Galveston, Texas and Jazz legend Esther Phillips was born in Galveston in 1935. As of 2007, Galveston has five sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the southeast coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the American State of Texas. The community of , with an estimated population of 50,180 in 2015, is the county seat of surrounding Galveston County and second-largest municipality in the county. It is also within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area at its southern end on the northwestern coast of the Gulf
Port of Galveston then-newest ship, the "Carnival Magic" at the port. Terminal 2 was expanded in 2016 to accommodate Royal Caribbean's desire to base their larger "Freedom"-class ships in Galveston. The new facility can accommodate up to 5,000 passengers and allows for simultaneous handling of passengers embarking and disembarking. Port officials have earmarked $100,000 for the design of a third terminal, but are waiting for definitive interest from a cruise line before beginning work. The port receives fees of $11-$26 per cruise ship passenger, depending on whether port employees are responsible for tying the ship down, or for paying the harbor pilots responsible