State
and local public officials joined executives from Carnival
Corporation and the six Carnival brands that sail from Port
Everglades to celebrate the Grand Re-Opening of four fully renovated,
expanded and modernized cruise terminals that opened in time for this
year’s busy cruise season at the South Florida cruise
port.
Cruise
Terminals 2, 19, 21 and 26 are part of a $54 million renovation
project that transformed existing facilities into modern,
world-class, guest-friendly cruise terminals, capable of processing
both debarking and embarking cruise passengers simultaneously.
Florida
Gov. Rick Scott issued a press release saying that he applauded the
Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) investment of $9
million to reconstruct and modernize four cruise terminals at Port
Everglades. Richard Biter, FDOT Assistant Secretary for Intermodal
Systems Development, represented Gov. Scott at the ceremony on
December 12 and told the crowd of about 200 people: “Florida is the
cruise capital of the U.S. and ranked first in the nation for cruise
industry expenditures with $6.7 billion in direct spending,
accounting for 35 percent of total industry direct expenditures.”
During
the ceremony, Carnival Corporation’s Giora Israel, Senior Vice
President of Global Ports Development, presented a monetary donation
to Pastor Paul Schweinler to purchase items for the Port Everglades
Seafarers’ House Shoebox Christmas
gift drive.
Port
Everglades committed to modernizing the terminals as part of an
agreement, finalized in April 2010, between Carnival Corporation and
the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, the governing body
for Port Everglades. The landmark agreement, one of the largest in
Carnival's history, calls for a minimum of 25.5 million cruise guests
from multiple Carnival Corporation brands to sail to and from Port
Everglades over the initial 15-year term, which will potentially
produce almost half-a-billion dollars in Port revenue.
“Carnival
Corporation and its cruise lines that are here at Port Everglades
– Carnival
Cruise Lines,
Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess
Cruises and
Seabourn – account for nearly half (43%) of the cruise business at
Port Everglades. Carnival is an important business partner for
Broward County and we are happy to celebrate your success,” said
Broward County Vice Mayor Barbara Sharief. “The cruise industry is
a major contributor to the economic health of our tourism-based
community in Broward County. Not only do cruise
companies such
as Carnival Corporation bring jobs and revenue to our Port, but they
also bring guests who visit our hotels and resorts, and support the
small businesses and attractions that are the lifeblood of our
economy. In Broward County alone, the cruise industry accounts for
nearly 12,000 jobs and contributes $1.8 billion in local economic
activity each year.”
Port
Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director Steven Cernak, told
the audience that the goal for the cruise terminal renovations was,
“to deliver an expeditious and seamless curbside to ship guest
experience.”
“Cruise
ports today
are challenged with the task of providing state-of-the-art facilities
that can keep pace with and support their customers’ needs, and the
cruise lines, as we know, are always on the cutting edge of the
hospitality industry. Our cruise terminals must be efficient inside
for quick embarkation and debarkation. Outside there must be an
organized system for taxi, shuttles, buses and private vehicles to
safely pick up and drop off cruise guests. We need state-of-the-art
security facilities for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, enough
room to lay down 2.5 pieces of luggage per person during debarkation,
Wi-Fi for waiting cruise guests, clear directional signs and
aesthetics that warmly welcome the more than 3.6 million people who
start and finish their cruise vacations at Port Everglades annually.”
Broward
County's Public Works Department, Seaport Engineering &
Construction Division oversaw the renovations. Moss & Associates
was the general contractor, and Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc.
was the terminal architect and project construction administrator.
Construction
work for the cruise terminal created an estimated 1,000 construction
jobs, equating to $40.7 million in personal income
and $3.7 million in state and local taxes, according to an economic
impact study by nationally recognized maritime research firm Martin
Associates.
Port
Everglades is one of the leading cruise ports worldwide
with more than 3.6 million passengers each year and homeporting
more cruise
ships than
any other cruise port worldwide. Twelve cruise lines and
42 cruise ships sail from the South Florida seaport
including: Balearia's Bahamas Express, Carnival Cruise Lines,
Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Holland America Line,
MSC Cruises, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal
Caribbean International,
Silversea Cruises and Seabourn. The Port's wide-ranging fleet
of cruise ships provides guests with an array of cruise
vacation choices from the sunny Greater Fort Lauderdale area. Port
Everglades, where the best
cruiseships
launch and the greatest getaways begin. Details on the latest cruise
schedules from Port Everglades are available on the Internet at
porteverglades.net.