MIAMI: Cruise lines are spending a lot of money building their own ports. The latest is Royal Caribbean, which has plans to build a $100-million cruise terminal at the Port of Miami.
Royal Caribbean will finance, build, operate and maintain the terminal while the port will be responsible for some of the infrastructure, like roads and dredging. One of the berths will be 400 metres long, space enough to operate Oasis Class ships and beyond. Previously, these giant ships have operated out of Fort Lauderdale.
Royal Caribbean’s fourth Oasis Class ship arrives in 2018, the target year for the new port. Royal Caribbean’s news is an add-on to lot of news regarding the Port of Miami. Norwegian’s newest and biggest ship, the Escape, starts year-round service in November. The new Carnival Corporation brand fathom begins sailing in the spring with the first direct-to-Cuba cruises from the U.S. in decades. And the Carnival Vista joins the full-calendar roster in late 2016.
