MSC Cruises is marking the first anniversary of its Texas debut, a milestone that puts the line's Galveston operations in focus.
Texas A&M University at Galveston's Sea Camp welcomes more than 1,000 students each summer.
A Cruise Line Putting Down Texas Roots
MSC began sailing from Galveston in November 2025, and according to Cruzely.com, it remains the only cruise line that sails year-round from the port's Terminal 16. The line's MSC Seascape ship leans into its Lone Star State homeport with Texas-inspired cuisine, local beers, line dancing and sailaway party sendoffs, and it offers weeklong cruises to Mexico and the Caribbean, the outlet reports. MSC also sponsored the Formula 1 MSC Cruises United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, part of a broader push into Texas, per the Chron report.
To mark the one-year milestone, MSC offered passengers 10 percent off remaining 2027 Galveston sailings, with the discount requiring booking by Wednesday and the promo code TEXAS1 at checkout, the Gulf Coast outlet notes.
Building Ties Between Campus and Cruise Industry
Marine Education Beyond Summer Camp The university also offers field trips and programs during the fall and spring semesters, including a salt-marsh and estuarine ecology trip.
A Longer Tradition of Hands-On Marine Learning
The SEALAB classroom visits build on decades of marine education already underway at Texas A&M-Galveston. The university's Sea Camp has operated since 1986, and Texas A&M University at Galveston news reports it welcomes more than 1,000 students each summer, introducing campers ages 4 to 18 to research, field work, laboratory settings and the campus itself. A 2023 feature from Texas A&M University Stories described campers in a Marine Biology Research session wading through marshes and heading out to sea aboard the research vessel R/V Trident, performing real experiments under the direction of current and former Texas A&M-Galveston students.
The university also offers field trips and programs during the fall and spring semesters beyond its summer camps, according to its Sea Camp and Outreach page, including a salt-marsh and estuarine ecology trip where students seine for inch-long red drum, southern flounder, spotted seatrout and other finfish. Students can also study physical, chemical and biological oceanography aboard the university's 42-foot research vessel, the Earl L. Milan, guided by current and former Texas A&M-Galveston students. Younger children ages 6 to 11 have their own entry point through Sea Campus Kids, a marine-oriented day program.
