On the heels of another record-breaking year for both cargo and cruise passengers, $33 million in State grants have been allocated to PortMiami over the next five years. This is another important step that will help the Port better respond to the next generation of cruise and cargo business. Approximately 4.98 million cruise passengers sailed through PortMiami, a new world record. The positive performance report comes as PortMiami starts to receive the bigger ships that are already transiting via the expanded Panama Canal.
The Port is big ship ready, and it anticipates continued growth as some of the world’s largest ocean carriers have formed alliances and deployed bigger vessels for their international shipping routes. Additionally, cruise line partners have also announced their plans to expand business at the Port. Royal Caribbean Cruises has begun work on a $200 million expansion that includes a new cruise terminal as part of a public-private partnership. Carnival Cruise Lines’ Vista and Regent Seven Seas’ Explorer are scheduled to arrive this winter. MSC Cruises plans to homeport its MSC Seaside in Miami beginning in the winter of 2017. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages will bring one of their three new ships to PortMiami and start offering seven-day vacations to the Caribbean in 2020.
Entrance to the Port of Miami
