Carnival Cruise Line has broken ground on its new cruise terminal in PortMiami for Carnival Celebration, the second of its two largest ever cruise ships.

The ground-breaking ceremony was held at PortMiami’s Terminal F which will serve as the homeport of the LNG-powered Carnival Celebration when the ship debuts in 2022.

Carnival Celebration will be a sister ship to Mardi Gras, which was delivered in late 2020.

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Carnival Celebration is the second of the cruise line’s Excel-class cruise ships, three of which have already been delivered for Carnival Corporation sister brands Costa Cruises (Costa Smeralda), AIDA Cruises (AIDAnova), and P&O Cruises (Iona).

Carnival Cruise Line took delivery of its first Excel-class cruise ship Mardi Gras last year amid the worldwide shutdown of the cruise industry.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new cruise terminal was attended by Carnival President Christine Duffy and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

They used ceremonial shovels to officially mark the beginning of construction on the expansive 471,000-square-foot facility, which will be Carnival’s third terminal at the port and its largest in South Florida.

Carnival is developing Terminal F in Miami.

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“I’m grateful to Carnival Cruise Line and Lemartec for their partnership with Miami-Dade County,” said Mayor Levine Cava.

“Despite the global pandemic, today’s groundbreaking is another example of the growth happening at PortMiami – The Cruise Capital of the World – and how together, we can and we will continue to thrive,” she added.

“We are proud of Carnival’s role in making Miami the cruise capital of the world, and today marks the continuation of an incredible 50-year partnership with PortMiami and Miami-Dade County,” said Duffy.

Carnival and PortMiami officials break ground on new cruise terminal.

“This expanded terminal built specifically for Carnival Celebration will make an incredible addition to the existing facilities at our largest embarkation port,” she added.

The terminal’s clean and open design will allow for greater efficiency and flexibility, maximizing use of technology to move guests through the embarkation process, according to Carnival.

The terminal is one of several being built at the port, ahead of an anticipated post-pandemic boom for the cruise industry in the coming years.

Royal Caribbean, Virgin Voyages, MSC, Disney Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line all have new cruise terminal projects underway at the port.

PortMiami officials say the new developments will ensure the port remains the number one cruise port in the world in terms of annual passenger numbers.