More and more, it looks like Royal Caribbean is poised to move a cruise ship to Port Canaveral that is even larger than what they currently have stationed there.
Consider these recent news items
- Port Canaveral has had plans to build a new cruise terminal to accomodate even the largest cruise ships in the world, such as Oasis-class
- Two weeks ago Port Canaveral announced Royal Caribbean had signed a 10-year agreement to stay in Port Canaveral
Currently Royal Caribbean operates Freedom of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas from Port Canaveral, with Explorer of the Seas joining the duo later this year.
Royal Caribbean has two more cruise ships on order that have no home port announced yet, a third Oasis-class ship and a third Quantum-class ship. Nor has it said if any changes to the deployment of the existing Oasis or Quantum class ships would be changed when these new ships arrive.
Travel Weekly is reporting Port CEO John Walsh said Royal Caribbean and the port are finalizing a letter of intent that would raise Royal Caribbean's minimum annual payment. It guarantees the port $7 million a year in the current agreement that expires in December. That would increase to $10.7 million next year and ultimately $18.4 million by the last year, Walsh said.
Royal Caribbean will also collect a per-passenger fee dedicated to financing the terminal complex, which includes a 1,000-car garage.
