Thread: Port Everglades gets RC Genesis ships

Port Everglades will be home to world's largest cruise ships


By Scott Wyman South Florida Sun-Sentinel
December 1, 2007

Royal Caribbean has agreed to base both of its two new super-size cruise ships at Port Everglades year-round, ending months of competition for the business between the Broward County port and its Miami counterpart.

The Port of Miami has long been Royal Caribbean's base of operations in the region, but the deal creates a major, long-term partnership with Port Everglades by guaranteeing 17 million passengers over the next decade.

Port Director Phil Allen said the deal will make Port Everglades the largest cruise port in the world. It currently ranks behind Miami and Port Canaveral directly east of Orlando.

Each ship will carry up to 6,400 passengers and 2,000 crews members on weekly Caribbean voyages. The ships, called the Genesis class, are being built in Finland, and the first is expected to begin cruises from Port Everglades in mid-2009.

A spokesman for Royal Caribbean said the company viewed Port Everglades as a better choice than Miami because it offered "a little bit more in terms of servicing passengers and the development of the port."

Because Miami and Fort Lauderdale have such consistently pleasant weather, we always bring our newest and best hardware here so it was a matter of working with the particular ports in the area to see what we could offer them and they could offer us," Royal Caribbean spokesman Harrison Liu said.

Royal Caribbean approached Port Everglades in February about the possibility of stationing at least one ship there, but also said it was in similar discussions with other ports. Port Everglades countered with the suggestion that both ships be based there.One of the terminals at Port Everglades will be renovated at a cost of $37.4 million to handle the new business.

Neither local taxpayers nor the port will foot the bill. Royal Caribbean will pay for the work through a $5.70 surcharge on passengers when they leave and arrive. That's in addition to a $9.95 port-user charge each passenger will pay.

Oivind Mathisen, editor of Cruise Industry News, said Royal Caribbean's choice of Port Everglades runs counter to its history with Miami, but likely was spurred by the greater convenience and efficiency of Broward's port. He said the two Genesis ships will be a boon for the softening Caribbean cruise business.

"Miami would have seemed natural for Royal Caribbean to put one or both of the Genesis-class ships there so this is a big move, a big change," he said.At $1.2 billion, the ships will be the world's most expensive to build, and they will dwarf current cruise ships.

The largest cruise ship that now docks at Port Everglades carries 3,100 passengers, while the world's current largest, Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, holds 4,300.

Under the deal, Royal Caribbean could move the two Genesis ships after their first year at Port Everglades. However, the guarantee of 17 million passengers over the next decade would remain.Allen said he anticipates more new ships from Royal Caribbean and its sister Celebrity line to meet that promise.

The company's presence at Port Everglades would grow from 750,000 passengers next year to 2.1 million in 2012 under the terms of the agreement.

To break the agreement, Royal Caribbean would have to pay the port $20 million in damages, pay off the cost of renovating the terminal and give one year's notice.Cruise operations at the port have hovered around 2.5 million passengers a year since 2001, but will skyrocket with the agreement. Allen anticipated 4.9 million passengers at Port Everglades in 2010.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Nows the time to add light rail from the airport to the cruiseport


Many of the cruise terminals are outdated and in need of upgrades.

On Tuesday, December 4, RCCL will be presenting the Port Everglades Master/Vision Plan to the Broward County Board of County Commissioners for their final approval. In the first five years of the plan, the following improvements will be made in the cruise areas of the Port:

Six of Port Everglades’ 12 cruise terminals would be renovated or expanded.

Terminal 18 will undergo two phases of renovations. The first phase will convert approximately 33,000 square feet of existing warehouse space into a cruise ship passenger baggage area capable of accommodating a Voyager-class cruise ship with 3,100 passengers. The second phase would accommodate a Genesis-class ship of 5,400 to 6,400 passengers and would provide an additional 72,000 square feet of interior space.

Terminal 4 in the Northport section of Port Everglades and Terminal 19 in Midport are slated to be redeveloped and expanded to accommodate larger cruise ships. Adjacent Terminals 21 and 22 would be combined so that there is more space for passengers and baggage sailing on mega-cruise ships. And Terminal 2 in Northport will be renovated with a new entrance lobby as part the separation of the Broward County Convention Center from the seaport.

A 1,200 parking space parking structure will be added to the Midport cruise area, which would provide for a total of 3,203 spaces in the Midport area.

Roadways leading to and from the cruise terminal areas would also be widened and improved to accommodate more taxis and for more efficient traffic flow.