Carnival Breaks Ground on New Miami Cruise Terminal
by Daniel McCarthy
Carnival Cruise Line's new Miami terminal will debut in 2022 with Carnival Celebration. Photo: CCL.
Carnival Cruise Line on Friday broke ground on its new cruise terminal at PortMiami, a terminal that is set to welcome visitors when Carnival Celebration debuts in 2022.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Carnival president Christine Duffy, along with county commissioners and construction partners, were on hand to mark the occasion on Friday, celebrating the start of construction of Carnival’s third and largest terminal at PortMiami.
The 471,000-square-foot terminal will be able to accommodate the new class of Carnival ships, its Excel-class, which will include Carnival Celebration and Carnival Mardi Gras.
“We are proud of Carnival’s role in making Miami the cruise capital of the world, and today marks the continuation of an incredible 50-year partnership with PortMiami and Miami-Dade County,” Duffy said on Friday.
“This expanded terminal built specifically for Carnival Celebration will make an incredible addition to the existing facilities at our largest embarkation port. My most sincere thanks to Mayor Levine Cava and all of the Miami-Dade officials who made this day possible,” she added.
It is expected that, as a sister ship to Mardi Gras, Celebration will feature a lot of the same eye-popping features that made Mardi Gras one of the most anticipated new builds for Carnival in recent years. It’s also expected to be launch with extra fanfare as November 2020 marks Carnival’s official 50th birthday month.
Carnival in December took delivery of Mardi Gras, which is right now currently to start sailing this spring, offering seven-day Caribbean itineraries out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The ship was originally slated to debut in August 2020.
Mardi Gras is set to feature the first ever roller coast at sea, BOLT, Carnival’s first Family Feud Live, a WaterWorks aqua park, the longest suspended rope course at sea, dining venues from Emeril Lagasse, and a lot more. It’s also slated to be the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered ship in the America.
