Construction of Cruise Terminal 18 at Port Everglades is right on schedule and will be completed for the November arrival of Royal Caribbean International’s new 5,400-passenger cruise ship, Oasis of the Seas.

One of the more exciting amenities for the new cruise terminal at Port Everglades, a 4,000-square-foot skylight, was installed recently in the center of the arrival hall. The skylight is made up of opaque panels that are designed to allow diffused natural light into the main open area. The natural lighting from the skylight reduces the amount of artificial light needed for electrical lighting. And, because the panels are opaque, the same amount of natural lighting brightens up the terminal whether conditions outside are sunny or cloudy.

The skylight also functions to illuminate a 3,000-square-foot work of art that will be imbedded in the floor of the cruise terminal. The floor art, created by internationally renowned artist Michele Oka Doner, will be made up of deep green and blue terrazzo, scattered bits of seashell and bronze inlays.

The terminal’s expansion and renovation is the centerpiece of preparations underway at Port Everglades for the arrival of RCI’s Oasis-class ships, which will be the largest cruise ships in the world. The second Oasis-class ship, Allure of the Seas, is scheduled to be homeported at Port Everglades beginning next year. When completed, Cruise Terminal 18 will be expanded from 67,500 square feet to a total of 240,000 square feet, which will make it the largest cruise terminal in the world built to serve a single ship at a time.

Broward County, Florida’s Public Works Department’s Seaport Construction and Engineering Division is spearheading the Terminal 18 construction project.