The Canaveral Port Authority (CPA) Board of Commissioners took the final step and voted unanimously to approve the terms of a long-term agreement with Carnival Cruise Line, paving the way for Carnival to homeport its newest and largest ship at Port Canaveral.
The new operating agreement, which begins September 1, 2018 and replaces an existing six-year agreement set to expire next year, provides a 25-year primary term with four additional five-year renewal options. Under the terms of the agreement, Carnival’s minimum annual guarantee increases from the current fixed $7 million passenger fee to $14.5 million with annual escalators.
Canaveral Port Authority and Carnival Cruise Line will invest in building and equipping a new two-story 185,000-sq. ft. terminal to accommodate the as-yet-unnamed 180,000-ton Carnival Cruise Line ship, engineered with Carnival Corporation’s state-of-the-art LNG “green cruising” design platform. The new cruise vessel will have a 5,286 lower berth capacity with a maximum capacity of approximately 6,500 guests.
“With its convenient location, excellent facilities and friendly staff, Port Canaveral is one of our most popular and fastest-growing homeports and we’re delighted to bring this exciting, one-of-a-kind ship to the Space Coast in 2020,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
Constructing the new CT-3 terminal, plus an adjacent elevated parking facility to accommodate nearly 1,800 vehicles, and related wharf, road and access improvements will total $150 million – estimated to be the largest single project in the history of the Port. The new terminal is planned for completion by June 2020.
