Carnival Cruise Lines’
5,286-passenger ship will be here for new terminal in 2020
biggest ship ever may sail from Port Canaveral in 2020, just in time for the port’s new terminal.
Port Canaveral is poised to become home to the largest-ever cruise ship from the world’s biggest cruise line.
Miami-based Carnival Cruise Line reached an agreement in principle with the Canaveral Port Authority on Tuesday to bring its new and yet-unnamed 5,286-passenger ship to the port’s new terminal. The agreement will come before the Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners’ meeting Aug. 29. Details of the arrangement have not yet been released.
If approved, Carnival will be able to bring what will be the largest ship it’s ever constructed to the port, helping cement the cruise line as the top operator on the Space Coast.
Carnival already has three yearround ships sailing from Port Canaveral, bringing in more than 650,000 passengers a year — about 15 percent of the port’s total cruise traffic. In October, Port Canaveral will add the Carnival Breeze.
Part of that growth will also be thanks to a $150 million terminal that is under construction at the former location of Cruise Terminal 3. The new two-story, 188,000-square-foot facility will be completed by 2020 — in time for the new ship — and come equipped with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection screening area and mobile passenger check-in.
Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said in a release that the line has long-term plans for Port Canaveral.
“We are very excited about the prospects of homeporting our largest ship at Port Canaveral, a valued business partner for more than 25 years,” Duffy said. “Easily accessible from all over the southeast with excellent facilities and friendly staff, Port Canaveral is one of our most popular and fastestgrowing homeports.”
Construction of the new cruise ship will begin in November and be completed by 2020. The vessel will be the first North American-based ship powered by liquefied natural gas, Carnival said. The cruise line plans to release further details and the ship’s itineraries from Port Canaveral next year.
Behind only PortMiami, Port Canaveral is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world. Port Director and CEO Capt. John Murray said the port and Carnival have built a “successful partnership” over more than two decades.
“Carnival’s commitment to Port Canaveral demonstrates their confidence in our ability to support one of the world’s most successful cruise brands,” Murray said. “We’re excited and looking forward to having their largest and newest class of ship homeported here.”