LONG BEACH, Calif.,
April 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/
-- Carnival Cruise Line marked the beginning of a
multimillion-dollar renovation of its Long Beach Cruise Terminal
facility to accommodate larger ships and enhance terminal
operations. A "FUNstruction" groundbreaking ceremony today included
remarks by City of Long Beach
Mayor Robert Garcia, President and
CEO of Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau Steve Goodling
and Carnival Cruise Line Vice President Strategic and Commercial
Port Development Carlos Torres de Navarra among others.
Carnival unveiled its design plans for the terminal during the
celebration. The renovation will increase the space Carnival
currently occupies in the terminal facility from approximately
66,000 square feet to 142,000 square feet. The expansion and new
design will allow for a dramatically enhanced passenger experience
and operational flow within the terminal. In addition, the project
includes the expansion of portside "cold-ironing" to enable larger
ships to plug into the local electric grid to reduce exhaust
emissions while docked. Further enhancements to the area
surrounding the geodesic dome which houses the cruise terminal and
the adjacent Queen Mary attraction
are also planned.
"The start of construction on this project further cements our
commitment to the City of Long
Beach and the outstanding relationships we have built with
the leaders and people of this community," said Carnival's
Torres de Navarra. "Our operations
bring tremendous economic benefit to this area and expose hundreds
of thousands of people a year to this great city. These new
terminal enhancements will further grow that positive impact," he
added.
Carnival has run the Long Beach Cruise Terminal — the United States' only privately operated
cruise terminal — since 2003. It is one of the busiest terminals in
North America, with ships docking
at the facility five days per week resulting in a more than 70%
utilization rate. Carnival has used just a portion of the geodesic
dome that housed Howard Hughes'
"Spruce Goose" museum attraction for customs and guest check-in
activities. The renovation will make 100 percent of the dome
available for Carnival's cruise operations.
"The expansion of the Carnival Cruise terminal is great news for
Long Beach and great news for
visitors to our city," said Long
Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.
"The added capacity will bring more tourism and economic activity
to Long Beach, and we're pleased
to continue working with Carnival for many years to come."
Currently, Carnival operates three ships from the Long Beach
Cruise Terminal -- Carnival Inspiration and Carnival Imagination,
which offer three- and four-day Baja cruises, and Carnival Miracle which
operates week-long Mexican Riviera voyages along with 14- and
15-day cruises to Hawaii and
Alaska. In 2018 when the larger Carnival Splendor replaces
Carnival Miracle, the line will carry more than 700,000 guests
annually from Southern California,
operating nearly 250 three- to 14-day cruises a year.
In addition to marking the start of the renovation of the cruise
terminal, Torres de Navarra
announced a donation of $25,000 to
the Mayor's Fund for Education. The donation, made jointly by
Carnival Cruise Line and Carnival Foundation, is part of Carnival
Corporation's ongoing support for nonprofit educational and
charitable organizations in the homeport communities where its
brands operate.
To learn more about Carnival Cruise Line, visit
www.carnival.com. For reservations, contact any travel agent or
call 1-800-CARNIVAL. Carnival can also be found on: Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Journalists also can visit Carnival's media
site, http://www.carnival-news.com/ or follow the line's
PR department on Twitter
at http://www.twitter.com/CarnivalPR.
About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival, a unit of
Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is "The
World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 25 ships operating three-
to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas,
Caribbean, Mexican Riviera,
Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Europe, Cuba,
Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The
133,500-ton Carnival Horizon is currently under construction and
set to debut in 2018. Additionally, two new 180,000-ton ships are
scheduled to enter service in 2020 and 2022.
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SOURCE Carnival Cruise Line