Jacksonville, Florida will be home to four cruise ships for the foreseeable future, according to a port statement.
The port will host the Carnival Ecstasy, which sails from Jacksonville, along with additional tonnage from Norwegian Cruise Line, according to a statement.
“The additional three vessels not regularly homeported at JAXPORT will arrive in Jacksonville with only crew members onboard and then lay idle due to berth capacity constraints at PortMiami, where all three vessels are regularly homeported,” the port said.
“The crew will remain on the vessels while the ships are in Jacksonville, unless an exception is deemed necessary by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).”
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Sky is scheduled to arrive at JAXPORT’s Talleyrand Marine Terminal on Sunday, and the company’s Norwegian Pearl is scheduled to dock at the port’s Dames Point Marine Terminal next week.
An additional vessel, Norwegian Gem, will dock at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal. The arrival date for that vessel is still being determined.
The vessels and their crew must be cleared by the U.S. Coast Guard and CBP upon their arrivals in Jacksonville, which is standard procedure.
“We are committed to doing our part to support our fellow Florida ports and our partners in the cruise industry during this time,” said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green. “We will continue to work closely with our federal, state, and local agencies to monitor the situation and adjust operations as needed.”