Disney Cruise Line has been given the green light by a vote from Broward County, allowing the Cruise Line to explore a second home in Port Everglades, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
What’s Happening:
- While Disney Cruise Line has called Port Canaveral home since its inception in the late 90s, they are now looking for a second port in Florida to embark from to allow guests to discover uncharted magic, with their eyes set on Port Everglades.
- The Broward County Commission reportedly voted unanimously to forego competitive selection requirements the port would normally go through for a terminal agreement. Looking for their second Florida home, the company can now enter into discussions with Port Everglades.
- Disney has set sail from PortMiami since 2012 for various itineraries, but the deal in place at that port leaves them sharing a terminal built and used by MSC Cruises.
- Disney Cruise Line already has four ships, with a fifth, the Disney Wish, set to debut next year followed by two more by 2025. A terminal built and used by Disney year round would be the more ideal situation.
- Reportedly, initial talks have referred to a year-round ship with the possibility of a second seasonal ship. The numbers with that configuration would see about 536,000 passengers come through the terminal.
- Port Everglades CEO Jonathan Daniels says that this is a perfect opportunity to use Cruise Terminal 4, which was recently used by Carnival Corp. but given back to the port in a pandemic-related deal. Cruise Terminal 4 is one of the terminals closest to Fort Lauderdale’s convention center, parking garage, and hotel, and along with the rest of the port, is close to the Fort Lauderdale International Airport.
- Interestingly, whatever ship would end up at the port would have to be one of the four already-existing Disney ships. Port Everglades is not set up to handle ships that run on liquefied natural gas, something that Port Canaveral has done, allowing for the new Disney Wish to use the port.
- This all adds up as Disney Dream is reportedly set to move to Miami at roughly the same time Disney Wish will start calling Port Canaveral home.
- While Disney and Port Everglades are set to enter into discussions, Disney has never housed a ship at Port Everglades except for emergency situations during a storm.
What They’re Saying:
- Port Everglades CEO Jonathan Daniels: “It is their desire to have their own home port operation and not have to share the terminal with another operator. That’s where an opportunity lies at Port Everglades, which because of an agreement to get back the use of its Cruise Terminal 4 from Carnival Corp. in a pandemic-related deal, allowed the Fort Lauderdale location to be an option for DCL’s potential future. Because of what we’re able to offer Disney Cruise Line as a whole from docking to parking facilities to the fact that hopefully what they’re going to do is bring down their cast and crew members and make them a part of the community as well, and I think that goes beyond just what it means to the port. Ultimately it spills out to what it means for the county and the community.”
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