Port Canaveral’s new terminal preps for pre-Christmas opening
Officials at Port Canaveral say work on the new Cruise Terminal 1 is almost complete and will be ready to receive its first ship in late December.
"The new cruise terminal complex will handle the largest cruise ships currently sailing as well as the 6,000-passenger vessels in design," said Port Canaveral CEO John Walsh.
Cruise Terminal 1 is located on the south side of Port Canaveral and will allow cruise passengers to walk between the terminal building and dining and entertainment outlets.
Royal Caribbean will be the primary tenant at the 187,000 square feet terminal.
Explore of the Seas will be the first ship to use the new facility when it moves from Cruise Terminal 10 on December 27.
Port Canaveral will also welcome Royal Caribbean’s new 167,800 ton Quantum of the Seas later this month.
"We wouldn’t have been able to get this ship in without the widening piece," said Port Canaveral CEO John Walsh.
"The depth is more about the cargo ships, but the widening is all about large cruise ships and Quantum is the longest we have ever had in here."
The new terminal is part of a $500 million cargo and cruise expansion program that is hoped will create in excess of 15,000 new jobs and will eventually add billions of dollars to the Central Florida economy.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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