“This year we are looking at a transition from recovery to a level of growth,” said Jonathan Daniels, CEO and port director at Port Everglades.

“The port is moving in a different direction. We are seeing diversity in an extremely strong business line,” he added.

Among that diversity are new and big ships homeporting, like the Celebrity Beyond, and also the arrival of smaller boutique vessels from Azamara, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Swan Hellenic, among others.

“Overall and long-term, it will be a different mix of vessels that allows us to maintain strength in our large-ship program while focusing on that five-star lineup of smaller ships that are here for longer-duration voyages,” Daniels said.

Port officials are also happy about the long-term business mix – with agreements in place from Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Group, and the addition of Disney Cruise Line to that mix.

With Carnival Corporation making adjustments to its Port Everglades deal, Terminal 4 was available and became very attractive, according to Daniels.

The port will now invest $35 million in updating the terminal into a Disney product ahead of the company’s debut later this year.

By 2025, the agreement calls for 750,000 passenger movements a year from Disney.

The port is moving toward a future of shore power with a feasibility study set to be completed soon.

“We are looking at a two-phase project, first with five terminals and then with the final three terminals,” Daniels said.

“It’s going to be incredibly expensive but a necessary project not only to maintain our competitiveness but also to maintain the requirements on the lines that call at the port,” he added.

No set timeline is in place, and Daniels said funding would need to come from a variety of sources.

Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine: Winter 2022-2023