This item was written by Larry Bleiberg, former travel editor of Coastal Living magazine and The Dallas Morning News. Bleiberg is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away, USAtoday reports.
The complex will have a 2,500-person processing area and a 1,100-seat waiting area, and will be able to simultaneously load and unload passengers. It also includes a new pier, gangway and parking garage with a covered walkway to the terminal.
It is one of several projects underway at the port, which recently approved construction of a $16.6 million welcome and entertainment center.
The "Canaveral Cove" complex, which will be located on the south side of Port Canaveral near an existing bar and restaurant area, is scheduled for completion in June 2013. It will include a 15,000-square-foot welcome center, exhibit areas, a movie theater/auditorium and offices.
The port envisions it as an area for passengers, tourists and local residents to dine and listen to music before or after a cruise.
The port also recently completed a $7.8 million project to enlarge its West Turning Basin, which will allow large ships to turn around in the basin.
The growth comes at a critical time for the region, which is facing the direct loss of 7,000 jobs due to the end of the U.S. Space Shuttle program. "We now will move forward definitively and aggressively on Port Canaveral's transformation," said Stan Payne, the port's chief executive officer, in a statement.
Port Canaveral opened in 1953 to serve fishing boats. As nearby Orlando grew into a theme park capital, it began to welcome cruise ships serving tourists seeking a land-sea vacation. The port now is home to ships from Carnival, Disney and Norwegian cruise lines. It's also the base of Victory 1, which runs gambling cruises from the port.
The complex will have a 2,500-person processing area and a 1,100-seat waiting area, and will be able to simultaneously load and unload passengers. It also includes a new pier, gangway and parking garage with a covered walkway to the terminal.
It is one of several projects underway at the port, which recently approved construction of a $16.6 million welcome and entertainment center.
The "Canaveral Cove" complex, which will be located on the south side of Port Canaveral near an existing bar and restaurant area, is scheduled for completion in June 2013. It will include a 15,000-square-foot welcome center, exhibit areas, a movie theater/auditorium and offices.
The port envisions it as an area for passengers, tourists and local residents to dine and listen to music before or after a cruise.
The port also recently completed a $7.8 million project to enlarge its West Turning Basin, which will allow large ships to turn around in the basin.
The growth comes at a critical time for the region, which is facing the direct loss of 7,000 jobs due to the end of the U.S. Space Shuttle program. "We now will move forward definitively and aggressively on Port Canaveral's transformation," said Stan Payne, the port's chief executive officer, in a statement.
Port Canaveral opened in 1953 to serve fishing boats. As nearby Orlando grew into a theme park capital, it began to welcome cruise ships serving tourists seeking a land-sea vacation. The port now is home to ships from Carnival, Disney and Norwegian cruise lines. It's also the base of Victory 1, which runs gambling cruises from the port.