Cruise: Canaveral, Houston, Miami

Port Canaveral Commissioners have approved building an $80-$85 million cruise terminal and 1,000-vehicle parking facility that is scheduled to open in November 2014. Princess Cruises launched its new service from the Port of Houston Authority's Bayport Cruise Terminal on November 5 with a four-day benefit cruise to Progreso, Mexico. PortMiami kicked off its new cruise season October 25 with a ceremony aboard the 2,700-passenger Disney Magic.

Port Canaveral Commissioners have approved building an $80-$85 million cruise terminal and 1,000-vehicle parking facility. Scheduled to open in November 2014, the 185,000-square-foot terminal will be located on the south side of the harbor in the Cove restaurant and retail area.

"Couple this month’s opening of the new Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral with the restaurants, retail, and entertainment currently available, then add in our plans for additional Cove expansion, and the passengers and crew who will sail from this new terminal will have destination options available for the first time within walking distance of their ship," said Port Canaveral CEO John E. Walsh.

Cruise visitors will be able to walk outside the terminal to enjoy Port destination options or depart from the terminal and Exploration Tower to enjoy area excursions.

The new cruise terminal complex will handle the largest cruise ships currently sailing as well as the 6,000-passenger vessels in design. Construction is expected to begin in January. Announcements regarding the new terminal’s tenants are expected soon. One home-ported cruise ship is expected to generate $250 million annual community impact and create 2,500 direct and indirect jobs.

Princess Cruises launched its new service from the Port of Houston Authority's Bayport Cruise Terminal on November 5 with a four-day benefit cruise to Progreso, Mexico. About 2,000 passengers supported "Cruising for a Cause," a fundraising cruise that was expected to raise up to $1 million for two U.S. military veterans' organizations – the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and Operation Homefront.

Regular cruises by the Caribbean Princess began after its return to Houston on Saturday, November 9. Scheduled are a total of 27 sailings from the Houston terminal, with port calls at Costa Maya (Mexico), Roatán (Honduras), Belize City (Belize) and Cozumel (Mexico). Next year, Emerald Princess will make Houston its home port for western Caribbean sailings. Princess Cruises is scheduled to call the Bayport Cruise Terminal through 2016.

Princess Cruises is one of two cruise lines scheduled to regularly call the Bayport Terminal. Starting in fall 2014, Norwegian Cruise Line will bring its 2,374-passenger Norwegian Jewel to Houston to sail seven-day Western Caribbean cruises through the 2017 cruise season.

The activity from both cruise lines will have a significant positive impact on the economies of Harris County and the greater Houston area, attracting more than 400,000 passengers to the region over the next four years. A consultants’ study estimates an economic impacts of $2 million from each sailing, $50 million annually and more than 200 jobs in the greater Houston region.

PortMiami will be offering new cruise options to its 2013-2014 line-up for it predicts will be its "biggest and best" cruise season ever.

PortMiami kicked off its new cruise season October 25 aboard the 2,700-passenger Disney Magic with a plaque exchange ceremony symbolizing the partnership between the ship and the port and honoring the ship’s first Miami call. Disney Magic is now sailing five-night Western Caribbean and Bahamian itineraries from Miami. Disney’s Miami operations began in 2012.

PortMiami’s 2013-2014 cruise season features four first-time callers starting this month – MSC Divina, Carnival Conquest, Costa Luminosa, and Carnival Ecstasy. In February, Miami will welcome the brand new, 4,000-passenger capacity Norwegian Gateway, now nearing completion at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

"The 2013-2014 cruise season marks the continuation of our largest expansion ever, bringing more new cruise vessels and cruise passengers in a single cruise season than ever before," said PortMiami Director Bill Johnson.