Port Canaveral Scraps Plans for New Terminal, then reverses course

Port Canaveral has reversed its plans to build a new cruise terminal at what is Florida’s second-largest cruise port and one of the busiest in the world, citing pressure from the state government, which said the new terminal would hamper the growth of the space industry. 

The Port Canaveral Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on Wednesday, August 21 to halt the redesign of North Cargo Berth 8, as reported by local news station FOX35 Orlando. The terminal was expected to open in 2026.

The pushback has been present since early August, when Florida’s Department of Commerce Secretary J. Alex Kelly and the state’s Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue co-wrote a letter to the port about how the new terminal could lead to the space industry’s lack of growth, and how, should the new terminal be built, the port could lose future investment opportunities. 

“Florida’s cruise tourism and commercial space launch sectors are both vitally important,” Kelly and Perdue wrote. “Port Canaveral bears the responsibility of housing and supporting both. We will help you do both. But in this case, the port has announced its intention to support one sector to the direct detriment of the other. That decision must, therefore, be reversed.”

Port Canaveral has an interesting balance to uphold: it’s not simply a cruise, cargo and commercial fishing port. It’s also a spaceport. 

But the biggest issue? Lack of space. 

The space industry’s continual growth will double the area it currently has at the port by 2033, according to the state’s aerospace agency, Space Florida. 

“It’s tough to keep everybody happy all the time, but we do our best,” explained Canaveral Port Authority CEO John Murray. “Miami’s full. Everglades is full. If we’re full, we don’t want large brand-new assets moving over to Texas, California, or New York. We want to keep that business here in Florida.”

The state governmental officials and the port authorities will work together to find new solutions to the space problem at Port Canaveral. 

This article originally appeared in TravelPulse.

***** Port officials reversed course less than six months later *****

Port Canaveral takes steps to prepare for added cruise business, in light of space crunch

Port Canaveral is taking preliminary steps to address a shortage of cruise terminals, in light of increased demand from major cruise lines for berth space.

The Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners has approved starting design work on an expansion of Cruise Terminal 5 on the port’s north side. That is the port’s smallest and oldest major cruise terminal, and the expansion would enable it to handle larger cruise ships.

Separately, port commissioners approved initial work on upgrading the waterside area of Cruise Terminal 2 on the port’s south side, which now is used by Victory Casino Cruises for its gambling-ship operations and is too small for most cruise ships. The waterside improvements would help pave the way to tear down the current terminal and replace it with one capable of handling larger cruise ships, if port officials decide to take that approach.

Port Canaveral is the world’s second-busiest cruise part, behind PortMiami. It is the home to 16 multiday cruise ships, representing seven cruise lines — Carnival, Celebrity, Disney, MSC, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean.

In addition to having more ships based at Port Canaveral, the ships are getting larger, with higher passenger capacities.

Having ships occupy all six of the port’s major cruise terminals at once now is a weekly occurrence at Port Canaveral, and the port doesn’t want to turn away future cruise business because of a shortage of facilities.

Cruise Terminal 5

Port commissioners last week approved awarding a $3.6 million contract with BEA Architects of Miami for design work in preparation of the expansion of Cruise Terminal 5.

That terminal currently is used primarily by Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.

“As we all know, vessel sizes are growing. The itinerary is really getting packed,” said Bill Crowe, the port’s vice president of engineering and construction. “CT5 is the subject of a lot of that future cruise business. And so we’re strategically taking another look at our oldest facility.”

Crowe said Terminal 5 originally was built in the mid-1980s, and it has been renovated several times, most recently in 2016.

The planned 50,000-square-foot expansion there would provide for additional space for queuing, passenger security screening, general and VIP passenger seating, and luggage processing, as well as a new expanded Customs and Border Protection/Federal Inspection Service area.

Additionally, BEA will advise the port on what will be needed to renovate the existing building infrastructure.

Also under study will be increasing the terminal’s available cruise passenger parking by 1,000 to 1,500 vehicles.

Port Canaveral CEO John Murray said, over the next two years, the passenger volume at Cruise Terminal 5 will more than double.

“So this is a significant project that we really need to ensure we are able to meet the commitments that we’ve already made” to cruise lines, Murray said.

Murray said the project will enable Cruise Terminal 5 to handle ships carrying up to 5,000 passengers, up from the current range of up to 3,900 passengers.

Murray said the cost of the construction project itself will be determined after BEA completes its design analysis.

The work will proceed while the terminal is actively hosting cruise ships. But Crowe said officials will seek to do much of the work during a less busy period for the terminal, June to November.

“So we’re going to hit the ground running,” Crowe said, describing it as a “fantastic project.”

Cruise Terminal 2

Port commissioners approved negotiating a waterside engineering design and permitting services contract with Jacobs Engineering Group of Cape Canaveral for Cruise Terminal 2, which now is used by the Victory 1 gambling ship.

Port officials say the work is the first piece of efforts that could lead to that terminal being demolished and replaced with a new cruise terminal, with the gambling ship’s operations being moved elsewhere in the port.

“This really is a future-planning, forward-thinking initiative for the future disposition of Cruise Terminal 2,” Crowe said, adding that the waterside design and permitting process will take 18 months to two years.

Port officials originally wanted to convert the port’s North Cargo Berth 8 into a new cruise terminal. But those plans were scuttled after Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly and Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue sent a letter to port commissioners last August, threatening future state grants to the port if the plan moved forward.

The state officials claimed that the port’s plan to turn the North Cargo Berth 8 site into a cruise terminal and cruise parking garage would negatively affect the space industry. They said that was because of the effect it would have on the commercial space companies’ current and planned future operations to recover and reuse launched rocket hardware like boosters and fairings.

The port also has been looking into building a new cruise terminal in the marina district on the south side of the port. But logistical issues in relocating the marina operations there have complicated that approach.

Contact My Journey Begins Travel to plan your next cruise departing from Port Canaveral.