Princess Cruises to debut at Port Canaveral, bringing ship in November 2024
Princess Cruises will launch service at Port Canaveral by bringing its Caribbean Princess ship to Cruise Terminal 6 in November 2024.
John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises, said Caribbean Princess will primarily offer six- and eight-day cruises with eastern and western Caribbean itineraries. The ship can carry 3,140 passengers, based on double occupancy.
"It's certainly no surprise why Princess is here at Port Canaveral. My only wish is we were here sooner," Padgett said during a Tuesday morning press conference.
More: Port Canaveral planning to build another cruise terminal as revenue soars
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Port Canaveral has overtaken Miami as the world's busiest cruise port, according to the Florida Ports Council. Port Canaveral is home to Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean International.
Port Canaveral had 792 cruise ship calls and 4.1 million passengers during the 2021-22 financial year, the first full year of operations since the COVID-19 pandemic paused the industry on a global scale. For the 2022-23 financial year, port officials project those numbers will increase to 904 cruise ship calls and 5.8 million passengers.
MSC Cruises started sailing at Port Canaveral in September 2021, and Marella Cruises is following suit this month with sailings for TUI Group travelers. Tuesday's announcement adds Princess Cruises to the new arrivals.
Caribbean Princess has been operating primarily out of Fort Lauderdale, Padgett said. Starting Nov. 27, 2024, highlights of the ship's winter season at Port Canaveral will include:
One four-day Turks & Caicos cruise over Thanksgiving holiday.
Five eight-day eastern Caribbean cruises sailing to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, San Juan and Grand Turk.
Five eight-day western Caribbean cruises sailing to Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize City and Roatan (Mahogany Bay).
Nine six-day eastern Caribbean cruises including Nassau, Grand Turk and either Amber Cove or San Juan.
Canaveral Port Authority officials made the homeport announcement during a press conference at Cruise Terminal 6, touting future economic growth by adding a cruise line.
Launched in 2004, Caribbean Princess features 1,571 staterooms with total capacity of 3,140 guests and 1,200 crew members. The vessel has 19 decks, including 15 passenger decks, and encompasses 112,894 gross tons.
Padgett said passengers can also combine Caribbean Princess six- and eight-day cruises into a 14-day cruising vacation.
He also said the Princess brand appeals to clientele that are looking to cruise "as soon as your kids go to college and you want your first date again" — rather than visit a theme park at sea.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Caribbean Princess cruise ship coming to Port Canaveral in November 2024
