Carnival Cruise Line will refurbish and expand Terminal F in advance of Carnival Mardi Gras’s sister ship (currently unnamed) arrival in late 2022.
The cruise line was granted permission for the full refurbishment and major expansion by the Miami-Dade County Commission.
Carnival Cruise Line is currently the largest cruise operator in Miami with more year-round ships sailing from PortMiami than any other cruise line.
When completed, the completely refurbished terminal will be the third terminal dedicated entirely to Carnival operations at Port Miami.
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The terminal’s simple and open design by Berenblum Busch Architects of Miami will allow for exceptional efficiency and flexibility to accommodate Carnival’s largest class of ships, maximizing use of facial recognition technology and other elements to move guests through the embarkation process.
“With today’s approval, we will move quickly on a plan to remodel and expand Terminal F so that it will accommodate the most innovative class of ship to join our fleet,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Over the last several months, we have had very constructive discussions with PortMiami and Miami-Dade leaders about our plans for Miami and our goal to enhance and grow our capacity and operations in our hometown. Everyone is very excited about Miami being home to our next liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship in North America and the sister ship to Mardi Gras, which arrives next August and is generating tremendous enthusiasm. Today’s vote assures that the new ship and terminal expansion will both arrive in time for Carnival’s 50th anniversary in 2022.”
Carnival Mardi Gras, the first Carnival Excel class ship for the line, will be delivered in August 2020 and be homeported at Port Canaveral after inaugural sailings from Europe and New York.
Expansion plans will result in Terminal F being Carnival’s largest terminal in North America. All renovations are set for completion by October 2022 to welcome the Carnival Excel class ship arriving in late 2022.
