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“We are pleased to have secured two additional cruise seasons with Princess Cruises. These additional sailings will spur even more job creation and economic development for the entire Houston region,” Port Commission Chairman Janiece Longoria said. The Port Authority’s initial agreement with Princess Cruises, announced last November, marks the first service scheduled with a cruise line to use the Bayport Cruise Terminal. Both Princess and the Port Authority project the cruise activity will have a significant positive impact on the economies of Harris County and the greater Houston area, including the cities of Houston and Pasadena. The inaugural cruise is an unprecedented sailing aboard Caribbean Princess to support U.S. veterans. The historic cruise, which will sail between Nov. 5 and Nov. 9, is expected to raise up to $1 million for two U.S. veterans organizations, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) and Operation Homefront. Caribbean Princess will continue to sail from Bayport for the rest of the season. Next year, Emerald Princess will make Houston its home port for western Caribbean sailings. Noteworthy is the fact Princess Cruises has been named by cruise industry travel agents as having the “best cruise line itineraries.” "We're pleased that we’ve reached agreement for the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 seasons,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. "We expect that the port's state-of-the-art facilities at Bayport and the convenient airport-close location willprovide a terrific experience for our passengers cruising out of Houston." The Bayport Cruise Terminal, which was completed in the fall of 2009, is located in Pasadena, Texas, nestled between Houston and Galveston Bay. Princess Cruises is a global cruise and tour company taking more than 1.4 million passengers each year to more than 300 worldwide destinations on six continents. Princess currently operates a fleet of 17 ships, with one more under construction. Norwegian Cruise Lines is also set to sail from the cruise terminal beginning in 2014, with a total of 75 calls over three cruise seasons. About the Port of Houston Authority For nearly 100 years, the Port of Houston Authority has owned/operated the public cargo-handling facilities of the Port of Houston – the nation’s largest port in terms of foreign waterborne tonnage. The port has historically been an economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the nation. The port contributes to the creation of more than one million statewide and more than 2.1 million nationwide jobs and the generation of more than $178.5 billion of statewide and $499 billion of nationwide economic activity. Port of Houston Authority press release |
Port of Houston Authority and Princess Cruises Lock in Two More Sailing Seasons