Cruise Business Expands
August 29, 2018 — Our home port, Port Canaveral, is growing. Cruise Industry News reports the intention of Carnival Cruise Lines to bring a new ship (their largest ever at 180,000 tons) to Port Canaveral in 2020. The $150 Million cruise terminal design accommodates ships with a capacity for up to 6,500 passengers with an adjacent second-story parking garage for 1,800 vehicles.
According to Canaveral Port Authority Port Director and CEO Capt. John Murray, “Carnival’s commitment to Port Canaveral demonstrates their confidence in our ability to support one of the world’s most successful cruise brands. We’re excited and looking forward to having their largest and newest class of ship homeported here.”
The new ship will be the first in the Carnival line powered by LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) in line with the standards of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to provide cleaner fueling.
Carnival currently has three year-round ships based in Port Canaveral carrying upwards of 650,000 passengers a year.
Port Canaveral is the world’s second busiest cruise port, behind Miami, and is arguably the most convenient cruise port for travelers. Port Canaveral’s continued growth in cruise and cargo mirrors the economic growth in other transportation segments, such as aviation and aerospace, on Florida’s Space Coast.