Photo: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2025. Royal Caribbean Cruise Terminal, Galveston.
Most cruise terminals do not have storage capabilities, as deliveries are usually brought directly to the apron by trucks. Consolidation primarily occurs at the distribution center, where orders for a specific cruise are consolidated into truckloads for on-dock delivery during the home port rotation.
With larger ships served by a total of 20 to 40 tractor-trailer-sized trucks, managing this flow and ensuring proper maneuvering, unloading, and turnaround space is critical to the success of this process. In the above photo, mobile truck unloading ramps have been placed on the apron of a cruise terminal. Delivery trucks back up to the ramp, and the palletized cargo is unloaded by forklifts and brought to the cargo doors of the cruise ship.