Carnival Cruise Line’s new LNG-powered vessel, the Mardi Gras, will call a new terminal home at Port Canaveral come 2020.            

Before then, Port CEO Captain John Murray is welcoming back the Norwegian Sun, sailing to Cuba, as well as the Mariner of the Seas, which will replace the smaller Enchantment of the Seas in the short cruise market.

“The Harmony is also replacing the Oasis, which is a big upgrade,” said Murray, noting the ship was nine years newer.

“The demand is there and what really drives it for us is that we are a drive-to market,” he said. “We have Orlando, and that is a big draw. You get a lot of families.”

After booking a record 4.6 million multi-day cruise passengers, this season looks like it will be up again, in the 4.7 or 4.8 million range.

Port Canaveral’s Terminal 3 will be turned into a state-of-the-art 190,000-square-foot terminal for Carnival’s 2020 newbuild.

In addition will be a massive new 1,700-space parking garage as part of an unprecedented long-term 25-year agreement between the port and Carnival.

“We’re going to be breaking ground on the terminal early in the year, and it’s the largest project we have ever done,” said Murray. “It’s also one of the longer-term cruise line agreements, and it could go out (with options) to 45 years. It demonstrates our partnership with Carnival and what we can do filling their ships in the future.”

The first port in North America to supply LNG, the Carnival ship will bunker by barge. Murray said planning had been underway for two years, and the port seized the opportunity around the fuel.

“We see it as the key to the future,” he added.

Business is poised to keep growing for Murray and his team.

“We have the space, and we have other terminals we want to develop and we will do that when we have a tenant that makes sense,” he continued.

Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine: Winter 2018-2019