Categories: Cruise News

MSC Cruises begins development of new Miami cruise terminal

MSC Cruises has broken ground on its new $350 million cruise terminal in PortMiami, which will be the largest in the United States when completed.

The four-story cruise terminal will have four embarkation decks to accommodate the turnover of up to 36,000 passengers in day, with enough berthing space to serve three World-class ships simultaneously.

The new cruise terminal has been designed by Arquitectonica and will be constructed by Fincantieri Infrastructure, part of the Fincantieri group of shipyards, although MSC Cruises next-generation World-class ships are being built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in France.

The terminal has been designed to accommodate three of MSC’s new World-class ships simultaneously.

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Most ships docking at the new MSC Cruises terminal will be able to plug in to the local power grid, in line with PortMiami’s plans to enable shore power connectivity.

“Our new terminal at PortMiami represents MSC Cruises’ commitment to growing in North America and will help drive our expansion in South Florida by offering our guests an unbeatable experience that starts before they ever step on board,” said Rubén Rodriguez, President, MSC Cruises USA.

“It’s also part of our larger sustainability goals, which include deploying our most modern and environmentally advanced ships to North America, the continued development of our one-of-a-kind Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, and our pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050,” he added.

The new cruise terminal is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023 and will include a multi-level parking garage for 2,400 vehicles, new road construction to ensure traffic flows smoothly, and a total of three berths capable of accommodating the largest cruise ships in the MSC fleet.

MSC’s new cruise terminal in PortMiami will be able to handle 36,000 passengers per day

MSC will build two of the new cruise ship docks, while Miami-Dade County will construct the third. The project also involves the construction of related shore infrastructure, including water supply stations and four passenger embarkation decks.

MSC World Europa and her planned three sister ships will be the second-largest class of cruise ship in the world after Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class.

The 205,000-gross ton, 6,700-passenger MSC World Europa will feature 19 dining venues (6 of them specialty restaurants), the world’s longest slide at sea, an interior promenade, 6 pools, 14 whirlpools, an entire deck for children and families and an adults zone.

She’ll spend her inaugural cruise season in the Middle East, cruising roundtrip from Dubai on Arabian Gulf cruises, before repositioning to the Mediterranean. It’s anticipated that once the new Miami cruise terminal is complete, she will cruise in North America.

Shaun Ebelthite

Founder and editor of Cruise Arabia & Africa. I try to create the best news and information specifically for cruise passengers taking cruises to and from Dubai (where I live) and South Africa (where I was born). You can contact me at shaun(at)cruisearabiaonline.com.

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