Since its inception in the 1980s, Port Canaveral has become the number two port in the world, according to Captain John Murray, port director and CEO at Canaveral Port Authority. This year, the port anticipates a total of 4.2 million multi-day passengers, and annually it receives about 100 port calls. He notes that a little over 50 percent of the port’s passengers are drive-ins and that many “ducktail their cruise vacation with time in Orlando at the theme parks and other recreational activities that we have in this part of the state.” He adds that Kennedy Space Center is the number one attraction in the area. “Port Canaveral is a very unique port; we are in the fastest-growing market in Florida. We are ideally positioned only 45 minutes from Orlando proper,” says Murray.
What’s to Come
“One of the things we anticipate over the next few years is the development and design of our next generation cruise terminal,” he says. “Last year, we spent $87 million upgrading two of our older facilities to bring them up to par with the new larger ships. When they were built, passenger ships were 2,000 passengers, now they’re 4,500 and 5,500, so we had to upgrade the facilities, from the customs and border protection facilities to baggage lay-down areas, to general seating for passengers. We did that to two terminals, and we are now looking into the development of the next generation of cruise terminals, which will be capable of handling the largest cruise ships in the world.”
You can go to Port Canaveral a day or two early from the day your ship departs and watch a rocket launch. If you happen to be in port during one of those launches, it’s a neat thing to see.
– Captain John Murray, Port Director and CEO, Canaveral Port Authority
Construction for the new terminals could begin as early as next year, in hopes to be running by 2020. These upgrades will be done in anticipation of the liquefied natural gas-run ships that some cruise lines are now building. Murray notes that, “If you look at the order books for the global cruise ship deliveries, there are quite a number of vessels, some of which are rather significant in size, and if you look at the largest of the cruise ships, they can’t go to many ports because of air draft restrictions or water draft. We don’t have any air draft issues in Port Canaveral, so we can take essentially the largest ships in the world here.
“I think this is something that we think we’re a little further along than some other places right now. We are pro-actively looking at how we can manage that demand when any cruise operator says, ‘Hey, we want to bring one of our LNG ships to Port Canaveral; can you handle it?’ We want to be front and center and say, ‘Yes, we can.’ We want to be ready for when those ships are delivered.”
Ships & Rockets
One unique attraction guests won’t find at any other port is the possibility of seeing rockets launch. “We are at a mode now where we have commercial space industry descending on Port Canaveral. The newer companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX are recovering their boosters offshore and bringing them back to the port. That’s becoming the second significant part of our port business because these launches go about every two weeks…that’s becoming more of an attraction to this area. We can have two-three launches a week by 2020.” Murray notes that, “You can go to Port Canaveral a day or two early from the day your ship departs and watch a rocket launch. If you happen to be in port during one of those launches, or you’re here getting on a cruise vessel before or after, it’s a neat thing to see because they land them on a ship offshore or land them back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
“With the increased frequency of launch schedule, I think it’s going to add to our tourist portfolio,” says Murray.
CONTACT INFORMATION
David Poston
Tel: (321) 783-7831, ext 213
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: portcanaveral.com/cruise
