Port Everglades will kick off its 2014-2015 winter cruise season by hosting the traditional naming ceremony for Princess Cruises’ Regal Princess, welcoming Resorts Worlds’ Bimini SuperFast day cruise, and celebrating the grand opening of its completely renovated Cruise Terminal 4.
Princess Cruises’ Ocean Princess and Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Conquest will also make their first-time calls at Port Everglades this winter, with Carnival Conquest continuing to sail year-round through the summer. A total of five ships will embark on world and grand cruises from Port Everglades this year, allowing guests to enjoy Greater Fort Lauderdale as a sunny vacation destination.
In total, Port Everglades anticipates 3.9 million cruise passenger moves (embark, debark and in-transit) aboard 42 different cruise ships during the 2014-2015 season.
“We look forward to a busy cruise season again this year, especially once our newly renovated Cruise Terminal 4 opens and our guests experience improved access and a much more efficient transportation flow,” said Port Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director Steven Cernak.
Princess Cruises will officially name its newest cruise ship, Regal Princess, at Port Everglades on November 5th, making this the seventh Princess ship to be named at Port Everglades. The 3,560-guest sister ship to the Royal Princess began sailing her inaugural season in the Mediterranean in May, and Princess Cruises elected to postpone the official naming ceremony until Regal Princess reached her North American homeport in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Regal Princess will sail from Port Everglades on seven-day cruises to the Eastern Caribbean from November 9, 2014 through April 25, 2015.
Resorts World’s Bimini Superfast will begin sailing year-round from Port Everglades to Bimini every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday beginning October 14, 2014. The 1,500-passenger Bimini SuperFast cruise ship departs at 9AM from Cruise Terminal 21 and returns at 9PM. The ship features 180 cabins, six restaurants and bars, casino and onboard activities during its 2-3 hour journey.
In early December, Port Everglades will open its newly renovated $24 million Cruise Terminal 4, which was completely gutted and renovated with a revamped transportation area, 172 surface parking spaces, improved lighting and acoustics, high efficiency air conditioning system, 50 check-in counters and two new passenger loading bridges to expedite the embark and debark process. Port Everglades will apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the terminal due to the scheduled energy-efficient terminal improvements.
