Carnival Cruise Line And Canaveral Port Authority Reach Agreement On State-Of-The-Art Cruise Terminal To Accommodate Plans For New 180,000-Ton Cruise Ship's Arrival

Largest Carnival Cruise Line Ship Ever Constructed, First in North America to be Powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

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Aug 21, 2018, 12:26 ET

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla., Aug. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Cruise Line, the world's largest cruise operator, has reached an agreement in principle with the Canaveral Port Authority on a new state-of-the-art terminal able to accommodate its new 180,000-ton ship, the largest ever constructed for the line, set to debut in 2020.

Largest Carnival Cruise Line Ship to be Based at Port Canaveral

The terms of the agreement are expected to be included on the agenda of the Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners' meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. If approved, the agreement will clear the way for Carnival Cruise Line's plans to homeport the as-yet-unnamed 5,286-lower berth ship at Port Canaveral, further bolstering the line's position as the port's number one cruise operator.

The vessel will offer an array of groundbreaking, never-before-seen features and attractions while also being the first North American-based cruise ship to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), part of Carnival Corporation's "green cruising" design platform.

"We are very excited about the prospects of homeporting our largest ship at Port Canaveral, a valued business partner for more than 25 years," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "Easily accessible from all over the southeast with excellent facilities and friendly staff, Port Canaveral is one of our most popular and fastest-growing homeports. This fantastic new ship, coupled with our future plans for Port Canaveral, will provide guests with an unparalleled seagoing vacation experience from the minute they arrive."

"The Port and Carnival Cruise Line have worked closely for decades building a successful partnership together. We are proud of our partners at Carnival and eager to begin this new chapter in our business relationship," said Canaveral Port Authority Port Director and CEO Capt. John Murray. "Carnival's commitment to Port Canaveral demonstrates their confidence in our ability to support one of the world's most successful cruise brands. We're excited and looking forward to having their largest and newest class of ship homeported here."

Construction of the 180,000-ton cruise ship is scheduled to begin in November 2018 with the official steel-cutting ceremony at the Meyer-Werft shipyard in Turku, Finland. Further ship details, along with itineraries from Port Canaveral, are expected to be announced in 2019.

The decision to base the new ship on the Space Coast continues a decades-long relationship and reinforces Carnival Cruise Line's position as Port Canaveral's number one cruise operator. The line currently has three year-round ships based in Port Canaveral carrying upwards of 650,000 passengers a year. In October, Carnival Cruise Line will also reposition the newer Carnival Breeze to homeport at Port Canaveral.

About Port Canaveral
Led by the elected five-member Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners and Port Director and CEO, Captain John Murray, Port Canaveral is one of the world's most dynamic and exciting ports. A world-class gateway for cruises, cargo, recreation and logistics, as well as a gateway to new frontiers in space, Port Canaveral hosts more than 4 million revenue cruise passengers through its state-of-the-art terminals and 5.5 million of tons of cargo annually, including bulk, break-bulk, project, and containerized. The Port is strategically located to service all Florida markets, as well as the Southeastern United States. In addition to world class cruise facilities and diverse cargo operations, Port Canaveral offers more recreational opportunities than all other Florida deep-water seaports combined. For more information, visit www.PortCanaveral.com

About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 26 ships operating three- to 24-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Cuba, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. The line currently has three new ships scheduled for delivery – the 133,500-ton Carnival Panorama set to debut in 2019 and two as-yet-unnamed 180,000-ton ships in 2020 and 2022.