Port of Galveston in the 1990s, port officials attempted to lure modern cruise ships to Galveston. Their efforts paid off in 2000. On September 30, the Carnival Cruise Lines ship "Celebration" debarked from the port of Galveston. The long "Celebration", and other ships based in Galveston in the first few years, were small and older. Over the next 16 years, the port invested more than $85 million to build and improve facilities to accommodate these ships. Princess declined to sail from Galveston after the 2007 season. Hurricane Ike hit the Texas Gulf Coast in 2008, causing major damage to the port. The cruise
History of Galveston, Texas feet near the Bay (1904–1910). Despite attempts to draw new investment to the city after the hurricane, Galveston has never fully returned to its previous levels of national importance or prosperity. Development was also hindered by the construction of the Houston Ship Channel, which brought the Port of Houston into direct competition with the natural harbor of the Port of Galveston for sea traffic. To further her recovery, and rebuild her population, Galveston actively solicited immigration. Through the efforts of Rabbi Henry Cohen and Congregation B'nai Israel, Galveston became the focus of an immigration plan called the Galveston Movement that,