The city council in Savannah, Georgia agreed last night to expand the cruise ship task force. Alderman Tony Thomas claims several cruise lines are interested in cruising down the Savannah river and Royal Caribbean is on that list.
Royal Caribbean spoke with Thomas several weeks ago about the prospect of having a ship stop in Savannah.
The increased cruise ship task force will help answer some lingering questions for the city council such as how much a cruise terminal would cost, and how much business would cruise ships bring to downtown Savannah.
The key to any cruise business coming to Savannah will be the creation of a cruise terminal, even a temporary one. There are three locations being considered, such asthe Georgia Ports Authority Ocean Terminals 1 and 2, which already dock large ships and cruise lines who stop in Savannah. Another idea is across the river in Hutchinson Island or the Savannah River Landing next to the Marriott off River Street. None of the options are perfect and all would require a fair amount of work to get them ready.
Thomas indicated that it could take 12-24 months before the city council could come to an agreement and real work could begin.
