“This season we will have 22 different cruise brands operating and five newbuilds,” said Hydi Webb, director at PortMiami, which is coming off setting a world record with 8.2 million cruise guests in its 2024 fiscal year.
She said that 2025 would bring around 8.4 to 8.5 million guests, and there was a combination of new, bigger ships and new terminals.
“The cruise lines are investing with us in infrastructure,” said Webb.
This April, MSC will open its new terminal which will be among the biggest on the planet in time for the new MSC World America, which will plug into the port’s brand new shore power system.
“It will be able to welcome three ships at the same time from two different lines,” Webb said. “It’s more like an airport-style terminal. The traditional model is one ship, one terminal. This is three ships, one large terminal. The first two berths will open and we, the county and port, will be building out the third berth for that facility by no later than the end of 2028.”
Also in progress is a new terminal for Royal Caribbean.
“Terminal G will be knocked down. We are rebuilding a new terminal to be able to accommodate an Icon-class vessel,” Webb said. “It will be done by fall of 2027.”
Other news came with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings late in 2024. The cruise operator will assume responsibility for the operations and maintenance of the existing Cruise Terminal B Garage and has committed to building a new 2,000 space parking garage by the end of 2028. The company also committed to increasing its guaranteed passenger movements at PortMiami from approximately 50 million to nearly 75 million passengers during the initial 30-year term of this agreement, an increase of 25 million passengers over its existing commitment.
Webb said that by the end of 2028, the port will be fully built out to take 12 of the world’s biggest cruise ships. A traffic pattern study is being finalized, she continued, that could lead to roadway modifications.
The Port Miami Tunnel, which opened in 2014, has been instrumental in traffic management as it has taken 80 percent of the port traffic away from downtown Miami’s city streets. Instead, cars and trucks can get to and from the port to the airport and elsewhere easily and without a toll.
She said that the port would continue partnering with cruise lines based on their needs.
“We are basically a landlord port,” said Webb. “We own and operate the facilities with the exception of Cruise Terminal A and MSC’s terminal.”
Opportunities for growth going forward includes the potential to use the same terminal to turn around two ships in one day, as well as being a port of call for ships coming from the Northeast mid-week, said Webb.
“People’s vacation patterns have also changed with remote work. The typically seven-day cruise left on a weekend, but why not Monday?”
Shore power was inaugurated over the summer of 2024, and dates back to a 2020 announcement, which saw PortMiami partner with Florida Power and Light as well as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC and Virgin, making shore power a reality.
The will have soon have shore power available at five berths, with the ability to have three ships plugged in at once.
“It is the right thing to do,” Webb continued. “Ports and the cruise industry really take sustainability and these efforts very seriously. The cruise lines have been a leader in sustainability. It’s not just the port doing it by itself. The cruise lines have to invest. A lot of the ships need to be retrofitted. It’s a big commitment.”
Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Winter 2024-25
