Free State of Galveston made these businesses increasingly difficult to sustain. By the end of the 1950s, this era of Galveston's history had ended. The island of Galveston, which lies on the Gulf of Mexico, held one of the first major settlements in the eastern part of what is now Texas. During the mid-to-late-19th century, it became the largest city in the state. Galveston was also an important national commercial center and one of the busiest seaports in the United States, as the Port of Galveston was able to capitalize on Texas' rapid rise in the cotton trade. Its downtown was known as the
Galveston, Texas Triumph" in the first half of 2016 with "Carnival Breeze" and "Carnival Liberty", respectively, but replaced "Liberty" with "Carnival Valor" later in the year due to mechanical issues. "Carnival Breeze" and "Carnival Freedom" sail seven-day Caribbean cruises, and "Carnival Valor" sails four- and five-day Caribbean cruises from Galveston. Carnival plans on replacing "Breeze" with "Carnival Vista" in 2018, and "Valor" with "Carnival Dream" in 2019. Galveston is the home port to Royal Caribbean International's, MS "Liberty of the Seas", which is the largest cruise ship ever based here and one of the largest ships in the world. In September 2012