival sails from Terminal 25 at 2502 Harborside Drive, its main Galveston berth on the downtown waterfront. Princess also uses Terminal 25 on some sailings, so check the number on your boarding pass.
Royal Caribbean uses Terminal 10 at 1152 Royal Caribbean Way, about a mile west of downtown. It is a newer purpose-built terminal designed for Oasis-class ships.
Both use Terminal 16 at 1602 Harborside Drive, the port's newest terminal, which opened in late 2025 and has its own parking.
Port of Galveston lots serve the terminals, and Terminal 16 has its own parking deck. Lots vary in distance from each terminal, so a lot near Terminal 25 is not necessarily near Terminal 10. Reserve ahead on busy cruise weekends.
A shared shuttle from either Houston airport is $39 per seat and drops at whichever terminal your ship uses. A private black car starts at $249 per vehicle. Give the terminal number at booking rather than just the cruise line.
Getting between terminals if you are dropped at the wrong one
It happens, usually because someone booked against a cruise line name rather than a terminal number and the ship moved berths. The terminals sit up to a mile apart along Harborside Drive, which is walkable in cool weather without luggage and genuinely unpleasant in July with a week of suitcases.
| From | To | Approximate distance | Practical option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal 25 | Terminal 28 | Directly across | Short walk |
| Terminal 25 | Terminal 16 | about 0.4 miles | Short ride |
| Terminal 25 | Terminal 10 | about 1 mile | Ride, not a walk with bags |
| Terminal 16 | Terminal 10 | about 0.6 miles | Ride with luggage |
| Terminal 28 | Terminal 10 | about 1.1 miles | Ride, not a walk with bags |
The way to avoid it entirely is to read the terminal number off your boarding pass and give us that at booking. It takes ten seconds and removes the whole problem.
Embarkation day at the terminals
Terminals operate numbered curbside zones for drop-off, with porters available at the door to take checked luggage. Approach roads back up close to peak check-in windows, particularly at Terminal 25, which handles the largest passenger volume on a typical Saturday because Carnival is the busiest operator from Galveston.
- Have your luggage tags on before you arrive. Porters take checked bags at the curb, and tagged bags move faster.
- Keep documents and medication in a carry-on. Checked bags may not reach your cabin for several hours.
- Arrive inside your window. Early arrivals are held; late arrivals risk being turned away.
- Expect the approach to be slow at peak. Build the cushion into your shuttle departure, not into the terminal.
Debarkation and the return pickup
Most lines have everyone off the ship by mid-morning. We pick up from all four terminals and from island hotels between 8 AM to 5 PM daily, at $39 per seat, the same fare as the outbound leg.
If your ship docks late and you miss your pickup, Shuttle Protection covers it on shared seats: the fare is refunded and we move you to a later van when there is room. Book the return on its own if you drove down, or book both legs together as a round trip.
Terminal facilities and what to expect
Galveston's terminals are compact by the standards of Miami or Port Canaveral, which is one of the genuine pleasures of sailing from here. Check-in queues move quickly outside peak windows, and the walk from the door to the gangway is short at all four.
Terminal 16, opened in late 2025, is the newest and has its own parking deck, which makes it the easiest of the four if you are driving. Terminal 10 is purpose-built for the largest ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Terminals 25 and 28 sit on the downtown waterfront within sight of each other and carry the most combined traffic.
Which terminal will your ship actually use?
The honest answer is that only your boarding pass knows. Berth assignments shift by season, by ship, and occasionally at short notice when schedules change. The table below is the current pattern, not a guarantee.
| If you are sailing | Most likely terminal | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Carnival, any ship | Terminal 25 | High, this is Carnival's home berth |
| Royal Caribbean, any ship | Terminal 10 | High, purpose-built for their fleet |
| MSC Cruises | Terminal 16 | High, since the 2025 opening |
| Norwegian | Terminal 16 | Moderate, occasionally berths elsewhere in peak season |
| Disney Cruise Line | Terminal 28 | High, seasonal sailings |
| Princess Cruises | Terminal 25 or 28 | Low, splits by sailing |
Princess is the one to watch. If you are sailing Princess out of Galveston, check the terminal number on your documents rather than assuming, and give us that number at booking.
Arriving by private car versus shared van
Both drop at the terminal door. The difference is timing and routing. A shared van serves the terminals in sequence, so if your ship is at Terminal 10 and another party is at Terminal 25, one of you is dropped first. A private transfer goes directly to your terminal and nowhere else.
From Hobby that is about 1 hour shared versus about 45 minutes direct. From IAH it is about 2 hours versus about 1 hour 15. The shared fare is $39 per seat; a private black Suburban is $249 from Hobby and $257 from IAH. Full comparison on our private vs shared page.
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