By Alexander Britell and Guy Britton
MIAMI – Cruise giant MSC Cruises has revealed more details on its new planned cruise hub at PortMiami
The new hub is part of its push to expand its presence in the Caribbean, according to the company.
The building, which will be designed by world-renowned firm Arquitectonica, will host two cruise terminals as well as two berths.
The new terminals will be capable of hosting a pair of megaships at the same time and handle as many as 28,000 passenger movements every day.
The company revealed the details during the Seatrade Cruise Global cruise conference in Miami, the world’s leading cruise conference.
“With another 13 cruise vessels due to join our fleet in the next eight years, our ambition is to have our most innovative ship classes represented at PortMiami, bringing a wealth of choice to our North American as well as international guests,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises. “”In particular, the new terminal – which will be one of the most innovative the industry has seen – will ensure that we can provide our guests an enhanced end-to-end high-quality experience while both embarking and disembarking, thus adding to their ability to fully enjoy every moment of their vacation.”
At present, MSC operates four ships out of Miami: the MSC Seaside, MSC Armonia, MSC Divina and MSC Meraviglia.
Work on the new project will launch next year, with a planned completion of late 2022.
It’s part of a wave of new terminals in the pipeline at PortMiami, from Virgin Voyages’ highly-anticipated new terminal to new launches from both NCL and Royal Caribbean.
— CJ