Port Canaveral, promontory, eastern Florida, on a barrier island, occupied on the cape area and a part of nearby Merritt Island by a space center operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The center is called the John F. Kennedy Space Center and is the principal United States launching site for earth satellites and space flights. Patrick Air Force Base is nearby. The area also attracts many tourists. From 1963 to 1973 the cape was known as Cape Kennedy in honor of President John F. Kennedy (1961-63).
Port Canaveral's cruise operators have successfully packaged cruise vacations with central Florida's famous theme parks, as well as with vacation-ownership resorts. Seven active cruise lines offer partial day and two-, three-, four- and seven-day cruises.
Port Canaveral is the second-largest three- and four-night cruise port in the continental United States. The port has set its sights on expanding into the seven-day cruise market, which can also be packaged with Central Florida's attractions.
Cruise Terminals 2,3 and 4 can handle three ships simultaneously, each with a capacity of up to 1,800 passengers. Cruise Terminal 5(left), covering 59,000 square feet, can efficiently serve any of the megaships currently plying or planned for the Florida-Caribbean market. A new crossover eases baggage drop-off and access to the parking lot and passenger flow to the terminal.
Cruise Terminal 8 Cruise Terminal 8, the Disney Cruise Line Terminal(right), was completed and dedicated on November 17, 1997. The $27 million, 70,000-square-foot facility is Port Canaveral's third ultra-modern mega-ship terminal, and will be the exclusive home of Disney Cruise Line's first two ships, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder.
Cruise Terminal 9/10, below, Port Canaveral's second ultra-modern mega-ship terminal, is a 75,000-square-foot facility capable of berthing ships up to 1,100 feet in length and 130,000 gross registered tons. Cruise Terminal 9/10's first official guest was the Queen Elizabeth 2, the $22 million flagship of Cunard Lines, which paid a two-day port of call in November 1995. This year, CT 9/10 will again be the summer home of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' NORDIC EMPRESS. Norwegian Cruise Line's NORWEGIAN CROWN will also be utilizing CT 9/10 throughout the year.
The Canaveral Port Authority has the waterfront to construct up to five additional large cruise terminals on existing deep water. The port owns land upon which several more large turning basins can be constructed when needed during the next century and is poised to work with the cruise industry to fully develop these valuable assets in the coming years.
The World City Corporation and a number of U.S. seaports, shipyards and corporations in related industries are working together to build in the U.S. a series of giant cruise ships which will be, in reality, floating resorts. Port Canaveral has been selected to be the home-port of the first of these ships, the 6,200-passenger, AMERICA WORLD CITY. An area on Port Canaveral's West Turning Basin has been reserved for the construction of suitable support facilities, including two new cruise terminals, an International Trade Center office building, and a convention, hotel and conference center complex.
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