Port Canaveral plans fourth terminal

[Jason]

Bob Mervine, Staff Writer:

PORT CANAVERAL -- The streamlined hull of the Mariner of the Seas, Port Canaveral's newest, state-of-the-art cruise liner, nestles between two other mega ships on a recent Sunday morning.

Nearby sit the black, red and gold hull of Disney Cruise Line's Wonder and the trademark gull-wing peak of Carnival's Glory.

Three of a fleet of nine cruise ships based here, the berths represent several billion dollars in capital investment that is returning hundreds of millions of dollars in tourist revenue to the region.

"We're getting pretty full here," notes Malcolm "Mac" McLouth, executive director of the Canaveral Port Authority.

Planners already are designing the port's fourth ship terminal. Its 95,000 square feet will handle ships up to 250,000 tons and 1,000 feet long. With a minimum of modification, the new terminal is designed to accommodate any cruise ship that may be constructed during the next 30 years.

That future cruise expansion is likely, says McLouth. "Disney's planning a third ship, and we've got a good change of getting it," he says. "Royal Caribbean is going to even bigger ships and we're already gearing up to handle them as well."

Doing the numbers

The financial benefit runs into the nine figures. For example, the local economic impact from just the new Mariner of the Seas alone is pegged at $60 million.

A 2-year-old port-commissioned study estimated cruise lines spent about $13 million a year on tourist-related activities as of 2001. Crew members spent another $7 million. The cruise lines spent another $200 million a year in Brevard County on goods and services.

Since then, the port has added four more ships to its lineup.

Additional income is generated by tourists -- and not just in Brevard.

[Jason]

Bob Mervine, Staff Writer:

PORT CANAVERAL -- The streamlined hull of the Mariner of the Seas, Port Canaveral's newest, state-of-the-art cruise liner, nestles between two other mega ships on a recent Sunday morning.

Nearby sit the black, red and gold hull of Disney Cruise Line's Wonder and the trademark gull-wing peak of Carnival's Glory.

Three of a fleet of nine cruise ships based here, the berths represent several billion dollars in capital investment that is returning hundreds of millions of dollars in tourist revenue to the region.

"We're getting pretty full here," notes Malcolm "Mac" McLouth, executive director of the Canaveral Port Authority.

Planners already are designing the port's fourth ship terminal. Its 95,000 square feet will handle ships up to 250,000 tons and 1,000 feet long. With a minimum of modification, the new terminal is designed to accommodate any cruise ship that may be constructed during the next 30 years.

That future cruise expansion is likely, says McLouth. "Disney's planning a third ship, and we've got a good change of getting it," he says. "Royal Caribbean is going to even bigger ships and we're already gearing up to handle them as well."

Doing the numbers

The financial benefit runs into the nine figures. For example, the local economic impact from just the new Mariner of the Seas alone is pegged at $60 million.

A 2-year-old port-commissioned study estimated cruise lines spent about $13 million a year on tourist-related activities as of 2001. Crew members spent another $7 million. The cruise lines spent another $200 million a year in Brevard County on goods and services.

Since then, the port has added four more ships to its lineup.

Additional income is generated by tourists -- and not just in Brevard.

[sailingrose]

Thanks for the update. More ships at Canaveral would be lovely.......can't wait to sail from there again.

[sailingrose]

Thanks for the update. More ships at Canaveral would be lovely.......can't wait to sail from there again.