Port Everglades will be investing more than $100 million for a complete makeover of Cruise Terminal 25, which will continue to be a preferential berth for Royal Caribbean Cruises as part of a new long-term agreement approved unanimously by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, according to a statement from the port.
The new agreement replaces the current Royal Caribbean agreement, which expires at the end of 2017, and continues through September 30, 2026, with options to extend the terms for an additional four years, followed by an additional five years.
“Renovating Cruise Terminal 25 was already part of our Master/Vision Plan, and was scheduled to begin this year,” said Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Steven Cernak. “Giving preferential berthing rights to Royal Caribbean allows us to build a facility that meets their expectations for the new generations of larger cruise ships and for the new Celebrity Edge, which is scheduled to homeport at Port Everglades beginning in December 2018.”
Cruise Terminal 25 was originally built in 1992. A section to provide an additional elevator was completed in 2004.
Royal Caribbean also has preferential berthing rights at Cruise Terminal 18, said the port. Cruise Terminal 18 which was completed in 2009 to welcome Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas and her sister ships Allure of the Seas in 2010 and Harmony of the Seas in 2016.
Beginning December 2018, Celebrity Edge will also be sailing out of Port Everglades.